When the Lord and His disciples
came to that upper room to observe the Passover, He said to them
that night, with desire, have I desired to eat this Passover
with you. And it is with desire that I
have desired to look at this Passover with you tonight around
this scripture in Exodus chapter 12. I hope you have been looking
forward to this too since we announced it. With desire. Scripture says he will fulfill,
the Lord will fulfill the desire of them that fear Him. He also
will hear their cry and will save them. Psalm 145, 19. Let's read verses 11 through
13 here of Exodus chapter 12. Verses 11 through 13. The Lord says, Thus shall you eat
it, Passover, with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet,
and your staff in your hand, and you shall eat it in haste.
It is the Lord's Passover. For I will pass through the land
of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the
land of Egypt, both man and beast, and against all the gods of Egypt,
I will execute judgment. I am the Lord. And the blood
shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are. And
when I see the blood I will pass over you, and the plague shall
not be upon you to destroy you when I smite the land of Egypt."
Now, this is a real story with real people, a true story. This is the story of when the
Lord God passed through Egypt and killed all the firstborn. Just as he said he would. Just
as he said he would. You noticed as we read through
here that the Lord said, I will pass through it. I will pass
through the land of Egypt and I will smite. And this is also
the story of how the Lord passed over. the children of Israel,
and did not smite them, but rather spared them, had mercy upon them,
and saved all the firstborn of the houses of Israel, just as
He said He would. So the Lord is true. His promises
are true. They are yea and amen in the
Lord Jesus Christ, just as He said. This really happened. really
happen, and it will happen again. There are many today who question
the validity of this story. Did you know that? That there
are many even professing Christians and modern theologians who don't
believe this really happened at all. They believe it was an
allegory or something like that. Just like they don't believe
in the garden and what happened in the garden and so forth. It's
very common to that. Did you know that? Well, it did
happen. And it's going to happen again.
That is, the Lord will pass through this land again. Look with me
at 2 Peter chapter 3. 2 Peter chapter 3. written throughout the New Testament
Scriptures. The same Lord has warned all
flesh again. The same Lord has warned everyone
again, has promised to pass through this world one more time to destroy
it. And just as many do not believe
the first exodus and the first time of destruction and the flood. You remember Peter wrote in 2
Peter 3, how that scoffers and mockers reject the creation of
God as well as the flood. And they reject the story of
the exodus of the Lord smiting the land of Egypt. But the same
Lord has promised to pass through this world again to destroy not
just the firstborn, but all flesh. All flesh by fire. But the same Lord The very same
Lord has promised to save some the same way that he saved those
Israelites in Egypt that day when he seized the blood. He's
promised that. 2 Peter 3, look at verses 9 and
10. The Lord is not slack concerning
his promise as some men count slackness. You see, they are
saying, where is the promise of His coming? Everything continues
as it was. Well, the Lord is not operating
on man's timetable. And He is longsuffering to us.
We are talking about believers, the brethren, the beloved. He
is longsuffering to us. We are not willing that any should
perish, any of us. But that all should come to repentance. We have said before. when the
last elect of God is born upon this planet. And however long
he has for that elect to live, whether it's as an infant, he
takes them, or as an older person. When the last one is born and
the Lord either takes them or whatever, that's it. It's over. Verse 9, and all of them are
going to come to repentance, but the day of the Lord, verse
10, will come as a thief. in the night, that is, unexpectedly,
in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and
the elements shall melt with fervent heat. The earth also
and the works that are therein shall be burned up." Verse 14. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that
you look for such things, seeing that this is going to
happen, And you're looking for and hastening unto the coming
of the day of God. You're looking for a new heaven
and a new earth. Seeing that you look for such
things, be diligent. That is, be serious about it. Seeking, worshipping, gathering
like the children of Israel did that night. See that you be diligent
that you may be found of God in peace without spot and blameless. Be diligent that you be found
of God in peace, without spot, and blameless. Now, so go back
to Exodus chapter 12 with me. Let's look at what it means to
be found of God in peace, without spot, and blameless. If you don't know already. Back
to Exodus 12. It's amazing how these go together.
