Letters From The King

Q: What does the Bible say about the Passover?

The Passover is a significant event in the Bible symbolizing deliverance through the sacrifice of blood. The Passover is established in the Old Testament as a crucial ceremony ordained by God for Israel's deliverance from Egypt. It signifies the necessity of a blood sacrifice for redemption, which pointed forward to Christ as the true Passover Lamb. In 2 Chronicles 30, King Hezekiah emphasizes the importance of restoring the observance of the Passover, demonstrating how the blood sacrifice was essential for worship and reconciliation with God. This foreshadows Christ’s ultimate sacrifice on the cross, which fulfills the Passover by providing a way for believers to be cleansed from sin.

Q: How do we know Jesus is the true Passover Lamb?

Jesus is identified as the true Passover Lamb through His sacrificial death, fulfilling Old Testament prophecies. The identification of Jesus as the true Passover Lamb is rooted in the New Testament teachings where John the Baptist proclaims Him as 'the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world' (John 1:29). This corresponds with the sacrificial system outlined in the Old Testament, where the Passover lamb was essential for Israel's deliverance during the Exodus. Furthermore, in 1 Corinthians 5:7, Paul explicitly states that 'Christ, our Passover, has been sacrificed for us.' This demonstrates that Jesus’ blood, like the blood of the lamb, is necessary for atonement and reconciliation with God, fulfilling the type established in the Old Testament.

Q: Why is repentance necessary for salvation?

Repentance is necessary for salvation as it acknowledges sin and turns towards God’s mercy. Repentance is an essential element of salvation as it involves a heartfelt turning away from sin and turning toward God. In the sermon, Hezekiah calls the people of Israel to turn back to the Lord to escape His wrath, illustrating that without repentance, one remains under judgment. Jesus also emphasizes the need for repentance in His ministry, stating in Luke 13:3, 'Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.' Repentance reflects a change of heart and mind, recognizing one’s sinfulness and the need for God’s grace, making it critical in the process of turning to Christ for salvation.

Q: What does it mean that God is unchanging?

God's unchanging nature means He is consistent in His character, promises, and purpose. The doctrine of God's immutability emphasizes that God does not change in His nature or purposes. This truth provides immense comfort as it assures believers that His promises remain steadfast through all generations. In Malachi 3:6, God states, 'For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.' This assurance extends to His covenantal promises, where His plan for salvation through Christ remains constant. The fact that God does not change is fundamental to our trust in His capabilities and character; amidst the uncertainty of life, believers find refuge in the God who is always the same.

