Passover, it’s a story that the people of Israel were instructed to repeat through the ages. It is about salvation and the Blood of the Lamb, the Son of God. Faith in this makes clean the heart that comes to Him. By grace, we are delivered from death. The Scriptures give us an advantage In this world. The Lamb is the true nature of the universe. (Romans 3:1-2; 2 Timothy 3:15; Exodus 12:3-12)

Speaker(s): Pastor Thomas Schaller
Sermon 11865
7:00 PM on 4/8/2020

P. Schaller –

Thank you, Big Dave and the band. Zane. The times we are living in are so refreshing to us and encouraging us.
I was talking to my neighbor through the woods a little bit and we were talking, and I told him
about our Sunday drive-in service, and he said tell me about it. I’ll go to it. My wife and I will go
to it. That will be interesting to see what happens. I was in the vehicle we have that has the arm
so our workers Todd and Scott can go up and change lights bulbs in the parking lot. I went up a
little bit to get a feel of it. I’m in training. We anticipate a good time of honking our horns and
waving and seeing each other.

As Big Dave said in his prayer, God you are speaking to us and in
a way you might think he is shouting to people. We want to think about what God is doing and
we can see in the world that it takes a crisis like this one worldwide that can affect the world in
such a way that it brings us closer to what God wants to do in history. God is doing something.
We are unique people. I think you can see my iPad here. Draw the earth like this. We are going
somewhere. We have a beginning. God created the heavens and the earth, and we see at the
end of our Bible a new heaven and a new earth. We would not know this if we were left to
ourselves without our Bible.

We are very much prone to invent in our own mind the world as
we see it, the world as we feel it, the world as we think it. Romans 3 it says that the Jewish
people have an advantage. What advantage then has the Jew? Today is the beginning of
Passover for the Jewish people, a very important holiday. It is the beginning of their year. God
said that to them in Exodus 12. that the night, that the death angel passed over Egypt killing every
first born of every living thing – cattle, dog, human being – every first born of every living thing
died that night except the Jew who had blood on his doorpost. We would not know this story
except we have the Scripture. This is the advantage that the Jew has. What advantage has the
Jew? The Jew has the Scripture.

We are in a pestilence, a time of a plague around the world. What advantage has the believer? It’s the same as what the Jew has. He has the Scripture. The Scripture tells us about the beginning and where we are going. I don’t like to say the end. There is no end. There is a new heaven and a new earth. If you met people on the street or people
have no background in the Scripture, people that know chemistry and physics and I.T. and
technology but they have no understanding of the Scripture. What does the Jews have? They
have the Scripture. Romans 3:1-2. What’s their advantage? Their way of thinking. What is their
advantage? The Scripture. The oracles of God is another phrase for the Scripture. What
advantage has the believer in these days? It’s the Scripture.

This is an amazing change in a person’s life. When they begin to realize I may be wrong. I may be wrong. Or I am wrong. I’m not sure. How do I understand the world I’m in? It is one many people have no idea where it is
going. We have words like “tragedy.” We have “meaninglessness.” We have violence. We have
words like “fear.” Words like “no one knows.” No one has come back from the dead. There is
no one that really knows. There are aliens in other parts of the universe. Many different ideas.
We all know it. We grew up with it and then when we saw Jesus Christ and realized Jesus Christ
is raised from the dead that he is the Messiah, that no one has spoken like this man Luke 4:22.
His wisdom silences people.

He said my Father and I are one. I return to my Father. I have many houses. In my Father’s house are many mansions. If it was not so, I would tell you. Here’s where we are going with this: 1) I want to make a big declaration tonight about the Scriptures. The Scriptures. 2 Timothy 3, we have the comfort of the Scripture, the reality, the life giving nature of the Scriptures. We have here words to Timothy, Paul’s primary disciple. The man that Paul is
committing the ministry to. You cannot commit the ministry to just anyone. The ministry is
committed to someone who must know the Scripture. 2 Timothy 3:14-15, I cannot emphasize
enough young men learn the Scriptures. Young ladies learn the Scriptures. Moms, dads, learn
the Scriptures. That’s why we are in this church. It’s the Scriptures.

