THE CALL TO ACTION - PART II: Be Warned, Be Saved, Today

Be Warned

As a reminder, our Scripture Reference: Exodus 12:7-14.  In part I, we considered how God told them to prepare worshipfully.  Now, people, being human, will need to know what will happen if they fail to follow. 

¹²On that same night, I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD.

Be warned, people!  Death is going to come creeping through the streets, into houses, like a thief in the night.  Now, the Egyptians had been playing the I dare you game for quite a while.  God said, Let my people go.  And, the Egyptians would reply, “No. And if we don’t, what are you going to do about it?”  Remember reading about those days?  God’s answer?  He turned water into blood for days.  Egyptians response?  That’s not so bad.  God said be warned!!  And the game went on until God said the firstborn children and animals would die. 

God said to the Israelites, Put the blood on your houses because death is coming.  God said I’m coming to town tonight.  Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Do this, cause I’m coming, and death will be my response.  This game is over, and I’m going to show you what I’m going to do about it.  The warning was for all – the Israelites, the Egyptians.  There is a call to you, to me, to …

Be Saved

When there is an action God says he will take, when God tells you what to do while you are waiting, when God tells you to be warned, he will also tell you how you can be saved.  God did no less for the Israelites.  God told Moses what the people needed to do to be protected from God’s imminent wrath.  A formula to follow had been given.  There’s a prescription for health and welfare that was available:  Remember that blood that was to be smeared on houses?  Well, Moses told them that God promised that:

13 The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.

It’s noteworthy that God proclaimed that the means for Worship would be the means for protection.  Cover your houses with the blood, and the blood will be a signal that death will pass by, and you will be protected.  Worship me in this way and you shall be saved.  God is something else, isn’t He?  If you did not get that, let me say it again.  Cover your house with the blood of the lamb, and I will pass over you when my anger rages and death comes a calling.

One last thing.  How long were they to worship God by remembering and acting?  Scripture says that:

14 “This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord—a lasting ordinance. 

This was not a one-time call to action.  This was to be continued throughout the generations.  Worship me in this way forevermore that you might not forget what I have done for you.  Remember where to go for your strength and your sustenance.  Hold on to that thought.

Today

So why go there today?  I think you know before I answer.  We went way back and talked about the days of Moses.  But what about today? Oh, we got us some plagues, and there’s pestilence running throughout this world today.  I don’t have to call them all out because you read and hear, and you’ve experienced them.  We are directly and indirectly impacted by so many of them.  And with each one, God is calling us to action.  Our woes didn’t just start with what’s going on right now.  It’s as old as time.  It’s as old as Moses, helping to lead the Israelites to freedom.  As old as John the Baptist, Jesus’ cousin, who brought another call: Repent and be saved.  That call has not changed. 

While that call to repent hasn’t changed, the path, I believe the path is so much more encouraging.  You see, we no longer have to smear lamb’s blood on our homes.  We no longer have to eat or look at whole slabs of meat.  We no longer have to eat with an actual staff in our hands.  Because, thanks be to God, Jesus came that we might be saved through His blood. 

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus!! There is indeed something about that name!  Doesn’t just the name of Jesus call you action?  Say his name.  Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, like the sunshine after rain.  So, today, this morning, right this very minute, I submit to you that Jesus is the Call Action.  He’s the action.  Being with Him is what we live to achieve.

But even though I know that Jesus is calling, I still have to remember and not doubt that God’s got me; no matter what, He’s on time.  God knows, we forget sometimes.  Can you honestly tell me, my Christian brothers and sisters, that God did nothing for you all week?  Did the call to action bring you here?  The next time someone says they don’t need to worship.  You tell them, “Well, I do,” cause there’s nothing like giving thanks for the feeling that Jesus gives me each and every day. 

Here’s the thing: we go out into the world all week and live life, going about our business.  But are we remembering the Call to Action?  I already tried to help you move out of limbo into awareness.  However, maybe it’s still not clear.  Don’t you know, today, and every day, the Call to Action is Jesus.  Out and about, did you forget the Call to Action?  If by the end of the week, you are not craving the opportunity to come together with other Christians and worship His name, somewhere during the week, you forgot the Call to Action.

When you give your best on your job, in school, at the theater, in the park…  When you are the best parent, employee, teacher, student, friend, spouse...  When you do for others all throughout the week…When you attend a meeting, serve on a board, do charity work, tell someone about Jesus… You are remembering the Call to Action.  When you do these things and you get that well-done and content feeling, and that the need to celebrate comes over you, the Call to Action should bring you into the house of the Lord on Sunday, where you can celebrate worship with all the others who have spent time during the week heeding the Call to Action.

Congregants, everywhere, your church covenant just might include a statement like we are to worship and study God’s truth.  When we worship God together, we don’t have to ask anybody what was preached today because hopefully we know.  Heed the Call to Action and worship God was preached today.  Based on all you accomplished throughout the week, that you could not have done without the help of God, the indwelling of Jesus Christ, and the motivation of the Holy Spirit, you came into a sanctuary, a place of worship.  Or, you zoomed in from near and far.  You remained long enough to hear this much of this sermon.… You did all that just because you wanted to worship God.  You did all that because you, at some point, began to realize just what the call to action is… has always been.  All the way from Moses to Jesus.  The goal was for The Call to Action to be Jesus. 

Next, we’ll talk about The Call to Action.