← ArchivePathsCelebrating RedemptionDateJuly 5, 2020SpeakerDr Josh BurnhamTextDeuteronomy 16Passages in this sermonDeuteronomy 162:08TranscriptClick any line to jump there.0:00*music*0:30Okay, everyone doing alright? You survived the fireworks, the smoke inhalation. My hearing is not what it was yesterday, but we'll make it through. So thank you guys. My name is Pastor Josh. I didn't introduce who I was earlier. I'm the lead pastor here at Bethel.0:58And we do have people watching online. We can't see you, but we know you're there. So thank you guys for joining us today. We believe as a church, what the scripture says, that when two or more are gathered in the name of Christ, in the name of our Lord, He is here also. So we believe that God is going to do work in our lives right now. My prayer and our prayer as a church for people who are in Christ, if you would say, "Well, I am a Christ follower."1:26Our prayer is that you would be encouraged and challenged and convicted and that you would leave here closer to Jesus today than you ever have been in your life. I believe also that there are people in our gathering physically and online that you are not a Christ follower. That you are not a Christ follower. And maybe you're checking out church and seeing what is this about? Maybe someone's brought you here. Our prayer is that you would see that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life.1:55And that before you leave here, you would find eternal life in Jesus Christ, your Messiah. That's our hope. And that's our prayer for your life. Well, you have joined us today in the middle of a sermon series in Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy 16. And we're going to begin reading in verse 1. So a sermon series we've called "Many paths but one way." Some of you have read and received our daily devotions that we are sending out via email.2:21If you were doing that, you have finished reading Deuteronomy. You're ahead of the pace. You are the overachievers. Just full disclosure, I wrote most of those and I did not read all of them again. So if you missed a couple, don't feel like you're a bad church person because even your pastor did not make it through all of them. But just know, I believe the Word of God is good for our soul.2:49So that's why we've provided that for you. So if you would say, "Well, I didn't receive any emails. I would love to." You can sign up online at Bethelnet.com. So we're going to look at one of the greatest holy days in Israel's annual festival calendar. And it's the Passover. But before we do, let's check where we are as people and as a society. So we have two main holy days that we enjoy as a culture.3:15You might call them holidays. Christmas in winter. And we also have and celebrate Easter in the spring. So keep that in mind. Those are important. So just a show of hands quickly. I'm not going to judge you. Well, I might, but God will forgive me. What is your favorite holiday? So if you would say, "Christmas is my favorite holiday," raise your hands.3:41Some of you still have your lights up. We know who you are. We know your kind, okay? Put your hands down. If you would say, "Well, Easter is my favorite holiday," okay? We have a lot of kids here today. If you say Christmas is your favorite holiday because you get good gifts, raise your hands. It's okay to be honest. Thank you. We have some adults that are honest. I appreciate that effort. I've always wondered what Jesus' favorite holiday was.4:08In the Jewish calendar, they had three predominantly pilgrim festivals. Pilgrim festivals, they called it. So the first is Passover. Pesach is in spring, March, April. And then 50 days later, they would have the Festival of Weeks or the Festival of Shavuot. It was the giving of the law and they commemorated that.4:34And then in the fall, the Jewish people even today celebrate the Festival of Booth or Sukkot. It's where they would actually, you still have people that would camp outside to remind themselves of their wilderness travels through to the Promised Land from Egypt. And Jesus never tells us which is his favorite holiday. But we do know this, that it was on Passover when Jesus says and raised that fourth cup of redemption and said this is the new cup of the new covenant.5:00It was Passover where Jesus gave us greater significance. So I don't know what his favorite holiday is, but I do know for Christ, Passover carries a significant importance in his life. It's interesting also that God in his will, sovereign will, has given the church three main festivals.5:27We mentioned Christmas and Easter. Can anyone guess the third? 