Number 38 in your spiral handbook. Number 38, let's all stand together.
Number 38. Come, every sinner saved by grace,
you who by faith God's Son embrace. Tell all who hear your voice
below the debt of love to Christ you owe. Dear Lord, I lift my
praise to Thee All that I am or hope to be I owe alone, O
Christ, to Thee He left his Father's throne above, And came to earth
on wings of love. For us he lived the perfect man,
And so fulfilled the law's demand. Dear Lord, I lift my praise to
Thee, All that I am or hope to be, I owe alone, O Christ, to
Thee. Jesus endured His Father's ire
and died at the appointed hour. What He endured, no tongue can
tell, to save our souls from death and hell. Dear Lord, I
lift my praise to Thee All that I am or hope to be I owe alone,
O Christ, to Thee From death's dark grave our King arose, And
triumphed over all our foes. Up through the skies the victor
rode, And reigns on high our Savior God. Dear Lord, I lift
my praise to Thee, All that I am or hope to be, I owe alone, O
Christ, to Thee. From heaven Christ will quickly
come and bring his ransomed people home. There we shall see his
lovely face and chant the praises of his grace. ? Dear Lord, I
lift my praise to Thee ? All that I am or hope to be ? I owe
alone, O Christ, to Thee Please be seated. Good evening. Let's open our
Bibles together to Romans chapter seven. Romans chapter seven. I want to try to bring a message
from Psalm 105 tonight, titled, When God Sends Darkness. When
God Sends Darkness. And part of the truth of that
is that when God sends darkness to our own souls, he makes us
to see ourselves for what we are, sinners. And so Romans chapter
seven, beginning at verse 18, For I know, and every believer
can say I know, that in me, that is in my flesh, dwelleth no good
thing. For to will is present with me,
but how to perform that which is good, I find not. For the good that I would, I
do not. But the evil which I would not,
that I do. I want to be perfect. I want
to be without sin. You know. We tell tell people
that. We have no sin in Christ and
and to talk to him about free grace and their response is always,
you know, if I believe that I'd live like I wanted. And and the
child of God's response is all. I wish I could live like I want. I really do. That's what Paul's
saying. I want to be holy. I want to
be without sin. One day I will be. Now, if I
do that, I would not. It is no more I that do it, but
sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law that when I
would do good, evil is present with me. Don't check your motives
too closely for anything that you do, because if you're honest,
you're gonna find them to be mixed. You're gonna find there
to be some selfish, evil, intense in everything you do. That's
what Paul's saying. But I see another law in my members
warring against the law of my mind, verse 23. I'm sorry, verse
22. For I delight in the law of God
after the inward man. We love God's law. But I see another law in my members,
warring against the law of my mind and bringing me into captivity
to the law of sin, which is in my members. Oh, wretched man
that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
I thank God through Jesus Christ, our Lord. So then with the mind,
I myself serve the law of God and with the flesh, the law of
sin. The flesh can do nothing but
sin, the flesh is always with us. There is therefore now, right
now, no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who
walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit. Let's pray. Our merciful Heavenly Father.
Send your spirit. Send him in power. To enlighten
the eyes of our understanding. To cause us to set our affections
on things above where Christ is seated at the right hand.
Lord calls us to. To know you and. To have. Hope and comfort and
joy. In your salvation. We pray that you would open what
no man can shut. Lord, open your word, open our
hearts, open the windows of heaven. Bless us with thy spirit and
with thy presence. We ask it in Christ's name, amen. number 497, 497. And let's stand
together once again. When I can read my title clear,
mansions in the skies, I'll bid farewell to every tear and wipe
my weeping eyes. And wipe my weeping eyes And
wipe my weeping eyes I'll bid farewell to every fear And wipe
my weeping eyes Should earth against my soul engage And fiery
darts be hurled, Then I can smile at Satan's rage And face a frowning
world. And face a frowning world And
face a frowning world Then I can smile at Satan's rage And face
a frowning world Let cares like a wild deluge come and storms
of sorrow fall. May I but safely reach my home,
my God, my heaven, my all. My God, my heaven, my all. My God, my heaven, my all. May I but safely reach my home. My God, my heaven, my all. There shall I bathe my weary
soul In seas of heavenly rest, And not a wave of trouble roll
Across my peaceful breast. Across my peaceful breast. Across my peaceful breast. And not a wave of trouble roll
across my peaceful breast. Please be seated. You open your Bibles with me
to Psalm 105. Psalm 105. This has been such
a blessing to us these last few weeks, looking at Psalm 105.