All right, are you hungry? I've got fat. things and wine on the lease. As we said, Hezekiah here is
a glorious type of the Lord Jesus Christ. Go back to chapter 29.
Let me give you a little bit of history
behind this. Israel was in a mess. Israel was under the rule of a wicked king,
Israel was in captivity. The people were steeped in idolatry. They weren't worshiping the true
and living God, but Baal. One reason is they were ignorant
of the Word of God, the way to worship. But God in mercy. sent Hezekiah
like a light in a dark place. In verses 1 and 2 of chapter
29, it says, Hezekiah began to reign when he was five and twenty
years old. Twenty-five. And he reigned nine
and twenty-nine years at Jerusalem. His mother's name was Abijah,
the daughter of Zechariah. And Hezekiah did that which was
right. in the sight of the Lord, according
to all that David his father had done. So Hezekiah was a good
man. What he did was well-pleasing
to God, and he was a son of David. He was one of David's sons, rightful
heir to the throne. Well, like I said, Israel was
in a mess. in darkness till Hezekiah came. And mankind, from the beginning,
from Adam's fall, man has been in sin and darkness and ignorance, mostly ignorant of God's Word. There was an occasional prophet
here and there. Hezekiah was a good friend of
Isaiah. They were good friends. Read
it for yourself sometime later on. They got together and prayed
for the people. You remember the story of Hezekiah becoming
sick and Isaiah came to pray for him. Well, there were a few
prophets there, but it was mostly in darkness and ignorance. Idolaters. They weren't serving the true
and living God. And so it is with mankind from the beginning. But God in mercy, in the fullness
of time, God sent a light in a dark place. That's what John
said in his epistle. I came to bear witness of the
light. I'm not the light. No man's the
light. Christ is the light. He's the
only one that can give light to anyone. He's the light in
a dark place, only as you see Christ as all. He is all, all
in all. throughout his valley. Christ
is all. Christ is the light. And he came,
king of the Jews. King of the Jews, king of the
universe. And he did that which was right
in the sight of God, unlike any man. It was never said of any
man who walked this earth, I'm well pleased with you. But God
said it about this son, this son of David. Christ came, born
of the seed of David, Scripture says. That's how you know he's
the right one, of the seed of David, in Bethlehem, the place
where the king was born. That's how you know he's the
right one, son of David. All right, look at what he has
to The first thing he did, verse 3, the first thing Hezekiah did
in his reign, verse 3, in the first year of his reign, the
first month, he opened the doors of the house of the Lord. In other words, he opened the
way to God, to come here. He opened the doors. It appeared
that the doors were shut. And it says he called some priests,
verse 4, he brought in priests and Levites. He called in some
priests to minister. to the people who came. What a picture of our Lord Jesus
Christ coming. That's why Christ came, didn't
it? Christ was the door. He is the door. He is the way
to God. And when Christ came, he made
the way, a new and living way, which he consecrated for us within
the veil. And he called his He called his
minister to minister the gospel. Look at verses 9-11. It says, Our fathers have fallen
by the sword, our sons and daughters, our wives are in captivity. But
now it is in my heart to make a covenant with the Lord God
of Israel, that his fierce wrath may turn away from us. It is
in my heart to make a covenant. Verse 11, My sons, be not now
negligent. He's talking to these priests
of His. The Lord has chosen you. God's chosen you to stand before
Him to serve and to minister unto Him. And that's exactly
what the Lord Jesus Christ came. He came down here. It talks about
a people being in captivity. It talks about a covenant. See
that? It talks about some men that
He chose to minister, to talk about this covenant. that Hezekiah
had purposed in his heart to do for his people. That's exactly
what the Lord Jesus Christ did when he came. A covenant which
he and his Father made before the world began. A covenant to
redeem the captives and set them free. And he chose whom he will. He said to his apostles, you
didn't choose me, I chose you to minister this gospel of the
covenant to my people. Those who are captives. And as
I say, Christ opened the door, the way. Christ is the door,
the way. Now, one of the first things
that Hezekiah did. Now, he came. Hezekiah was established
as king. God had made this same Jesus
both Lord and King. He's been the King from the beginning. came and he opened the way, and
he chose him some ministers, some priests, a minister of the
people. Christ did that when he walked around choosing his
disciples, choosing whom he would. He said, now go, preach the gospel,
the gospel of the covenant, deliverance for the captives. All right? But then one of the
first things that Hezekiah did, look at it. Look at verse 15. One of the first things he did,
he gathered his brethren, sanctified themselves, and came according
to the command of the king, and by the words of the Lord, according
to the king's command, and according to what God had written, they
came to cleanse the house of the Lord. The first thing Hezekiah
did, and somebody with me now, you're in on this, good. The
first thing Hezekiah did was he cleaned the house. He cleaned the house. You see,
all through the 1st and 2nd Kings, 1st and 2nd Chronicles, which
