Find our seats again. Let's open
this second hour with hymn number 31 in your Spiral Gospel Hymns
hymn book, number 31. It is finished. With the tune
we're gonna sing this to, we'll repeat the last two lines of
each verse. Let's all stand together. you ? Hear the voice of grace
and glory ? ? In our dying Savior's cry ? ? Rending rocks and hills
asunder ? ? And the veil to bring us nigh ? ? It is finished, it
is finished ? Our victorious Saviour cried. It is finished! It is finished! Our victorious Saviour cried. It is finished, see God's pleasure
prosper in our risen Lord. Covenant blessings without measure
flow to us by Jesus' blood. It is finished, it is finished,
O how sweet the Saviour's word! It is finished, it is finished,
O how sweet the Saviour's word! Finished all justice demanded. Finished all required by law. Finished all portrayed and promised
in the shadows of the law. It is finished, it is finished,
bow, believe, rejoice with all. It is finished, it is finished,
bow, believe, rejoice with all. Jesus finished our salvation
when he died upon the tree. Righteousness and full redemption
for his loved and chosen seed. It is finished. Hallelujah. Praise the Lamb of Calvary. It is finished. Hallelujah. Praise the Lamb of Calvary. Please be seated. Good morning. Would you open
up our call to worship? Revelation five, revelations
chapter five, verse one. And I saw in the right hand of
him that sat on the throne, a book. written within and on the backside,
sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming
with a loud voice, who is worthy to open the book and to lose
the seals thereof. And the Lord said, and no man,
no man. In heaven nor on earth, neither
under the earth was able to open the book, neither to look thereon,
and I wept much because no man was found worthy to open and
to read the book, neither to look thereon. And one of the
elders saith unto me, Weep not. Behold, the lion of the tribe
of Judah, the root of David, hath prevailed to open the book,
and to lose the seven seals thereof. And I beheld and low in the midst
of the throne and of the four beasts and in the midst of the
elders stood a lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns
and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent forth
into all the earth. And he came and took the book
out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne. And
when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and 20 elders
fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps and golden
vials full of odors, which are the prayer of the saints. And
they sang a new song. And that's what we do here when
he gathers us together. We sing this song. Thou art worthy
to take the book and to open the seals thereof for thou was
slain and has redeemed us to God by the blood out of every
kindred and tongue and people and nation and has made us unto
our God kings and priests and we shall reign on the earth and
I beheld and I heard the voice of many angels round about the
throne and the beasts and the elders and a number of them was
10,000 times 10,000 and thousands of thousands saying with a loud
voice, worthy is the lamb that was slain to receive power and
riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing. By faith, we are doing that right
now, but right now it's being done perfectly. One day, we will
be there as well. Our merciful Heavenly Father,
we again are thankful that you have gathered us in thy presence
in this garden once again to be able to worship you. Lord,
that can only be done through the one that is seated on your
right hand, our blessed Redeemer, our King, our Lord, the Lord
Jesus Christ. Lord, enable us again by your
spirit to lift his name, to glorify him, to worship him. For all
our righteousness, all the forgiveness of our sins is found in him. We ask that again, that the message
you have given our brother, Lord, may you empower him now to proclaim
it, the conviction and clarity that we may be saved this morning,
Lord, and we may be kept by your power. Oh, bless us now. Give us eyes to see, Lord, a
little more clear of who you are. Forgive us of our sins,
for we ask it in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, amen. Let's all stand together once
again. We'll sing the hymn that's found on the back of your bulletin.
