The Sanctification of the Firstborn

[0:00] Last week we finished chapter 12 and we noticed that there were some parameters set regarding who could and who could not partake of the Passover.

[0:14] And the mixed multitude that was mentioned at the end of that chapter, they were called strangers and foreigners, they were not allowed to come near. They had to stay without and specifically without the camp.

[0:28] And therefore this Passover memorial, year by year for them, they were excluded. It was off limits unless, as we studied last week, unless they were bought.

[0:41] And if they were bought and were the possession of a Jew, of a Hebrew, then that's step one. But secondly, they had to be circumcised. And the circumcision was bringing them into the covenant, the Abrahamic covenant that we read and studied back in Genesis 17.

[1:00] And the Lord made it available all the way back there with Abraham saying that if one is bought and is circumcised, then he's going to be just like somebody born at home.

[1:11] He's going to be just like one of your seed. And so if that was the case, if you've been bought with a price and you've been circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, then you can be brought nigh by the blood of Christ.

[1:24] And that's something we studied from the Pauline epistles last week, how that applies to us as believers. So let's move on from that into Exodus chapter 13. And we're still, we're still some more information, some more details, some kind of peculiar stuff is still being introduced by Moses in regards to this Passover and to the Exodus that has just taken place.

[1:50] And we've already noted the sacrifice and we've already noted the lamb and the blood that was applied. We've noted the meal and the bitter herbs and the representations. We've noted the unleavened bread and what that all was a sign and all significant of this memorial ordinance.

[2:08] So now we're going to move forward and the Lord's going to add one more element. And this is the sanctifying of the firstborn. It's an interesting thing and God implements this into this culture going forward.

[2:22] It's all the way going into the Lord Jesus Christ time. And it starts right here in Exodus chapter 13. So we're going to read the first 16 verses. But before we do that, I want to give you a little breakdown of the passage so that as we do read it, you'll see some things.

[2:39] Sometimes they'll stand out to you and it'll save you an hour that I spent breaking it down. We'll just get you the quick version of it. So the first four verses are a bit introductory. And then when it gets to verse 5, it's going to go from 5 to 10.

[2:54] There's six verses that are going to be their own portion. And then after 10, 11 to 16 is another six verses. That is another portion. And what's interesting is the structure of these two six-verse portions match very clearly.

[3:10] They're talking about two different things. But the way Moses structured them, they're almost identical in the way they're presented. And so I want to point that out. I'll show you, for instance, the first verse of the first portion, verse 5, says, It shall be when the Lord shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanites.

[3:26] And then he discusses six verses of material. And then verse 11, And it shall be when the Lord shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanites. He's obviously transitioning and going to cover something else.

[3:37] So they open the same way. Secondly, about these two portions, verse number 8, it says, Thou shalt show thy son in that day, saying, This is done because of what the Lord.

[3:50] It's a teaching to a son. Well, the second portion that begins in verse 11 goes down to verse number 14, where it says, And it shall be when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What is this that thou shalt say unto him?

[4:04] And then you're going to teach that boy why we're doing this, because of what happened back there. So both sections have a teaching element. And then they both conclude the same way.

[4:14] Notice the last of the first portion is verse number 9, where it came, It shall be a sign unto thee upon thine hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes.

[4:25] And then the last phrase of that verse is nearly identical, if not identical, to the last of verse number 16. And in verse 16, It shall be a token upon thine hand, and for frontlets between thine eyes, for by strength the hand the Lord brought us that forth out of Egypt.

[4:40] So you can see the similarities there in these two sections of six verses. I'm pointing that out to you just so as we read, it won't confuse you, and really you'll kind of get the gist a lot clearer, I believe.

[4:51] So we're going to read in verse 1 to 16. And let's begin. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Sanctify unto me all the firstborn, whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast.

[5:03] It is mine. And Moses said unto the people, Remember this day in which ye came out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, for by strength of hand the Lord brought you out of this place.

[5:14] There shall no leavened bread be eaten. This day came ye out in the month Abib. And it shall be when the Lord shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which ye swear unto thy fathers to give thee, a land flowing with milk and honey, that thou shalt keep this service in this month.

[5:35] Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, and in the seventh day shall be a feast to the Lord. Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days, and there shall be no leavened bread be seen with thee, neither shall there be leaven seen with thee in all thy quarters.