Look at Exodus 12. Let's just look at this briefly
again. Verses 1 and 2. The Lord spake unto Moses and
Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, now God spoke in time past unto
the fathers by the prophets. God did not speak to the people,
but God spoke through men. And God spoke to Moses and Aaron,
who in turn spoke to the people. And that's the way he does now.
How shall they hear without a preacher? Well, the Lord spake and he said,
this month, verse 2, this month shall be unto you the beginning
of months. It shall be the first month of
the year to you. This is the beginning to you.
It all starts over right now. The Lord said, right now, tonight,
this day, everything begins brand new. Old things are going to
pass away and all things are going to become brand new right
now. This is the first day of your
life. Right now. Begins right now. Today is the day of salvation.
That's what the Lord is telling them. Today is the day of salvation
because God is going to reveal to them the Lamb. His salvation. And so he told
Moses and Aaron, you speak, verse 3, unto all the congregation
of Israel. See, all Israel, all God's people
are going to hear this message through the preacher. They're
all going to hear the same message. And they're all going to hear
it. Speak unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, in the tenth
day of this month they shall take to them every man, every
man, a lamb. According to the house of their
fathers, a lamb for a house. Everyone has to have a lamb. Verse 4, if the household be
too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next unto
his house take it. According to the number of souls,
every man according to his eating shall make your count for the
lamb. You've got to count them all and everybody is going to
have a lamb. Because this lamb is their substitute. And if God
is going to pass over in mercy and salvation, every single person
that he passes over is going to have to have a lame, a substitute. This holy God, this righteous
God, who is a consuming fire, the unknown God that our generation
doesn't know, the God who scripture says is angry with the wicked
every day. The God who will by no means
clear the guilty, Scripture says. The God who said, I kill and
I make a life. But the God who killeth is going
to pass through just as he promised. And he's coming through here
again, said he would. But he's also promised as he
did back then. He's also promised that he will
pass over all whom he sees under the blood. When I see the blood,
the blood of a lamb, that's what this lamb is, a substitute killed
in their stead, in their place. When he sees the blood over the
door and on the lintel, he will pass over you. And therefore,
this God who's a consuming fire, this God who's angry and should
be angry with us, is at peace with everyone under the moon.
So how may we be found of God in peace? To be found of God
in Christ, who made peace by the blood of his cross. That's
how. So every man, woman, boy and girl who will be saved, listen
to me now, everyone who will be saved must have a lamb. Everyone who will be saved must
have a substitute, but not just any lamb will do. Look at how
he describes the lamb. Verse 5, your lamb, your substitute,
if you have one, it must be this way. Your lamb shall be without
blemish, or that is, without spot. Your lamb shall be without spot,
without flaw, a male. Verse 5, a male, a male, not
a female, a male of the first year, that is a yearling, it
is prime. And you shall take it, and also
that means the firstborn of a flock. You shall take it out from the
sheep. So every single person who is to be passed over by God,
who is to be saved by God, must have a lamb without spot, without
blemish, a male, Firstborn, chosen from among the sheep to be their
substitute. Now, you know that the blood
of lambs and bulls and goats and turtledoves can't put away
one sin, don't you? The book of Hebrews says much
about that. Well, what is this lamb? Who
is this lamb? This lamb represents the Lord
Jesus Christ. Now, God has a chance. God hasn't
changed. Turn with me to Malachi chapter
3. This is what I'm trying to say. God has not changed. The
very last book in the Old Testament, the same God has made the same
promises, that is, to pass through and to smite this world and to
save. Same way. See, the same God has
one way, one truth, and one way to live, one life. In Malachi
3, most of you know this verse, but some don't. Malachi 3, verse
6, the Lord says, in the last book of the Old Testament, the
Lord says in verse 6, I am the Lord, I change not. Therefore
ye sons of Jacob are not concerned. You see, Jacob have I loved,
but Esau have I hated. God chose a people, and they're
the sons of Jacob. That's Israel, that's who that
is. Jacob didn't deserve to be saved,
but God chose him. God loved him. Jacob loved God,
but not first. He's sons of Jacob, so all you
sons of Jacob are not consumed. I'm the Lord, I change not. I
change not. And not be destroyed. Why? Why
won't they be consumed, sons of Jacob? Because look at chapter
4, verse 1. Behold, the day cometh shall
burn as an oven, and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly
shall be stubble, and the day that cometh shall burn them up,
saith the Lord of hope, that it shall leave them neither root
nor branch." The day is coming. God reveals to all His chosen.