Tonight, I want us to focus our attention on verse 28. He sent
darkness and made it dark. and they rebelled not against
his word. When God sends darkness to the
soul, he causes us to see what we are, just what Paul confessed
himself to be, sinners. And the evidence of that is that
we don't rebel against being a sinner. The hope of our salvation
is in being a sinner. We delight in knowing that God's
word is true and that he has been pleased to reveal us for
what we are. When God sends darkness, they
rebel not against his word. Now, before that darkness can
be sent, notice in verse 27, They showed his signs among them. Speaking of Moses and Aaron.
Now he's talking historically about when Moses and Aaron brought
the children of Israel out of Egypt and when God sent the plagues
against the Egyptians. Those plagues were not for the
Egyptians. God was not desperately trying to get Pharaoh to let
his people go. And using these plagues as a
as a leverage to manipulate Pharaoh. Those plagues were for God's
people. And they showed the Lord's people
the power of God over the gods of Egypt. Now remember, the children
of Israel have been in Egypt for 430 years. I mean, now you
think about everything that's happened in the last 430 years.
That's a long time. And they didn't have the law. They didn't have, all they had
was the oral traditions that were passed down from Abraham
and Isaac and Jacob, and they didn't have a leader. They were wandering around in
Egypt and in bondage as slaves, and they didn't know God. And so when the Lord came and
revealed himself in Moses or through Moses, um, the first
thing the Lord does is he, he shows his power over the gods
of Egypt and, uh, and delivers his children out of that, out
of that bondage. And so he says in, in verse 26,
he sent Moses, his servant and Aaron, whom he had chosen. And
they showed now. The margin of my Bible, and I
look this word up, you see the word in verse 27, the word signs. The literal translation is the
word of his signs. In other words, the meaning of
his signs. It wasn't just he just showed
the demonstration of his signs. You remember when David says,
that the Lord revealed to Moses, his ways to the children of Israel,
his acts. Um, what the Lord is saying here
is that he showed them the meaning of these signs. And that's what
I'm hoping tonight that the Lord will show us the meaning, particularly
of the sign of darkness. It was the, it was the last of
the, of the 10 plagues. It was the ninth plague. The
sign of darkness was the ninth plague. It came right before
the death angel came on the Passover night. And Moses went to Pharaoh
and told him that God was going to send this darkness and Lord
did. And the scripture says that the
darkness was so dark that it could be felt. What a picture
of when the Lord sends darkness to our own souls and puts us
in that place Lord, I, I've got nothing in me. I've got no righteousness.
I've got nothing in me, but sin. And it's a darkness that can
be felt. And, uh, and then right after that came the shedding
of the blood of the lamb. Delivering us that's exactly
what Paul will say in Romans chapter 7 to will is present
with me But how to perform that which is good. I find not Oh
wretched man that I am Who shall deliver me from the body of this
death? Thanks be there is now therefore no condemnation to
them that are in Christ Jesus the Lord Jesus Christ is that
Passover lamb? look at So it's the, it's the
word of his signs or the meaning of his signs. It's not just that
he performed these miracles or these plagues, but the Lord shows
his people what they mean. What the, the, the spiritual
meaning of them to their own hearts and to their own relationship
with, with God. So that's what, that, that's,
that's what verse 27 says. They, Moses and Aaron, Moses,
the lawgiver, Aaron, the priest, and we have a prophet, a priest,
and a king right now, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shows us the
word of his signs or the meaning of his signs. We're not interested
in just seeing a sign or a miracle for the sake of seeing a miracle.