On the back of your bulletin. Light up this house with glory,
Lord, the glory of thy love, which calls and saves the church
below and makes the heaven above. We rear no altar, thou hast died. We deck no priestly shrine. What need have we of preacher
aid? The power to save is We ask no rushing mighty wind
to glorify this plight. Grant us thy spirit's quickening
light, a fresh supply of grace. ? On us thou hast bestowed thy
grace ? ? Be to our children kind ? ? Among thy sheep give
them a place ? ? And leave not one behind ? Please be seated. Bert, Adam. For us, Jesus is Lord. Oh, what a Savior of glory divine. He is salvation, our substitute. Born of the Spirit, faithful
and true. This is His story. This is His song. Praising my Savior for the work
He had done. This is His story. This is His song. Pleasing our Father, for the
work he hath done. Perfect obedience, law satisfied,
justice demanded, our Savior should die. It is finished, Christ
Jesus Christ, Precious blood offered, God satisfied. This is His story. This is His song. Praising my Savior for the work
He hath done. This is His story. This is His
song, pleasing our Father for the work He hath done. Our Savior is risen, He sits
on His throne, interceding for His chosen below. God's spirit's calling, all sinners
will fear. O merciful Savior, have mercy
on me. This is His story, this is His
song, praising my Savior, for the work he hath done. This is his story, this is his
song, pleasing our Father for the work he hath done. Blessed assurance, elected of
God, Glory and honor, your name we adore. O weary sinner, be of good cheer. Our blessed Redeemer, draweth
so near. This is His story. This is His song. Praising my Savior for the work
He hath done. This is His story. This is His song. Praising our Father for the work
He hath done. How is that a blessing? Thank
you, Bert. Thank you, Adam. Such a simple illustration. I know you've heard me say it
on many occasions, but perhaps it'll be somebody here that will
hear it for the first time. The difference between the gospel
of God's free grace in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ
and that which is being taught in man-made, free will, works
religion can be defined with two letters. N-E. N-E. All man's religions, every one
of them, I don't care which one you, it doesn't have to even
be Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, it's all about something
you do. Dio. The Gospel, what we just heard.
What he has done. Dio in E. What liberty. Where the Spirit of God is, there
is Liberty. What freedom. Know that God's
not looking to me for what I'm doing, for my acceptance before
Him. It's all about what the Lord
Jesus Christ has done. The work is finished. Will you turn with me in your
Bibles to the last chapter of Isaiah, please? I've titled this message, Christ
is the Sign. Christ Jesus the Lord Himself
is the Sign. I run into folks all the time that
are looking for a sign. And I find in my own heart there
is a temptation to evaluate the blessings of God based on signs
and wonders. And I'm here to declare to you
this morning that the word of God teaches clearly that a wicked
and perverse generation seeketh after a sign. 660 years before the coming of the
Lord Jesus Christ in the flesh, the prophet Isaiah was inspired
of God to prophesy what would be accomplished in the coming
of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we have it all here in verse
19. In verse 19, and I will set a sign among them. I will set a sign
among them, and I will send those that escape unto the nations, to Tarshish,
Poole, and Ludd, that draw the bow, to Tooble and Javin, to
the islands afar off, Now, the only thing you need to know about
those nations is that those nations are located north, east, south,
and west of Israel. And so the Lord is prophesying
that this message that's going to be fulfilled in the sign that
God sends among them, the believers are going to escape
the persecution of the Jews and they're going to be scattered
and that's exactly what happened exactly what happened after Pentecost
great persecution came upon the church and the believers were
scattered in every direction north, east, south, and west.
What did they do? Like trying to put out a fire
wasn't it? Stomping on the fire and the embers just go in every
direction and everywhere they land they start another fire
and that's exactly what happened. What are they going to do? They're
going to tell those who have not heard my fame neither have
seen my glory and they shall declare my glory unto the Gentiles. That's what we want to do. We
want to declare the glory of God in the sign that God has
given those who have not heard of his fame and those who do
not know of his glory. Now turn with me please to Luke
chapter 2. in verse 25. Now Mary and Joseph are taking the
Lord Jesus Christ at eight days old to fulfill the law having
him circumcised in the temple. And behold there was a man in
Jerusalem whose name was Simeon and the same man was just and
devout waiting for the consolation of Israel. Now that word consolation
is the word comfort. So Simeon had been told of God
that the Messiah would come in his life and he was waiting for
the fulfillment of the comfort of Israel. Oh, what comfort there
is. Is this not what Isaiah spoke
of in Isaiah chapter 40? When the Lord said to him, comfort
ye, comfort ye my people, saith the Lord, speak ye comfortably
to Jerusalem and tell them that their warfare is accomplished. Their enmity with God When Adam
raised his fist to God and rebelled against God, we all fell in our
father Adam and were born into this world with our fist clenched
against God. When Adam sinned, he died and
we all died in him. We fought a battle against God
and we lost. That's what the picture of Ezekiel's
dry bones is all about, isn't it? In Ezekiel chapter 36, when
Ezekiel saw that valley of dry bones and the Lord said to Ezekiel,
son of man, can these bones live? This is an army that was defeated. This is the remnant of their
bones. The birds have picked all the flesh off. There's nothing
left but bleached, dried bones in the desert. And the Lord makes
it clear to Ezekiel These bones are the whole house of Israel. This is my people. They rebelled
against me and they died in the desert as a result of their rebellion. And God says to Ezekiel, can
these bones live? And Ezekiel said, Lord, thou
knowest. If they're going to live, Lord, you're going to have
to make them live. There's nothing I can do to make them live. You're
going to have to cause bone to come to bone and sinew to sinew,
and you're going to have to cause them to stand up. And that's
exactly what happened. And there's another picture of
progressive revelation. As the prophet preached the gospel
and as the Spirit of God came, these bones began to take shape.
