{"id":31008,"date":"2024-04-18T20:54:07","date_gmt":"2024-04-19T03:54:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/gospel-express\/2024-touch-copy\/"},"modified":"2024-04-18T21:53:58","modified_gmt":"2024-04-19T04:53:58","slug":"2024-liberation","status":"publish","type":"portfolio","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/gospel-express\/2024-liberation\/","title":{"rendered":"Passover: The Four Stages of Liberation"},"content":{"rendered":"

one for Israel<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cI have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant. Therefore, say to the Israelites:
\n\u2018I am the LORD, and
\n\u2013 \u00a0I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.
\n\u2013 \u00a0I will free you from being slaves to them, and
\n\u2013 \u00a0I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment.
\n\u2013 \u00a0I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God.<\/em><\/p>\n

Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.\u201d (Exodus 6:5-7)<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Jewish tradition states that the four cups represent the four aspects of redemption listed in these verses from Exodus:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. I WILL BRING YOU OUT FROM UNDER THE YOKE OF THE EGYPTIANS<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    This is the first stage of liberation\u2014the practical and actual rescue from captivity. It is the physical transition out of Egypt and towards the Promised Land. As believers, we can see that when Yeshua paid for our sin on the cross, we were made free from condemnation, and can start our journey of a life walking with God. The fact that the Jewish people went through water might also parallel the believer’s baptism as part of the liberation process.<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. I WILL FREE YOU FROM BEING SLAVES TO THEM<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      This second stage is more about mental liberation. Even when freed, humans and animals can sometimes still act as if they are not. Sometimes this is called institutionalisation. We get so used to living in a cage, we don’t know how to walk in freedom. Here, God promises to free Israel of the slave mindset, and we too need to be liberated from a mind that has been in bondage to sin. We need to understand more and more that we really are free, and learn how to live accordingly.<\/p>\n

      \"\"<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. I WILL REDEEM YOU WITH AN OUTSTRETCHED ARM AND WITH MIGHTY ACTS OF JUDGEMENT<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        The Exodus story is full of the supernatural. I often wonder if these miracles happened today what we might think\u2026 are we willing to accept God in all his supernatural wonder? His mighty outstretched arm? Some of the miracles and judgments are hard to accept\u2014especially when seen from the perspective of the ordinary Egyptian. This is our God: mighty in wonders, unfathomable, unstoppable, and unlike anything we could possibly understand. But this is our rescuer. He wants us to embrace Him and His redemption, and let Him decide how things must be done.<\/p>\n

        \"\"<\/p>\n

          \n
        1. I WILL TAKE YOU AS MY OWN PEOPLE, AND I WILL BE YOUR GOD<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          The ultimate goal is relationship. God wants intimacy with his people. The desert can be seen to represent walking in intimacy with God, and in fact God looks back at that time right after the exodus as something of a honeymoon with His people:<\/p>\n

          \u201cThis is what the LORD says:\u201c\u2018I remember the devotion of your youth, how as a bride you loved me and followed me through the wilderness, through a land not sown. Israel was holy to the LORD, the firstfruits of his harvest\u201d. Jeremiah 2:1-3<\/em><\/p>\n

          \u201cTherefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her. There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. There she will respond as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt.\u201d Hosea 2:14-15\u00a0<\/em>2<\/sup><\/em><\/p>\n

          A pastor once said, \u201ca dessert is something you want and don’t need, but the desert is something you don’t want, but you do need\u201d.\u00a0Desert life\u00a0is not easy, but it’s often where our walk with God gets deeper and more intimate. One day we will be in the promised place of ultimate rest but until then, life with God is not always going to be a walk in the park. It’s a time to learn about our rescuer, and grow in our ability and willingness to trust, love and follow Him. We are with Him, and He is with us. We are His people, and He is our God. We are bonded in relationship, and that is our joy and His.<\/p>\n

          \"\"<\/p>\n

          JESUS OUR PASSOVER LAMB: MORE GLORIOUS STORIES TO COME!<\/strong><\/p>\n

          So while this is just the very tip of the iceberg when thinking about the Passover story and its fulfillment in Yeshua our Messiah, it’s easy to see why this event is so pivotal, and such a perfect foreshadowing of our salvation story. God reminds Israel of who He is and what He’s done for them over and over again by adding the events to His name: \u201cYou know, me\u2014the one who brought you out of Egypt\u201d\u2026 And like all of us, the Israelites needed a lot of reminding. But Jeremiah writes something curious about this description of God:<\/p>\n

          \u201cThe days are coming,\u201d declares the LORD, \u201cwhen it will no longer be said, \u2018As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,\u2019 but it will be said, \u2018As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the Israelites up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had banished them.\u2019 For I will restore them to the land I gave their ancestors.<\/strong>\u201d Jeremiah 16:14-16<\/em>\u00a0(23:7-8 says much the same thing).<\/p>\n

          The story of God and the Israelites is not over yet. God has indeed brought the Israelites out from the land of the north (Russia and surrounding area) and out of all the countries they had been banished to for almost two thousand years. He is still not widely known by name for this action. But the days are coming\u2026
          \nThe physical, practical and actual restoration of Israel took place last century. Now we prayerfully anticipate and work towards the spiritual restoration of Israel.
          \nHappy Passover, and God’s richest blessings to you as we celebrate the resurrection of our sacrificial\u00a0Passover Lamb\u00a0that bought our freedom.<\/p>\n

          \"\"<\/p>\n

          parts from\u00a0 The Power of Passover \u2013 ONE FOR ISRAEL Ministry<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":31009,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","tags":[],"portfolio_entries":[29],"class_list":["post-31008","portfolio","type-portfolio","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","portfolio_entries-29"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio\/31008","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/portfolio"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31008"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio\/31008\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31016,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio\/31008\/revisions\/31016"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31009"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31008"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31008"},{"taxonomy":"portfolio_entries","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio_entries?post=31008"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}