We're interested in God doing a work of grace in our hearts. Lord, the greatest miracle that
the Lord ever does is changing the heart of a sinner. and giving
faith to an unbeliever. And that's the sign, that's the
meaning of the sign, and that's what we're interested in. So
the Lord says, they, Moses and Aaron, the lawgiver and the priest,
representing none other than the Lord Jesus Christ, he's fulfilled
those types in their perfection as our lawgiver, our king, He
needed not only to give the law, but he kept the law and fulfilled
the law. He intercedes for us as our high
priest before God. We have a high priest who is
seated at the right hand of the majesty on high. We have a, we
have the prophet of God who has come as the very incarnation
of God's word. And, uh, and he shows to us,
he shows to us the meaning of his signs among them and the
wonders that he performs in the land of Ham. Now that's where
we live. We're living just like the children
of Israel were exiled to Babylon, just like they were exiled to
Egypt. That's where we, that's where we are. We live in the
land of Ham and the Lord as our prophet and as our priest and
as our King, he shows us. He shows us the meaning of the
signs and he shows us the wonders that he performs. He reveals
to us the accomplished work of redemption that he performed
in the land of Ham. Verse 28, now, he made known
his ways to Moses and his acts unto the children of Israel. And in order for us to have any
understanding of what this darkness is about, we've got to have some
understanding of what the blood's about, don't we? It's only when
the Lord is pleased to reveal himself for who he is that we're
brought to see ourselves for who we are. When Peter saw the
Lord, they remember the disciples didn't know who it was and Peter
said, it's the Lord. And he bowed, and he said, Lord,
depart from me, for I'm a sinful man. I've seen you now in your
resurrected glory. When Isaiah saw the Lord high
and lifted up, and his train filled the temple, and the seraphims
hovered over the throne of God, and they cried, holy, holy, holy,
is the Lord God of hosts. Heaven and earth is filled with
his glory. What did Isaiah do? Woe is me.
Woe is me. I am undone. I'm a man of unclean
lips. And I live among a people of
unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the king. Lord, I'm completely
dependent upon you to take a coal from off that altar and touch
my lips, and Lord, you're gonna have to shed some blood for me.
When Daniel saw the Lord, he said, my comeliness, my beauty,
and my strength was turned into corruption. The Lord said, when
you were yet without strength, not when you had little strength,
but when you were without strength, Christ died for the ungodly. And when the, I brought this
up Sunday or Sunday before last, I can't remember now, but when
the Lord said in Matthew chapter 28, all power has been given
unto me in heaven and in earth. Therefore you go make disciples
of all nations. If he's got all power, that means
I've got no power. No power. And that's where we
are. When we, when we see him for
who he is, when Job, when the Lord spoke to Job and revealed
himself to Job in, in Job chapter 40, uh, turn, turn with me there
just back a few pages. Look at verse one of Job chapter
40. Now Elihu has already preached the gospel and the Lord has already
gotten Job's attention. And he's told Job, he said, Job,
you brace yourself like a man because I'm going to ask you
some questions. And then he begins to interrogate Job. And in chapter
40, look at verse 1. Moreover, the Lord answered Job
and said, shall he that contended with the Almighty instruct him?
Now, who's the Lord speaking of? He's speaking of Job. He
said, Job, you've been contending with me. You've been justifying
yourself. Are you going to instruct me? He that reproveth God? Job, you've been reproving me.
Now, you answer me. Then Job answered the Lord and
said, behold, behold, I see something I've never seen before. I am
vile. I am vile. He didn't say I was
vile. He said, I am vile. What shall I answer thee? I will
lay my hand upon my mouth once I have spoken, but I will not
answer, yea, twice, but I will proceed no further, Lord. I've
said way too much. Now I see myself for what I am.
This is a faithful saying. This is a saying that's worthy
of all acceptation. Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners. And Paul said, of whom I am chief.
He didn't say I was chief sinners. I am chief. I am chief." He didn't
say, Oh, wretched man that I was. He said, Oh, wretched man that
I am. When God sends, when God reveals the blood of the Lord
Jesus Christ and what he's done and his glory, we've got no choice
but to come to the same conclusion that Job came to. Look at, look
at chapter 42 of Job and Job answered the Lord and said, I
know that thou can't do everything. and that no thought can be withholding
from thee. Lord, you mean you know my thoughts
before I think them? Yeah. You want anybody else to know
your thoughts? No. No, that'd be disaster, wouldn't
it, if we all knew what each other was thinking? The Lord
knows. He knows every thought. Who is he that hideth counsel
without knowledge? Therefore I have uttered that
I understood not things too wonderful for me, which I knew not. Here
I beseech thee and I will speak. I will, now that word demand
is the word inquire or ask or plead. So I will ask, I will
inquire, I will plead with you and Lord, I need you to answer
me. I have heard of thee by the hearing
of mine ear, but now my eyes seeth thee. Wherefore, I abhor
myself and repent in dust and ashes. Now that my eyes have
seen you for who you are, I can only come to one conclusion.
