Redeemed At High Cost Part 2

Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith.

It was more than high drama. The Passover taught both Egypt and Israel that God means what He says. The blood is what saves. As we journey life's road, let us never forget the high price paid for our salvation, a price depicted in the terror-filled night in Egypt as Moses' people saw the death angel pass over. From the Moody Church in Chicago, this is Running to Win with Dr. Erwin Lutzer, whose clear teaching helps us make it across the finish line. Pastor Lutzer, would God use extreme measures in our day to ensure that His will was done?

Dave, one thing that I deeply appreciate about your questions is that they are well thought through and often they are not easy to answer. If we think about the will of God that encompasses everything, then indeed it is always done on earth as it is in heaven. And God accomplishes His purposes, but most of those purposes are hidden from us. But if we talk about the specific will of God, well, we can rebel against that. We rebel against it individually.

We've rebelled against it as a nation. So we need to know, however, the bottom line, that God is always in charge. And nowhere do we see this more clearly in scripture than during the time of the Passover and the miracles of the children of Israel as they left Egypt to go into the Promised Land. You know, I believe that these messages would be a tremendous blessing to all who listen. If they could listen to them again and again, share them with your friends. Perhaps you've missed some of them.

For a gift of any amount, they can be yours permanently. Here's what you do. Go to RTWOffer.com.

RTWOffer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337. Ask for the series Getting Closer to God, Lessons from the Life of Moses. Now what about Jesus? He made this statement in John chapter 6. He said that, who so eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. Some people have read that and they've said, oh, that must mean that we have to literally eat the body and the blood of Christ. That we have to literally eat his flesh.

We have to literally drink his blood. But actually cannibalism is inconsistent with the Old Testament and it says expressly that blood is never to be drunk. So it's very clear that what Jesus is saying, the Apostle Paul says, Christ our Passover has been crucified for us. What Jesus is saying is, you need to, you need to feast on me.

I am the bread that came down from heaven, he that eateth this bread. And then he says, he who abides in me and I in him, he eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood. It is Jesus Christ becoming satisfying to those whom he has redeemed. The Savior who, who's the one who redeemed us, who's shed blood on the cross, rescues us from God's judgment. He's also the Savior whom we love. He's the Savior whom we enjoy, the Savior through whom we have fellowship, the Savior with whom we can spend time, even if we're not asking him any specific requests.

We just love to be with him and we find our souls are satisfied. There's a fifth step in this process, the fifth step, and that is they began to walk. They began to walk in the power and the liberty and the freedom of the Lamb. Now, you'll notice the text tells us that they did leave that night and 600,000 men left. It says that verse 37 of chapter 12, the people of Israel journeyed from Ramses to Succoth, about 600,000 men on foot besides women and children. A mixed multitude also went up with them and very much livestock both flocks and herds. While Egypt was mourning, the Israelites were celebrating because when the angel of death came that night, the Bible says he came at midnight, he struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt.

You can imagine mothers and fathers going into the room of their children and there they discover that their boy, their firstborn child is dead and then they begin to cry and they begin to grieve wondering why it is that he died and so they need some consolation from the neighbors and the neighbors check their bedroom and discover that the firstborn is dead there too. And all throughout the land, the Bible says there was this huge cry, this huge cry of desperation and a cry of wailing and grief because of all these deaths in Egypt. If you read the text you discover that Pharaoh, Pharaoh finally says, okay, all right, if that's what you're going to do, oh God, I will let the people go. So the people leave the land. 600,000 men, two million people. So how could that be?

I mean that's unthinkable, two million people leaving a land to go into a desert area. Remember that they were all organized. They had elders and they had groups and the way in which they communicated was they'd have a meeting of all the leaders and they'd agree as to what they were going to say to the people and that's the way they let it happen by word of mouth. No fax machines, no cell phones, thank God, just word of mouth.

And the message got out. I can imagine a child saying to mom or dad as they are leaving, how in the world are we going to live? We've got some unleavened bread, we have some water with us, little bit of food, but what are we going to do when we run out of water? What are we going to do when the little bit of bread that we're taking with us is no more? Some of you who are here today are on the verge of trusting Christ as Savior and what you are saying to yourself is this, if I get saved, God is going to make so many demands of me, how am I going to be able to live this new life? I mean I can't even conceive it.

I mean I don't have the resources, I don't have the strength. Well the God who redeemed them is the God who is now leading them. They had no idea that God was going to send a pillar of fire and a cloud to lead them. They didn't know, they're going to have to trust God big time. They didn't know that God was going to send the manna miraculously every morning, six days a week.