If I learn the Scriptures, I will learn the nature of the universe and then understand the nature of God. The character of the universe is really connected with the character on the throne. Revelation 5 we see an amazing
picture and we see Christ slain, freshly slain in heaven and then in chapter 7:17 we see him as a
lamb of God on the throne. This is the nature of the universe. The Lamb of God. Not violence.
But the lamb of God, the mercy of God, the grace of God, the sacrifice of God. One day there
will be no more death, no more evil, pain, sorrow. God made the universe to reveal him. He is
the lamb of God. He is the lamb. He is God who is a lamb.

We would never know this unless we knew the Scriptures. We are learning, never really getting it in our hands. Some philosopher said if I caught the truth in my hand, I’d let it go so I could follow it. We have the truth and it’s a
person. He is who he is, and we follow him. Then we have him. In a way, we let him go. He
leads us. We don’t control him. He is our God. We are very happy to be submitted to him
because he is worthy of our devotion. He is so loveable. He has raptured us. He has caught us.
He has rescued us. How would this ever happen? What advantage has the Jew? The Jew has the
Scripture. What advantage has the Christian?

The Christian has the Scripture. What does it do? Vs. 15. I’m sorry to say I could go to a university campus and ask someone anything about salvation. I know nothing of what you are talking about. You go to WMCA to a young man; do you know anything about salvation? A coffee shop and talk to people as we do normally.
However it goes with the virus thing. Do you know anything about salvation? I don’t know what
you are talking about. Someone might get close to it. I feel I’d like to be saved. Do I need to be
saved? Do you know how? I don’t know anything about it.

They are not wise unto salvation, but you are. Here comes the main portion of our message 2) Passover. This is a story the Jewish people were told to repeat all through their history to their sons and daughters. A miracle is
about to happen in Egypt as they are slaves without any rights to go anywhere or have money
or own property or possess something or have power or influence. They had no right. They
were subject to a vigorous worldwide empire, the Egyptian empire. The Jews were nobody.
They had been sent down to Egypt, but they were wandering people with Abraham and a small
family of 75. Jacob and Joseph went down to Egypt.

Joseph was sold down, and later Jacob went down later not knowing Joseph was saving them. Come down to Egypt. Somehow it morphed. It changed by another Pharaoh. This Pharaoh didn’t know Jesus and didn’t know the
Lord. 430 years pass and they are slaves, in bondage. It reminds us of the condition we are in as
people in this world. We are slaves of ourselves, of sin, of our own desires, ambition, lust, and
pride. There were two very proud men back in the early 19 th century, in the later part of the
eighteen hundreds, Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr…. they had a duel and Aaron Burr shot
and killed Alexander Hamilton. I wondered why that happened.

The pride of man. The conflict. It’s hard to say I’m wrong. It’s hard to be humble. I don’t know all the details but the conflict between the two was too hard to put down. We are our own worst enemy. Our sin holds us
captive. We are like slaves in Egypt. There are people in their houses in fear. It’s not a bad thing
to be in your home. Keep yourself safe as God leads and guides you. But another part of that is
the fear that grips the hearts of people, the anxiety. Do you know about salvation? I know
nothing about it. How did you become wise about salvation? I have the Scripture. What
advantage does a Jew have?

A Jew has the Scripture. What is the Scripture about? It’s about
everything important. It’s about the beginning and where we are going. Do you know a crisis
like this will be used to usher in the Antichrist sometime in the future? We know the technology
of the day is incredible as it tracks people. Facial recognition. We are losing our privacy and our
protective sense. It is subject to the technical capability built up in our civilization. I need the
Scripture to know what is going on. I’d like to know about the end times if that’s what these
are. It seems to me the human race is being brought just as the Scripture is saying. Keep your
eye on Israel. It’s obvious this nation is a signpost.

The flag is up. There is a message. Keep your eyes and hearts open to God and the Scripture because the Passover is the message of salvation. I’ll explain it to you in simple terms. The Jews are in the home. They are told to put the blood of the lamb and this is three words I want to share. This is so interesting about this
salvation. You’re wise concerning it. Amazing. The Scripture teaches us. We are must more
wrong than we realize. We are slaves and don’t know it. We are troubled deep in our hearts
about what is happening in life and we need salvation. The first part here is blood. Exodus 12:3, a
lamb. I want to put the word here. Later in our Bible in the book of Revelation, we read about
the lamb on the throne.

