Cross Road

Baptist Church

© 2017

Sermon Text

The Sight of Blood

Series: The Blood Covenant

 5. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: you shall take it out from the sheep or from the goats.

 7. And they shall take of the blood and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein you shall eat.

 12. For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I AM the LORD.

 13. And the Blood shall be a token upon the houses where you are: and when I (God) see the Blood, I (God) will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.

Exodus 12:5, 7, 12-13

The Message of the Blood

Whenever we see blood, we immediately know that something or someone has been injured. Blood is the life of mammals in general and man in particular. It is something very precious to us and even one drop spilled on the ground sends out a message. God said to Cain, the blood of your brother cries out to Me from the ground. Genesis 4:10. There is a message in the blood.

In the genetic sense, the blood carries a certain code. That code determines your physical features and identifies your uniqueness as a person. There is a message in the blood. It is no wonder that God has demanded blood sacrifices as a message that we send to God. It is a message that says we are serious about what we give to the Lord. It is a message that says to God that our need is great. It is a message that says to God – something died that we might live. No wonder, God demanded the blood sacrifice. If God demanded blood as an offering, then there is definitely a message in the blood.

In the Book of Exodus, we read where God commanded Moses to establish the Passover Law. Before the Ordinances and the Priesthood, God had established the blood covenant. Long before Moses would ascend Mt. Sinai to speak with God and then descend that Mount with the Ten Commandments, God established the blood covenant. Even in the days of Abraham, we see the great patriarch making blood sacrifices to God. Yet, it is the Passover where we see a clear picture of the benefit of the blood covenant. Make no mistake about it, if the Israelites had compromised the offering of the lamb in any way, they would have died. They had to offer the blood, participate in celebrating the blood, and finally they had to apply the blood in the exact manner that God had prescribed.

There was a message in the blood that God would speak into the hearts of the Children of Israel. They would realize that the Passover Lamb was shed in order for them to live. There was a message that God would speak to Pharaoh and all of Egypt. They were calling on and relying on their gods to deliver them, but their sacrifices were in vain. Finally, there was a message that God sent to the Destroyer Angel. When the Destroyer saw that blood, he was not to attack that household. The Angel got the message and only slew those where the blood was not applied.

The Ministry of the Blood

While we may consider worship a casual thing, we witness a different picture when the Passover Lamb was slain. Everything had to be done timely. It all had to be done completely. It all had to be done in order and together. In other words the people had to come together to celebrate the Passover. The ministry of the Passover is still continued with the Jews today because they remember what that Lamb meant on that night in Egypt. All of the other plagues that were sent upon Egypt, God separated Israel simply on the basis of birth. Their nationality meant they would not be harmed. When it came to that special night of the Death Angel being loosed on Egypt, anyone that did not celebrate the blood of the slain lamb would die. Nationality, heritage, and origin did not matter. If the blood was not applied – death was certain. It did not matter if you were of the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The ministry of the blood of the lamb was the only thing that was important on that night. Think of it. Many in Egypt thought that it was just another night. They thought that morning would come as usual. They ate their supper and reclined for the evening thinking all was well. At midnight, the Destroyer began to make his rounds. Any household that had not participated in the Passover was on his list. The Bible says there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead.

Meanwhile, in every house where the Angel saw blood, they were safe from all harm. I can’t help but say right here – thank God for the Blood of Jesus. Every night, I can lay me down to sleep and not worry because the Blood has been applied to my heart. I’m safe. I’m saved. I’m sanctified because of the Blood. We must not allow the Ministry of the Blood of Jesus to disappear from the Church lest we fall under the condemnation worst than that of Egypt. We had better remember the Communion. We had better remember that for us The Lamb of God was slain upon the Cross. Stop being cute and remember. Stop trying to be important and remember. Stop trying to be right and remember. Spiritual death is still on the prowl, but where there is the Blood of Jesus – we are saved.

There are three key elements that we can glean from the ministry of the Passover that helps us as the Church. First, there was the selection of the blood donor. Exodus 12:5, your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: you shall take it out from the sheep or from the goats. What they chose was of high importance to God. The sacrifice of a bull would not have worked. The sacrifice of any other animal would not have worked. That night was not the time to experiment with new forms of ministry. It had to be done according to the Word of God. Not only was the animal to be a lamb, it had to be a perfect lamb. Any lamb that had imperfections would not have worked. Can we be for real here? There are many Church folk who are not serious about giving God their best. We give God the least, the last, and the lousy. When it comes to tithes, many cheat God. When it comes to service; that is the last thing on our minds. We serve God when it is convenient and not because it is right. Then we give God the lousy stuff that we don’t want. Is that any way to serve God?

