Remembering Redemption

[0:01] Well, good morning, church. Would you turn with me to Exodus chapter 13 this morning? That's page 55 in the Pew Bible. We're going to pick up our series in Exodus with Exodus chapter 13.

[0:17] Let's begin by reading verses 3 through 10 of chapter 13.

[0:32] I'll read these for us. Verses 3 through 10, chapter 13. Then Moses said to the people, Remember this day in which you came out from Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

[0:49] For by a strong hand the Lord brought you out from this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten. Today, in the month of Abib, you are going out.

[1:01] And when the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, you shall keep this service in this month.

[1:15] Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the Lord. Unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days. No leavened bread shall be seen with you, and no leaven shall be seen with you in all your territory.

[1:31] You shall tell your son on that day, it is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt. And it shall be to you as a sign on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes that the law of the Lord may be in your mouth.

[1:46] For with a strong hand the Lord brought you out of Egypt. You shall therefore keep this statute at its appointed time from year to year.

[1:57] Well, I wonder if you would consider yourself a forgetful person.

[2:10] Of course, sometimes forgetfulness can be funny. Like the man who had a leaking pipe under his sink and put a bucket under there to start collecting the water.

[2:22] And then when the bucket started to get full, decided to empty out the bucket into the same sink. Like, don't. Sometimes forgetfulness can be a bit embarrassing, like when someone asks you the date of your anniversary and suddenly your mind goes completely blank.

[2:41] That's never happened to me. Not once. Promise. But other times forgetfulness can be a bit more serious, can't it? You forget that this is actually a one-way street and here I am driving the wrong way.

[2:58] Or you forget to turn off the stove after cooking breakfast. Or you forget about the big phone call with a client. Sometimes forgetfulness can be pretty serious, pretty costly.

[3:10] And there are times when even forgetfulness can be devastating. For example, when an aging parent or an aging spouse begins to slide into dementia, forgetting the faces of even their closest loved ones.

[3:31] Forgetfulness. Forgetfulness. Now, we might not realize it at first, but forgetfulness is actually one of the greatest dangers that we face spiritually.

[3:44] You know, for most of us, it won't be a massive theological heresy or false teaching that undermines our relationship with God and with one another.

[3:57] For most of us, it won't be some sort of big overt temptation to immorality that shipwrecks our faith. No, actually, the much more pervasive and greater and widespread danger is forgetfulness.

[4:09] We forget who we really are and we forget what God has done and we forget the story that we're really a part of.

[4:23] In our passage that we had read earlier in the service that Suzanne read for us from 2 Peter, did you catch why Peter said our growth in grace tends to break down as he lists all those qualities with which the life of Christ begins to work itself out within us?

[4:40] What is it that makes us ineffectual and unfruitful in our knowledge of our Lord Jesus? In verse 9 of that passage, Peter said, it's because you've forgotten.

[4:54] It's because you've forgotten and you need to remember. And that's what this section of Exodus that we just read is all about. It's about the vital importance of remembering.

[5:08] Remember this day, Moses says to the Israelites. Remember. And as we think about this passage this morning, Exodus 12 and 13, I want us to think about three things.

[5:23] What to remember, how to remember, and lastly, why to remember. Why it's so important that we remember. So why don't we think first about what we need to remember.

[5:36] Now, at this point, in the story of Exodus, the Israelites had just witnessed God perform perhaps the most significant redemptive event in the entire Old Testament.

[5:49] The tenth plague has just fallen on the Egyptian firstborn sons. The blood of the Passover lamb has kept the Israelites safe. Pharaoh's obstinance against the Lord has finally been broken.

[6:01] He releases the people from slavery and they have now left Egypt once and for all. At last, after 400 years of slavery, the people are free.

[6:12] God has saved them. He's redeemed them. He's liberated them. They're no longer slaves of Pharaoh. They belong to the Lord now and they are free. That's where we're at in the story of Exodus.

[6:24] And now, Moses says to the Israelites, as they're going out, remember this day. But here's the surprising thing about what happens in Exodus 12 and 13.

[6:39] This command to remember doesn't just come after their redemption. This command to remember becomes before their redemption as well. If you glance back at Exodus chapter 12, God doesn't just tell Moses what's going to happen on the night of the last plague.