That tells you how much the Bible is interwoven, connected with other
parts to teach us doctrine. That’s how we learn, here a little and there a little. To make us wise
concerning a subject that evades people. Salvation. I don’t know what that is. I don’t
understand that. I got my own way. I got some ideas. I got my own ideas. Yeah, but do you
know the Scripture? No, I don’t know the Scripture. I don’t care about the Bible. I have no
understanding about it. You must be born again to understand this book. When it starts to
speak to you and the Spirit shows you, then you find treasure.

We are like people walking in a field and we stumble across something in the field. It’s a treasure chest buried. The lid is a little above ground. We sold everything we have and bought the field and dug up the treasure. What
advantage has the Jew? The Scripture. What advantage has the believer? The Scripture. It
makes you wise concerning salvation. In the United States, the need for us is to be wise
concerning salvation. In the different countries of the world what is needed is the message of
salvation. How can it be preached if we are not wise about salvation? This is a story we didn’t
make up. It comes from God. It was God that told the Jews to take the blood of the lamb and
put it on the door post. Vs. 4-7, 12.

The story has a lot of detail and every part is precious. I don’t mean to go over these important elements, but I want to make the message this simple. You and I didn’t invent the story. The story wasn’t written by a philosopher or professor or some wayward person who is crazy. This is written by God. Is the blood important for salvation?
There’s no salvation without the shedding of blood. Isaiah 53:6, everyone goes their own way. We
are not wise about salvation. We think maybe this is it. How do you feel about this and many
other human expressions from lost people who do not understand what it is that God has done through Jesus Christ his Son when he sent him in John 1:29 as the lamb of God that takes away the
sins of the world.

Wow! The Jews would put the blood on the doorpost and tell their children,
every generation, they were to celebrate the Passover every year the same time, the 10 th day of
the month. They were to teach them. There were many elements in this exercise that are very
fascinating. No leaven in the house. It’s another point. I got to say it because it’s so fascinating.
Yeast. It’s a small plant that you put water and a little warmth, and that plant produces gas.
That gas in the flower causes the air, that gas to rise. It takes some time, some hours for this
yeast to work and for the dough to rise.

I’m not a baker so I don’t know about the timing of it.
God said no yeast. No leaven in your house. No yeast is allowed. You are in a hurry. Eat your
bread on the way. Get out of Egypt and have no yeast. Yeast represented the ungodliness; the
contaminated influences of the world and they get into life and slowly affect the whole
community. The lump of dough in 1 Corinthians 5 is affecting the whole community. It comes into every
one of our minds, our hearts. We have some lie comes into our heart and we start to believe a
lie. It contaminates us and then the people I am with. We change quickly by the yeast. God said
for 7 days no leavened bread.

No bread with any yeast. Remove it. It is not accepted. You have
to be clean from the world. You have to be sanctified unto me. In our New Testament, it means
my mind is renewed day by day, so I don’t believe a lie about God. I don’t believe a lie about his
plan. I don’t believe a lie about myself. I don’t believe a lie about my brother or sister. There is a
purity of spirit, of truth, regarding the nature and character of the universe. That this is a good
place, It’s a good place. The universe is ours in Christ Jesus. It’s a place of violence and wild
animals and car accidents and diseases and cancer and other things. That’s what it is. No, the
essence of it is not that. The essence of this world is the lamb of God seated on the throne who
is fulfilling a divine purpose.

The essence of the universe is glory and praise and thanksgiving and reality and encouragement and eternal life. What about the death? I know. Jesus came and died on the cross. He gave his blood. Violent death. Violent death on the cross. The Son of God would say this is not the true character and nature of the world I made. This is a bump in the road. This is a lie. This is a sin. This is Satan. This is death. This is the curse. This is what has to be
for now. I will humble myself and take it on. My weakness is strength. My foolishness is
wisdom. Keep your eye on me for I am God. I am the God who humbles myself and is submitted
and obedient and humble. I am love and love never fails. I am God. That’s the nature of this
world. It’s love. It’s God. Blood.

There is a big whole message on blood. The blood in our bodies. We are now in a scientific world. We hear about diseases and antibodies and antigens and blood plasma. What is it about blood. It’s a unique substance. God made it. There is a message in it. Physical blood cleanses us. It has many properties and values. It’s the very thing that keeps us alive. It has hemoglobin and we are able to feed ourselves oxygen…and so on. Why did God
choose blood? Because of this unique substance. He is saying you must be clean. If you have a
blood stain and took blood and put it on the table. the blood is cleaning. It has a cleansing
character. It heals wounds. Blood is the very life of the soul. The life of the soul is in the blood,
Leviticus 17:11.

