A Celebration of Freedom

(Sermon Outline)

1)      Two weeks ago we began talking about the book of Exodus

a)      Exodus is about the birth of a nation – God’s plan from the beginning

i)        It is the key to the rebirth of our nation.

b)      It talks about deliverance from a culture of slavery and shows how to cultivate a culture of liberty

c)      Why the construction of the tabernacle is in Exodus and not Leviticus.

d)      When people became engaged in the work of God they became unified community with purpose and significance – building the temple is central to destroying the slave mentality and spiritual maturity

e)      Building the temple is about recreating the world – the kingdom of heaven.

f)       The OT shadow – NT substance – building the church

g)      In deciding how to approach the book of Exodus, so that it does not take years, we will look at themes and principles cyclically – today: Introduction and sabbath

2)      Introduction to Exodus

a)      The exodus is the West’s meta-narrative of hope, its inextinguishable tale of freedom…The Exodus story is the universal story of what happens when men and women are touched by the call of God, to relinquish their fetters and have the courage to begin travelling the long road to freedom.[1]

b)      Biblical monotheism was a revolution thousands of years ahead of its time. The exodus was more than the liberation of slaves. It was a redrawing of the moral landscape. If the image of God is to be found, not only in kings but in the human person as such, then all power that dehumanizes is ipso facto an abuse of power.[2]

c)      Historically, it was the covenant at Sinai and all that flowed from it, not the Greek political tradition, that inspired the birth of freedom in Britain and America, the first people to take that road in the modern age.[3]

3)      The birth of a nation and the journey toward freedom – Israel – Jesus is the key to Freedom!

a)      The purposes and work of God are the meta-narrative of history – reconciling all things!

b)      Israel rejected the Messiah but: Romans 11:5 (NKJV) — 5 Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace.

c)      Romans 11:11–15 (NKJV) — 11 I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles. 12 Now if their fall is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness! 13 For I speak to you Gentiles; inasmuch as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, 14 if by any means I may provoke to jealousy those who are my flesh and save some of them. 15 For if their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?

d)      God’s work among nations

e)      The concept of covenant was rediscovered in the West in the wake of the Reformation, where it played a major role in the “birth of the modern” and the emergence of free societies.[4]

f)       1776 & 1789

g)      What we are for and not what we are against – repentance – coming home to our heritage

4)      A unique commandment

a)      Exodus 20:8 (NKJV) — 8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

b)      The transition in the table of the law – it is about keeping the dream of the exodus alive in the regular routine of our lives.

c)      Why I picked this commandment

i)        the goal is hunger to study

ii)      Exodus 20:1–2 (NKJV) — 1 And God spoke all these words, saying: 2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

iii)    The centrality of the tabernacle and the contents of the ark

d)      The Sabbath is not simply a day of rest. It is an anticipation of “the end of history,” the messianic age. On it, we recover the lost harmonies of the Garden of Eden. We do not strive to do; we are content to be. We are not permitted to manipulate the world; instead, we celebrate it as God’s supreme work of art. We are not allowed to exercise power or dominance over other human beings, nor even domestic animals. Rich and poor inhabit the Sabbath alike, with equal dignity and freedom.

e)      On Shabbat we rehearse utopia, or what Judaism came later to call the messianic age. One day in seven, all hierarchies of power are suspended. There are no masters and slaves, employers and employees. Even domestic animals cannot be made to work. We are not allowed to exercise control over other forms of life, or even forces of nature. On Shabbat, within the covenantal society, all are equal and all are free. It is the supreme antithesis of Egypt.[5]

f)       There are many principles regarding the sabbath and we are only going to look at one.

g)      Shabbat is the antidote to the Golden Calf because it is the day when we stop thinking of the price of things and focus instead on the value of things.[6]

h)      When money rules, we remember the price of things and forget the value of things…The value of a house is that it is a home… A home is a haven in a heartless world. It’s where we belong and where, if we are lucky, we raise a family.[7]

i)        Shabbat, one of the first commands Moses gave the Jewish people, remains as relevant now as it was then. It tells us that happiness lies not in what we buy but in what we are; that true contentment is to be found not by seeking what we lack but by giving thanks for what we have… Above all, we should never be led by the crowd when it stampedes in pursuit of gain, for that is how gold becomes a Golden Calf.

j)        A celebration of liberty

k)      The first saying of Jesus in the book of John (1:38) – What do you seek?  The Lord’s prayer.

5)      A Celebration of Liberty

a)      The second saying of Jesus in the book of John (1:39) “Come and see”

b)      Balaam saw Israel

c)      John 1:17 (NKJV) — 17 For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

d)      John 17:3 (NKJV) — 3 And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.

e)      Local government is the most important – self-government

f)       Provoking Israel to Jealousy

[1] Sacks, Jonathan. Exodus: The Book of Redemption (Covenant & Conversation 2) (p. 18). Kindle Edition.