[5:49] And thou shalt show thy son in that day, saying, This is done because of that which the Lord did unto me when I came forth out of Egypt. And it shall be for a sign unto thee upon thine hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes, that the Lord's law may be in thy mouth, for with a strong hand hath the Lord brought thee out of Egypt.

[6:08] Thou shalt therefore keep this ordinance in his season from year to year. And it shall be when the Lord shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanites, as he sware unto thee and to thy fathers, and shall give it thee, that thou shalt set apart unto the Lord all that openeth the matrix, and every firstling that cometh of a beast which thou hast, the males shall be the Lord's.

[6:30] And every firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb, and if thou wilt not redeem it, then thou shalt break his neck, and all the firstborn of man among thy children shalt thou redeem.

[6:41] And it shall be when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What is this? That thou shalt say unto him, By strength of hand the Lord brought us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage. And it came to pass when Pharaoh would hardly let us go, that the Lord slew all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both of the firstborn of man and the firstborn of beast.

[6:59] Therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all that openeth the matrix, being males, but all the firstborn of my children I redeem. And it shall be for a token upon thine hand, and for frontlets between thine eyes, for by strength of hand the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt.

[7:16] So you saw the passage. Now, before we really get into this, what you did see was that those two sections, one dealt with the unleavened bread, and I think we've already covered that a few times in chapter 12 when he instituted, brought that up.

[7:30] It's kind of just rehashing some of that material we've already studied, the urgency of it and why they didn't have it leavened, didn't have time. They took off.

[7:41] Now, the second portion is really the one we're going to hone in on, because in the very beginning of the chapter, he says in verse 2, Sanctify unto me all the firstborn. And it's that second portion, verses 11 through 16, where he really then deals with that and talks about it a little bit more.

[7:59] But before we even get there, I'm going to take a little bit of time here this morning to do just a small Bible study with you. I hope to clarify some confusion and some misunderstanding about the verses we read, verses 9 and 16.

[8:14] When we covered that in verse 9, it shall be a sign unto thee upon thine hand for a memorial between thine eyes. I don't know if you were pictured in your mind some particular customs that the Jewish people have taken upon themselves to perform at Passover, and who knows, maybe even more.

[8:33] But maybe you've seen it. They have little leather pouches that contain four small rolls of certain passages, this one and a few others, that are written very tiny, and they're on those four scrolls and placed in a pouch and then mounted in, there's different fashions, but somewhere on their forehead to be placed between their eyes and another place that's wrapped on the arm down to where it's fastened to the wrist or to the back of the hand.

[9:03] And this is something that they have taken literal of this statement here, these two verses, and they do it today. And I want to clarify, I don't know if you're familiar with this or not, but from what I understand, it was never taken literal in Moses' day or going forward even through the times of the judges and through the times of the kings, but they were taken as Jews into captivity.

[9:28] And when God released them from captivity, from the time of Ezra when they came, a few came back and into Nehemiah and others came back into the land, that at that time some traditions and some things started to form that carried forth all the way into the time of Christ.

[9:44] Now flip over, keep your place in Exodus, but come to Matthew chapter 23. And I'm sure you're familiar, if you read your Bible, you've read through this verse several times.

[9:56] Maybe you saw a big word, you didn't know what it was, or if you're taught or you have a note in your Bible, then you maybe know that this is what he's referring to. In Matthew 23, and verse number 5.

[10:13] He's referring here to the scribes and Pharisees that sit in the seat of judgment, calls it Moses' seat, and he tells them what to do, or they tell Jews what to do according to the law, but he warns them about their hypocrisy.

[10:28] And in verse number 5 he says, but all their works they do for to be seen of men. They make broad their phylacteries. Now you may have a note there, I don't know, but I'll give you the note that I have in my reference Bible where it says passages of Scripture enclosed in a small case bound upon arm or forehead, and then it gives a reference back to Deuteronomy, which we will look at here in a moment if the time is looking good.

[10:58] Now Matthew's the only writer to mention this. Both Mark and Luke reference this passage, this discourse of Jesus Christ, but Matthew's the only one that uses this word and even brings it up.

[11:09] And with good reason, Matthew's a Jewish gospel and his slant's always on the Jew and the other ones there's no need to. They didn't write every single word and of course the Scripture itself couldn't even contain if they tried to.

[11:23] So going back to Exodus, come back to Exodus, Christ makes the reference to these phylacteries and this is the word, there's another word I'm not familiar with, but it's associated with this small little pouch with the Scriptures written and contained and then mounted to the body.

