Do You See What God Sees?
Notes
Transcript
The Bible is about Jesus:
Fall
Redemption
Restoration
God wants to restore our lives - He sees something in us, and wants us to set our sights upon what He has for us - Restored
It doesn’t matter this morning how broken you are - God can restore
It doesn’t matter what sin is in your life - God can forgive
It doesn’t matter how far you are from God - God can bridge the gap
I Spy Game - travel with the boys
Paul is trying to get this church to see what God sees in this church. Paul has addressed:
Marriage - the sanctity of marriage - Ch 7
Meat - helping others grow in grace through faith - Ch 8
Example - Did you see the example by which I lived before you? - Ch 9
Paul is going to come back to the discussion of meat, and before he does Paul lays some more ground work
He builds the foundation by using some types in our text.
What we mean by types is called typology (the study and interpretation of types and symbols)
Abraham & Isaac - when Abraham went to sacrifice Isaac, God provided a ram - this ram is a symbol or type of Jesus Christ
There are many of these in the OT - Isaac’s wife, Rebekah, being brought by the servant of Abraham to Isaac - beautiful symbol of salvation and the Holy Spirit bring us to Jesus Christ
Not everything in the OT is a type - I have heard some preach that the 5 stones David picked up to battles against Goliath were: the Bible, prayer, soul winning, separation, and church - or replaced by whatever else the preacher wanted to name the stones - this is mysticism (vague or ill-defined religious or spiritual belief, especially as associated with a belief in the occult) - Simply making the Bible say whatever you want to get off of your chest
Some of these types God clearly mentions later in the Bible, especially the NT, but not every occurance
These types are for an illustration to help us see the fall of man, redemption in Jesus, and/or the restoration God will bring
Paul here calls all the brethren to remember what God has done and desires to do.
Notice how many times he uses the word “all”
5 times
For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
As we look at this portion of Scripture Paul carefully reminds us that he is speaking to all who are saved:
Jew & Gentile
Paul uses the exodus Israel and all those who chose to believe in God, as a powerful illustration of the inclusiveness for:
Salvation
Separation
Supply
Sorrow
Salvation
Salvation
Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;
Paul uses the story found in Exodus 13-17 & Numbers 10-15 as illustration and typology
All our fathers
ALL
Why all?
He that feared the word of the Lord among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his cattle flee into the houses: And he that regarded not the word of the Lord left his servants and his cattle in the field.
7th plague - As the hail was foretold - some began to recognise Who the Lord is
8th plague - locusts
And Pharaoh’s servants said unto him, How long shall this man be a snare unto us? let the men go, that they may serve the Lord their God: knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed?
God wanted the Egyptians to get saved
Some did get saved!
And a mixed multitude went up also with them; and flocks, and herds, even very much cattle.
God did not forbid or deny any of them to come with them
A religion will try to keep things private and hidden
A relationship is public and open
Under the cloud
To get under the cloud, the blood first was applied
Passover - blood of the lamb
Heb 9:12
Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
The blood of the lamb was spilt, so they could be free!
Moses could not save them. The mighty miracles of Moses could not free them, but the blood saved them!
When the blood was applied, protection is made available
The cloud protected
Ex 13:21-22
And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night: He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.
The cloud brought protection from the heat of the sun in the wilderness
Ps 121:5-6
The Lord is thy keeper:
The Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.
The sun shall not smite thee by day,
Nor the moon by night.
Same cloud that rested on the mercy seat in the tabernacle between the cherubims
Came to the temple years later as Solomon dedicated the temple to the Lord
Shekinah - that which dwells
This cloud was God Himself leading His people among His people
Protected them as they were about to cross the Red Sea
Ex 14:19-20
And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them: And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night.
Rev 12:10
And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
As the accuser, the Devil, casts blame at us
1 John 2:1-2
My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
Our advocate, Jesus Christ, reminds God of His blood applied to the Mercy seat in Heaven:
Heb 12:24
And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.
The blood Jesus shed for you and me speaks a language that we do not fully understand, but to the perfect, holy, and just God it cries out:
REDEEMED!
THEY HAVE BEEN CLEANSED FROM ALL THEIR SINS!
THE PRICE HAS BEEN PAID! BOUGHT WITH MY BLOOD!
God places us under His cloud, that shekinah glory, and protects us
Darkness to Satan and his demons, but light unto us!