May it please Almighty God to
bless us together this evening. Let's turn to the Word of God
and the Book of Exodus, chapter 12, and we'll read verses 21
and 22. The Book of Exodus, chapter 12,
reading the 21st and 22nd verses. Then Moses called for all the
elders of Israel and said unto them, draw out and take your
lamb according to your families and kill the Passover. And you
shall take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood that
is in the basin and strike the lintel and the two side posts
with the blood that is in the basin. And none of you should
go out at the door of his house until the morning. We should recognise and be thankful
that we have the Bible to read. And it's good sometimes just
to ponder that simple statement. Because in our own nation, our
own country, there were many, many years when there was, of
course, no Bible available. And that is so, of course, in
many places in the world still today. And then there are many,
many people who do not want to read the Bible. They're not interested
in the Bible. They don't realize the wonder
of the truth that it contains. Well, we are wonderfully blessed
tonight that we have a Bible, we're able to read the Bible,
and it's a great blessing if we have a desire to read the
Bible. Because the Bible really, from
beginning to end, sets before us the great and wonderful plan
of salvation. And that really means the plan
of saving of our souls. We all have a soul. We all have a never-dying soul. Many people belittle it. Many
people do not agree with it. But nonetheless, the Bible speaks
very clearly that we do possess a never-dying soul. From the
very moment we're born into this world, and that soul never dies. And that soul would either live
eternally in heaven or live eternally in hell. There's no grey area
in the things of God. And what a blessing therefore
for us to have the evidence that we are amongst those who will
spend eternity in heaven. Now, there is, of course, in
all of our lives, a great problem. The problem is very simply this.
No sinner can enter into heaven. And not only no sinner, but no
sin can enter into heaven. And therefore, all of us needs
to be cleansed, need to be washed so that we are clean, that all
our sins are taken away. And that really is the theme
of the Word of God from Genesis to Revelation. It points to us
the glorious way of salvation. And if we follow it through from
the days of Adam and Eve, right through to the book of the Revelation,
you will find there is only one way. And that's this. Without shedding of blood, there
is no forgiveness or no remission. And that great truth needs application
to our souls. to know that that blood was shed
and that is of course the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ which
indicates his death and that means that he, Almighty God,
died in order to satisfy the demands of a holy God and to
take away our sins. And therefore, how needful it
is for all of us to have a personal knowledge that our sins are forgiven,
that our sins are washed away. It's very easy to be sidetracked. The devil's a past master at
deceit. He deceived Adam and Eve in the
Garden of Eden and he's never changed his plan. He still endeavours
to deceive people and how successful he is in telling them that these
things are irrelevant and these things don't matter and in any
event they're not true. Well we should understand and
believe that the Word of God is true And I often think there's
such a glorious statement that the Lord Jesus Christ himself
made when he prayed to his father. And in 17th of John, we have
that wonderful prayer of the Lord Jesus praying to his father. And in that chapter, we read
these words, thy word is truth. And that is God speaking to his
father. And what a wonderful thing it
is if you and I recognise that such is true. The Bible is true. The Word of God is true. And you and I should not turn
away from it as something which is unimportant, something which
is irrelevant. And therefore, what it means
is that every one of us needs to know that our sins are forgiven. that our sins are washed away. And how is sin washed away? It's washed away by the precious
blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. What that really means is that
the Lord Jesus Christ died. That was the cost required for
our sins to be taken away. The Lord Jesus Christ had to
give his life He had to give his life willingly in our place
to bear the punishment due to us. And the position to show
that he did die was indeed the shedding of his most precious
blood. right through the Word of God,
we have this picture of shed blood. And it occurs, as I've
often told you, way back in Genesis, in the Garden of Eden, when Adam
and Eve were recognised, they were naked, and they tried to
hide their nakedness by sewing together fig leaves, which wasn't
very successful, and the Lord Jesus himself actually made them
clothes of animal skins to cover them. And if you think about
that, animals were slain. In order for them to be slain,
their blood was shed. So we go right back. There was
the picture, right in the very beginning of time, of the necessity
of blood being shed and life given. Now of course naturally
the life of an animal could never save our souls. It was a figure. It was a picture. And that followed
through the Old Testament and of course it sets forth very
beautifully in this twelfth chapter of Exodus, when the Passover
was instituted. Many years had passed since that
occasion in the Garden of Eden. Many sacrifices had been offered,
but now the Lord, in his great mercy and love to his church,
sets forth the Passover, with a very beautiful picture of what
it meant. And we read together, in this
12th chapter, how the Israelites were instructed to take a lamb. A lamb who was as faultless as
possible, with nothing wrong with it. And that lamb was to
be slain. And so many times in the Bible,
the Lord Jesus Christ is spoken of as a lamb. A lamb, of course,