[11:45] Now in Exodus 13, we read these words, I want to point them out again to you, that verse 9 says, And it shall be for a sign unto thee, upon thine hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes, why?

[12:00] That the Lord's law may be in thy mouth. Now, the first passage that I've apportioned, I kind of pointed out to you, 5 through 10, is about unleavened bread.

[12:14] And he discusses this unleavened bread and he says that you're going to show your sign, or you're going to show your son that this was done because of what the Lord did, bringing us out.

[12:25] And then he says in verse 9, And this shall be a sign unto thee. And it's going to be a memorial. Now look at verse 16, those two words, sign and memorial, are replaced with two other words in a very similar structured manner.

[12:41] Verse 16 says, It shall be for a token upon thine hand, and for frontlets between thine eyes. Now frontlets is commonly thought of as some kind of jewelry.

[12:53] What I automatically think of or picture is some Indian woman with the jewels kind of going across her forehead and across, and there's something big there in the middle, a big gem. That's a frontlet, and it's not just Indian culture, but many cultures, older cultures specifically, that would deck their bodies or their foreheads with jewels.

[13:14] And the thought there being that, oh, this is something that's going to be front and center, visible and obvious. Now, he uses the word sign in verse 9, replaces it with the word token.

[13:27] He uses the word memorial in verse 9, as he has back in chapter 12. I might read chapter 12, verse 14, This day shall be unto you for a memorial.

[13:38] And that's the Passover that they're going to have for their generations, forever, a feast by an ordinance forever. And so this whole Passover and all the circumstances and things surrounding it were all for a memorial.

[13:51] All of these elements were for signs, whether it be the unleavened bread or the bitter herbs, or even this new thing about sanctifying the firstborn. All of it was an ordinance to be a memorial, remembering what took place back in Egypt.

[14:07] Never was this thought of, of when he uses the word thine hand in verse 9 and 16, or between thine eyes, supposed to be a literal thing where they would write verses of scripture down in pouches and roll them up and then put them upon their body.

[14:24] It's never been understood as literal or to be. Now, I'll give you the scripture real quick, if you can be quick. Go to Deuteronomy 6.

[14:37] I don't want to get buried into this and never be able to get out of it because I want to preach about the firstborn, but just wanted to do this Bible study to clear it up while you read through your Bible or while you see images from time to time of religious acts.

[14:50] I want you to know what it is and what it's supposed to be. So, Deuteronomy 6 and verses 4 through 9. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord, and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might.

[15:06] And these words which I command thee this day shall be in thine heart. So, are you going to open up your chest and write them down on a roll and roll them up and stick them inside of your heart?

[15:18] Is it literal? They shall be in thine heart. Verse 7, Thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house and when thou walkest by the way and when thou liest down and when thou risest up.

[15:30] And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand and they shall be as frontlets as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the post of thy house and of thy gates.

[15:44] I want you to notice the only time he says write is upon the post or upon the gates. But he uses the word bind when it has to do with a sign upon thine hand or the eyes.

[15:56] Now, one more passage is chapter 11 of Deuteronomy. This is the last time it shows up and this is the other portion, I believe, that's written down and rolled up. Deuteronomy 11 and verse 18 through 20.

[16:13] Therefore, shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul and bind them for a sign upon your hand that they may be as frontlets between your eyes.

[16:25] So there's four times that thought of the hand and the eyes came up. And ye shall teach them your children speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house and when thou walkest by the way and when thou liest down and when thou risest up and thou shalt write them upon the doorposts of thine house and upon thy gates.

[16:42] So again, the word writing is associated with not little pouches attached to your body. It does use the word bind. So now let's study the Bible for just a quick minute.

[16:55] Come to Proverbs. This is the only place we're going to go is the Proverbs and catch a few verses in the Proverbs. Solomon, in all his wisdom, let's find out what he had to say in some very similar language.

[17:09] Proverbs chapter 3. We're asking the question, are the Jews, are Hebrews supposed to literally write the scriptures down? Doesn't say that ever.

[17:20] Are they supposed to place it inside a little pouch? Doesn't say that ever. And then are they supposed to bind them? What does say that word? Upon their hand or upon their forehead or between their eyes?

[17:35] All right. Proverbs chapter 3. Let's begin in verse number 1. My son, forget not my law. How are we going to remember it? But let thy heart keep my commandments for length of days and long life and peace shall they add to thee.

[17:50] Let not mercy and truth forsake thee. Bind them about thy neck. Write them. Where? Upon the table of thine heart.