And yet there was no life in them until the Spirit of God
breathed on them and they came alive. They came alive. Tell them their warfare is accomplished.
Tell them that I've already put away their sin. Tell them that
I am their life. That I went to Calvary's cross
in order to pay the debt that they owed to God for their rebellion
against God. Tell them that. They'll be comforted. They'll be comforted to know
that their sins have been purged. Their righteousness has been
established. The hope of their salvation is
bound up completely in the Lord Jesus Christ. So Simeon's waiting
for this comfort. He's waiting for this message.
He's waiting for the Messiah to come who's going to set all
things right. Who's going to save all Israel. And that's exactly what the Lord
Jesus Christ did. Romans chapter 10, Romans chapter
11, He saved all. of Israel. Not one of his sheep
are left behind. He accomplished the salvation
of all of God's elect. And that's the message that Simeon
was waiting for. He was waiting for that consolation. He was waiting for that comfort.
Lord, what hope is there? Apart from the Messiah coming,
apart from you fulfilling the law, apart from you satisfying
God's justice, what hope is there? And then he sees that Mary and
Joseph bring the Lord to him to be circumcised. And verse
26, it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost that he should
not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. So you're
not gonna see death, Simeon, until you see the Lord Jesus
Christ. And he came by the Spirit into
the temple. And when the parents brought
in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law.
And the Lord Jesus Christ fulfilled the law. He's the end of the
law for righteousness to everyone that believe it. Everything that
the law required, the Lord Jesus Christ did. It was his baptism
that saved. When John said, I'm not worthy
to baptize you, I'm not worthy to unlatch your sandals, what
did the Lord say? Let it be, John. that we might
fulfill all righteousness. That's what Christ came to do,
fulfill everything that was required by the law. Then he took him up in his arms
and blessed God and said, Lord, now let us, thy servant, depart
in peace according to thy word, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation. The Lord Jesus Christ himself
is our salvation and Simeon knew that this was the consolation
of Israel. I'm ready to die now. I have hope. I've seen thy salvation. Can you say that? Can you say
that? Lord, I've seen thy salvation. I have hope of knowing that I
have acceptance with God. Verse 31, which thou hast prepared
before the face of all people, a light to lighten the Gentiles
and the glory of thy people Israel. And Joseph, Simeon is quoting
that verse we just read from Isaiah 66. And Joseph and his mother marveled
at those things which were spoken of him. And Simeon blessed them
and said to Mary, his mother, behold, this child is set for
the fall and rising again of many in Israel and for a sign
which shall be spoken against. So Simeon prophesies and says,
this child is going to be the cause of the fall and the rising
again of many in Israel. You see, before we can be made
alive, we've got to be put to death. Before we can be saved,
we've got to be lost. And the Lord Jesus Christ is
the one who causes us to see our need for him. He causes us
to see that, Lord, without you, I have no hope. Has He for you
caused you to fall? Fall down. Knocked you off your
high horse. Saul of Tarsus on the road to
Damascus had to be put in the dirt, didn't he? The Lord Jesus
Christ was the cause of his fall and the cause of his rising again. There's no rising again until
there's a fall. There's no resurrection until
there's a burial. There's no life until there's
death. God has to make us lost before we can be saved, doesn't
he? So Simeon says, this is the sign.
This is the sign. I'm ready to die now. He's going
to accomplish what he came to do, the rising, the falling,
and the rising of many in Israel. And he's the sign that will be
spoken against by the world. What does a sign do? What is the purpose of a sign?