is very meek, naturally very harmless. And that's really the
picture we have of the glorious Saviour. He was indeed so meek
and kind and gracious on this earth. Naturally speaking, a
lamb is pretty helpless. Well, the Lord Jesus was willing
to be helpless for his people. As he said, he could have called
on his father to send legions of angels, but that was not the
plan of Almighty God. The plan of Almighty God was
that his only begotten son should die in the place of his people. He should bear the punishment
instead. Now that may sound a very simple
statement but it's a very true statement and it's a very necessary
statement for every one of us. We all need to have the personal evidence
that none other than Almighty God the Lord Jesus Christ died
for you and me to take away our sins. Now, the picture of that
is set forth in the Passover. And there we have the lamb taken,
the lamb being slain, and the blood from that lamb put into
a basin. and then in order that the Israelites
might not be amongst those that that avenging angel would come
and slay. There had to be a sign, there
had to be a clear picture so that the avenging angel did not
slay the Israelites by mistake. So the picture we have is the
blood was taken. It was taken in the basin and
a little plant, hyssop, which is quite a small plant and it
grows on walls, outer walls, and it's got quite a nice lot
of leafage. was dipped in the blood and then
the blood was put on the doorposts and the lintel of the houses
every house needed it of the Egyptians and the Israelites
were told to enter in to those houses where the blood was on
the doorposts, on the lintels and we're told wonderfully that
The Lord will pass over the door and will not suffer the destroyer
to come in unto your houses to smite you. Without that sign
of blood upon the doorpost and lintels, then the angel would
slay the firstborn in those houses. So it was very, very important
that the blood was to be seen. And of course, we know that that
occurred. The Lord never tells lies. What he says comes to pass. And it came to pass, therefore,
in an exceedingly solemn way. But the Israelites were delivered. And the great picture that you
and I have today is that through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ,
shed, setting forth his death for us, we are delivered. from an eternity in hell we are
delivered from that wrath to come we are freed from it and
we are freed because of what the Lord Jesus Christ did and
of course the picture we also have is that the lamb that was
slain was then roast roast in the fire And the Israelites were
to eat of that lamb. They were to feed on that lamb. And the picture is surely very
simple for us. The true Church of God is to
feed upon the Lord Jesus Christ. And, of course, the Lord Jesus
Christ was also roast in the wrath of God. He had to suffer. he had to die and therefore what
a blessing it is if in measure we are able to partake of his
sufferings you see the Israelites had to partake had to eat of
that roast lamb and my friends it's a great blessing for the
Church of God to enter in in some small way to the sufferings
of Christ and to realise the value of his death. The value of his death was so
great, it paid the price to take away our sins. And we see then
in that picture, the only way of escape was to be under the
blood. And that is exactly the same
today. You and I need to know that the
Lord Jesus Christ died for us, that it was a death that included
us in that redemption. You see, true religion is very
personal. And you and I need that wonderful
evidence. And the Lord Jesus Christ died
that agonizing death on the cross at Calvary. in order to save
our souls from an eternal hell. Well, how wonderful to think
that Almighty God was willing to die for you and me. And what a wonderful thing it
is when the Holy Spirit directs us to know that that is true,
And it's not just an account in the Word of God, but it is
recorded there for our individual blessing to set before us that
sin-atoning death. You see, the Lord Jesus Christ,
in dying on that cross, he took away the sins of all his church. He paid the price. that you and
I could not pay. We'd sinned. We have sinned. We've offended God. I wonder
if you realise that great truth. Because we enter into this world
and we sin and we've offended God. We've disobeyed God. And those sins, every one, need
to be taken away. The price of taking those sins
away needs to be paid for. And the only way, the only possible
way, was by someone who was able to carry out that commission
that God the Father demanded. And the only person, the only
way was through the Lord Jesus Christ. Indeed the hymn writer
says, there was no other good enough to pay the price of sin. He only could unlock the gate
to heaven to let us in. What a wonderful truth it is. What a wonderful saviour we have. And how essential it is that
we have a personal knowledge The Lord Jesus Christ did come
into this world and shed his glorious blood, his precious
blood. You see, the Apostle Peter tells
us, he says, we're not redeemed. That means the price for our
redemption. We're not redeemed with corruptible
things, as silver and gold, from our vain conversation received
by tradition from our fathers, but with the precious blood of
Christ. And surely tonight, we need to
ask ourselves the question, what do we think of Christ? And what do we think of his precious
blood? And what do we know about the
great blessing of forgiveness? To be found indeed resting in
the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ. On this day, in
the history of Israel, there was no safety unless they were
in a house where the blood had been put on the doorpost and
on the lintels. And my friends, today, there
is no safety for you and me unless we are under the blood of the
Lord Jesus Christ. Unless we have the wonderful
evidence that he indeed has died for us. He gave his life willingly