[6:56] And God doesn't just tell Moses how the Israelites are going to be kept safe from the plague through the sacrifice of a lamb. That's sort of the verse, that's the first sort of 13 verses of chapter 12. God even tells Moses how they're going to remember this event throughout their generations.

[7:11] Before the event of the Passover in Egypt even happens, before the redemption even occurs, God tells Moses, here's how you're going to remember this forever. And you see that in verses 14 through 20 of chapter 12 as he describes the feast of unleavened bread.

[7:27] And you see it again in verses 24 through 27 of chapter 12 as he talks about the Passover, celebrating the Passover year after year after year. God doesn't just say, here's what I'm going to do to rescue you, but also, here's how I want you to remember it.

[7:43] Now that seems a little strange at first, doesn't it? God tells them to remember something and how to remember it before he even does it. You know, it's sort of like we're going on family vacation and we spend the whole time on the drive thinking, here's how you're going to remember this family vacation.

[7:58] I want you to take pictures. I want you to put together a slideshow. I want you to play it at every reunion. This is how we're going to remember this great, awesome vacation that we're about to take. That seems really strange. All my kids would be like, dad, knock it off.

[8:10] We're just trying to watch our iPads. But God does that. He says, this is how you're going to remember this thing that I'm going to do. But you know, as strange as that feels to us, the same thing would happen 1,500 years after the Exodus.

[8:34] During a small Passover celebration in the upper room in Jerusalem, that same thing would happen again. The Lord Jesus would say to his disciples, here's how I'm going to rescue the whole world.

[8:49] And here's how I want you to remember it. What was Jesus doing on that night with his disciples when he took the Passover elements in his hands and told them to eat and drink?

[9:06] You see, for hundreds of years, Israel had remembered again and again how God liberated them from slavery. Passover was the liberation, celebration of Israel, that they were God's freed people.

[9:20] Again and again, they remembered how God had liberated them from slavery and had saved them through the blood of a lamb. And now, Jesus was telling his disciples that it had all been about him.

[9:36] that he was the true lamb who would die, that his blood would set us free and set us free from the greatest slavery of all, our slavery to sin and death and judgment.

[9:55] And what that means is this. You see, before the cross and the resurrection of Jesus, Israel looked back to the Passover from Egypt and remember how God had set them free.

[10:06] But now, for us, living on this side of the cross and resurrection of Jesus, we look back to the even greater Passover and remember how God set us free from sin and death.

[10:20] So what then do we need to remember? What do we need to remember? If we understand Exodus 12 and 13 in the sweep of the whole Bible, if we see it in light of the whole story, then we remember the Passover best by remembering the cross.

[10:38] How do we keep the Passover feast today? We look back to the cross. But here's also what we see. We remember the cross best when we remember it through the lens of the Passover.

[10:56] Now, what do I mean by that? Well, it's actually very easy to view the cross with the wrong lens. All historians agree that around 30 AD, a young Jewish teacher from Galilee named Jesus was crucified by the Romans outside of Jerusalem.

[11:13] Pretty uncontested event. But what lens do you use to see that event? Was he just a martyr dying for a good cause?

[11:27] Was he a political revolutionary meeting his demise? But how did Jesus himself see his impending death? What lens did he use?

[11:40] It was the Passover lens. That his death is what would allow the just judgment of God to pass over his people and keep them safe.

[11:53] and as a result, set them free from slavery. In Egypt, the lamb died so that the firstborn didn't have to.

[12:05] And at the cross, Jesus died the death we deserve so that we don't have to. And he rose again as Lord and King to grant freedom to everyone who trusts in him.

[12:16] This is what we remember when we remember the cross and in doing so, remember the great Passover. So, Moses tells Israel to remember this day and that call to remember goes straight through the Old Testament into the new culminating in Jesus' death and resurrection.

[12:38] salvation. So, today, throughout all of our lives, this is what we need to remember. But second, how are we meant to remember this?

[12:51] How do we go about doing it? And God gives Israel very specific instructions about how they're to remember the Passover. They're not just going to do it in any old way. You know, go out into a field and write a poem if you feel like it.