Now turn with me to John chapter 1, the Gospel of John chapter
1. Quickly turn there, please. So
God hasn't changed, and God has promised, God has warned, Promises,
the warnings of God haven't changed. Same Lord passed through and
smote Egypt, and the same Lord is passing through this world
to smite this world one more time. Not with water, but with
fire. Completely. But the same God
will pass over all who are under the blood, all who have a substitute.
Same Lord that passed through, same Lord tells all His elect
the same truth. You must have a lamb. You must
have a substitute. Because when I see the blood,
I'll pass over you. Every man should have a lamb.
Everybody needs a lamb. We still need a lamb. Do you have one? Do you have a lamb? Look at John chapter 1. John
the Baptist was preaching one day. He was warning Everyone
to flee from the wrath to come. That's what he prayed. Flee from
the old generation of vipers, he said. John, on a good Sabbath
day morning, John stood up and told all that religious crowd,
he said, you generation of vipers, who has warned you to flee from
the wrath to come? John was a true and faithful
prophet, wasn't he? The last of the Old Testament
prophets. And the message was the same, wasn't it? The same. Moses, God told Moses, Aaron,
same as God told Malachi, the same. Who hath warned you to
flee from the wrath to come? So he stood preaching that, and
down in verse 29, one day he was preaching, verse 29, the
next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him. Jesus of Nazareth coming
unto him. And he said, for all to hear,
and I believe he pointed, and he said, Behold, the Lamb of
God. There he is. There he is. God's Lamb, which
taketh away the sin of the world. There is God's way of peace.
That's how you may have peace with God. Right there, that person.
That's the way to be found of God in peace, without spot, and
blameless, under the blood, because the Lord Jesus Christ is the
Lamb of God. He's the sinner's substitute.
He's the guilty man's advocate. He's God's provided Lamb to put
away the sins of all of God's people. All the sins of all of
God's people by the sacrifice of Himself on Calvary's day.
There He is. Do you have one? Well, there He is. Look to Him. Look to the Lamb of God. Go back
to Exodus 12 with me. Real story. I told you this was
a real story back in Exodus 12. And Christ did really come. He
really did come, the Lamb of God. And he really was the sinner's
substitute. And he really was made sin for
his people. And God really will and really
has passed over in mercy and grace
and salvation to all of his people that are under that blood by
faith. Back here in Exodus 12, Mindy and I were talking about
this after last week's communion table. These were real people. This really happened. It's a
real story. And a good way to really appreciate
this is try to really enter into what they must have been going
through at this time. A real story. Real people. And they
really did take a lamb, a real lamb. Children saw this happen.
And they killed that lamb. All the congregation, it says,
took the lamb, each family, and the elders did, that is. And
they all watched this happen. All the children watched the
elder kill that lamb, slit its throat, Take that blood, put that hyssop,
and be putting it on the door. Real death. It really happened. And then that night, they all
got in their houses together. And they closed the door. And
God really did pass through that night. He really did. They heard
the cries throughout Egypt. The whales, death passed through. The Lord Himself passed through. They used to say the death angel
passed through. No, no, the Lord. He said, I
kill. The Lord said, I will pass through.
And the Lord Jesus Christ is coming again. He is coming again.
