Subtopic: Let Your Blood Cover; Let Your Blood Prevail

Sermon Notes By Pastor Arthur H Coleman Sr. For Sunday April 20, 2014

Text: Exodus 12:12-14"For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the first born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord.(vs13) And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. (vs14) And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the Lord throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance forever".

Lev. 17:11 "For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for your soul."

1 Peter 1:18-21 “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; (vs19) But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: (vs20) Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, (vs21) Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.”

Premise

The Pulpit Commentary, Vol.22, Page 50, a comment on 1 Peter 1:18-19. REDEMPTION NECESSIATES HOLINESS. “1. Redemption is from the vain manner of life received from our fathers. “Conversion;” equivalent to “manner of life.” Christ died to deliver us from the sinful manner of life received from our fathers. From hell; yes, that is clear. “The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all;” (Isa.53:6) “He bore our sins in his body on the tree.”(1 Peter 2:24)      “There is therefore now no condemnation,” (Romans 8:1), ect. But that is not the end for which he died, as only a means to that end. Holiness in us was the purpose for the atonement, so much so that if we can imagine one getting no further than the cancelling of his sins only, we would be compelled to say that Christ died for him in vain.(see 2 Cor.5:15; Gal.1:4; Gal.5:25-27; Titus 2:14). Redemption by Christ is from the life of the natural man: “If any man be in Christ Jesus, it is a new creation.” 2. Redemption is only effected at unspeakable cost .     “ Not with corruptible,” ect. An emphatic testimony that redemption is through our Lord’s death --- not through his life, or example, or holiness, or mediation, but, as Scripture invariably says with unwavering consistency, by “his blood”. God himself bore the penalty of human guilt that he might righteously extend his mercy to the guilty. Nor can we imagine any method which so glorifies his grace and reveals himself. Think of the worth of our Lord’s offering. The universe were as nothing compared to the Son of God. What unfathomable meaning is in the words, “the precious blood of Christ”! Now, this stupendous price was paid for nothing less that we might be holy.”

Subtopic :  “That The Glory Of God May Rest Upon Me”


Text :Exodus 33:18-23 “And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory. (vs19) And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee; and will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy. (vs20) And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live. (vs21) And the Lord said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: (vs22) And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by: (vs23) And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.” Exodus 34:29-30&33-35 “And it came to pass, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses’ hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him.(vs30) And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him.(vs33) And till Moses had done speaking with them, he put a vail on his face. (vs34) But when Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him, he took the vail off, until he came out, and spake unto the children of Israel that which he commanded.(vs35) And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone: and Moses put the vail upon his face again, until he went in to speak with him.” 2 Corinthians 3:18 “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”


PREMISE

The Pulpit Commentary, Vol.1,Pages 377, comment on Exodus 34:29. “Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him--- His face  “shone”---literally, “shot out rays”--- as we say irradiated, became radiant. Notice:  THE CAUSE OF THE PHENOMENON. “Talked with him.” Self had been forgotten in communion with Jehovah, in hearing him and attending to his utterances. It is from such communion as this that the radiant countenance results. 1. What The Communion Is. God is a Spirit. Communion must be spiritual. The fleshly face cannot directly reflect spiritual light, that light “which never was on sea or land.” Spirit is kindled by spirit, the human by the Divine, when spirit meets with spirit and realizes the sympathy which exists between them.

2. What The Communion Does. The illuminated spirit, reflecting God, kindled into brilliancy by his light, cannot but shine out through the fleshly envelope which shrouds it.[Illustration: as opaque porcelain shade to lamp, so is the body to the spirit; light the lamp, illuminate the spirit, and the shade, in either case, becomes radiant.] If you would have a happy face, a radiant countenance, you must first have an illuminated spirit. That can only be gained from the Fount of light in and through communion with God.”

II. UNCONSCIOUSNESS OF THE SUBJECT OF THE PHENOMENON. “Wist not” His face was radiant, but Moses knew nothing of it. His mind was so full of God that his attention was drawn off from all thought of his appearance. Notice:1. “All sincerity forgets egotism.” (F.W. Robertson). Attention is a fixed quantity; to fix it on God is to draw it off from self [cf. a lock on a river; open the flood-gates of communion and the level of self-love is soon lowered]. 2. Radiancy Cannot Be Obtained By Trying for It. If aim in prayer is to increase self-glory, it cannot succeed. God first; God all in all; then comes the illumination, and the light flows forth. Self lost in God [cf. wick saturated with oil] before we can ray out the light of God. How many selfish prayers are offered, and the countenances of those who offer them are often anything but radiant! The puritanical cast of countenance repels by its gloom rather than its brilliancy. The best prayer is that which rises from communion; which seeks first, as in Christ’s model prayer, that God’s name may be hallowed, and his kingdom come, and his will be done, before going on further to seek satisfaction or personal needs. CONCLUSION.--- Do you want to have a radiant face? The best way is not to think about it. Lose self, as Moses did, in communion with God; then your face will be radiant, though you know it not.”