[13:05] No, that's not what God says. They're very specific instructions. For Old Testament Israel, they were supposed to remember God's rescue from Egypt with three interrelated things. First was the annual Passover celebration.

[13:16] Second was the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And third, the ongoing consecration of the firstborn. Now, the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread always went together. On the 14th day of the first month of the year, all the Israelite homes would have a Passover meal and they would retell the story of how God redeemed them from slavery.

[13:36] Generation after generation after generation. And then, for seven days following that, they wouldn't eat anything with leaven in it. In fact, they would get rid of all the leaven in their homes and eat only unleavened bread.

[13:48] And in the passage we read to start our sermon, God says, I want you to get rid of all the leaven in your whole land. Get rid of all of it. And then, at the end of that week, they'd have a feast to the Lord.

[14:00] That's how they were supposed to remember the Passover. That's how they were supposed to remember the redemption. celebration. And in addition to that annual week-long celebration, the Israelites were also meant to consecrate to the Lord on an ongoing basis any firstborn male.

[14:17] Now, that's the rest of chapter 13, verses 11 through 16. We didn't read that to start, but you can just sort of scan your eyes down through there. The firstborn male animals, God says, I want you to sacrifice those to me.

[14:30] And the firstborn male children would be redeemed. That is, the parents would offer a set amount of money to the priest as a gift and offering on behalf of their firstborn sons.

[14:42] And one sort of minor exception to those general rules was that animals that weren't typically used for sacrifice, like donkeys, well, those could be redeemed as well. And the point of all those practices was so that the people could remember again and again what God had done, how he had spared their firstborn in Egypt and rescued them from slavery would have been a very powerful reminder if every time you had a firstborn male in your land, you were doing something related to God, whether it was bringing an offering to the priests or whether it was bringing a sacrifice to the Lord.

[15:16] But I want to make three observations about these Old Testament practices that apply to how we are meant to remember our redemption today. You know, obviously living this side of the cross and resurrection, we don't do those things anymore, but there are still some patterns there that are helpful for us.

[15:34] And the three observations are this, that these acts of remembrance are perpetual and they're tangible and they're verbal. Where do we see that? Well, first, this remembrance is meant to be perpetual.

[15:46] And you actually see that throughout, right? Every single year without fail, Israel was supposed to celebrate the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread again and again and again and again. They repeated it over and over and over again.

[16:01] Now, we, of course, live in a very entertainment-saturated age, don't we? We don't like things being the same. We value variety and change.

[16:18] But when it comes to remembering our redemption, it's supposed to be perpetual. We're supposed to do it over and over and over again.

[16:29] And you see this in the New Testament when it comes to the Lord's Supper. The church didn't just do it annually like the Old Testament Passover. They did it regularly. In many cases, they probably did it weekly every single time they met.

[16:43] Now, as Protestants, we can be very wary of repetition, can't we? We are afraid that something will become rote and empty.

[16:57] Just an empty ritual, right? We're very cautious of that. And that certainly is a very real danger. But at the same time, repetition can also be a great friend.

[17:09] Think about it this way. If you're playing a role in a theater performance, in a play, you probably practice your lines again and again and again.

[17:24] And you repeat them to yourself over and over and over, in the shower, in your bedroom, to your little siblings until they get sick of it, right? You just rehearse it and you repeat it.

[17:35] And your theater company will probably run through rehearsal after rehearsal leading up to your opening night. Why? Why do you do so much repeating and repetition in rehearsal?

[17:49] Well, it's not just, actually. It's not just so you don't mess up your lines during the performance and get embarrassed. That's one reason why. But it's not just that. It's more than that.

[18:00] It's because all that repetition internalizes the material so that when the curtain lifts and you take the stage, you can actually perform your role with freedom so that you can actually be who you're meant to be in the story.

[18:21] The same is very true of musicians. Some of the best improvisational players have honed their playing through endless hours of repetition until the scales and the progressions have become just second nature.

[18:40] And all of that is true for us in the spiritual life, in our life with God. Our weekly worship together, our regular taking of the Lord's Supper, hearing the word of God read and preached, giving, singing, praying, all of these practices that we do week in and week out again and again and again.

[19:01] Even the overall order of our service is the same every week. Have you noticed that? Every single week we do the exact same thing. Don't tell anybody. It's the secret.