[18:03] So shalt thou find favor and good understanding in the sight of God and man. Is that literal? Or is that pretty well understood to be spiritually applied to not forget the word of God to write them upon the table of your heart?

[18:20] How would you do that? You do that by meditating on it and by memorizing it and hiding it in your heart. Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee.

[18:34] It's not a literal statement and it never has been. Look at chapter 3 and verse 21. My son, let not them depart from thine eyes.

[18:45] Keep sound wisdom and discretion so shall they be life unto thy soul and grace to thy neck. Now if we're going to take it literal he's told in verse 3 bind something on your neck and then it's going to be grace to your neck.

[19:03] Now are you starting to see how this is misconstrued by religions and how men think if I put on my body some amulet or some physical thing that now I'll have power or that I'll have pleasure to God or that it is righteousness to me if I wear a cross or get a tattoo of a cross on my body.

[19:28] If I wear little cross earrings now I'm going to be pleasing to God or something. You can see how religion has just, I'll give you a quote in a minute from a theologian it's really accurate about how religion just dives into doing things like this.

[19:44] Look at chapter 6 of Proverbs and verse 20 through 23 and tell me if this is literal. Verse 20 My son keep thy father's commandment and forsake not the law of thy mother bind them continually upon thine heart and tie them about thy neck when thou goest it shall lead thee when thou sleepest it shall keep thee going to keep you safe if you tie something around your neck really and when thou awakest it shall talk with thee for the commandment is a lamp and the law is light and reproofs of instruction are the way of life.

[20:27] So is the word of God a headlight literally that if I'll attach it to my forehead it'll shine like I can push the button put a few batteries in it put a few scrolls in it and it'll turn no it's all spiritual material you understand that it's all figurative or metaphorical and so it's foolish of anybody these Jews specifically to take that literal and to pretend that this is what God has called us to do is to write these things down to bind them upon our bodies it's never been was never the intention and it's incorrect now here's what I want to say about the commentator you can come back to Exodus one commentator said that a command so wide and so profound was supposed to be kept by fastening little boxes with four slips of parchment containing extracts from the pentateuch on arm and forehead is very characteristic of the universal tendency to harden and lower religion into outward rights what does that mean it means it's very very common for man to emphasize outward rituals and outward deeds and religious religions all of them they universally emphasize do something and have something and put the beads on your rear view mirror and have a cross hanging there or have this saint in your front yard they all do this they push some kind of right or some religious something literal that is never meant to be literal for the purpose of what of just making themselves feel better of really what it is is instead of having the spiritual application to the heart to where the word of God will change a heart they'll just do an outward deed and call it good let me just put that little statue up and now we're protected no you'd better have a relationship with God to where you can call on him and he hears your voice then you can have trust and be at peace that you're good you get that from the word of God by the way you don't get that from religion or traditions religions don't push an inward change of heart they don't push obedience or submission to Jesus

[22:48] Christ just do good works just wear something just show something and so there's the truth about this thing back here with these thoughts of something being on your hand or between your eyes now let's get back to the major detail that is the memorial that showed up back here something that was to remind them of that night that they left Egypt we already studied the unleavened bread so this time it's the sanctifying of the firstborn that we're going to study this morning and I want to show you its role in your life in New Testament salvation and how it applies Paul uses the term sanctification all the time he refers to it to the body of Christ being sanctified he refers to it to individuals lives being sanctified he refers to food being sanctified by the word of God and prayer and so it's a word that he's picked up from the Old Testament and is applied to New Testament believers and so let's do the same thing here so number one come back to Exodus 13 and start in verse number two the first thing I want to say is that sanctification is a separation in verse number two it says sanctify unto me all the firstborn whatsoever openeth the womb now your

[24:08] King James Bible is capable of teaching itself always so come down to verse 12 and here's a better definition if you're confused thou shalt set apart unto the Lord all that openeth the matrix a reference to the firstborn whether man or beast so to sanctify is verse 12 to set apart the womb and the matrix are used interchangeably as well and your Bible already conditioned your mind to know what the matrix was if you didn't know the word how it's used it already conditioned your mind to understand it in verse two when it said the womb now verse number two and twelve give us the idea that sanctification is a separation again let's see here well I'll skip the reading of it but I want you to consider the word has kind of maybe maybe I'd call it two elements to the word not only when you sanctify something in verse two unto me you're setting apart unto me it's being set apart from something and to something it's not bit here we've got two sides to this and the

