If you would open with me to
Exodus chapter 14. Exodus 14. In chapter 13, Israel
had left Egypt, and they had started on a path that led most
directly to the promised land, to the land of Canaan. But now
in chapter 14, they are turned from that direct path, and they're
led into a position that from all earthly standpoint, all mortal
knowledge is a path most inconvenient and unenviable. They are entangled
in the land. Exodus 14 verse 1, And the Lord spake unto Moses,
saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they turn and
encamp before Piah hiroth between Migdal and the sea, over against
Beelzebon, before it shall yin camp by the sea. For Pharaoh
will say of the children of Israel, they are entangled in the land,
the wilderness hath shut them in. And I will harden Pharaoh's
heart, that he shall follow after them, and I will be honored upon
Pharaoh and upon all his host, that the Egyptians may know that
I am the Lord." And they did so. Lord declares to Moses where
to go and the reason for this change of direction. Moses, you'll
go this way because I will be honored upon Pharaoh and upon
all his host, that the Egyptians may know that I am the Lord."
Verse 5, And it was told the king of Egypt
that the people fled, and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants
was turned against the people. And they said, Why have we done
this, that we have let Israel go from serving us? And he made
ready his chariot, and took his people with him, and he took
six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt,
and captains over every one of them. And the Lord hardened the
heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children
of Israel. And the children of Israel went
out with an high hand." Listen to that last. The children
of Israel went out with a high hand. You who have received grace,
you whose salvation the Lord has won, who have been delivered
from the bondage of sin, who went out rejoicing in the Lord's
salvation, you went out with a high hand praising his name. But shortly, the way, the way
which at first seems so easy, the way of Christ shortly leads
to Pyhahiroth between Migdal and the sea. That's where Israel
was encamped when Egypt came to them. According to a commentator that
I read, Israel was basically encamped between a rock and a
hard place. He said, on the one hand was
Pi-Ha-Hi-Roth, a range of craggy rocks, impassable. On the other hand were Mig-Nel
and Ba-El-Ziphon, which some think were forts and garrisons
upon the frontiers of Egypt. Before them was the sea, behind
them the Egyptians. Israel was hemmed in. They were trapped. They had nowhere
to go, no escape, and no visible way of getting to the
promised land. Have you been there? I've been there. Some of us are
perhaps there today. There are times when God's people
are on cloud nine. We are certain of our salvation. We are walking daily with the
Lord. We know his presence. I imagine this morning, I talked
to Gabe a little bit through text, and said, how's the conference
going? Oh, it's a blessing. Every message
is a blessing. Almost every conference I've
ever been to, it's a blessing. You're encouraged. Then there are other times. And
oh, how so very often it is one to the other in a moment. There are other times when the
walls close in, when the valley of the shadow of death becomes
so deep and so great. When we look to our left and
there's an insurmountable wall of sin We glance over to the
right, and all we see is a heaping pile of self-righteous filthy
rags. Glance behind, and the unyielding
law and justice pursues us. And before, nothing but a black,
dismal void. The way to God appears to have
left us, Our prayers, our pleas appear to fall on empty ears,
just hollow words, and we feel quite sure that God has left
us. How often my unbelief delivers
me to such a state. Is there a word? Is there a solid
hope that can deliver us from this valley of the shadow of
death? I think, I hope, I have one this morning. And that word
is, thy redeemer liveth. That phrase sounds so good to
me. Does it to you? Thy redeemer
liveth. I've had a reminder on my phone
for years, and you know, it comes up, there's a little preview
thing that tells me to do this, and the preview says, study this,
thy redeemer. And over the years, I've lost
sight of what the entire thing says, so I've just made it, study
this, thy redeemer liveth. Over the past week or so, knowing
I had to bring this message, that phrase was in my mind. I thought, this is the time.