I'm talking about a road sign. A sign does two things. It tells
you which way to go and it illuminates the way. In the book of Genesis chapter
1 and verse 14 is the first reference to the word sign in the Word
of God. And God says, let there be lights
in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night
and let them be for signs, for signs. Now this is the fourth
day of creation. This is the day in which the
Lord creates the sun and the moon and the stars, puts them
in the firmament and And he says, they're going to be a sign. Now,
for centuries, the stars, well, they still do, don't they? You,
in a strange place, you want to know which way east is, just
consider which way the sun rises, right? And then you can figure
out north, south, and west from there. So these things, these
luminaries in the firmament, they point the way, don't they?
Mariners use the stars to navigate their way through the seas. And
the Lord said, these lights in the firmament are going to be
a sign. And then what do we see on the
birth of the Lord Jesus Christ? How did the wise men find him?
How did they find him? What was the direction? There
was a star, one star, and they followed that star, didn't they?
They found the Lord Jesus Christ, who is that one star, the morning
star, the bright and shining stars he's referred to in the
scriptures. So Isaiah prophesies and says,
there's gonna be a sign. God's gonna set a sign in Israel. and those that escape from Israel
are going to take the message of this sign to those who have
not heard of his fame or heard of his glory and they're going
to go in every direction of the world and they're going to declare
the gospel of my free grace accomplished by the sign. Now, the Lord Jesus
Christ as the sign is also the way. He is the way. He doesn't point us to the way. He doesn't take us back to the
law. He doesn't put us under the burden
of the law. He said, I am the way. He doesn't show us how to have
life. He said, I am your life. He doesn't say, I'll show you
the light. He said, I am the light of the world. And so what
Simeon said was, this is the sign. All those types and pictures
and foreshadowings of signs all through the Old Testament and
that prophecy which Isaiah told about the sign that would come
is now fulfilled. And I see that God has been faithful
in keeping His promise to bring the sign. And I'm ready to die
now. ready to die all is well so the Lord said let there be
lights in the firmament they will be signs for season and
for days and years and let them be for lights in the firmament
of the heavens to give light upon the earth and it was so
so the Lord Jesus Christ as the sign is also the light Light
has come into the world. Turn with me to John chapter
3, please. John chapter 3. Verse 18, he that believeth on
him is not condemned. But he that believeth not is
condemned already because he hath not believed in the name
of the only begotten Son of God. Believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the condemnation. Light
has come into the world. He is the light. But men loved
darkness. rather than light because their
deeds were evil." Now, in part, that could be understood
as the one who's indulging their flesh in all sorts of sinful
behavior and they don't have any interest in the things of
God because they know they'd have changed the way they live.
And that's true. That's true. I met a lot of folks
and I understand the gospel. I'm enjoying my life in this
world and I'm pleasing my flesh and maybe I'll have an interest
in the things of God later, but right now I'm sowing my oats. I'm indulging myself in the pleasures
of this life. I've seen that. I've talked to
a lot of people like that. But there's another side to this
coin. There's a whole lot of folks who love the darkness of
their own righteousness. They love the darkness of their
own religious morality. They love the darkness of their
own works. And they will not come to the
light because the light exposes what they think is their righteousness
for what it is, evil. They love their evil. Paul put it like this in 1 Thessalonians
chapter 2. He said they will not come to
the truth. They have no love for the truth. They have no love
for the truth. Therefore, God has sent them
a lie, sent them a strong delusion, and they believe the lie. What
do they believe? They believe that the decisions
that they've made and the works that they've performed have earned
them favor with God. They believe that they've been
able to bring something to the table of salvation and they're
glorying not in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ,
they're glorying in their own works. And you see it in religion
all over the world. Men glorying in what they've
done. as the hope of their salvation.
They won't come to light. Why? Because their deeds are
evil. And that relates to the irreligious and the religious. When you come to the Lord Jesus
Christ, He causes you to see that everything you've ever done
and everything that you ever are falls short of His glory
and is worthy of condemnation. This is the condemnation. Light
has come into the world. But men love darkness rather
than light because their deeds were evil. Look at the next verse. But everyone that doeth evil
hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds
should be reproved. I don't want my deeds to be reproved.