[19:12] We begin with adoration of God, right? You can see this in your bulletin. We try to give you a little hint. Here's what we're doing now. We're adoring God, right? We begin with adoration of God, acknowledging and praising Him as our Creator and His majesty.

[19:26] And then we confess our sins. We look to God as our Redeemer in His mercy. And then we move to a time of thanksgiving and prayer and offering, which are all right responses to God's majesty and His mercy.

[19:40] We want to thank Him and we want to pray to Him and cast our burdens on Him and we want to give to the work of the gospel. Have you noticed? I hope you've noticed that sort of threefold movement every week.

[19:52] Worshiping God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the Father who made us, and the Son who redeems us, and the Spirit who empowers us. And then we go to God's word together, eager to hear His voice.

[20:03] Why do we do that every single week? Because we need to get it ingrained deep down in our hearts so that when the curtain lifts, so that when we take the stage out in the world as God's people, we can actually be the image bearers He means for us to be with freedom.

[20:28] So that we can actually play the part in the story we're meant to play as His people in the world. So that our hearts can be calibrated to God and His kingdom.

[20:39] So our remembrance has to be perpetual. It's got to have some rhythm and some repetition to it. But it's also meant to be tangible.

[20:53] The Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread involved all of your senses. You ate the Passover meal, those herbs and that bread and that leg of lamb. You ate it. And you could feel and smell and taste the unleavened bread for the whole week following.

[21:07] You know, from time to time I'll attend seminars on youth ministry and one thing that comes up a lot in those seminars is how to teach well. How do we teach so that teenagers will really grasp the faith?

[21:23] And the answer that is often given is engage the senses, right? Don't just engage the hearing, engage their sight, show them a picture or engage their sense of touch. Bring an object to sort of pass around.

[21:36] Apparently educational research so is that if you engage more than one of the five senses at a time, we absorb the material at a much deeper and lasting level. And isn't it wonderful that God knew all about that thousands of years ago having made us after all.

[21:56] In the Passover and in the fulfillment of the Passover and the Lord's Supper, God has us engaging with nearly all of our senses, doesn't he? you can touch it and you can smell it and you can see it and you can taste it.

[22:12] And in some churches, they even hold it up and they break it so you can even hear it. And all of that is so that we can grasp it at the deepest and most meaningful level.

[22:26] That tangible nature of it connects us to the story in a powerful way. I mean, think about it. If we lived in Old Testament Israel, eating unleavened bread for a whole week connected generations of Israelites back to that original Exodus generation.

[22:44] How? Why were they eating unleavened bread? Because God's rescue was so decisive and so immediate that they had to go right away and there was no time for the bread to leaven. They had to go. And every generation would take up unleavened bread and eat it as a way of saying, we're part of that people too.

[23:03] We have an organic connection. God freed me from slavery in Egypt. And in the same way, when we eat the bread and drink the cup and the Lord's Supper, it connects us to the story.

[23:19] This is what Jesus ate and drank with his disciples. This bread that represents his broken body and this cup that represents his shed blood. in a tangible way, it's putting us into that same unbroken story, into that same unbroken people.

[23:43] But finally, remembrance is meant to not just be perpetual and tangible, it's got to be verbal. Look at Exodus chapter 12 verses 26 and 27.

[23:55] It should just be on the opposite page from where we started. Exodus 12, 26 and 27. This is Moses giving instructions to the Israelites before the Passover event.

[24:14] He says, You see a similar thing in chapter 13, verse 14.

[24:35] Jump across to the next chapter. Verse 14 of chapter 13. And when in time to come, your son asks you, what does this mean? Meaning the consecration of the firstborn.

[24:47] You shall say to him, by a strong hand, the Lord brought us out of Egypt from the house of slavery. Yes, the remembrance needs to be tangible, but it can't just be tangible, friends.

[24:59] There need to be words. It has to be explained. Did you notice the pattern? Your children will ask, what does this mean?

[25:10] And God says, and then you will say. In other words, when we remember our redemption, we've got to tell the story with words. The tangible practices are an integral part, but they don't stand alone.

[25:24] That's why the reading and the teaching and the preaching of God's word has to be central in all that we do. Without the clear teaching of the Bible, without the consistent preaching of the gospel story, these tangible practices, whatever they are, they lose their meaning and they become empty.