They didn't know that. They didn't know that the time would come when Moses would simply strike a rock and water would come forth and enough water for all of the millions of people to drink. They could never have thought of it, they couldn't have predicted it, they had not seen those kinds of miracles, but all that they did was they began to walk in the strength of the Lamb and in the power of the Lamb and they were redeemed out of slavery and it was between them and God, which is where God often puts us, is just between him and us because apart from his help we have nowhere to go. And God who redeemed them, led them, cared for them, blessed them, and eventually after many, many mishaps they did make it into the promised land.

What I'd like to do is to give you two life-changing lessons based on this wonderful picture of Jesus. First of all, the blood, the blood on the door made a sharp distinction. The blood on the door made a sharp distinction between Israel and Egypt. It made a sharp distinction between those who would be spared the judgment of God and those who would be the objects of the judgment of God. And if I might put it this way, God was interested in how the people were living, no doubt about it, but what really mattered when judgment came was whether or not there was blood on the door.

That was really the issue. God says, when I see the blood, I'll pass over you. You say, well, were there some Egyptians that were also saved? If an Egyptian had put blood on his door, would he have been saved? And the answer is yes, of course he would have been because God says, when I see the blood, I will pass over you. Now, God did not give Egypt that particular secret because he needed to judge them so that the people would be able to leave the land and Pharaoh would finally cave in, but today God says to people of all races, of all cultures, you come to the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world and that Lamb is available for you, the spotless Son of God who shed his blood for us.

So all that God said really matters is blood on the door. Let's put ourselves in the sandals of a firstborn for a few moments. This firstborn in the land of Israel on the Israel side, I mean, he has been a real, real rowdy, rebellious young man. He's done a lot of things that may even have been criminal and they've had to rein him in.

They've had to discipline him because he has really been a piece of work. So news goes out that God is going to judge all the firstborns. All the firstborns in the land of Egypt are going to die on a certain night and so this boy comes to his father and says, Dad, how do you know I'm not going to get it? All of my friends think I am. What makes you think I can be exempt from the judgment? I mean, I sure don't deserve it. I mean, I deserve whatever the Egyptians are getting. The father says, Son, you sure do, but in the end, all of us deserve judgment.

But let me take you outside. I want to show you something. Do you see the blood that we have on the door? Blood at the top, blood along the two side posts of the door. I'm going with the promise, Son, that God says when I see the blood, I'll pass over you.

It's the blood that really matters. And I can imagine there's another firstborn who perhaps is emotionally unstable. He's the kind who wrestles with depression. He thinks to himself that his conscience may be far too sensitive. He's one of those boys, you know, who can't trust anything because life has been so hard for him and he's just different than anybody else. And so he's going through so many doubts and fears and he is scared to go to bed that night.

And he comes to his father and his father says, well, Son, I know that you're going through emotional turbulence. I know that you suffer from all of these things, but I want you to know that God says, when I see the blood, I'll pass over you. We're trusting the blood, Son. We're trusting the blood. We're not trusting you or me. We're trusting the blood.

We've met God's requirements. And maybe that boy never slept that night. Maybe he was up all night expecting to be struck dead. But in the end, it really didn't matter because there was blood on their door. Then if we can imagine Satan, the devil, coming to one of the families over there in the Israel side of the land and saying, huh, you don't really think that you're going to be spared this judgment, do you? Don't you know that you are of mixed blood? Look at all of the ridicule that you've taken. You don't really belong here anyway.

As a matter of fact, because you are of a mixed race, you're part Egyptian and part part Israel. We despise you and and you're thinking you're thinking that that little blood on your door is going to save you. You don't deserve to be saved. You should be ashamed of all that you've done. You should be ashamed of who you are. And I can imagine if that man was thinking as the head of his household, he would say to the devil, you know, what you're saying is true about me.

In fact, you don't even know half the story. But I want you to know that I've got blood on our door. And God says, when I see the blood, I'll pass over you. I like the way in which Martin Luther not only taunted death, death, come over here and get me.

Tell me what you can do. The worst you can do is to kill me and let me be with Jesus. That's not too bad. But he also used to taunt the devil. It is said that one day, perhaps in a vision, the devil came to Martin Luther and said, Luther, here is a list of your sins. And Luther said, oh, devil, your list is far too short. There are so many that you have omitted.

Do you want me to help you? I'll give you some that you didn't even know about. Show me all of my sins. List them. If you run out of chalk, get some more.

Write them all out. And then underneath, Luther wrote, the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son cleanses us from all sin. It's the blood. It's the blood. Then I can imagine there in Israel that on the Israeli side of the ledger that there was a family that said, you know, we find all of this nauseous, I mean, we we find it to be repulsive. You know, this idea of blood. Smells bad.

You have to kill a lamb. I mean, how mean can you get? And we just don't like this at all.

This offends our sensitive sensibilities. What we think Jehovah is interested in is our works, our rituals. We're good people. I'm a good person, so Jehovah should accept me and exempt me from the judgment.