I don't want to have to change the way I'm living. I don't want
to be told that all the good things that I've done, that I'm
hoping in for the evidence or proof of my salvation are evil
in the sight of God. I don't want to be told I'm a
sinner. But he that doeth the truth cometh
to the light. He that confesses that he's evil,
He that's made to be a sinner by God, he that realizes he has
no righteousness of his own, he comes to the light, he flees
to the light. Lord, I have no hope unless I
have Christ. That his deeds may be manifest,
that they are wrought in God. The deed of faith is wrought
in God. Whatever ability God's given
me to worship Him and praise Him and obey Him and please Him
is wrought in God. It's all wrought in God. It's
Christ that worketh in me, causing me to will and to do of His good
pleasure. I can't take credit for any of it. He made me willing
in the day of His power. He keeps me coming. He causes
me to bow. Whatever resistance I have to
temptation, that's His work. That's His work. We come to the
light and confess that everything of any good has been wrought
of Him. That's a good word too, isn't
it? Wrought. You know, when an artisan takes
stiff straight iron and heats it and bends it and makes a beautiful
wrought iron balustrade or something out of it. You know, it's a work
of art, isn't it? And that's what the Lord does.
He wroughts us out. He takes that stiff iron and
He heats it and He bends it And He makes something beautiful
out of it, doesn't He? And we say, He did that. And one of
these days, He's gonna take His whole church and parade them
before His creation and sow the trophies of His grace. Look what
I've done. Look what I've done. And He's
gonna get all the glory for it, just like He gets all the glory
for it now by His children. So the first reference to light
or to signs, I'm sorry, in the word of God is found in Genesis
chapter 1 where the sign gives direction and it gives light. And that's the sign points to
itself. And the sign is the light. I am the light of the world. Outside of Christ, there's no
light. There's no light at all. The Lord said, if they speak
not according to the law and the testimony, if they preach
not the gospel of my free grace in the finished work of the Lord
Jesus Christ, it is because there is no light in them. It's not
like they have a little bit of light. Do you see the darkness
or in the light? No light in them. So that's the first reference
to signs in the scriptures. The second one is found also
in Genesis chapter 3 when you remember Cain, jealous of his
brother, murders Abel. And he murders Abel because Abel's
sacrifice, which was a blood sacrifice, was pleasing to God
and acceptable to God. Cain's sacrifice, which was the
labor of his hands, the fruit of his own labor. What a picture. What a picture between the gospel
of God's free grace and the gospel of man's works. And Cain's offering
was not pleasing to God, and Cain became jealous of his brother
and murdered him. And the Lord approached Cain
and said, Cain, where is thou, brother? Am I my brother's keeper? Cain, your brother's blood cries
out from the ground against you. Cain, you're going to be a vagabond. a fugitive the rest of your life. And Cain said, oh my punishment
is too great for me. And God put a mark. It's the same word, sign. God
put a mark on Cain. Now I know that men have foolishly
speculated as to what that mark was. And speculating on things like
that is a total waste of time. It's a total waste of time. The
secret things belong to the Lord our God. Those things which have
been revealed belong to us and to our children. When God is
silent, we must be silent. We have no idea what the physical
mark was that God put on Cain. But we know what the spiritual
significance of it was. because every person that saw
that mark on Cain knew that if they killed Cain that Cain's
curse would be ten times worse on them. Now if Christ is the sign as
Simeon said he would be and as Isaiah prophesied he would be
then this mark that's on Cain is the mark of the Lord Jesus
Christ. What does Cain represent? Cain
represents a murderer and a works gospel. What is the entire world
doing? They're murdering the Lord Jesus
Christ by robbing Him of His glory and salvation and establishing
a works gospel. And the only way that you and
I can discern that is by the mark of the Lord Jesus Christ. Men can't see Cain for who he
is. Only those who see the mark can discern the difference between
a works gospel and a gospel of God's free grace. Only those
who look into the face of the Lord Jesus Christ as the sign
can tell the difference. Like the illustration I gave
in a previous hour, being able to learn a few words in Spanish
at Hugo's dad's funeral yesterday. You know, I knew they were talking
about God, I knew they were talking about Jesus, I knew they were
talking about Christ, I knew they were talking about the Lord,
but I didn't know what they were saying about him. People come here all the time
and they hear those words and they think that we're preaching
the same gospel, the same Jesus that they came from. The natural
man cannot receive the things of the Spirit. They are spiritually
discerned. Unless you see Christ, who is
the sign, who is the mark, you'll never be able to see the error
of a false religion. You'll think, well, you know,
we all believe the same thing. We're all going to the same place.