[25:24] Lord says you're going to sanctify and be set apart from others in this case it might be just considered from the rest of the family the firstborn now is going to be set apart unto the Lord you're set apart from the rest of the family even the rest of the children of Israel for that matter and you're set apart to the Lord unto me at the end of verse number two both of man and of beast it is mine the Lord's claiming possession of the firstborn so being sanctified is being separated unto the Lord in verse number 12 it's being set apart unto the Lord and at the end of that the males shall be the Lord's so being set apart from something and set apart to something if you needed this illustrated I thought back years back when somebody would use the term make sure you wear your Sunday best when you're going to the church house and the Sunday best was clothes that were set apart they weren't to be worn throughout the week when you went to work you didn't wear them when you went to play but they were set apart from the rest of the week and from the rest of the clothes and activities but they were set apart unto something so that you could show up to the church house looking the best you've looked all week not for everybody else not for the preacher but for the

[26:44] Lord and that that building was called a sanctuary because the building was to be set apart from other activities and set apart for the Lord service and for his worship and so you can get the idea this idea this sanctification is a separation now turn to numbers chapter three and I want to show you there's something about this being set apart unto the Lord that there's another element in the word that has to do with a cleansing I think of Ephesians 5 where the bride of Christ is said to be sanctified and cleansed by the washing of there's a cleansing element here or a making clean and pure and holy and the term you're going to see is hallowed look at numbers chapter three and verse thirteen because all the firstborn are mine for on the day that

[27:45] I smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I hallowed unto me all the firstborn in Israel both man and beast mine shall they be so he doesn't say that in Exodus thirteen when he tells them to sanctify but understand in that word is that idea when you're being set apart unto the Lord remember when they built the tabernacle and all the instruments of service and all of the garments for the priest to wear these were all holy unto the Lord even one of the things written across was holiness unto the Lord they were not to be worn outside of the temple they were not to ever be used outside of the tabernacle they were specifically consecrated and holy and sanctified for the use inside that place that sanctuary look at Numbers chapter eight one more time here it said that we read that I hallowed unto me all the firstborn now Numbers chapter eight and verse seventeen for all the firstborn of the children of

[28:52] Israel are mine both man and beast on the day that I smote every firstborn in the land of Egypt I sanctified them for myself who did the sanctifying the Lord did the Lord hallowed them for himself now not sure when I'm going to catch that verse a little bit later maybe where Luke quotes that and uses the word holy every male shall be holy unto the Lord so the Lord does this sanctifying it's a separation it is something that's to be unto him so now we're a little more familiar with the word and what it entails later on and kind of those parts that we're reading in numbers is where the Lord takes the tribe of Levi and so he steps away from just picking every single firstborn and he decides I'm going to take Levi and the entire tribe and they're going to be set apart they're going to be sanctified unto me and so he kind of shifts but let's make a little application a little thought here how this applies to us today if you keep your place in

[29:59] Exodus I'm going to keep you moving in the Bible and go to 2 Corinthians where Paul puts something on the church that ties right into this thought of being separated unto the Lord and holy unto the Lord look at 2 Corinthians chapter number 6 I think sometimes this passage gets abused I think sometimes it gets overemphasized by certain circles of believers but nevertheless it's the word of God and a command a command that is commonly overlooked and despised among carnal believers verse number 14 2 Corinthians 6 14 follow in this passage be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers now that's the command now he's going to give reasons why and several of them to explain this reason one for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness the answer there's no fellowship they don't belong together what communion hath light with darkness none they're absolutely different they repel each other verse 15 and what concord hath

[31:23] Christ with Belial a term for the devil or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel that's an unbeliever or what agreement hath the temple of God with idols for ye are the temple of the living God as God hath said I'll dwell in them and walk in with them or walk in them and I will be their God and they shall be my people and here's the statement verse 17 wherefore come out from among them and be ye separate saith the Lord and touch not the unclean thing and I will receive you and will be a father unto you you shall be sons and daughters saith the Lord Almighty one more verse having therefore these promises dearly beloved let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit perfecting holiness in the fear of God there's a sanctification that we're called to that we're expected to show as the children of