50 days after Passover, we celebrate 50 Pentecost. And it was where our Lord and Savior ascended into heaven and he gave us the Holy Spirit. So, the Old Testament Jews and even modern Jews celebrate three pilgrim festivals.5:53And even today, the church, the New Testament church celebrates three main holy days. And we're going to look at the first today. That's Pesach or Passover. And then we'll apply it to our lives. So, a couple of thoughts before we read Deuteronomy 16. Two main thoughts. First is this. By spiritual birth, covenant people should be celebrating people. So, if you're in Christ, you by spiritual birth should celebrate something.6:22So, the question is now, what do you celebrate? The main idea today through the Word is, if Jesus has made you alive and set you free, then you should be celebrating your redemption today. If you say, well, Christ has set me free, that's something to celebrate. And we're going to see that in the Word today. Deuteronomy 16, beginning in verse 1.6:51The Word of the Lord says this. Set aside the month of Abib and observe the Passover to the Lord your God. Because the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt by night in the month of Abib. Sacrifice to the Lord your God a Passover animal from the herd or the flock. In the place where the Lord chooses to have His name dwell.7:17Do not eat leavened bread with it. For seven days you are to eat unleavened bread with it. The bread of hardship or suffering. Because you left the hand of Egypt in a hurry. So that you may remember for the rest of your life the day you left the land of Egypt. No yeast is to be found anywhere in your territory for seven days.7:43And none of the meat you sacrifice in the evening of the first day is to remain until morning. You are not to sacrifice the Passover animal in any of the towns the Lord your God has given you. Sacrifice the Passover animal only at the place where the Lord your God chooses to have His name dwell. Do this in the evening as the sun sets at the same time of the day you departed from Egypt.8:07You are to cook and eat it in the place the Lord your God chooses. And you are able to return to your tents in the morning. Eat unleavened bread for six days. And on the seventh day there is to be a solemn assembly to the Lord your God. Do not do any work.8:34Let's pray. Father, we thank you that the reading of your word will not return void. Lord, it is with heavy hearts that we pray for those that are not Christ followers today. That have not experienced eternal life and abundant life. Lord, today through your word would you convict them of their sin and lead them to a place where they will choose life.8:57And life in Christ over death and destruction. Lord, be with us. May your spirit work in our hearts and our minds. That we will leave here challenged and convicted and on mission for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. This is our prayer we pray. In Jesus name. Amen.9:26Amen. Some of you are thinking, well, what in the world is Passover? That's a great question. Let me explain. Passover, the first festival for the people of God, began prior to Deuteronomy. It actually begins all the way back in Egypt. And to understand the Passover we have to move past that night, the night they're celebrating. So Passover begins 400 years later. When Joseph has died and a new Pharaoh comes to power and the Bible says that this Pharaoh did not know Joseph.9:55So he dealt harshly to the people of God. And as we often do, the people experience pain and suffering in the land of Egypt. Because of their sin. And then because of the difficult taskmasters that were laid before them. And so 400 years later, the people began to cry out. And they say, God, deliver us. God, help us.10:24And God said, okay, I will. So God raised up a leader named Moshe, Moses. And God, he convicted Moses and he showed Moses who he was. And in a burning bush, the Lord told Moses, I am who I am. I is who I is. And God told Moses, you go back to Pharaoh and you tell Pharaoh, the one true God is greater than any gods that you worship.10:46And so Moses goes to Pharaoh and says, I am coming in the name of Yahweh, the one true God. Let my people go. And Pharaoh said, you've got to be kidding me. And so God began to demonstrate his power through plagues. And God demonstrated his power through the first plague that he turned the Nile, the source of all life in Egypt.11:13He turned that water into blood. And Pharaoh snapped his fingers and told his magicians, you do the same. And they did. Plague won. And God sent another plague. And another plague. And another plague. And another plague. And another plague. And every plague that was sent brought pain and suffering upon Egypt. And after every plague, the Bible says that Pharaoh hardened his heart and he said, no.11:40So God sent another plague. And God sent another plague. And God sent another plague. And then God sent another plague. And over and over again, Pharaoh said, I