[25:41] But, when joined with the teaching of the word, they become very powerful ways for us to remember our redemption. And, of course, isn't it true that the nature of our redemption, it has to be spoken, right?

[25:57] Why? Because our redemption was accomplished in a once-for-all historical event. You see, when Israel was celebrating the Passover year after year after year after year, they weren't actually redoing the Passover, right?

[26:13] The Passover happened once. God rescued them once and for all from slavery in Egypt. And when something happens once and for all, how can you reconnect with it? You talk about it.

[26:25] It's the same thing that's true of the cross. God has rescued us from sin and death once and for all through the perfectly sufficient sacrifice of Christ.

[26:36] And now, what do we do? We speak about it and we remember it. So these are the ways that we remember.

[26:47] This is how we're meant to remember. But last, why? Why do we need to remember our redemption? Why go through all the trouble of this perpetual, tangible, verbal remembrance?

[26:58] What is at stake in all of this? Well, these chapters of Exodus point us in three sort of related directions. reasons. The first reason why is for your children.

[27:12] Remember your redemption for the sake of your children. We already saw that in chapter 12, verse 26, and 13, 14, how the next generations are very much in view as these practices are put into place.

[27:24] But we see it again in 13, 8. Look at 13, 8. During the Feast of Unleavened Bread, Moses says, you shall tell your son on that day, it is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.

[27:42] You see, friends, being born into a certain family doesn't make you a Christian. Just because I'm a follower of Jesus doesn't mean that my kids automatically are.

[27:54] They need to be shown and told about God's great work of redemption in Christ so that they can trust it for themselves through faith. Here in Exodus, Moses envisions children watching, taking it all in, participating, and then asking their parents what it's all about.

[28:15] And you know, that dynamic hasn't really changed for us today. When we celebrate baptism, the kids are here watching, right? And when they ask, Dad, Mom, what does that mean?

[28:27] Why are those people getting all wet? That's weird. then you can tell them it's because of what God did for us through Jesus. He went down into death. He rose again to life for us to wash our sins away.

[28:40] And that can be true of you too if you take hold of them by faith. And the same is true when we do the Lord's Supper, isn't it? Parents, when you're fourth and fifth and sixth graders or when you're teenagers ask you, what is this all about?

[28:53] As we do the Lord's Supper every other week, you can then have a conversation about who Jesus is and what he's done. When with a mighty hand, God dealt once and for all for our sins.

[29:08] You see, every other week when we do the Lord's Supper, we have an opportunity to have spiritually significant conversations with our kids because they've seen something and something's gone right before their eyes that speaks of the gospel of Christ.

[29:20] And even if they don't initiate with you, some of you are thinking, my teenagers would never say, Dad, what does this mean? Right? No. But even if they don't initiate with you, the practice of the Lord's Supper gives you a chance to engage with them.

[29:33] Doesn't it? Hey, I noticed you're not taking the Lord's Supper. How come? Or, hey, I noticed you took the Lord's Supper this morning. Let's talk about that.

[29:47] And let me just say, if you yourself are a middle schooler or a high schooler or in grade school, let me say to you that the Lord's Supper isn't just an empty ritual, but it's a powerful reminder of what Jesus has done.

[30:02] The most important thing that you can ask this morning, if you're here with your parents, is not, how can I make my parents happy? How can I get through this as quickly as possible and get back to playing video games this afternoon?

[30:15] No. The most important thing you can ask yourself this morning is, where do I stand with Jesus? Do I believe that He's the Son of God? Do I believe that He died for my sins and rose again as the Lord of the universe?

[30:31] And have I surrendered my life to Him? Can you answer yes to those questions? If not, what's holding you back?

[30:43] Talk to someone older that you trust. The reality is, you don't need to hide your doubts and fears about Christianity. We've all been there. And the spiritual life is not something that you can do alone.

[30:54] Talk to someone about it. But if you can answer yes to those questions, then who have you told? If you are saying, yes, I believe He's the Son of God. I believe He died for my sins.

[31:06] Yes, I've surrendered my life to Him. Then tell someone. Tell your parents. And then tell someone here at the church. Talk to me or talk to one of the other pastors. Make a public profession of your faith in Jesus.