are practically the same stories, there were evil kings and there
were some good kings. Very few good kings, mostly evil
kings. These evil kings came in and set up idolatry and all
sort of perversions of worship, whatever they thought. The evil
kings set up just anything they thought. I like this, I like
that, we'll bring in this statue, bring in that statue. Or I like
this, I'll just decide we'll worship God this way, we'll worship
God that way. Remember Uzziah? Remember King Uzziah, whom Isaiah
saw in chapter six? who came in there and said, I
just think I worship God this way. God smote him like a leper
at the same time. Well, when God
sent a good king to the people, the first thing he did was tear
down the idols. The first thing he did, Rick,
was go into the house of God and clear out the idols. I mean,
throw them in the street, throw them in the river, burn them,
get rid of all this trash. Remember, Nehemiah said, we can't
build a wall, there's too much garbage. First thing he had to
do was clean everything out, get rid of all this rubbish.
We're going to worship God just exactly like it's written in
this book, and no other way. And when Jesus Christ, that's
what Hezekiah did, the good king. First thing it is to get rid
of these statues, these pictures, these crosses, these robes, this
holy water, all this stuff. We've got to worship God in spirit.
And in truth, we've got to worship God exactly like God is written
in this book, because it hadn't been done in a long time. That's
why he said that, we read. It hadn't been done in a long
time. We've got to get back to worshiping God the way God wrote
it in a book. And the first thing we've got
to do is kill the passover. That's the thing that was first
and foremost in Hezekiah's mind. That was in the back of his mind
and the front of his mind. That was in his heart, Jeanette.
This was what Hezekiah had in his mind the whole time. This
was the intent and purpose in everything he did. We've got
to get rid of the garbage and do one thing, sacrifice a lamb. That's the only thing, the only
way we're to worship God, it's the only way God will be pleased
with what we do. We've got to have a lamb, because
without the shedding of blood, there's no remission of sin.
It's not holy water, it's not anything we do, it's not, that's
idolatry. One way to worship God, blood. You see that? And when Christ,
Jesus Christ, when he walked into Jerusalem, listen to me.
When Jesus Christ walked into Jerusalem the first time as a
30-year-old man, you know what He did? The first thing He did
was He went into that temple. Yes, this is the Lord of whom
Malachi described, who shall suddenly come into His temple.
He'll be like a refiner's fire and a fuller soap. What does
fire and soap do? Purges, it cleanses. He went
into that temple, that tabernacle, where they were selling money,
selling dove, trinkets, crosses. Well, not crosses, but like they're
doing now. They were selling all sorts of
little religious trinkets and all. People were getting rich
off of these poor folks. You've got to have this. You've
got to have that. Well, if you'll do this, God will be pleased
with you. If you'll buy this, your loved ones will be delivered
from purgatory. It's exactly what they were doing
in the temple at that time. And Jesus Christ came to the
Lord and it was His temple. This is God in human flesh. He
came, opened the door of that temple, walked in and had a whip
in His hand and started flailing people, get out of here, cleaning
His house. Overturning the tables, kicked
over the tables with all that money and all those religious
trinkets, kicking them out, and driving people, these merchandisers
of men's souls, get out of here! There's one way to worship God, and I'm it. You don't need this
stuff. You need a lamb. John said, Behold, the Lamb of
God. You see that? That's the first thing Hezekiah
did. We've got a clean house. And you know what his ministers
did? All these fellows he chose, there were fourteen of them.
I was hoping there'd be twelve. Well, there was. There were just
two more. I thought, what's the significance
of that? Well, Timothy and Titus. How about that? Barnabas and Silas, as it is. Twelve plus two. The Lord chose
His men, and He's still got men today. And the apostles went
throughout all the land, telling people. Remember when Paul came
to Athens? Remember when Paul came to Greece,
Athens, Mars Hill? And he walked through that land
and it says his heart was grieved because the land was full of
idolatry. Everywhere he looked, here's
a statue of Zeus, here's a statue of Jupiter, here's a statue of
this, here's all this religious stuff. And Paul stood on Mars
Hill and said, I'm going to declare unto you the unknown God, the
God you don't know. He's not worshipped with men's
hands. He's not worshipped with idols
and pictures and all that. He said, you don't need all this
stuff. You need a lamb. One way. And God's preachers
are still doing it. They're still doing it. Everywhere
they go, they're telling people, cleaning house, as it were. Get
rid of all this stuff. Anything but Christ is done. It's garbage. It's refuse, Paul
said. You need Christ and Christ alone
as one way to worship God, and that's by blood. And it's not
being done. That's what Hezekiah said. It's
not being done. Don't you see that nowadays?
It's not being done, is it? The blood is not first and foremost.
It's not the center of worship. There's a lot of garbage going
on. Well, Hezekiah cleaned house, and so did our Lord. And this
was from the commandment of the king. This was according to the
word of the Lord. Well, where am I? Chapter 30. I'll go over to chapter 30. So,