will not choose the way of Yahweh. And so God told Moses there will be a final plague, the tent plague.12:05And it will be unlike any other plague. This will be the night where the angel of death will pass through the land. This will be a night of death. And every firstborn male. And that's me, by the way. Some of you. Every firstborn son will die. One, this would be catastrophic individually.12:36But two, for a nation, most of the leaders of your country today are firstborn. So God is wiping out generations and generations of leadership in one night. But God said there is another way. Every time we experience death, God gives us an open door to life. So God told his people. He said you will sacrifice an animal. And if you put the blood of that animal on your door, then the angel of death will pass over.13:00Which is why we call this night the pass over. You guys are good. It's interesting that Hebrews don't call it Passover, though. The Hebrew word is Pesach. Which really means the offering of protection. Because I think it is dangerous if we believe that, well, God just passes over us.13:27He gives us life and then we can go on our way. You see, that's a faulty understanding of salvation from the Lord. And some of us have grown up like that, right? We've heard people say, or invitations given, if you just don't want to go to hell, just give your life to Christ, the angel will pass over you, and whew. But what we don't realize is that the protection of the blood of Christ in our life is continual.13:54It is daily. It is constant. And I do think that the Hebrew understanding of the night of protection is better because we must understand that it is every day that God gives us protection. So what does this mean for our life? It means that if you have been redeemed by the blood of the lamb, then you should celebrate.14:19Is that not what God is telling his people? Listen, this is a great commemoration. Every year, set aside this month and celebrate what God is doing. Because for the Christian now, for the Christ follower, joy is central. I love what one pastor says about joy. He says it this way. He says, "If Christians do not rejoice, it is not because they are Christians,14:47but because they are not Christian enough." Now what Alistair Begg is not saying is that you have lost your salvation if you do not have joy today. But what he is saying is that the closer you get to Jesus Christ, the more satisfaction you have in him and the greater your joy. The greater your joy. And he says this, "Joy is the rational state of the Christian in view of his spiritual position in Christ."15:11So beg to say for the Christian who has lost his joy, look at Christ. And that joy will become a flood to your soul. So how do we apply this Passover in our lives? Well, let's look at verse 1. We'll go back from the beginning. The Lord commands his people, verse 1, chapter 16,15:39set aside, set aside the month of Habib. I find it interesting that many of us long for Christmas. Christmas is your favorite holiday. And I've thought about that this week. Why would Christmas be your favorite holiday? One, because we get gifts, which is awesome. But for many of us, I would say most of us, how long do you prepare for Christmas?16:08A day? A week? A month? Some of you buy your decorations in October. And then you go, and you'll go into a forest, and you'll cut down a tree, and then you'll decorate the tree. Some of you, like me, you go to your closet that you don't use, and you pull out the tree, and you plug it in, and poof! It's the evergreen! But we spend months and months often preparing for Christmas, setting aside a special time for this holy day.16:37And in the same way God is telling his people, if you're going to celebrate God's goodness in your life, you have to set aside time to celebrate. You have to prepare for celebration. See, the essence of Christian celebration is intentionality. You don't just wake up and celebrate. None of you, most of you, the majority of you, don't wake up on Christmas morning and automatically start celebrating.17:03No, you've prepared in your life. And in the same way God is saying that you must prepare to celebrate God's goodness. And is it not interesting how the Lord, in his faithful and holy will, weaves celebration into the life of the Christian experience? For example, when you give your life to Jesus Christ, the next step in obedience to him is what we call it believer's baptism.17:29And some of you who have been around here for a while know that we normally baptize every other month, and we have communion with that, the Lord's Supper. But we call those Sundays something special. Does anyone know what we call those Sundays around here? Celebration Sundays. Because baptism is a celebration of you who were dead now coming to