[31:17] And if you haven't been baptized, that's your next step. Step into the waters and make a public profession of your union with Christ. You see, friends, what Christ has done, He's done for you.

[31:36] Middle schoolers, high schoolers, this is for you. And one of the main reasons God gave us the command to remember our redemption again and again and again is so that you would come to know Him too.

[31:53] But this isn't just for our children's sake. It's also for our own sake. Look at the next verse in chapter 13. Verse 9.

[32:07] Verse 9 says, And, you're not just going to tell your kids about it, and, it shall be to you as a sign on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes that the law of the Lord may be in your mouth.

[32:24] For with a strong hand, the Lord has brought you out of Egypt. I heard a statistic recently that Americans watch an average of five hours of TV a day. A day!

[32:35] Holy smokes! Think about all the advertising and all the narratives and pictures of what it means to be human and how to find happiness that we're absorbing through our media consumption.

[32:49] You know, as I heard that statistic, I thought, where do people find five hours a day to watch TV? But then I started thinking about all the other ways in which I consume media during the day. And I thought, okay, maybe not five hours, but maybe a couple, maybe a few, if I count up all the podcasts and all the flipping through whatever I'm looking at on my phone, you know, Facebook, news feeds, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

[33:13] Right? And all of that stuff, almost everything that we come across as humans is in some big or small way telling a story about where real life and meaning is to be found.

[33:26] I read a book recently called You Are What You Love by a professor out at Calvin College named James Smith.

[33:38] And in that book, he spends some time meditating on the sort of typical practice of going to the shopping mall. And as he sort of starts to think about what we do when we go to the mall, you start to see that even something as mundane as going to the mall has this pervasive power to shape our desires and to saturate us in a narrative about where real life and real joy is to be found.

[34:07] Think about it. You enter the mall and it's sort of enclosed and it's its own set apart space in the world, right? You're going to a different space now.

[34:19] You're leaving the real world and you're stepping into this sort of trans-historical timeless space where there's never a clock and there's always sort of nice music playing.

[34:30] You've been transported to a different realm and there's a picture of beauty and health and attraction and joy lining the walls at every step of the way.

[34:46] There's a little place where you can go with the promise that if you turn in here and you just give us a little money, we will give you an object that will allow you to experience and participate in that joy and beauty and you'll be able to win friends and influence people and you will be loved.

[35:08] And then, when the experience fades after a few weeks, when the jeans just don't feel as cool anymore or that sweet leather purse just doesn't quite fit what you're about that week or whatever, you know, those killer Jordans you got, get a scuff on them.

[35:30] When the experience fades after a few weeks, when the purchase starts to lose its luster, well, you can always come back and find something new. Enter all ye who weary and are heavy laden and we will give you stuff.

[35:44] Right? See, the reality is, friends, that we are inundated by counter narratives all the time, not just in the shopping mall, but everywhere.

[36:00] Everything's telling a story about what's real and true and good and beautiful and how our hearts ought to be aligned and all of these stories that saturate our world, they cause us to forget.

[36:15] They cause us to forget who we really are and who God truly is and the simply astounding thing that he's done for us. Why did God tell Israel to remember their redemption year after year after year after year?

[36:30] Because he knew that even in the promised land they were going to be surrounded by false gods and false promises of happiness and if they forgot that the Lord had redeemed them, they would run to those other gods for security and protection and life and safety and they would end up in spiritual slavery once again.

[36:48] And friends, our life is no different. when I forget that I've been liberated by the work of Christ and made a child of God, an heir of God and a co-heir with Christ to share with his suffering so that I might share in his glory of the new creation, when I forget that and when you forget that, then suddenly you find yourself going to all sorts of other things for security or for joy or for peace.

[37:16] like the approval of other people for example. And when you go to those other things like approval, you end up a slave.

[37:28] You end up a slave to what other people think or don't think of you and people's criticism crushes you or their praise elates you and you end up blown and tossed and then you end up doing things and saying things that you know you shouldn't because the approval of others is really what your heart is resting in.

[37:48] And yet at root, what's happened? We've forgotten who we are. We've forgotten who God is. We need to remember that we've been bought with a price and that God alone is worthy of our heart's desire and that we're his beloved children because of Jesus.