[32:23] God as children that have been bought with a price the price of the Lord Jesus Christ and the calling is to be separate from the world to be separate from unrighteousness and to be separate from unbelievers and to be separate from darkness he says in Ephesians 5 have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness and so sanctification is a separation he tells believers to come out from among them just as God brought his children out of every other nation and gave him his holy laws and his statutes and judgments and precepts so the apostle Paul takes that concept and puts it on us as born again bought believers and says you need to come out from among them and be separate too you don't have any fellowship with their unfruitful works or with their darkness or unbelievers so sanctification is a separation let me ask you a yourself you are not obeying what you are called to be you are called to be sanctified to be cleansed and to be set apart from them and their works

[34:07] I wonder if you could make a list of the things that God has changed in your heart and therefore then in your life since you have been born again don't give me the list of things that you did before you were born again and act like that was you cleaning up we'll get to that in a second like literally a second here but is there anything changed in your life since you've been saved now the reason I put it that way is because let's come back to Exodus 13 and let me say secondly that sanctification follows salvation it follows salvation first of all it is a separation it is a separation that follows salvation look at verses 14 and 15 in Exodus 13 and this is the portion that second portion where he's dealing with the first born and being set apart verse 14 and it shall be when thy son asketh thee in time to come saying what is this thou shalt say unto him by strength of hand the

[35:10] Lord brought us out from Egypt and from the house of bondage and it came to pass when Pharaoh would hardly let us go that the Lord slew all the firstborn of the land of Egypt both the firstborn of man and firstborn beast therefore I sacrifice to the Lord therefore because of the fact that God delivered me from Egypt because he slew the firstborn there therefore I sacrifice to the Lord everything that openeth the matrix being males sanctification follows salvation these firstborn had already been redeemed by blood they've already had the lamb of the Passover lamb and it's been applied and many many many many others people they knew died that night back there in Egypt never made it out but these were passed over and now after such deliverance God calls for a separation after the deliverance God calls for them to be set apart unto the Lord he says hey you're mine now in verse 2 it is mine

[36:17] God claims it to be his property sanctification follows salvation what the Lord redeemed that night and what he delivered that night from bondage and what he gave new life and new opportunity and new liberties to that they've never known before he considers his own and now he expects them to be separated and to be given over unto him amen sanctification follows salvation if the order is reversed it doesn't work the order is never reversed man does not separate himself unto God he does not begin to live a devoted and clean life he doesn't prove to the Lord how much he wants to be pleasing to God he must first come to Jesus Christ and receive forgiveness of his sins and be washed in the blood of the Passover our Passover Jesus Christ and then be set apart unto

[37:19] God God doesn't save a man that gets sanctified he sanctifies a man that gets saved that's what the nuns are trying to do today that's what the monks are trying to do isolating themselves from society that's what the Amish are trying to do all over this place is to isolate themselves separate themselves live a different lifestyle and clean enough that maybe God will be happy with them and we can enter into the grace of God one day and they're dead wrong they're working for salvation that they can never earn they're trying to sanctify themselves and they can never get sanctified they need the Lord Jesus Christ to do that and that of man both Paul and Peter use the term sanctification of the spirit because it is God's spirit that separates you from the body of the sins of the flesh and it is God's spirit that baptizes you into the

[38:20] Lord Jesus Christ in 1st Corinthians chapter 1 the Bible says he Jesus Christ is made unto us sanctification now for time's sake I'll just fast forward through this part here but it caught me this week in studying this out that the Holy Ghost when he referred to the Lord Jesus Christ before he was ever even born in Matthew chapter 1 or rather he said he called his name Jesus he saved his people from their sins and he makes a statement in closing out chapter 1 he says speaking of Joseph that he knew her not until she brought first her first born son and I know we get excited about that statement her first born son see that's proof that she was not a perpetual virgin like all these other religions declare and they exalt Mary no she just that was her first born son there was others but we might even be missing something and getting excited about that that the Holy Ghost called Jesus first born it uses it right there her first born the future but

[39:26] Jesus was identified as the first born and in Luke chapter 2 8 days after he was born Mary and Joseph took him to the temple why because he needed to be circumcised and all things according to the manner of the law of Moses had to be fulfilled and one of the things it says in parenthesis in Luke chapter 2 because all the males are called holy unto he was made sanctification for us he fulfilled that role for us and the Lord Jesus Christ then was also made redemption for us as he was wounded for our transgressions but that's a whole other thought now if man comes to Jesus Christ as a helpless sinner even the best of men even your mother even your grandmother even the best person you know on the face of this earth if they come to Jesus Christ as a sinner seeking a cleansing