He Himself is coming again. To smite and to save. To take His people out. This
was a real message from Moses and Aaron to the people. It was
a message of life and death, wasn't it? That night when they
preached this message, could it be taken lightly? When Moses
and Aaron preached that message that night, was it a thing to
be taken or leave it? I mean, really, was it? Could
anyone be indifferent to it? Could someone say, well, tomorrow,
you know, I'll give this more thought tomorrow? That really was the day of salvation,
wasn't it? I mean, it really was. It was
a life and death message, wasn't it? You're either going to be
in the house under the blood and be spared. Or you're going
to be smitten with the Egyptians. And our Lord Himself told us
not to boast of tomorrow, didn't He? He said, Boast not thyself
of tomorrow. You know not what a day may bring forth. Today,
He said. Did He not really say today is a day of salvation?
Young people, this is not Sunday. But this is the message that's
being preached now. It's a life or death thing. It really is. And the Lord is coming soon.
He is. He promised. The Lord is not
slack concerning His promises. Some men can't slacken. He's
coming at a time when you think not as a thief in the night.
But He said, when I see the blood, not only will He have mercy upon,
He'll take you with Him, take you out of this blood. who will
go to meet the Lord in the air, the Scripture says. And so, look
at this. This was a real message, wasn't
it? It was life and death. It really happened. This really
happened. It helps. It would help us to really enter into
these stories. It really did happen. Living
and true God. And this is a, the Word, the
Scripture says, is quick. That is, it's living. It's true.
The Word of God. God does speak. We have this
vessel, this treasure in earthen vessels that God really does
speak powerfully. You must have a lamb. Well, the
Lord said in verse 8, he said, verses 8 through 10, he said,
eat the flesh that night. Here we are tonight, aren't we?
And we're talking about the very same thing, the very same one.
The sinner's lamb, Passover lamb, Christ. Eat it that night. Right now. Eat. Eat. Eat. Take. Eat. Right now. Roast with fire, that represents
the wrath of God that Christ bore. Unleavened bread, that's
His sinlessness, but it's also, as Paul said, the unleavened
bread of sincerity and truth. And with bitter herbs. Bitter
herbs. Christ tasted the bitterness
of sin and will taste the bitterness also in trials. They shall eat it. Christ said,
except you eat my flesh and drink my blood, you have no part in
it, didn't it? What does it mean to eat the flesh of Christ and
drink his blood? Well, he said, if you don't,
you have no part in it. No need to know, don't we? Verse 9, eat
not of it raw. That's Christ did not. It's not
an unfinished thing. Christ didn't leave it for you
to finish it. No, he said it's finished. Nor
sodden it all with water. Many water down the gospel don't
do it. Oh, no. Roast with fire. His head with
his legs. Complete. Complete, finished
work of Christ with the pertinence thereof. And you shall let nothing
remain, nothing of it remain until the morning. No leftovers.
There's no tomorrow. Whatever's left is going to be
burned up. No tomorrow. Tonight. No tomorrow. It's an urgent message,
isn't it? This is not Sunday, but the Lord
didn't say when he would What day would come? Verse 11. So
he says, thus, so that's how you shall eat it. Thus shall
he eat it. You shall eat it with your loins girted. When they were about to get up
and go somewhere and do something, when something was about to take
place, they all wore flowing robes, you know. They would girt
up their loins and tie it up and get ready. Loins girt. Wrap yourself up tight. The law is girted. Scripture
says we need to be girt with the truth. Your shoes on your
feet. Put on your walking shoe. We're going walking. We're walking
out of here. Better put your shoes on. Believer, if there
is a tomorrow, we're going to have to walk by faith, aren't
we? We need shod with this gospel. Preparation of the gospel of
peace. And your staff in your hand. Put your staff in your
hand. A staff was to lean on, isn't
it, Nancy? It's a good thing to lean on when you limp on your
thigh. Like on Jacob. All the sons of
Jacob have a limp when the Lord touched them. Their walks have
been changed. And they lean on their staff.
That's this right here. Thou rod and thy staff. They
comfort in that. Staff in your hand. You have
it there, believer? Have the staff in your hand, got your
shoes on, your lawns girded, and you eat it in haste. That
means hurry. This can't wait. Eat it in haste. It is the Lord's Passover. It
is the Lord's Passover. It is. And it is now. And it
was. And He did. He really did. And He is coming again to judge
the earth, Scripture says, to smite, to take His people home.