Not only was the selection of the lamb important to God and the person offering it, the application of the blood offering was critical. Rather than just taking the blood of the Lamb and draining it out on the ground, God commanded them to apply the blood to their house. Verse 7 reads …take of the blood and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein you shall eat. Get this, the blood had to mark their doorway clearly. Then they were to consume the Lamb from which the blood came. The Church goes through either one extreme or the other. We either do things without knowing why we do it. Or we know we should do things but fail to carry it out. In other words, we don’t make proper application. For every Israelite, they knew why they were taking the blood and applying it to their doorway. They didn’t talk about it they did it. They did not hold seminars and prayer meetings about the importance of the blood of the lamb, the just did it. Some things in the Church, we just simply need to take action. Quit holding senseless Church meetings to get everyone’s opinion. Just do what God commands and be done with it. Amen.

Not only was the selection of the blood donor important and the application of the blood sacrifice critical, the blood had to be acknowledged. Verse 13, tells us that God would give His acknowledgement of the blood sacrifice. And the Blood shall be a token upon the houses where you are: and when I (God) see the Blood, I (God) will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. Here is the puzzling thing. Why didn’t the children of Israel acknowledge the blood? Get this, God acknowledged the blood and the Destroyer passed over them. The Egyptians acknowledged the blood being absent when they cried out in grief over their dead. While the Egyptians were crying, the Israelites should have been shouting for joy. When will we as believers, learn that there is nothing wrong with praise. We think it shameful to say praise the Lord. If death had come that close to me and then passed by, I would have a few “praise the Lord.” If death had not harmed me – “I would said, “God is good.” They may have, but the Scripture does not say they said anything. As a matter of fact, if they had begun the practice of praise, they may not have murmured so much later.

The Miracle of the Blood

There is definitely a message in the Blood. There is definitely a ministry of the blood. More importantly, there is a miracle in the Blood. It is sad that the modern Church has compromised the Blood covenant in search of human effort The modern Church has compromised the Blood covenant by depending on man-made traditions. Unless the Blood Covenant of Christ is applied, the Church is headed for death and destruction.

The reason why we celebrate the Communion is due to the fact that it is the equivalent of our Passover. The Lamb of God was sacrificed to take away our sin and to bring us into fellowship with God. It was nothing short of a miracle that God would accept us in His Beloved. We need to see that miracle for ourselves and not mindlessly go through the Communion as if it is just a ritual. This means every thing to us.

When we see the Blood, do we know what we are seeing? The Blood of Jesus Christ means we are justified. Exodus 12:12, God said, for I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast. The blood of the lamb in Egypt made the difference because it was a miracle that God provided. Romans 5:9 tells us, much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath through Him. It is only the Blood of Jesus Christ that keeps destruction at bay. As a matter of fact, we were marked for destruction and condemned by sin. Jesus came along and applied His blood to our heart. Now we are saved from wrath because of the Blood of Jesus. That truly is a miracle.

Yes I am justified by the Blood. When I see the Blood, I know that every thing is alright. But what happens when the Devil sees the Blood. There is a different message when the Devil sees the Blood. As Revelation 12:11 tells us that we (the believer) overcame him (the devil) by the Blood of the Lamb, and by the Word of their testimony…  The Devil is not going to stop simply because we speak to him. The Devil will not flee simply because we tell him to. When the Devil sees the Blood of the Lamb, he has no more power. It is the sight of the Blood that takes away all the evil and destroys it. That is how powerful the Blood of Jesus Christ really is. Yes it is necessary to tell the Devil he is defeated. In doing that, we are simply giving praise to God for the victory that we have in Jesus. Thank God for the Blood of the Lamb of God.

While it is important that we see the Blood and that the Devil sees the Blood of Jesus; when God sees the Blood, He is satisfied. Isaiah 53:10-11, Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief; when You shall make His soul an offering for sin… He shall see the travail of His soul and shall be satisfied. If there was anything else that could have delivered us from sin, God would have given it. In the same way that only the Passover Lamb was the only remedy for the Death Angel to pass over the Israelites, Jesus is the Only remedy to take away the sin of the world. One hymn writer says it this way.

Down at the Cross where my Savior died.

Down where for cleansing from sin I cried.

There to my heart was the Blood applied – glory to His Name.