[40:29] God will cleanse and sanctify in Christ Jesus but if they don't come to Jesus Christ there is no sanctification none sanctification follows salvation it must be in that order and the last thing I want us to look at here in chapter 13 is that sanctification is a sign it was the word that was used in verse 9 and now it's referred again in verse 16 it shall be for a token upon thine hand and for frontlets between thine eyes and the thought here is it was a memorial mentioned in verse number 9 as well sanctification is a sign it speaks about a past event the sanctification of the firstborn does that is it tells a story the story was described in verse 14 and 15 when he asked you what is this you are going to tell him that Pharaoh wouldn't let us go but the Lord smote all the firstborn and because he did that the firstborn man and beast that's why

[41:30] I sacrifice to the Lord all that open of the matrix being males but the firstborn of my children I redeem it's a sign it points back to the Passover and to the Exodus it's just a reminder of what transpired on that horrible night when they left it all ties together back in chapter 12 look at Exodus 12 it's in verse 29 where this was executed in verse 29 it came to pass that at midnight the Lord smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon and all the firstborn of cattle so both firstborn of man and beast died in Egypt now if you're a man if you're a human being you have to be redeemed with money and he mentions that in verse 15 he says at the end but all the firstborn of my children

[42:37] I redeem and he redeems them with money and you could look at numbers chapter 18 if you need to look that up the verses are 15 clean beasts as far as animals go there's clean and unclean beasts all of them have their firstborn the clean beasts were sacrificed to the Lord the unclean they weren't permitted that's not acceptable to God he won't let you sacrifice that so in order to resolve this it said about an ass in verse 13 the first thing of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb that is a clean because the firstborn dies or it's going to have to be redeemed now sanctification is a sign and this is so true Christian how it applies to you in your life today is you're called to be separated unto

[43:38] God you're called to live a sanctified life and it's for a sign a sign that's going to tell a wonderful story of how God one day redeemed your wretched soul out of the sin that you were in and that God in his mercy applied the blood to your account and no longer do you live in fear and no longer do you worry where you're going to go when you die but you have this peace and this joy that comes out of you that nobody else seems to understand because you can live sanctified because you have some assurance and some security is supposed to tell a story shame on us when our lives look just like the world that God saved us from we're not telling a story if we're telling a story we're saying I don't care or I don't love them that much to be different or I don't care if you go to hell

[44:39] I'll just let you go to hell because I won't show you what God did for me that's a few things that you might be telling but this sanctification causes us to remember that one day we were in Egypt and a lot of people never made it out of Egypt but I did I got delivered by the grace of God and now I belong to God and you know why we separate ourselves from worldly practices is because we're set apart unto the Lord we've been sanctified unto him we belong to him and our lives are for his service so lose your place in Exodus we're finished there and go back to the T's to the New Testament there's a little pocket of books that all start with T first and second Thessalonians first and second Timothy and then I want you to be in Titus find Titus chapter two and

[45:40] I'm going to just hop through these little pocket of books here for a moment and put a few verses of scripture on this and then we'll close that sanctification is a sign it is to tell a story I'm in Titus chapter two and let's read verses eleven through fourteen for the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lust we should live soberly righteously and godly in this present world looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our savior Jesus Christ who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify unto himself a peculiar people zealous of good works in the old testament he said he's sanctify unto himself hallowed unto himself here he wants to redeem us from all iniquity purify unto himself the peculiar people zealous of good works it's the good works what's the verse

[47:02] I just had it I lost it let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works supposed to be displayed that's outward that's you having a story to tell with your life I'm a peculiar person now not the same man I used to be the iniquity that I was in I'm now living soberly I'm living righteously I'm living godly by the power of the holy spirit inside of me a sanctified life is supposed to tell a story of the grace of god flip back now to first the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the further more then we beseech you brethren and exhort you by the lord jesus that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please god so ye would abound more and more for ye know what commandments we gave you by the lord jesus for this is the will of god even your sanctification that ye should abstain from fornication that every one of you should know how do you know how should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honor not in the lust of concupiscence that's having desires for things that are forbidden even as the gentiles which know not god that no man go beyond to defraud his brother any matter because that the lord is the avenger of all such as we also have forewarned you and testified and finally verse seven for god hath not called us unto uncleanness but unto holiness holy unto the lord sanctification possessing your vessel the one that's been bought with a price the one that you're supposed to glorify god in possessing it in sanctification and honor the lost gentiles they live a lifestyle and their lifestyle is nothing like this one and so god washes you and sets you apart unto himself to be his own personal property his own child gives you infuses into you eternal life and puts upon you his righteousness for eternity and justifies you from all of that past guilt and sin and ugliness redeems you from all iniquity and purifies you he makes you like unto his own son and now he tells you you were sometimes darkness but now are you light in the