And He said, just as He said to the children of Israel back
then, when I see the blood, all who are under the blood, all
who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, God's Lamb, will be saved. I love to think about this, how
that in those houses, They were all different ages. Male and female, young and old. I started to say rich and poor.
None of them were rich. They were slaves. They were all
poor and needy. That's a good picture. But everyone
in those houses, they were old and young and male and female,
but they were all the same. They all had the same needs.
It would be under the blood. That night was all they needed
wasn't it? There was nothing important.
Nothing happened. One thing they thought. And in
that house there was strong faith. Someone like Moses. Moses was
in his house with all of his children, his wife and his children
and so forth. Aaron who probably had strong faith in his house
with all his family, wife and children. He had a man of strong
faith like Moses. He believed the Lord. I believe
when that night came that Moses stood there resolutely, steadfast,
sat there eating quietly, confidently, with assurance. He knew the Lord. He trusted the Lord. He believed the Lord. Doubted
not that he was persuaded. I think he had full assurance.
that what God said God was going to do. And he was eating that,
and maybe he even had a smile on his face. Sober, but smiling. Serious, but joyful. You know
what I mean? But then in that same house,
there may have been a young teenager who believed what her daddy or
her uncle or whoever Moses was to her told him. Believe. She believed, but not very strongly. And she was afraid. And she kept
asking Moses, Dad or whoever, is God truly worse? Are you sure that the Lord is
not going to smite us too? And Moses said, God hath promised,
and what God hath promised, he will perform. Now, what saved Moses? Or rather, who saved Moses? Is Moses' faith saving? Was Moses more saved than that
young girl? No. Moses was more at ease. Moses had more comfort. Moses
had less doubts and fears. Moses didn't worry as much. Moses had more peace and more
assurance, but he wasn't more saved. So they both had this
one thing, the Lord's promise in the blood of that lamb over
their house. And weak faith is saving faith,
the same as strong faith. Because if it's in Christ, it's
true faith. When I see the blood. Now look
down at verse 40 that we read. It said in verses 40 through
42, and I close. Now the sojourning of the children
of Israel who dwelt in Egypt was 430 years. Long time. But it came to pass. Just as
the Lord said. Where's the promise of his coming?
All things have continued a long time, haven't they? Well, it
happened. For 130 years, in the selfsame
day, it came to pass that all the hosts of the Lord went out
from the land of Egypt. Every one of them. Every single
one that's under the blood went out and left Egypt. Oh, my. Our Lord Jesus Christ
shall someday present all of his people. All Israel shall
be saved. All the sons of Jacob shall be saved. All who trust
Christ shall be saved. All for whom Christ died shall
be saved. All whom God chose and gave to Christ shall be saved.
All whom God loves shall be saved. And in that day the Lord Jesus
Christ will present them to the Father, saying, Behold, I and
the children which thou hast given me, those for whom I have
died, those for whom I shed my precious blood, they are all
here. and accounted for. They all have a lamb, and I'm
it. They all went out. And it is
a night, verse 42, it says, it is a night to be much observed
unto the Lord for bringing them out from the land of Egypt. This is the night of the Lord.
This is that night of the Lord, to be observed of all children
of Israel in their generation. And they did. We do. The Jews lost sight, didn't
they? Not all of Israel are national
people, but the children of the promise are counted in the city.
But all Israel, all spiritual Israel will be saved, because
they're all told who their Lamb is. And they all look to Him.
And they're all under His blood, by faith. And they'll all come
out. And they all eat. What does it
mean to eat? I told you we need to eat. Christ said, eat. Now what do you do when you eat
something? Well, you've got to lay hold on it. You've got to lay hold on it.
You take it. What shall I render unto the
Lord for all He's promised me? David said, I'll take the cup.
I'll take that. The preacher preaches the gospel
and says, here's Christ. And a sinner who's hungry and
thirsty and needs Him said, I'll take Him. He's not a physical
person to lay hold of. Here He is, but not here. Someday we will actually touch
Him and handle Him like the disciples of old did. Remember that? The Lord reappeared to us then
and said, touch Me, handle Me. You see, He ascended back to
the throne and where He sits now. right now, and though we
can't see Him, but having whom we haven't seen, you love and
you lay hold of by faith. Say, I need this Christ. Lay
hold, and you eat. I'll take that. You swallow it. You ingest it. You say, you don't just taste,
but you swallow it. You take it inside yourself.