We're all... You cannot discern Cain as a
murderer and a works gospel until you see the mark on him. The third time that sign, Christ
is the sign. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself
is the sign. Don't look for a sign, look for
Christ. That's the message this morning.
Don't look for a sign, look for Christ. He is the sign. And all
these types and shadows of Him in the Old Testament are the
fulfillment of what Simeon saw when Simeon said, this is the
sign. This is the sign. The third sign
that we read of in the scriptures is after the flood. When that
ark, which is a picture of Christ, the saving of Noah and his family,
hidden in the safety of that pitched ark, floating on the
water, rests on Mount Ararat, and the first time it rains after
the flood, Noah thinks, oh no, not again. Not again. We've been through, this was
horrible. This was so, and the rain stopped, and God put a bow
in the sky. And God said, that's my sign. That's my sign to you, Noah,
that in my providence, I will never destroy the earth again
by flood. When it rains, Noah, the rain's gonna stop. The world's
never going to be destroyed by a flood again. And God said, I'll put a bow
in the sky to remind you and me of the sign. Now, the Lord
Jesus Christ is that bow. I know the rainbow's been used
and stolen by people that have no interest in Christ, but he
is that rainbow every time we see it. Coming back from Australia
a few weeks ago, Laura Grace took a picture outside the window
of the plane. And at 30,000 feet, there was a rainbow in the cloud
and the shadow of the plane was right in the middle of the rainbow.
But the rainbow didn't look like the rainbows that we see. It
was a complete circle. It was a complete circle. And
that's what rainbows look like from the other side of the rainbow.
And that's what the rainbow that God's looking at looks like.
He sees the whole story. We just see a part of it, don't
we? We just see a little piece of it. It's like a tapestry. You know, we're looking at the
backside of it, and it just seems like a mess of knots, and God's
working out a beautiful picture on the other side, isn't He? And the Lord Jesus Christ is
that sign who's working all things after the counsel of his own
will and purpose for our good and for his glory. We see but
a piece of it. God says, I'm not going to destroy
you. I'm not going to destroy you. I know the thoughts that
I have for you. Thoughts of good and not of evil. I'm going to
bring you to your expected end. There's no question about it.
I'm going to accomplish my purpose. Simeon said, this is the sign. All those signs that God gave
us in the Old Testament, all those types and pictures that
we have of him, this is him. This is him. And then the next
sign that we read about is in Genesis chapter 17, when God
instructs Abraham to circumcise his son. and God says this will
be a token of the covenant. Now I know that there are people
who want to make a correlation between Old Testament circumcision
and New Testament baptism but that's not made in the scriptures.
You know they say well we baptize infants because in the Old Testament
the Jews circumcised their babies. Baptism and circumcision are
two different things. The correlation that's made in
the scripture of physical circumcision is the circumcision of the heart.
And it's not made just in the New Testament, it's made in the
Old Testament. Turn with me to Jeremiah chapter 4. Jeremiah
chapter 4. Look at verse 3. For thus sayeth the
Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, break up your fallow
ground and sow not among thorns, circumcise yourself to the Lord
and take away the four skins of your heart, ye men of Judah
and inhabitants of Jerusalem, lest my fury come forth like
fire and burn that none can quench because of the evil of your doings. So now the Lord says this matter
of circumcision, physical circumcision, the removing of the foreskin
is a picture of the work of grace that God does in the heart when
he circumcises our hearts. Turn with me to Deuteronomy chapter
30, Deuteronomy chapter 30, verse 6. and the Lord thy God will circumcise
thine heart and the heart of thy seed to love the Lord thy
God with all thine heart and with all thy soul that thou mayest
live. If the Lord doesn't do heart
surgery on us, we'll never love God. We'll never have an interest
in the gospel. He has to take out the heart
of stone He has to put in a heart of flesh. Our natural heart is
hard. Our natural heart is cold. Our
natural heart is lifeless. Our natural heart is not capable
of loving God. He must circumcise the heart. And God says this is going to
be a sign. Physical circumcision is a sign. Now turn with me to
Acts chapter 7. Acts chapter 7. Look at verse 51. Stephen is preaching just before
his stoning. He's already preached the gospel
and now he's pointing at his audience and he says to them,
ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you do always
resist the Holy Ghost as your fathers did So do you. So he says, you've got an uncircumcised
heart. You've got uncircumcised ears. The Spirit of God has not
cut away the flesh. You're resisting the Spirit of
God. Now turn with me to Romans chapter
2, verse 29. But he is a Jew which is one inwardly and circumcision
is that of the heart in the spirit. Physical baptism
is just like physical circumcision in that it's something that you
do but that's not the picture. Physical baptism is not going
to circumcise your heart. in the Spirit and not in the
letter, whose praise is not of men but of God." A natural man follows the laws
and commandments of men, doesn't he? He wants the praise of men.