after Hezekiah had chosen several men to be his priests, and after
commanding them to help with the cleaning of the house, Hezekiah
set himself to one thing. This is why I came. This is what
I said. This was in the back of his mind.
This was in his heart. He'd read it. That God demands
one thing. One way to worship blood. Passover. We've got to keep the Passover.
And this was on his mind. First thing he had to do though
was get rid of all that stuff. Clean the house. And then we're
going to smear it with blood. We're going to clean the house
and then we're going to This was the end. To this end,
Hezekiah was sent by God to reinstitute the atonement, to bring the people
to God, the only way they could come to God, to worship God,
to be accepted by God by the blood sacrifice. And to this end, Christ came.
This is why Christ came. to be the Passover lamb, to be
the blood sacrifice, to be the lamb of God which would take
away the sin of the world, to put away the sins of his people
by the sacrifice of himself. Look at chapter 30, verse 1. Hezekiah sent to all Israel and
Judah. You're going to like this. You're
going to love this. He said, Hezekiah sent to all
Israel and Judah and wrote letters. to Ephraim, Manassas, to come
to the house of the Lord to keep that Passover under the law. He sent letters out throughout
all the land to come keep the Passover. That's what the letter
was written about. It says letters, but they all
said the same thing. Many letters, you know, posted
out all over back then. They didn't have Internet or
TV, you know. And everything, my posts, my letters, individual
letters, and many letters, but they all said one thing. We've got to come and keep the
Passover. Passover. All the letters spoke of one
thing. The Passover. The Passover. Keep the Passover.
And verse 5 says, they decreed it. Established a decree. You see, he had a council. Oh, this is wonderful. He had
a council. He had a big council. Kings don't have little councils.
He had a big council, and he gathered his princes and all
that, and he said, this is what we're going to do. We're going to send
out letters. We're going to declare the decree.
It was pleasing to the king, verse 4 says, pleasing to the
king to send out this decree that all the people come and
observe the Passover. It pleased the king. And Christ, Scripture talks about
it, the council halls of eternity, wherein God the Father, God the
Son, and God the Holy Spirit made a covenant. And in which
covenant they determined to save a people, to make atonement for
a sinful people. And then they had to send out
letters. And God wrote a book. God wrote a book. And the subject
of that book, every letter in it, yes, even every jot and tittle,
speaks of one thing. A lamb. A lamb. A lamb. It's the only way. A lamb. Someone's
coming. Every jot and tittle. God has
been proclaiming. It says that Hezekiah sent it
everywhere. Send this everywhere. Hezekiah said, send it to the
far corners. Every tribe and kindred's got
to hear this decree. The Passover. Come to the Passover. Paul said, Have they not heard?
Huh? Didn't Paul say that? Have they
not heard? Yet verily the sound is gone
to the ends of the earth. God has declared the decree.
There's one way. Jesus Christ. The Passover. The Old Testament says someone
is coming. That's what Genesis to Malachi
says, someone is coming, the Passover Lamb, the only man approved
of God, the only righteous man, the Holy One of Israel, the only
way to God. The Gospels, the four Gospels
say, He's here. John says, He's here. John standing preaching one day
said, There He is, the whole Testament is talking about the
Lamb. Behold the Lamb of God. That's Him! Right there He is! The door, the lamb, the table,
the showbread, the tabernacle, the altar, the incense, the lamb,
the way to God, the covenant, the salvation! There He is! There He is! What salvation,
John? Here, what is it? Him! Look under
Him and be saved. Call to Him! Ask Him! He'll delight us dearly. You
need a righteousness? He's got it. You need forgiveness? Don't do anything. Go to him.
There he is, John said. He's here. And then the apostles wrote epistles,
letters. What did they say? Same thing. He's coming back. He's coming
back. Who? The Lamb. Paul Peter wrote
an official and said, You know you're not redeemed with corruptible
things such as silver and gold from your vain conversation,
tradition received from your fathers, but with the precious
blood of the Lamb as of without sparkle, without blemish. Same
thing. One way, one way, one way. Letters said that. Have they
not all heard? Have not men in our generation
heard? Hasn't everyone heard? Yea, barely. Then why all this stuff? Then there's one way. One way. Well, the post went
out. The letters went out. Look at
what it said. We read this. Post went with
letters from the king. People, this is God's book. You don't add to this. You don't
take away from it. You don't take what we like. Let me tell you something about
this book. Either all of it's true or none
of it. Right? Why would anybody believe
some of it and not all of it? That means it's just up for anybody's
interpretation, doesn't it? Do you remember what Peter said?
2 Peter 1, he said, no scripture is of any private interpretation. Peter said, I didn't write those
letters, I took dictation. Holy men spake because they were
moved by the Spirit of God. all scriptures by inspiration
of God," Paul said. He said, I'm glad you received
the word from me as it is in truth. Not the words of a man,
but the word of God. There are many, particularly