so that we might receive that wonderful gift of eternal life. It's a wonderful blessing, isn't
it? to think that by his grace that means unmerited favour by
his grace when we come to pass out of time it will be well with
our souls not just for a short time but for eternity eternity
the hymn writer says eternity tremendous sound and so it is
is something that you and I cannot really understand. But yet the
Word of God tells us there is an eternity before us. And how needful it is that you
and I are ready for that time when we shall leave this earth
to know that we are amongst those for whom the Lord Jesus Christ
has shed his most precious blood, and we are indeed under the blood. We are redeemed with the precious
blood of Christ. These are not just theories. These are glorious truths contained
in the Word of God, and they're truths that you and I need to
enter into, that you and I need to experience by the work of
the Holy Spirit in our hearts, confirming to our souls that
it is well with us. You know, the devil today tells
us, you needn't worry about those things. You've got time in your
life. In any way, it's not very important. But always remember, the devil
always has been and always will be a liar. Don't listen to what
the devil says. You listen to what the Word of
God tells us, how the Word of God speaks to us. And what a
blessing it is then to realise that we're amongst those whom
Christ has loved with an everlasting love. And to think that he's
loved us so much that he was willing to suffer and to die
in our place. It's hard for us to naturally
appreciate, but it does make things stand out. when we think
that the Only Begotten Son of God, the Creator of all things,
the Ruler of the Universe, was willing to lay down His life
so that you and I might receive the gift of eternal life. It's a wonderful consideration. It's worth pondering. it's worth
considering and my friends if the Holy Spirit shows to us the
truth of it it will enable us from the bottom of our heart
to praise and desire to honour our great and glorious Saviour
to realise that He didn't pass us by He didn't pass us by He
came where we were and said, live, live. Oh, what a blessing
to hear that voice from Almighty God telling us, live, live. You see, and if the Holy Spirit
tells us that, we shall live eternally. And we shall live
eternally in utter bliss. with nothing to make us sad there's
no tears in heaven there's no sin in heaven there's no sadness
there is everlasting joy and peace the complete opposite to
what it's like in eternal hell where we're told that our worm
dieth not and the fire is not quenched and it's outer darkness
and it's utter misery because there is no way of escape there's
no possibility of being saved the day of grace has passed away
how many today think it a little cause and they want to enjoy
their life how many people say they want to enjoy their life
to the full not realising their life is but a vapour that vanishes
away and then an eternity in hell well it's a terrible thought
but the Lord does lay these things before us in his word to make
us aware of them and to cause us a concern to cause us to seek for mercy mercy It's a lovely word. Mercy is welcome news to those
who guilty stand. And if you and I have been convinced
of our guilt before our holy God, you will know what it is
to pray to God. And it won't be a prayer that
you're probably proud of. It'll be a very simple prayer.
And the very simple prayer is this. We're told about it. The Lord Jesus spoke of it in
a parable. It was spoken by a publican,
a tax collector, and it was this, God, be merciful to me, a sinner. That means this confession that
we are a sinner and that we need mercy. Well, every believer prays
that prayer. And it doesn't become an old-fashioned
prayer. It doesn't become something that
you and I can think, well, we got past that stage. We need
mercy again and again. Because we're sinners again and
again. But what a blessing it is to
be able to come very simply and say to God from our heart, God,
be merciful to me, a sinner. Will you know whether you really
prayed that from your heart? And if we really prayed it from
our heart, it means that we prayed it in faith, believing that the
Lord Jesus can have mercy And indeed he gives us faith to believe
he will have mercy. And therefore there is a wonderful
relief if you are guilty under the condemnation of the Holy
Spirit that you're a sinner. A wonderful relief in being able
to come to God and pray for forgiveness and pray for mercy. and to realize
that you come to a God who is merciful a God who is gracious
and yet we are told He will be inquired of by the house of Israel
by the church of God by the people of God to do these things for
them so we are to pray we are to seek for mercy we are to besiege
if you like our God that He will forgive us of all our sins. He
will cleanse us of all our unrighteousness. He will take away all our sin
and that you and I, what a mercy it is if by faith we therefore
view this glorious picture of the Lord Jesus Christ giving
His life and in giving His life shedding His blood so that you
and I might receive the gift of eternal life it puts things
in such a different perspective it brings us to have the evidence
that we are indeed born again our life had been such that we weren't
concerned we only wanted to enjoy it the things of time. What a
blessing when the Holy Spirit works and convinces us of our
true state before our Holy God and directs us to the Saviour
of sinners, the Lord Jesus Christ. Well that's really, you know,
the picture that we have here in this Passover. The Passover
was instituted so that the Israelites might be freed from that bondage
in Egypt. They'd been there for 430 years
and now the time of deliverance had come. And what a blessing
it was. What a wonderful blessing it
was. And what freedom it was. They
came out of Egypt. And it's so, my friends, spiritually.