God is saying I will give my very life, my Son and through his precious blood, eternal
blood, unique blood without sin, the blood that is special, the blood of the Son of God. How
would I be wise about salvation if I didn’t know about the blood. How would I know about the blood if I didn’t have a Bible? How would I have a Bible without the Jewish people? The Jewish
people tell us about the Passover. The Jewish people tell us it is the blood, not the Buddhist or
Hindus or Islamic folks or me or you. It is God that tells us about it. What does he say? 2) He
says faith. Faith. Do it. I could see a Jewish family in Egypt saying I’m not going to do that. I
don’t want to do that. I’m not interested but do it.

Moses said, do it. We’re going to do it. And death passes. My little boy and my little girl lives through the night. It’s a message of salvation that the people of the world need to hear. It’s the blood of the Son of God that saves us, that
washes our sins away, that gives us the Gospel. That is the Gospel. It’s the blood of the Son of
God that saves the soul. It’s amazing when we see a man or woman come to Christ and walk
away clean. It takes a while to understand it and God works in their heart. The minute they
believe, they are justified by the blood of Christ in Romans 5:9. It could not be works over six
months’ time. It couldn’t be improving your life over 3 years. It can never. It’s not about you
and I doing our best. It’s about sinners saying there is something I don’t understand. I need
help. I need salvation.

What do you have to say to me? God says believe in my Son. 3) Grace.
Grace. The woman in Egypt, the Jewish woman with her husband put the blood on the door
post and told the death angel will pass over tonight. She’s nervous about it. She’s walking
around in her shack, in poverty but has a precious little child and she’s nervous. The blood is on
the doorpost. She’s not believing and worried and troubled and not much faith. The death
angel passes over not because she is a strong believer but because of the blood. She is not a
strong believer. God is for her. God is for that family. God is for you every day of your life.
Please understand the nature and character of the universe.

Let’s say it another way. The nature and character of God and his desire for you. He speaks words of peace towards you. You have an expected end, Jeremiah 29:11 and it’s all by grace. Grow in grace. Enjoy grace. Bathe in
grace. Be loved by God. Be encouraged in grace. Minister grace. Learn grace because this world
is starving for grace. They are needing salvation but not a salvation of works and law. May I say
in a qualified way, “religion.” They are not interested in that. In a sacred sense, yes, but not a
program. They need Jesus Christ as a living Messiah. The Savior who walks amongst the
candlesticks. He shows up on the seashore and tells Peter cast your net on the right side. He’s
amazing because of grace.

Christ shows up at Pentecost and they realize what grace is. In this
unique time when we can’t see each other physically, I can imagine you and see you in my
heart. I anticipate coming together again. But long before that happens, it is okay because while
we look not at the things that are seen we look at what is not seen. Is 6, we see a throne high
and lifted up. We see the Spirit of God moving in the end times. I don’t know when He is
returning, but the world is shaking, and people are thinking. There are activities and for sure
there is a direction we know will be fulfilling the Bible prophecy.

We can study that sometimes. Your salvation is something you understand. You are wise concerning salvation not because you spent hours thinking on your own without this book. Without this book, you’ll never get there;
you’ll become subjective. Without this book, you’ll have no Gospel message. Without this book,
you will not have a message, a kind message, a loving message but a real message. I walk in the
woods, my wife and I. We enjoy that a lot. I’m sure you’ve done that too. I’m saying those are
beautiful times of meditation and prayer and fellowship. But over and over again, I’m indebted to the gifts of grace God has given to us so we can understand this and share it in a world that
needs it.

They’re wise on so many levels but not on salvation. So many smart and gifted people
but they don’t know anything about salvation. That’s what we share tonight. Amen. Thank you,
God. Pray with me.

Please enjoy these sermon notes from the messages preached at Greater Grace Church in Baltimore. These notes are provided to aid in your study and understanding of the Word. Note that these notes do not represent complete, word-for-word transcriptions. Also, they may contain omissions as well as some errors in spelling and structure, etc., as we attempt to provide them as soon as possible. Our hope is that these notes serve as a way to help you search and connect with messages on related subjects and passages. Thank you for your interest in the ministry of Greater Grace.