When you hear this gospel of Christ and you say, I like that.
I want that. I want Him. I need Him. I'll
take Him. Yes, I've got to have Him. You lay hold on Him. Eat. Your
loin is girded with the truth. This girdle of truth will bind
you. It will bind you up and you won't
spill out. You won't fall out. You won't
fall away bound. It's shod with the gospel. We've
got to walk by faith. I don't know how many more days
we'll have to walk. You need to number your days
upon this earth. But the just shall live by faith and walk
by faith, and we'll have to walk by faith. Not by sight, but by
faith. How's that? Looking to Christ.
Looking to His Word. Looking to His promises. Looking
to Him. Hastening unto His coming. Believing
that He is coming. Walking by faith. Not listening
to the world, but listening to Him. Not looking at what you
see around you. Looking unto Jesus, the author
and finisher of our faith, and run the race before you. A lot
of witnesses. Shot with this gospel, and I'm
here to tell you that these shoes won't wear out. You can wear
them many years, can't you? These gospel shoes. They wear
well, don't they? And they become very comfortable indeed. I don't
like to go barefoot. Do you? Maybe you do. If I'm
into sand, maybe. But not around here, not if you
have any work to do, or anywhere to go, or any real walking to
do. I want some shoes on. And this gospel of Christ wears well, and walk well, and
staff in your hand. I lean upon this. Don't you lean
upon God's Word. Don't you just lean upon it.
Doesn't this raw dark Lord is our shepherd and this is his
staff and it comforts me. It reins me back in like a shepherd's
staff does. It prods me to keep going. It chastens me. And it wards off my enemies.
Got it? You're going to need it. There's
lots of them out there, the wolves out there. And do it in haste. Do it right now. Right now. What? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
Right now. Right now. This is the Lord's Passover.
And I'll tell you what else the Lord said to do. This is what
the Lord Jesus Christ said to do. He said, everyone that believeth
and is baptized, shall be saved." Baptism is just the way the Lord said to publicly
confess him before all men. And the Lord said, do that. Do
you believe? Do it. See, the children of Israel,
remember they did exactly what Moses and Aaron told them to
do. And they worshiped the Lord, and that's what they did. So
he said, do you believe? And be baptized. Confess me. If you don't, if you don't confess
me before me, I won't confess you before the Father. And we've
got plenty of water. And Mary Parks cleaned out the
bad district. It's ready to go. It really is. You didn't do that. You just
decided to do that when we were cleaning the building, didn't
you? Maybe it needs to be used again.
And he that believeth and is baptized, the Lord said, Be saved.
What does that mean? I'm coming through and I'll pass
over you in mercy and grace and I'm going to take you home with
me when I come finally. He had his promise. He had his
promise. So do it. Okay, stand with me. Our God, our Father, thank you
so much for your word which liveth and abided forever, which is
a lie, which is new. Thy mercies, the story of thy
mercies, of thy gospel are new every morning. It is good news.
And there are some here who have laid hold of thee by faith, by
your grace, by your mercy, by your Holy Spirit, have laid hold
upon Christ by faith. You have revealed unto them the
Lamb, their Lamb, Christ the Lord. by faith, laid hold of him and
eaten his flesh and drunk of his blood and confessed him in
believer's baptism. Lord, we thank you for those.
And yet, brand new, fresh, they all this night lay hold again,
the beginning of their confidence again. To whom coming? We keep coming to Christ again
and again and again. Lord, we all need Christ. And so we ask that You would
keep us cleaving to Thyself, dear Lord. And Lord, we ask that
for Thy glory, the praise of the glory of Thy grace, that
You would do this for someone else. And we'll give You all
the honor and glory. And it is in Christ's name that
we are met here tonight. Christ, our Passover. Amen. Thank you.