life.17:57Why? Because God is saying, prepare to celebrate. That's what he wants you to do. That's what he wants me to do. Jesus' people celebrate. We eat the Lord's Supper together often. Jesus says, "As often as you do this, do it in remembrance of me." And so we celebrate, yes, that Jesus died on the cross, but we celebrate the body that was broken, the blood that was shed.18:26And how can we celebrate such a horrific event? Think about that. We Christians are saying, yay, Jesus died. His body was broken, and his blood was shed. We say that because in that moment, the sacrifice was made for your life. You might not understand, but what happens on Sunday morning is a celebration of redemption.18:54God is using you right now to celebrate what is going on. When you pray. What is happening when you pray is a triune celebration because you're praying to the Father through the Son, who's opened the door to pray to the Father, and you're praying by the what? There's only one more left. Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.19:22So it's like a mini triune party going on when you pray. God is celebrating because he wants you to celebrate. That's the power, the Word of God. And you say, okay, I get it. I should be celebrating. So when do we do this? How important is this in my life? And God shows us, and he shows his people in this passage. Look at chapter 16, verse 1 again.19:51He says, "Set aside the month of Abib." Now, some of the biblical scholars are saying, well, I call it Nisan, like the truck, right? Nisan. Well, the name was changed in the Babylonian time to Nisan after the Babylonian namesake. But it happens around late March, early April every year, this month of Abib. But something special happens for the Jews. This moment now marked the beginning of their year.20:18God said, this festival, this celebration of redemption is going to do what for you? It's going to mark your lives. Your life, your year starts by celebration. So how important is Christian celebration in your life? It is vital. It should be the first thing that happens. Are you celebrating your redemption? That is God's hope for you.20:48So what would you characterize as a life of remembrance and celebration? Well, think about it organically. What are you celebrating in your life right now? Birthdays? Anniversaries? Special moments? Graduations? And how often can we naturally say, God, I want to celebrate what you're doing? We should be celebrating spiritual births.21:15We should be celebrating the anniversary of coming to Christ. We should be celebrating when others give their life to Christ. We should be celebrating when God is doing something in our church and in our lives and in our communities. And I think if we're honest, I don't know if we celebrate enough. Are you purposefully and intentionally celebrating in your life? You see, gospel celebration is the vehicle to Christian joy.21:42When was the last time you celebrated? When was the last time you walked in the house and said, you'll never guess what happened? And your family's like, what in the world? God did this. God did this. Should we not have that much joy when God is working in our souls? Gospel celebration is a vehicle to Christian joy.22:10I don't want you to think that joy is not without sacrifice. Because in the Passover, their celebration of redemption came at a cost. And look at the cost that's given here in the Word. Verse 2. On the same night in the month of Abib, sacrifice to the Lord your God, a Passover animal. Sacrifice. Now what is not happening here is that the people have not, on the day before Passover,22:36they're not thinking, oh great, I don't have an animal, so let me go down to the tractor supply and buy a chick for Easter. And let me sacrifice that to God. Though, this animal for most of these people, it was born in their house. It was raised in their home. And the week before, they would bring that into the house and they would take care of that. And can you imagine, for those, we have little ones here, and I'm not going to be too graphic, don't worry.23:05Imagine on that week, your kid saying, Dad, Mom, why is fluffy, I don't know what you call a chick, woolly. Why is woolly in the house this week? Because I have to sacrifice it for Passover. I said, but Dad, I named that. And Dad, why would this sacrifice give us life?23:34Because we remember the time that God passed over. And He took us who should have been dead to life. You see, I believe that Christian celebration always requires sacrifice. It always requires sacrifice in our life. Martin Luther said it this way. He said, "A religion that costs nothing and gives nothing and suffers nothing is worth nothing."23:59And the danger that we have in the modern church is we say this, and it is right, but it is not necessarily the full