And so what this family does is they take a piece of parchment and they write out all of the good things that they've done and they tack it to the door and say, surely Jehovah is going to be pleased with that. Why wouldn't he be? Isn't he fair? Aren't we better than others? In the morning, they wake up and go to the bedroom and their older son, oldest, is dead because God says, when I see the blood, I'll pass over you. Some of you may be listening to this message.

Maybe I've offended your sensibilities. There is a form of Christianity in America today that says the whole idea of blood is offensive. Some liberal theologians have said that it is a slaughterhouse religion that we want nothing to do with. Well, the Bible says that we've not been redeemed with corruptible things such as silver and gold, but with a precious blood of Christ. And that's why here we preach the blood of Christ. Because God says, when you have blood on your door, I will pass over you. So the first lesson is that the blood separated those who were saved from those who were judged. And secondly, we apply the blood by faith.

We apply it by faith. You may be here at the Moody Church for the first time and say, well, okay, I want blood applied to my heart. Where's the blood? Show me the blood. Do you have blood in a flask somewhere here?

No, listen carefully. When Jesus died on the cross 2,000 years ago, his blood was shed. And when his blood was shed, the Father said, I will accept all those who trust him as Savior. I will accept the blood of Jesus as their means of redemption if they give up all hope of saving themselves and trust only Christ alone for their salvation. And so at the end of the day, all that you've done in your past, however ugly it is, isn't really the point.

We might wish that it was better, but that's not really the point. The point is, have you accepted the blood that was shed on Calvary as shed for you? The 1600s, Philip of Spain came to the Netherlands and in Rotterdam began a huge slaughter because the people had rebelled against him and they had this slaughter. And he asked his soldiers to go from house to house and kill everybody. And there was a family that was just cowering in grief and fear because they knew they were next. And the Father had an idea. They had some animals and he killed an animal and he took some of the blood and put it on the step and right at the door.

And when the soldiers came, they opened it and thought that the people had been slaughtered already, so they moved on. God says, when I see the blood, I'll pass over you. When I stand before God someday and he says, why should I let you into heaven? I will not say, well, Lord, you know, I did preach to some people, some of whom were listening, I hope.

I will not say that. I'll say, Father, I'm here in your presence today because I've received the blood of Christ as belonging to me in my stead. And God will say, when I see the blood, I pass over the judgment and you can be with me forever. Let us pray. Father, today we ask that you shall enable all who have never received Christ as Savior to do so.

We pray that their hearts will be open to what they have heard, regardless of their past, regardless of what has happened. Today you give them a new beginning as they receive what Jesus did for sinners. Now, if you're here today, you can pray this prayer even at this moment. Lord Jesus, I receive you as mine today. I receive the blood that you shed as belonging to my salvation. I embrace you as Savior. If you've prayed a prayer like that and you desire to know that you belong to God forever, would you raise your hand, some of you?

About four or five here and there may be others. In the balcony, as God talked to you, you want to receive Christ? Yes, I see the hand here up at front. I see others who say today, I receive Christ.

I receive that blood. Father, for those who raised their hands and for those who should have, we pray today that they may embrace the only one qualified to bring them into your presence. We ask in Jesus' name. Amen.

Amen. You know, this is Pastor Lutzer. Many years ago, I was reading about the death of a famous evangelist. It was not Billy Graham. It was a different man that perhaps many of you haven't heard about, but nonetheless, he was well known. And I was told that on his deathbed, people came by and they said, well, you know, you've written books.

You were president of a college. You've done this and you've done that. And the man was in agony and fear. And then someone said, remember, the blood of Jesus Christ is enough. And the man died in peace. When my time comes to die, I know that the blood of Jesus Christ will be enough. And that will be my only entrance into the kingdom of heaven. My friend, I believe that these messages are being a blessing to many, many thousands upon thousands of people. And perhaps they are a blessing to you. I hope that that is true. Would you like to be able to listen to them again and again and share them with your friends?

For a gift of any amount, they can be yours in a permanent time. Here's what you do. Go to RTWOffer.com. That's RTWOffer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337. When you call, remember it's because of people like you that we are able to share the gospel in more than 20 different countries in three different languages. But ask for the sermon series Getting Closer to God.

Go to RTWOffer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337. Because I believe as a result of God's holy word, there is transformation that takes place. And whenever we talk about the gospel, whenever we talk about the blood of Jesus Christ, all of us are encouraged. You can write to us at Running to Win, 1635 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60614. Today Erwin Lutzer brought some personal applications from the dramatic Passover story as he concluded Redeemed at High Cost, the fifth in a series of 12 messages about the life of Moses, a man getting closer to God. Next time, all is not well as Moses people leave Egypt. Don't miss Escaping from Tight Places. For Dr. Erwin Lutzer, this is Dave McAllister. Running to Win is sponsored by the Moody Church.