[50:18] Lord walk his children of light walk in wisdom toward them that are without your sanctified life is supposed to tell a story supposed to preach it doesn't have to be your mouth it can be your hands it can be your feet can be your dress can be your countenance it can be your reactions your spirit can be your care and your comfort and your love it can be your faith it can be your joy all of it preaches to the lost world of a changed life the change that God made in you if you submit to him it will be undeniable evidence that number one there is a God number two he has made a great change in me and number three you lost world need to come to know that same

[51:26] Christ that has saved me and sanctified me cleaned me up and given me something to live for and made a great change sinners in your life can come to know the same Jesus Christ come to experience the same forgiveness come to come to find what that peace feels like that you have when you lay down at night and they can come to feel the joy of serving Jesus Christ and the peace and the hope that we have in the Lord Jesus Christ that this world is not our home and that no matter how ugly it gets it's going to get better and they don't have that hope I spoke with a guy just just a few days ago and he made a comment he said to me something about kind of mocked him lightly just was like are you kidding do you hear yourself you think this is going to get better and just went at him a little bit just to kind of shock him to make him think what he's saying because he's kind of in this fairy tale like it could get better dude no it's not look at it and we got to talk just for a few minutes and it didn't go too far he saw where it was going and he bailed pretty quickly on the conversation but there is hope we have in

[52:49] Jesus Christ so that should be a sign you should carry that with you a sanctified life the sanctification of the first born all tying into this Passover into this Exodus and a part of this ordinance and memorial it shows us a separation it shows us that it follows salvation and thirdly it shows us that it's a sign that tells a story of something wonderful that happened for the Jew for the firstborn that would have been slain that night and I think you see the application that you too have a story to tell by the way you live your life God called you to holiness he's called you to make some changes he's called you to live clean and so I'm going to close by asking you that same question I asked you a little bit ago what has changed in your life since you've taken Jesus Christ as your savior what has gone what have you let go of that was wrong what have you moved on from that was holding you back what decisions have you made for the sake of

[53:55] Jesus Christ a few things could you glory in the Lord Jesus Christ because there's been so many things he's done for you and you've responded or does your life just look pretty close to what it did the day you trusted him you're not living set apart you're not living sanctified let's bow our heads and with nobody looking around I want to want you to take a moment this morning I want you to analyze something God has saved you and in doing so he said you're mine you belong to me and I know that's comforting to know that you're a child of God and that you have eternal life and that you have heaven but that's what you get out of it my question is what is he getting out of you what is he getting out of you are you set apart from anything because you love the

[55:12] Lord thy God with all thine heart we need to be reminded much like the Jews needed to be reminded we need to remember what he got us out of and what he saved us from and we need to view it just the way he views it maybe some of you need to see that Egypt is still full of affliction and oppression and hard bondage there's nothing beautiful about it maybe you need to fall in love with Jesus Christ again get your heart back with him where decisions you make are for him alone with him in mind first will it please him because I belong to him and he paid a great price for me father this message here applies to every single one of us that saved

[56:15] I want to say thank you first of all for the salvation in Jesus Christ for the free gift of eternal life the righteousness applied to our sinful accounts thank you for that thank you for redeeming us from all iniquity big but lord now please reveal to you us in our minds where we're not separated unto you what we're holding on to what we should let go of what we should turn over to you and lay at the foot of the cross and take up our cross and follow you wholly unto the lord Father please minister these words and these doctrines to our hearts and press them upon our minds that we might leave here stronger more convicted more convinced to live for you help our lives to be a testimony of the wonderful grace of God and the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ give us courage we pray give us strength may something happen from this morning that would glorify Jesus Christ in the lives of his children we ask this in his wonderful name

[57:54] Amen Amen let's stand together we'll sing that song you're playing John Terima等等 anyway again hear it listen up to you love the wildlife because it两 응 so on in theiment to be a ange maison and like the caminho and like you're there to live in and love it out in the Anda itいたい yeah it's all very strange we're able toaccätzen us to see you and say you're there to exist and don't notice we're able to address this now to your heart Roberts and that's our list and not thindys we're really going to be alone and we're not going to be to theytoday we're in the moment of this we're looking to be it's not putting on to the stage