I'm a sinner. I have no righteousness. There's
nothing in my flesh but sin. The only hope that I have is
found in Christ. Go back with me to Psalm 105. This is the meaning of the signs.
This is the, you remember the plagues began
with blood and ended with blood. What was the very first plague?
God, I mean, they worshiped that river Nile. And Moses went down
there and turned the water into blood. And the fish died, and
then the flies came, and then the lice came, and then the hail
came, and then the fire came, and then the sun was darkened,
and then the death angel came. All those things were gods that
the Egyptians worshipped. But all ten plagues started with
blood and ended with blood. And that's the only way that
darkness is going to come to us. And we're not going to rebel
against God is if we see the blood, have some understanding
of what this blood means. There's no deliverance from Egypt
apart from the shedding of blood. Without the shedding of blood,
there is no remission of sin. When the Lord instructed Aaron
on putting the blood on the mercy seat, he said, here and here
only will I meet with you. And when they put the blood on
the door post and the lentils of the homes in Egypt, what the
Lord said, when I see the blood, I'll pass by you. You see, when
we have some understanding of what these plagues mean in terms
of the blood, beginning with blood and ending with blood,
Leviticus chapter 17 says, it is the blood that maketh atonement
for the soul. There's no salvation apart from
the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Revelation chapter one,
verse five unto him that loveth us and washed us from our sins
in his own blood. There's the meaning of that plague.
The river being turned into blood. The paschal lamb being slain
and the blood being put on the door of the house. points to
Christ, doesn't it? Look at Revelation chapter 5
verse 9. Thou wast slain and hast redeemed
us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, tongue, people,
and nation. And you remember when John saw
the saints in glory in Revelation chapter 7, he said, who are these
with the white robes on? These are they that have been
delivered from the tribulation and they have washed their robes
and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. You see, without
the preaching of the blood of Christ, men will never see themselves
for sinners. Now, darkness was the ninth plague. Turn with me to Exodus chapter
10. Exodus chapter 10. Verse 21, and the Lord said unto
Moses, stretch out thy hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness
over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt. When the hand of the law is stretched
out and it reveals the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, the
one who is the end of the law for righteousness, the only one
in whom I have any righteousness, I have no righteousness whatsoever
outside of him. So when the hand of the law points
to Christ, and that's what it does, it's not that the law condemns
us and leads us to Christ, it points to Christ and Christ brings
us. It's the goodness of God that
leads us. It's not the threatenings of
the law that bring us to repentance. The law reveals the glory of
Christ. And the law shows us our inability
to keep it. And so when Moses stretched out
his hand, there was a great darkness, even a darkness that can be felt. It's a good, it's a good thing
to be made a center, isn't it? Um, you know, people that, um,
object to unconditional election, they don't have problem with
election. They've got a problem with being made a sinner. If
they were, if they were a sinner without any righteousness, looking
to Christ alone for all the hope of their salvation, they would
love election. People that have a, people that
have a problem with limited atonement, they've got, they've not been
made a sinner. If they were a sinner, they would love limited atonement. They would love, uh, uh, Irresistible
grace. They would love the perseverance
of the saints. You see, that's the real problem,
isn't it? Once the Lord makes you to be
a sinner, then all these glorious truths of grace are you, that's
your hope. So when the Lord sends out darkness,
it's a darkness that can be felt and. And look, look at, uh, look
at verse 22 and Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven.
And there was a thick darkness, even in all the land of Egypt,
three days, they saw not one another, neither rose any from
his place for three days, but all the children of Israel
had light in their dwellings. You see, Darkness has to come
before light, doesn't it? When those Pharisees said, are
you suggesting that we're blind? You know, you talk about you
being the light of the world, and it sounds like you think
that we're blind. And what did the Lord say? If
you were blind, you'd be able to see. But because
you say you can see, therefore your sins remain. When God makes you to be a sinner,
you know that you're completely dependent upon him for any light
whatsoever. Lord, what I know, I'll forget
if you don't keep me. If you don't keep me, if you
don't... People talk like they know everything,
they don't know anything. And believers just come before
the Lord, Lord, You've sent a darkness that can be felt and that you've
sent light into our dwelling, the light of the gospel shining
in the face of the Lord Jesus Christ. But apart from your grace,
I'm, I'm blind. I can't see I'm in the dark.