They love the praise of men more than the praise of God. And the
irreligious love the praise of of their worldly friends more
in the praise of God, they won't come because the world's their
home. The Lord said friendship with
the world is enmity with God. And the religious won't come
because they value their approval that they're getting from their
peers and their religion about their righteousness and their
good works and their decisions. They won't come. Why? Because
their deeds are evil. Their deeds are evil. Why? Because
they've not had their hearts circumcised. The circumcision of the heart
is a new heart. It's a heart that's enabled to
believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. It's a heart that loves Him.
It's a heart that bows to Him. It's a heart that worships Him.
It's a heart that desires to follow after Him and obey Him.
It's a heart of grace. Who's gonna do that? Who's gonna do that? You can't do it, I can't do it.
The Lord Jesus Christ has to do it. Circumcision of the heart is
the work of grace. It's the work of God. Nicodemus,
you've got to be born again. You've got to be born of above.
You've got to be born of the Spirit of God. What Nicodemus
said, well, what can I do to go back into my mother's womb?
How ridiculous. Nicodemus, the new birth is a
work of grace. It's a work of the Spirit of
God. And the Spirit's like the wind, he listeth with us wherever
he wills. Nicodemus, you're dependent upon
God for this new birth. You know what the child of God
says? Oh, Lord, do that for me. Do that for me. Give me a new
heart. Circumcise my heart. The Lord Jesus Christ himself
is the sign. We'll pick up on this again at
another time because there's lots of signs in the Old Testament,
but I want to finish with this one. I want to finish with this
one. The next one is found in Exodus chapter 13. Don't turn
there, just so you know the story. God has sent the plagues against
Egypt. He's going to finish what he
started. The Israelites are going to come out. Not a wolf is going
to be left behind. Every one of his children is
going to be saved. But in order to prove the superiority of the
Lord Jesus Christ over all the gods of Israel, he attacks every
god of Egypt. He attacks every god of Egypt
through those 10 plagues. That's what those plagues were
about, attacking the gods of Egypt, exposing them for what
they were until finally the death angel comes through. And God
says to Moses, you take a lamb without spot, a spotless lamb,
and you slay that lamb. You take the blood of that lamb
and put it on the doorpost and the lintel of your home and you
get behind that blood because that blood is going to be a sign to me to pass by you. And when I see the blood, I'll
pass by you. God calls it a token. It's a
sign. Not when I see your commitment.
Not when I see your works. Not when I see anything you do.
When I see the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, His blood is the
only thing that covers our sin. God said, when I see the blood,
all get, stay behind the blood. Get in the house where the blood
is. It's the sign. It's the sign. God's people say, oh Lord, put
the blood of Christ over my sin. The only hope I have. Simeon saw the Lord Jesus Christ
and moved by the Spirit of God, he said, that's the consolation
of Israel. I'm ready to die now. The sign
and all those signs of the Old Testament is fulfilled in him. He is the sign. He is the sign. Our merciful Heavenly Father,
we ask that your Holy Spirit would enable us to look upon,
rest in, thy dear Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, in whose name we
pray. Amen. Number 33, let's stand together.
Number 33. Behold, I come, our Savior said,
the Savior promised long. I come to do Thy will, O God,
and thus our hope was born. Behold, the Virgin has conceived
and born a Son of flesh. His name is called Emmanuel. God dwells in human flesh. The angels left their high abode
to see this mystery. The great almighty sovereign
God, a babe of feeble clay, mortals beheld his lovely face. the Father's only Son. How full of truth, how full of
grace, Christ came to save His own. His spotless life of righteousness
and sin-atoning death fulfilled His Father's holy will and satisfied
His wrath. Our glad Hosannas, Prince of
Peace, Your glory shall proclaim. Enthroned in Heaven as our King,
We love to praise your name.