story. We'll say, "Well, just come as you are." Jesus is ready to receive you, and He wants you, and He needs you.24:25But we say it in a way as if it elevates me over Jesus Christ. Let me say this in the most loving way I can. If you don't believe in God, He is still God. If you do not give your life to Christ, He is still the risen Messiah. And the beauty of Passover is that night every person had the choice by faith to choose death or life.24:48But it was faith in the sacrifice. And the danger is we've watered down Christianity to just say, "Come and make a decision, raise your hand, walk an aisle, and then you can go on your way." And I believe that is so far from the Gospel. The Gospel is that Jesus Christ gave His life to give you life that you might now live your life for Him.25:17Jesus often tells us to count the cost. Christian celebration, your redemption requires sacrifice. You don't work for your salvation, but we certainly work from our salvation. When is the last time you really sacrificed for your faith? That is what God desires in our life.25:44You say, "Well, okay, what does that look like? What does Christian sacrifice truly look like?" Well, verse 3, we get a glimpse. God tells His people during this week, the week of the unleavened bread, it says, "Do not eat leavened bread." Now, here for the people of God, it's a reminder of one, their suffering. And it's a reminder that when God said, "Okay, I'm going to save you." If you don't pack up all your belongings that night, you've got to go.26:14Your Nintendo Switch can stay there, iPhone, you can charge it later. But you don't even have time to let the bread rise. When God delivers you from death to life, go. When God opens the door and says, "Here's freedom," you take advantage of that. And so for the people of God, it's a reminder of one, the haste of their deliverance.26:40And it's also a reminder of the suffering and the harshness of what depression represented. But the New Testament also gives us another meaning to leaven. The New Testament in several places identifies leaven as sin. And so here the people of God are to deny themselves for the sake of their God. In the same way, we are called to deny ourselves of sin.27:07We are to fast. We are to deny ourselves of physical nourishment because Jesus is enough. When's the last time you sacrificed and you denied yourself anything for Jesus? That's not very American, is it? Because in our culture, we say if you want it, you get it now. Last night during the fireworks, we had someone in our family burned slightly.27:37Just a baby burn. It was not a kid, it was an adult with a sparkler. So I went back to the house and I looked for the first aid kit and we had thrown it away. We didn't have a first aid kit. So you know what I did? I was mad. So this is America. I can get a first aid kit if I wanted. So I went online, Amazon Prime, and I ordered my first aid kit. Because we don't have to wait. We have to wait two days.28:06We don't have to wait much for anything. It's called Amazon Prime. You order and it just shows up. And some of you are looking at me like I'm crazy, but you are the same ones who go out on your front porch every day and wait for the package to arrive. We know who you are. But we don't deny ourselves anything. And in Christ, we are called to deny ourselves for the sake of Jesus. We are called to sacrifice. That's God's desire in our lives. And not only for us.28:35Look at verse 4. It says no yeast is to be found anywhere in your territory. Not only for your life and your family's life, but for the church. When's the last time that you really wrestled and you wept because you knew someone was living in sin? And you went broken before the throne of God because you said, God, there is yeast, not in my life tonight, but there's yeast in the territory. But God, it shouldn't be there. It matters.29:06It matters. So God, I'm going to deny myself. I'm going to sacrifice so that we will rid ourselves of sin and seek righteousness. That is how we celebrate. We celebrate life by running from sin. I say it to everyone who joins this church in covenant membership. If you join Bethel in covenant membership, I say your sin is my problem. And my sin is your problem. When's the last time we believe that strongly in Christian community?29:36Deny yourselves. Christian redemption is sacrificial. And there's another counter cultural argument right here in the text. It's in verse 8. I don't know if you caught it. But God says you're going to celebrate. And at the end of all the celebration, you are going to do something that we don't do well. But it says you are going to not do any work.30:01You're going to rest. We live in a culture that says work hard. And when you work hard, you'll build your kingdom. But we worship a savior that