This is when to study this. So I sat down to write this message,
and the first thing I did was type into the search, thy redeemer
liveth. Know what happened? There are
no results for that phrase in our scriptures. Well, what to do? How can I stand here and declare
with boldness the word that will bring us some comfort, thy redeemer
liveth? You don't have to hold your place
here. But turn with me to Revelation 1. Revelation 1, verse 12. Revelation 1, 12. And I turned
to see the voice that spake with me, and being turned, I saw seven
golden candlesticks. And in the midst of the seven
candlesticks, one like unto the Son of Man, clothed with a garment
down to the foot, and gird about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white
like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were as a flame
of fire, and his feet likened to fine brass as if they burned
in a furnace, and his voice as the sound of many waters. And
he had in his right hand seven stars, and out of his mouth went
a sharp two-edged sword, and his countenance was as the sun
shineth in his stream. And when I saw him, I fell at
his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon
me, saying unto me, fear not. I am the first and the last. I am he that liveth and was dead. And behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of
hell and death. Our Lord Jesus Christ declares
here in verse 18, I am he that liveth, based on his word. Our topic, title, and outline
this morning is Your Redeemer Liveth. The first point, who is included
in your? Your Redeemer liveth. Am I included
in that? To answer that, who's in the
year? Let's consider the children of
Israel at the Red Sea. Who are these people by nature? Well, first, they are all the
children of one man. They're the children of a man
by the name of Jacob. Let's consider this man just
briefly. Listen to what his brother Esau
said. Is not he rightly named Jacob? For he hath supplanted me these
two times. Jacob means supplanter. one who takes the place of another
by scheming or trickery." Here are some things that are
recorded about Jacob. He cheated his brother of his
birthright for some pottage. He deceived his father Isaac
and obtained the blessing. Upon returning from Haram, He
heard that Esau, his brother, whom he presumed was still after
him to kill him. That was the reason he fled to
Haram. And he heard that Esau was coming
to meet him, so he took his family and divided them up. And he first sent out the handmaids
of his wives, who had borne him children. He sent those women
and his children out that they had for him. They went out first. Then he took Leah and her children
and sent them out. Then he sent Rachel and Joseph
out before him to meet. He saw his brother whom he assumed
was going to kill him and all that he had. All of those went first and finally
he came along. Jacob hid behind his wives and
children fearing he would be slain and hoping that the bloodlust
of his brother would be satisfied by them before they got to him.
Should we encounter such a man as that today we would find him totally contemptible. We would
have nothing good to say about that man. Who were these Israelites at
the Red Sea? They were the children of their
father and just like all of us They were like him. What's the condition of these
people? Just a few days ago, they were
slaves. How did they become slaves? Willingly. Jacob had an inheritance. A land was given to his grandfather. God gave Abraham this land. Abraham passed that land down
to Isaac, who then passed it down to Jacob, his inheritance. But hard times came, and Jacob
willingly left his inheritance and went into Egypt. Once there, he and his children
became comfortable and they lost their desire to return to the
land that had been given them their inheritance. Who are these Israelites? They're
the children of Jacob who were in bondage, a bondage that they
willingly sold themselves into and remained and they are they
who were delivered by a great and mighty deliverance through
no strength or power of their own. Who is it that can lay hold of
and find comfort in your Redeemer liveth? Those who have been made
to know I am the child of a sinful, rebellious father. And I am just
like him. A father who willingly sold himself
and me into bondage. And I, by my nature, revel to
be there. I prefer to be in that bondage
and sin rather than to be free. Yet, even if I had a desire to
get out of that bondage, I don't have the ability. I have no way
of being free. I don't have the price to pay
to redeem myself. The debt I owe is so great, and
I have nothing with which to pay. That's part one of our cry. at the same moment, in the same
cry, we cry out, but God had mercy upon me. He has set me
free to him alone be all glory, honor, and power. Those are they who can take part
in your Redeemer liveth. Second point, Redeemer. Oh, thank God He has provided
the Redeemer for sinful men. Who is our Redeemer? Join me
in Isaiah 41. Isaiah 41 verse 14, who is our
Redeemer? Fear not thou worm Jacob and
ye men of Israel. I will help thee, saith the Lord
and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. God Almighty is our Redeemer. Who is the Lord? Verse 10. Fear thou not, for I am with
thee. Be not dismayed, for I am thy
God. I will strengthen thee, yea,
I will help thee, yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand
of my righteousness. Our Redeemer is our God, our
Redeemer is the Lord Jesus Christ. Turn over with me to Galatians
chapter 3. Galatians chapter 3. Galatians 3 verse 13, Christ,
our Lord Jesus Christ, hath redeemed us from the curse of the law,
being made a curse for us, for it is written, cursed is everyone
that hangeth on a tree. The Lord Jesus Christ, God, is
our Redeemer. What has he redeemed us from? Verse 13 again, Christ hath redeemed
us from the curse of the law. What is the curse of the law? Curse of the law is separation
from God. Curse of the law is death. In
Genesis 2.17, God gave Adam the law. But of the tree of the knowledge
of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it. And the result,
the curse of breaking the law is, for in the day that thou
eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die. Adam, who had delighted
and communed with God, and delighted in being in his presence, Before
he broke the law, having taken of the fruit, he then hides from
him. And they heard the voice of the
Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam
and his wife hid. They no longer desired to be
in God's presence. They were separated from him.