You've got to translate me out of the kingdom of darkness into
the kingdom of your light. You've got to make me to know
the truth. Before, before we need a lamb, we've
got to be made a sinner. We've got to be translated out
of darkness into his light. Genesis chapter one, the earth
was without form and void and darkness was upon the face of
the deep. Here's what we are. Lord, I'm
without form. I'm Boyd. I've got darkness upon
the face of the deep, and that's a good thing because that's when
the spirit of God comes and that's when the spirit of God says,
let there be light. And this darkness that can be
felt is translated into light in the dwelling places of the
Israelites, not for the Egyptians. Now, in our text, in Psalm 105,
this plague of darkness is out of order. All the plagues from
verses 30 to verse 35 are in the same order that you find
them in Exodus. But darkness is the ninth plague.
And here, the Lord puts it as the first. Because until, until
you acknowledge your darkness, until you acknowledge your need
for that shed blood of Christ and for the light of the gospel,
until you acknowledge your inability to see anything apart from God's
sovereign grace, then none of the, none of the plagues and
none of the, none of the workings of God are going to mean anything
to me. Are they? It's a, we we've got to be made
a sinner first, don't we? Darkness that could be felt. As I said, the Lord wasn't trying
to get Pharaoh to let his people go. The Lord is giving us these
plagues as types and signs and pictures of the spiritual work
of grace that he does in our hearts when he sends his spirit
and makes us to be sinners. When the spirit of God comes,
he will convict the world of sin because they believe not
on me. Lord, I'm, I'm my, I'm my worst
enemy. It's all me. It's all on me.
It's all my fault. One way, you know, God's made
you a center is that when you hear the gospel, you know, you've
got nobody to blame but yourself. It's, it's just all on you, isn't
it? We're, we're, we're, we're prone to play the blame game
and we do. We, we go right back to what
our father Adam did in pointing to Eve, you know, it's the woman
that you gave us. And, and, and anytime you accuse
your circumstances or anyone else for your problems, you're
really blaming God. Aren't you? You're really blaming
God. You're doing exactly what Adam
did, or this is your fault. Yeah. I hear people blame God all the
time for their sin. Yeah. The man tell me. just recently
who, I'll give you two examples. One
man who could be here and hears and says he believes what we
preach, but he says, God's got me out of the church right now.
God doesn't have you out of the church. God doesn't have you
out of the church. Don't blame God for your sin.
And I met a, I met a witch and a warlock this week. I did promise. And, uh, and, uh, you know, the
witch told me, she said, you know, I practice witchcraft right
here. And, um, I said, well, I said, you need to come over
here and hear the gospel. And the other men were all, they
were all worried. You're talking to a witch. It's
all right. That's all right. You know? And
the guy that's involved in warlock activity had his stepfather say
about him, well, he's got a good heart. And he's kind and considerate. And God has him where he is right
now. The Lord is just teaching him
some things. God doesn't have him there. You don't, don't you
see people do that, don't they? I mean, those are two extremes,
but it's when God makes you to be a center, you just can't say,
well, God made me do it. Or God let no man say when he
sends that it's the Lord. Uh, we, we, we, we bear the full
burden of our responsibility for our own sin. Don't we? What
a, and that's what, that's look, look at our texts. Go back with
me to Psalm 105. Look at verse 28. He who sent the darkness,
God sends the darkness. You can't make somebody a center.
You can't even make yourself a center. God has to do it, doesn't
he? And when he reveals Christ, then
the only conclusion you can come to is this. There's nothing, nothing in me
like him. All have sinned and fallen short
of the glory of God. Everything in my life falls short
of his glory. I'm a sinner. I'm in need of
his grace. I'm in need of his mercy. And
that's the Lord's the only one that can. He's the only one that
can reveal Christ to us. And he's the only one that can
make us to be a sinner. And when he does, look what it,
look what he says. He sent darkness and made it
dark. Oh Lord, I, this is a darkness
that can be felt. There's three days of darkness.