says every seven days you rest. And some people will say, well, what does that even mean? When I rest, I'm saying several things. I'm saying, God, I'm not going to work myself to death because I believe that you are the provider.30:28I'm not going to work this day because I believe you will give me what I need. When's the last time you truly rested? We don't share this often, but if you refuse to rest in your life, that's sin. God wants you to rest and fully rest in him. But listen, we live in a society that some of our pop songs, there's a song and one of the catchphrases is work, work, work, work, work.30:53Right? What does that tell us about our society? We elevate that. We value that. But what does Jesus say? Jesus says, work, work, work, work, work, work, but rest. Jesus says in Matthew, he says, come to me. Westerners who are weary and heavy laden.31:23And I will give you what? I will give you rest. And when Christ gives you rest, he desires that you rest. That is countercultural. So when's the last time you actually rested in Christ? He said, you know what? I'm not going to work today. I'm going to rest in Jesus. That's his hope and that's his desire for your life.31:52So how do we live this out practically? I think there's two main thoughts and then we'll enter a time of this reflection. Every year, the Jewish family would celebrate this Passover. And they have a book called the Haggadah. And there's a point in that meal where the youngest child, if they can read or if they can recite,32:16there's a point in that yearly festival where the youngest person says this. They would say, Papa, Granddad, whoever's leading, they would say, why is this night different than all other nights? And it's a question that's meant to display their confusion, but also the delight of what's going on.32:43And it's the reminder that in Christ that night is a picture, a confusing picture of how death brings life. And so never underestimate what the gospel can do in your life. Because I believe that if you have given your life to Jesus Christ, your life should be a confusing picture to the world.33:12That they say, that they say, well, why is Josh not like every other? Why is, why is Jimmy, why is he not like every other? That's confusing to me. Why is Ethan not like every other? And our response is, because I once was dead and now I'm alive.33:40That is the hope of Passover. That's the hope and beauty of everlasting life in Jesus Christ. Henry Ward Beecher said it this way. He said that the test of Christian character should be that of a man who is a joy-bearing agent to the world.34:02Are you a joy-bearing agent? That's what we should be in Jesus Christ. So for the Christian, let me speak to you right now. Dear brother in Christ. When is the last time you actually celebrated your redemption?34:31I'm just bold enough to believe that you never get over your salvation. I'm bold enough to believe that if you have really tasted eternal life in Jesus Christ, every day we should wake up and say, wow, I can't believe I'm saved. I don't deserve it, but he gave it and I believe it. When is the last time you prepared to celebrate your redemption at home? You prepared to celebrate your redemption at work?34:59By nature, by spiritual nature, God's people are celebratory people. Secondly, dear sister in Christ, when is the last time you were really sacrificial? That you gave or you served or you boldly proclaimed something in the name of Jesus Christ knowing it would be at your detriment. And you said it's worth it.35:28Oh, that we would live out the gospel. Maybe you're here and you have never given your life to Jesus Christ. I want you to know that the same opportunity thousands of years ago on that night where the people had the chance to choose life or death is the opportunity given to you today. And you see, life was found not in what they did, but life was found by faith in the sacrifice.35:55Can you imagine putting the blood of an animal on your door just thinking? Hearing, probably hearing screams of your neighbors and your friends, the Egyptians who did not believe. And you're thinking, you're hunkered down saying, I know the blood is on my door. And God, I know you said this, and by faith I believed it, but until the angel passes, we don't know. Can you imagine that night?36:24And then realizing, faith in the lamb gave me life. That is what Jesus has done for you. And if you have never given your life to Christ, we want you to know that he died for you. And that he will cause you to live again if you trust him today. That's the gospel. That the lamb of God died for sinners.36:54Whoever believes in him will not perish, but have everlasting life. Let's pray.← Previous in PathsDining at the Banquet of GodNext in Paths →Point to JesusMore sermons on Deuteronomy →