Our Lord Jesus Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law. And in Psalm 136, 24, he has
also redeemed us from our enemies. Who are our enemies? Sin? Satan? Our natural affections? The world? All that stands between
us and God are our enemies. And what can we say of our enemies? If I summed up and just, what
can I say of those things that are against me? That stand between
me and God, there's one overarching realization. They are mightier
than I am. I don't have power over them. What's to be done? Jeremiah 31
11 says, The Lord hath redeemed Jacob and ransomed him from the
hand of him that was stronger than he. that which I'm bound under, that
debt that I owe that is so great, so much stronger than I am, those
enemies that are so much more powerful than I am, they are
not stronger than the Lord my God. He is our mighty Redeemer. Galatians 3.13. Christ hath redeemed us from
the curse of the law. How did he do so? Being made
a curse for us. To be redeemed from the curse
of the law and from my enemies, the price of my freedom must
be paid. And that price is twofold. The law must be kept in full. I have to keep it. The debt owed
for breaking the law, death, must be paid. It must be satisfied. Glance over the page there, verse
4 of chapter 4. But when the fullness of time
was come, God sent forth His Son made of a woman, made under
the law. The Lord Jesus Christ, God the
Son, came in the likeness of sinful flesh. And as a man, he
kept and fulfilled his own law. He purchased, he earned a righteousness
before God as a man. He earned that righteous standing
before him. Neither the law of man nor of
God could find any fault with the man, Jesus of Nazareth. But then that man went to the
cross of Calvary. not for any sin, not for any
guilt that he had done himself, but bearing our sin. He, being made one with his bride,
willingly suffered, shed his blood, and died, being made a
curse for us. He redeemed us. By His life He
satisfied the law. By His death He satisfied justice. By His resurrection He has robed
us in His righteousness. Christ Jesus, our Lord, has redeemed
us from the curse of the law, From our enemies and we, O glorious
news, we who were once at enmity with God in our carnal nature,
we now read in Revelation 5, 9 that our Lord Jesus Christ
was slain and has redeemed us to God. We're redeemed. He has satisfied
it. The enmity is gone. The wall
that separated us from our God has been put aside and we're
made one because of Christ. Our final point, your Redeemer
liveth. You which worship God in the
spirit and rejoice in Christ Jesus and have no confidence
in the flesh, your Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ, God the
Son, who gave himself for our sins and redeemed us to God,
your Redeemer liveth. He who laid down his life for
our sins said in Revelation 118, I am he that liveth and was dead. And behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And have the keys of hell
and of death. Our Redeemer is God. The great
I Am having neither beginning of days nor end of life. He lives eternally, forever and
ever. He lives seated on His throne. He lives in those He has redeemed. He lives making intercession
for us. He lives ensuring that all those
He has redeemed shall be made like Him. and be with him where
he is, and thus fulfilling the desire that he has placed in
our heart to be with him and to be like him. When the way seems hard, when
unbelief blinds our hearts, when the valley of the shadow of death
feels like it's so much more than just a shadow, O Lord, how we beg, remind us
once more that our Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior, our Redeemer,
liveth. Christ hath redeemed us from
the curse of the law, being made a curse for us, for it is written,
cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree. that the blessing
of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ,
that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. I pray that's a blessing to us. You're dismissed.