Lord, you're going to have to, you're going to have to turn
some lights on in my dwelling place and, and reveal Christ
to me. And they rebelled, not against
his word. They didn't say what the rest
of the world say. Well, I'm not a center. They didn't rebel against,
and not only did they not rebel against being made a sinner,
they didn't rebel against anything that God had to say. You know
that you've been made a sinner when you bow, you know, and people
have a hard time bowing to the submission of other authorities. Romans chapter 13 is clear. You
can't bow to the authority of your supervisor or the governing
authorities or the police. You, you, you haven't bowed to
God. You have not submitted to him.
And, um, and that's what he said. When, when the Lord sends darkness
and he makes it dark, they rebelled, not against his word. They were
left with no defense. They were, they were exactly
where Moses, where Job was. Lord, I had spoken without knowledge. Forgive me, Lord. I had heard
of thee by the hearing of my ear, but now mine eyes have seen
thee, and I repent in dust and ashes. I'm vile. Lord, who am
I? Who am I to justify myself and
to speak such, such proud, swelling words against you? The Lord makes, when he sends
the darkness and makes it dark, they rebelled not against his
word. They didn't object to being a
sinner and they didn't object to anything else that God said.
God makes you to be a sinner. You know, we're quick to defend
ourselves when someone makes accusations about us, aren't
we? But wouldn't it, isn't it true that if, if we're, if we're
truly conscious of our sinfulness before God, we would be responding
to any accusations that anybody made against us. If you knew
who I really was, you'd have a lot worse things to say about
me than that. Isn't that true? If you knew, if you knew my heart,
you'd have worse things to say about me than that. I mean, this, this being made
a center is just humbling. Isn't it? It's humbling before
God. It's humbling before men and God gives grace to the humble
and he resist the proud. He resists the proud. Look at verse 29. He turned their
waters into blood and slew their fish. And then all the rest of the
plagues are listed in verses 30 through 36. And they're, and
they're listed in the order, but the, but the darkness is
out of order. Why? Because to have any understanding
of what God's doing, you've got to be a sinner. You can't understand
anything without being a sinner. You know, Todd and I were talking
today and he's going to preach a message on the four soils.
And we were talking about, you know, the sower that sows the
seed and some of the soil fall falls on the wayside and the
hardened pack soil and the birds come and they pluck away. How
many times you've heard a message and you've been blessed by it.
And within just a few minutes, you forgot what, what the blessing
was. You know, these, these things are not just. representative
of unbelievers, all four of these soils are in us, aren't they? The thorns of this world choke
out the fruitfulness of God's word and the shallowness of our
hearts, cause the roots to dry up. But the one difference, the soil
that fell on good soil, That soil was a sinner. It was
a sinner. And when the word of God falls
in the heart of a sinner, it produces fruit. Fruit, what kind
of fruit? Faith. Faith, that's what it
produces. It produces a dependence upon
the Lord Jesus Christ for everything. Skip down with me to verse 36.
He smote also the firstborn in their land, the chief of all
their strength. Now, as I said, God wasn't sending
these plagues in order to kind of twist the arm of Pharaoh.
He could have sent the death angel as the one and only plague
and not just killed the firstborn, but killed every Egyptian in
the land and brought the children of Israel out. He didn't, he
didn't have to do, he was doing this for his people. What God
does is for his children. It's for his church. He brought them forth also with
silver and gold, and there was not one feeble person among their
tribes. Moses had already told Pharaoh
when he said, you can go, but leave your children and your
cattle behind. He said, when we leave, not one hoof will be
left behind. Everything's leaving. Everybody
and everything we've got is going. And not only did they leave with
all their animals and all their children, but the Egyptians were
so glad to see them go, they gave them gifts. You know, when
God makes you to be a sinner, you believe the gospel. The way
the Egyptians treated the children of Israel and getting them out
of the country is the way your friends and family members will
treat you. They will. You don't have to,
you know, we don't treat unbelievers unkind. But they won't have anything
to do with us after a while, will they? Egypt was glad when they departed. You see that, verse 38? For the
fear of them fell upon them. The fear of the Israelites fell
on the Egyptians and they were glad that they were gone. God
sends darkness and he sends the death angel and he sheds that
blood and he protects you. Your unbelieving friends and
family members are gonna be glad that you depart because your
testimony and your life causes them to be afraid. Talked to
a lady recently, Trish and I were talking to her and we were just
sharing the gospel with her. First thing out of her mouth.