You may be found in what we might term spiritual Egypt. And you might say, what does
that mean? Well, it really means this. We've been serving the
devil. The devil's a hard taskmaster.
He doesn't make things easy. No, he endeavors to turn us against
God. to walk contrary to the Word
of God, to follow His plan, which is totally contrary to the Word
of God. But what great blessing it is
if the Holy Spirit shows us the condition that we're in, that
we are a guilty sinner, that we've been fooled by the devil,
we've been taken in by him, we've been his willing servant, for
the mercy when God gives us grace to turn from Him and that means
really to repent of our sins and that really means to go in
an opposite direction you may say well I don't think I want
to go in an opposite direction I don't really want to give up
this and give up that and forsake this and forsake that well let
me say this The blessed Spirit of God makes us willing in the
day of His power. God gives us power to forsake
the ways of sin. God shows us the blessedness
of the way of the redeemed. He shows to us the wonderful
favour of being under the blood of the Saviour. And therefore
He makes us willing to forsake the poor things of this world
and to follow a crucified Saviour. It's a wonderful path. It's a wonderful blessing. And
we know this, there will be a good end. that's really what you and
I need to consider the end of our life, the end of our journey
what's going to happen then? where are we going? don't listen
to the devil who would try and convince us that well there's
nothing after that it's just annihilation well it's not it's
very clear that there is and end this life and what a blessing
therefore if we have a hunger and a thirst after spiritual
blessings spiritual realities and again what that really means
is communion and union with the Lord Jesus Christ so that he
is to us a friend Jesus is a friend of sinners. And my friends, what
a favour if we can claim that ourselves. There is a friend
that sticketh closer than a brother. And my friends, Jesus doesn't
leave us. He doesn't ditch us. He doesn't say, well, you're
no good. No, He's loved us with everlasting love. And that means
what it says. It means that His love is everlasting. We may fall, we may fail, God
doesn't. He is the same yesterday and
today and forever. And to think there is a rest
that remaineth to the people of God. A heaven at last, eternal
bliss, in glory, to be with the Saviour and to be able to praise
and to thank Him throughout eternity. We will have a debt that you
and I will never be able to repay, to think that the Lord Jesus
Christ gave His life to redeem our souls because of our sins. You and I can never repay that
great debt. Surely that will be reason to
praise and thank Him from the bottom of our heart for saving
our souls, for not leaving us to perish in our sins. to think that Jesus came to save
us he came into this world to save sinners of whom I am chief
you won't look around you won't point fingers and say well that
person's worse than me under the blessed work of the Holy
Spirit of God you'll realise that you are the worst sinner you sinned against light and knowledge that
you disobeyed God you had to leave everyone else you stand
before a holy God a wretched undone and lost sinner but there's
hope because God is merciful and therefore what a wonderful
thing it is to be brought there and to earnestly seek for forgiveness,
to earnestly seek that you may receive the wonderful blessing
of repentance, to be blessed with that faith to believe the
gospel. These things we don't achieve
in and of ourselves. It's by the grace of God. It's
because he's loved us, because he's died for us. He's given
his life that you and I might live. you and I will be brought
into what we term gospel liberty. Yes, it's union with the Lamb
from condemnation free. Oh, my friends, what a mercy,
what a blessing, and you will indeed rejoice indeed with the
truths of the gospel. You will rejoice indeed what
we're able to read in the word of God with regard to his shed
blood. Trace it through. Trace it through. Through the Old Testament you
got Abraham when he was told to go and offer up Isaac and
he willingly did so but the Lord stopped him and there was a ram
caught in his thicket, in his horns in a thicket. There was
that glorious picture of substitution. The ram taken instead of Isaac. And my friends, the substitution
picture is this. Christ is offered instead of
you and me. Humbling, isn't it? Amazing,
isn't it? Think of it. Trace it through.
We have time tonight. Go through it, my friends, and
trace through from Genesis to Revelation the shedding of blood. Because if you and I are under
that blood, there's no condemnation. There is therefore now, says
the Apostle, no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. Oh, wonderful redemption, wonderful
freedom. May we each know it, rejoice
in it, and bless God for it, and understand the truth of these
words. Then Moses called for all the
elders of Israel and said unto them, Draw out and take your
lamb according to your families, and kill the Passover, and ye
shall take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood that
is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two side posts
with the blood that is in the basin, and none of you should
go out at the door of his house until the morning. Well, by God's
grace, may we all be found under the blood amongst those for whom
Christ has died, and to believe, by his grace, it is well with
our souls. Amen.