FAITH IN THE ONLY THING STANDING BETWEEN US AND DEATH

MF Blume
August 21
, 2016


Genesis 3:1-6   Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?  (2)  And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:  (3)  But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.  (4)  And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:  (5)  For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.  (6)  And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.



FAITH IN THE ONLY THING STANDING BETWEEN US AND DEATH

The devil managed to get the entire relationship of God and man ruined, having man commit the single sin God told them not to commit, by having the woman focus on herself.
•    After he said she would be as God, the woman saw something in that fruit she never saw in the others.

Genesis 2:9   And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

3: (6)  And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

Many trees were food for food and pleasant to the sight.
•    As was the forbidden tree.
•    But this tree ALSO was desired to MAKE ONE WISE.
•    It had something in it the others didn’t have.
•    It put your attention on yourself.

And by putting attention of humanity on ITSELF, satan ruined mankind’s relationship with God, and he still uses that to ruin believer’s relationship with God.

This is part of the reason we read this:

1 Corinthians 1:18-19 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.  (19)  For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.

The very thing the devil got the woman to consider – making herself wise – is what Paul said the work of the cross was prepared to undo.

1 Corinthians 1:21   For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.


Paul said since the world could never know God by wisdom, since the greatest wisdom of man is less than the foolishness of God – (imagine what God’s wisdom is like if His foolishness is greater than man’s wisdom!) – God set about to make another means aside from wisdom to save man.
•    That means is the foolishness of preaching.
•    It accomplishes something.

1 Corinthians 1:27-29  But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;  (28)  And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:  (29)  That no flesh should glory in his presence.

It was all engineered this way so in order to get save, people could NEVER glory in God’s presence.
•    This pathway doesn’t allow ANY GRAIN of glorifying ourselves.
•    It’s as if God will not let anyone into heaven who has a grain of self glorying in themselves, for a good reason.
•    It’s what satan used to throw us away from God.

This also solves the fusses people have between each other.
•    If we did not focus on ourselves so much, we’d never get offended by others attacking us.
•    We’d never focus on things people do to us, that cause us to lose out with God and ruin our relationship with Him.
•    This method God uses does so much to solve so many problems!

Imagine conquering death, satan, and the grave by being go meek and lowly that Jesus, God in the flesh, is so obedient that he submits to dying on the cross.
•    It wasn’t by throwing thunderbolts at Rome and smashing anyone who whispered the slightest hint of disobedience to God, demanding their bowing down to him.
•    It wasn’t forcing people to serve God and be tortured to do so.
•    It was salvation by Jesus LIKE A LAMB BEING LED TO THE SLAUGHTER, not even opening his mouth in protest.

And through THAT MEEK, MEEK DEATH, he destroyed the power of the devil over mankind for everyone that believes.
•    That’s the reason John saw a lamb like it was slain and standing again when he was told to look and see the lion of the tribe of Judah.
•    He accomplished a LION LIKE conquest and victory through the means of MEEKNESS and OBEDIENCE.

Look how foolish this story of Passover sounds.

Exodus 12:21-23 Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families, and kill the passover.  (22)  And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the bason; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning.  (23)  For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the LORD will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you.

ALL THAT STOOD BETWEEN THE FIRSTBORN AND DEATH WAS THE BLOOD STAINS OF A LITTLE DEAD LAMB.

To walk through that threshold and stake your entire life and survival upon a meek little lamb’s bloodstains on the doorway IS TO HAVE FAITH!

When you stake your entire eternity and your soul’s destiny on getting baptized into the death of Jesus Christ, INSTEAD OF ALL YOUR GOOD DEEDS YOU CAN MUSTER UP TO EARN YOUR WAY TO HEAVEN BY GOOD WORKS, THAT IS FAITH!

You cannot even see what’s happening.
•    You are on the inside of the house and outside the destroyer comes and outside the blood of the lamb is displayed before that destroyer, and God’s Spirit stands between the destroyer and you because He sees that blood.
•    That represents how in the unseen realm, outside of our physical reality, God’s Spirit sees faith in our hearts upon the death of Jesus as our only means of deliverance from the destruction of eternal death, and that death is prohibited by God to NOT TOUCH US, THAT IS FAITH!