Are you saying I'm not a Christian? I didn't say that. I didn't say
that at all. You came to that conclusion.
You see the, the, the message of the gospel that we, that we
preach makes them afraid and they're glad to get away from
us. He spread a cloud for a covering
and a fire to give light in the night. That cloud was Christ,
that fire was Christ. He's the one that protects us
in the heat of the day. He's the one that guides us through
the darkness of night. The people asked and he brought
quails and satisfied them with the bread of heaven. You see,
this is the meaning of the signs, isn't it? It's the spiritual
blessings that God brings to us right now. When the bread
of life comes down from heaven and feeds our souls and we gather
up that manna. He opened the rock and the waters
gushed out and they ran in the dry places like a river. Oh,
brethren, we live in a dry and thirsty land, don't we? And when
the law That's what happened. Moses took the rod and he smote
the rock. And when he smote the rock, water
came out. And after that, he was only to
speak to the rock for the water to come out. And he smote it
again, didn't he? And the law of God can only smite
Christ once. Christ is that rock. And the
law became satisfied on Calvary's cross when it struck him with
vengeance and put him to death on Calvary's cross for the sins
that he bore in his body. And the law was satisfied and
out of that rock comes living water. For he remembered his holy promise
and Abraham, his servant. Abraham believed God and it was
accounted to him for righteousness. And we're called the children
of Abraham. Abraham's the father of the faithful. And the Lord
remembers the covenant promises that he made with Abraham and
his seed, not seeds, but his seed, which is one Christ. And
he brought forth his people with joy and his chosen with gladness. Oh Lord, you've delivered me
from my sin. You've delivered me from death
and hell and the grave. And you've, you've set me free
from the taskmasters of the law and Lord, I'm, I've got reason
to rejoice. You sent, you sent darkness that
could be felt, and then you shine the light of the gospel. You
revealed to me the Lord Jesus Christ, and you've, you've kept
me to be a sinner. You gave them lands of the heathen
that they inherited and labor of the people. Joshua chapter
24, the Lord said you're going to have lands that you didn't,
you're going to have crops you didn't plant, you're going to
have houses you didn't build, you're going to have lands you didn't
earn, you didn't work for it. I gave it to you. That's a picture
of the gospel. All the blessings that we get
from God. We didn't do anything to earn them. The Lord gives
them to us. Why? That they might observe,
observe his statutes and keep his laws. Praise ye the Lord. That they might rest all the
hope of their salvation, keeping God's laws, not trying to earn
God's favor by doing the law. It's it's looking to the one
who kept the law for us and resting all our hope in him. Our Heavenly Father. Thank you for your word. Thank
you for the. The revelation of Christ that
you've given to us. So many types and shadows and
pictures Thank you for sending darkness that can be felt, and
thank you for putting light in the dwelling of the Israelites.
Lord, we thank you most especially
for that lamb that is without spot and without blemish that
was shed his precious blood on Calvary's cross. Might we set
our affections on him. and find all our hope and righteousness
in him. For it's in Christ's name we
ask it, amen. Number 13, let's stand together,
number 13. We'll just sing the verses, not
the refrain. Number 13 in the spiral. Dark the stain that soils man
nature Long the distance that he fell Far removed from hope
and heaven Into deep despair and hell But there was a fountain
opened, and the blood of God's own Son purifies the soul and
reaches deeper than the stain has gone. Conscience of the deep
pollution, sinners wander in the night. Though they hear the
shepherd calling, they still fear to face the light. This the blessed consolation
that can melt the heart of stone. That sweet balm of Gilead reaches
deeper than the stain has gone. All unworthy we who've wandered
and our eyes are wet with tears. think of what sought us through
the weary wasted years. Yet we walk the holy highway,
walking by God's grace alone, knowing Calvary's fountain reaches
deeper than the stain has gone. When with holy choirs we're standing
In the presence of the King And our souls are lost in wonder
While the white-robed choirs sing Then we'll praise the name
of Jesus With the millions round the throne Praise him for the
power that reaches deeper than the stain has gone.