[38:14] verse 9 here says that remembering our redemption will function like a compass, reorienting our lives and our identity to true north as a sign on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes.

[38:31] Not just individually but corporately too. And out of that reorientation again and again to God and God's redemption, then genuine obedience and service to the Lord flow.

[38:44] Look how the rest of that verse runs. That the law of the Lord may be in your mouth. As we reorient back to God and his redemption, then our lives begin to flow and we begin to live the way we're meant to live as his image bearers.

[39:01] Not just individually but corporately. Why do so many churches lose their way? Why do so many churches become intoxicated by the promise of political power?

[39:21] Why do churches become rife with conflict and bitterness? Why do churches become proud and look down their noses at other churches who are less big or less hip or less doctrinally precise?

[39:37] At the root of it all, brothers and sisters, is because we fail to remember our redemption. We forget and other things steal our hearts and captivate us and make us captives.

[39:59] We fail to keep God's gracious work in Christ as the constant center of our congregational message and our corporate life. And if we think that we're immune to these kinds of dangers at Trinity, we need to think again.

[40:18] We, too, are always in danger of letting some other narrative shape our life and our identity as a church. And so we must remember again and again and again the redeeming work of Christ like a sign on our hands and like a memorial between our eyes.

[40:35] It has to be the thing that colors everything we do. The inescapable mark on all of our words and all of our pursuits and all of our programs. And that leads us to the last reason why.

[40:53] Why do we need to remember our redemption? It's not just for our children's sake. It's not just for our own sake. But friends, it's for the world's sake. At the end of chapter 12 verses 43 through 49 the Lord gives Moses instructions about who can and who can't eat the Passover when they celebrate it in the promised land.

[41:15] And God, it's very clear that non-Israelites are not allowed to eat it. Just as the New Testament is clear that the Lord's Supper is only for believers in Christ. However, in verse 48 we read this.

[41:29] If a stranger shall sojourn with you and would keep the Passover to the Lord let all his males be circumcised then he may come near and keep it.

[41:44] He shall be as a native of the land. Do you see what this verse is envisioning? The people of Israel celebrating the Passover in the promised land and outsiders who have come to dwell in the promised land.

[42:00] They see the common life of Israel and they hear the story of the Exodus and they see the Passover celebration and they want to be a part of it. And then they actually come in.

[42:15] God says they can get circumcised and they can become a part of the people and God says they shall be as natives of the land. In other words, the outsiders will become insiders and the strangers and the foreigners will become natives and the homeless will find a home.

[42:36] God's mission for Israel wasn't just to be a holy club that excluded everyone else. Their mission was to be a light to the nations and though they fell short time and time again, God still didn't give up on his people or his mission for his people because now that Jesus has come and poured out the Holy Spirit, that mission continues through the church today.

[42:55] We need to keep remembering God's redemption. We need to keep holding it up perpetually, tangibly, verbally, verbally because God has many people in this city who are his people.

[43:12] And though they may seem strangers now, God's plan is to call them and bring them to his self. for the sake of the world, we need to remember because God says there's a place at my table, in my family, in my home for everyone who believes.

[43:42] Friends, the reality is we are a forgetful people. Left to our own devices, we would forget and we would drift and we would allow the cares and concerns of life and all those competing narratives to choke out the growth of the gospel in our lives and to choke out the growth of the gospel in our church.

[44:03] But here's the good news. God, in his grace, not only tells us to remember, but he gives us the very means by which we can remember.

[44:18] So as we have now heard God's word, we're going to go to the table this morning and having heard and considered God's word, we're going to do just that. We're going to grab hold of these means of remembrance and we're going to pray that God uses them to orient ourselves back to God and God's great salvation, not just for our own sake and for our children's sake, but what we do here is for the world's sake.

[44:44] God's sake. Let's pray. Lord, thank you for all the many and varied ways that you have given us to remember our redemption.

[45:02] Lord, thank you for the reminder that we need to keep it in front of our faces at all times. Lord, thank you for the table where you promise to meet with us in a special way and feed our faith and realign us to you and to your kingdom.

[45:20] We thank you for all this in Jesus' name. Amen.