People are so caught up in what they see and what they can physically do that it’s utter foolishness for them to BELIEVE THE DEATH OF JESUS is what they must rely on for salvation.

That night thousands of lambs died.
•    And each one of them stood for the firstborn in the Hebrew families.

Exodus 4:22-23   And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn:  (23)  And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn.


God called Israel HIS FIRSTBORN.
•    If Pharaoh wouldn’t let God’s firstborn go, God would kill pharaoh’s firstborn.
•    God actually sent NINE plagues before he resorted to the final judgment of slaying the firstborn.
•    But He did it in a way that EVERY firstborn would die unless their families put lambs blood on the doorways that night.

Why did not God just pick out the Egyptian’s first born, or even just Pharaoh’s and slay him?
•    Why make it so that every firstborn would suffer the death, and inform the Hebrews their firstborn would die as well unless they take a lamb and put its blood on the doors?
•    IT IS BECAUSE GOD WANTED TO HAVE THIS FAMOUS OLD TESTAMENT STORY stand as one of the most clear and powerful messages of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
•    An eternity of DEATH is coming for us all.
•    And only those who ENTER THE DOORWAY where the BLOOD OF THE LAMB JESUS causes us to ENTER HIS DEATH – doors are for entrance, and we’re told to get INTO the death of Jesus to be saved – will be spared.

And in order to accept that message, and be saved, we each have to be humble enough to get every grain of self-glorying out of us, and that takes with it everything the devil uses to ruin our relationships with God, as I described.

All that stands between us and eternal death is faith in Christ’s death for us?

The truth is that in Egypt there was a death in every single house where BIRTH had occurred.
•    In the Hebrews’ homes it was the LAMB’S DEATH and not the actual firstborn’s, though.
•    This shows us that THE FIRSTBORN was represented BY THE LAMB.
•    Jesus stood IN YOUR PLACE to take YOUR DEATH.
•    And you can say YOU DIED when you say Jesus died.
•    THAT IS THE FAITH God is looking for.

The death of the firstborn shows us BIRTH has something to do with our sin.

Romans 5:19   For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.


Our acts of obedience do not save us any more than our acts of disobedience made us sinners.
•    One man’s disobedience made us sinners and one man’s obedience made us righteous.

But ALL Israel was looked at as ONE SINGLE FIRSTBORN SON OF GOD.
•    Why did not God call the lamb THE FIRSTBORN, since that flows nicely with the cross of Jesus being God’s firstborn.
•    But the message is that the LAMB stood for the FIRSTBORN, making it EQUAL as the firstborn.
•    And that is the gospel.
•    Jesus’ death counts as our deaths, and so through Jesus we paid the death penalty when the bible said the soul that sins must die!

And watch this little story in the middle of all of this, involving Moses.

Exodus 4:23-27   And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn.  (24)  And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the LORD met him, and sought to kill him.  (25)  Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband art thou to me.  (26)  So he let him go: then she said, A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision.  (27)  And the LORD said to Aaron, Go into the wilderness to meet Moses. And he went, and met him in the mount of God, and kissed him.

Verses 24-26 are right in the middle of the Exodus situation where God called Israel his firstborn son.

Why?

Moses first born son was Gershom and seemingly was being shown that the firstborn’s circumcision is linked to Moses’ deliverance from death.

Baptism into Jesus Christ’s death is also called a circumcision in the new testament.

Colossians 2:10-12   And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:  (11)  In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:  (12)  Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.

Circumcision of Christ.

Baptism puts us into Christ’s death.
•    Blood from the baby’s circumcision touches Moses and he is saved from death!
•    We are touched by the blood of Jesus and saved!
•    We are redeemed BY BLOOD as blood represents the death of Jesus.

1 Peter 1:18-19   Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;  (19)  But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:

Nothing else can help us!
•    Nothing stands between us and death that can do anything for us, except the BLOOD OF JESUS shed on his cross.

Gershom’s name  means stranger in a strange land.

Exodus 2:22   And she bare him a son, and he called his name Gershom: for he said, I have been a stranger in a strange land.


The blood of Jesus makes us strangers in a  strange land.
This world is not our home.
We’re leaving here!




SERMONS