of the female sort, who do not like what the Apostle Paul said.
Well, the Apostle Paul didn't say it.
God said it. And many others, unbelievers
of all sorts, who don't like this, who don't like that. Well,
I'll just take this, I'll get me a pen knife, and I'll just
cut out what I don't like. I'll make my own Bible." And
that's what these translations of scriptures are, people. You
know that? Why are they translating scripture?
When God used one version or one translation to save thousands
and thousands, Why do they need to change it? If it ain't broke,
don't fix it. Huh? Why do all these trans...
New international version. Why are they doing that? Because
men don't like it. Let's change some of it. Well, God's written a book. This is
God's book. And Revelation 22 says, add to one word of it, or take
away one word from it, I'm going to add to him the plagues. And
he'll have no part. Well, all right, the letters
went out. This word has gone out throughout
the land. The post went out. Now look at verse 7 and 8. Now this is God's word, isn't
it? It's from the King, and this
is according to the word of God. It's not a thing to be messed
with. But yet the King in compassion said this. Look at verse 7 and
8. Don't be like your fathers and your brethren, which trespassed
against the Lord God of their fathers, and therefore God gave
them up to desolation, as you see. Don't be like them. Yield, he said. Be not stiff-necked, like your
father's word, but yield yourselves unto the Lord. Bow down, he said. Enter into the sanctuary, his
sanctuary, in which he has sanctified for him. And serve the Lord, worship the
Lord, at the fierceness of his wrath." Wrath? When have you
ever heard that word today? Honestly, let me ask you, when
do you ever hear that word concerning God Almighty, the wrath of God? Is God no longer a God of wrath
and anger? Does God no longer adjust God? Is God changed? Is He now a New
Testament God as opposed to the Old Testament God? We read it
in Malachi 3 verse 6, didn't we? He said, I'm the Lord, I
change not. The same yesterday, the same
God of the Old Testament is reigning right now, and he does things
exactly the same. Why is there a change? Let me
ask you why things change. Men believe in evolution. They claim that all life started
from a primordial soup. And there were these wiggling
microscopic maggots and all of a sudden a bolt of light and
a big bang or something. Boom, boom, billions and billions
of years, give or take, who knows, give or take a billion. Till
all of a sudden from a wiggling worm, a maggot, or microscopic,
now here's man. So that's change, isn't it? Man
has evolved from a wiggling maggot to an upright, glorious preacher,
and he's just getting better. He's just getting better and
better. That's what change is. That's what I'm trying to say.
The only reason for change is for something to get better or
worse. Right? Change. Something's either got
to get better or worse, doesn't it, if it changes? Why does God
need to change? Why would God change? Is he imperfect? How about salvation? God saved
one way, God tried this in the Old Testament, didn't work? David said, your salvation is
perfect. God said from the beginning,
John, God's been saying from the beginning, from Genesis 3,
he said there's one way. And it's a sure way. A woman sees Passover lamb. A
serpent lifted up. A king on a throne. Change. He doesn't change. God
doesn't change. Salvation doesn't change. He's
the same. Well, look at it now. He says in verse 8, and that's
why I went into that, the fierceness of his wrath. God's still the
wrath man's going to find, mankind's going to find out that God is
not all love. And this is what Hezekiah faithfully,
you know Christ preached more about the judgment and wrath
and hell, damnation of God than anybody. Yes, Jesus Christ more
than anybody. And He's God. All right, verse 9 says, Now
if you turn again unto the Lord, your brethren, your children,
they'll find compassion before them that leave them. They'll
have compassion wherever they go and whatever they do. So that
they'll come, and they're going to come into this land. The Lord,
you're God's gracious and merciful. He won't turn away His face from
you if you turn unto Him. Turn. Didn't we preach last Sunday? That's still the needed message
today, isn't it? It's still the message today. To all of us, beginning with
me, except we repent, we'll all likewise perish. That's not an
old-fashioned turn. Don't be stiff-necked and hard-hearted. Doesn't this generation laugh
at something like that? Isn't that comical to this modern
Civilized general, repent? Did your preacher preach repentance? I thought about that concerning
the message on the radio. That's what Jesus Christ said, not me. That's not some long-bearded
fellow with a sign standing on a street corner saying, the world
will end. Repent. That's the Son of God,
God, who came to this earth. He said, if you don't turn, you're
done for. That's what he said. All of us, beginning with me. What's it going to take? Well, look at verse 10. So the
post passed from city to city, throughout the country, of Ephraim,
Manasseh, and even of Zechariah. But they left them to scorn. The letters went out. The king
came. The king sent by God. to bring
them to God. Come now, come on. Here's the
parish on the way. You're under the wrath of God.
Now turn. Come to the Passover on one way.
Come, come, come. This is it. Repent or perish. Turn. God will turn to you. He's
merciful. He's gracious. He's gracious. You'd better come. This is not
good counsel, it's not advice, this is an absolute necessity.
This is life. You'd better come and you'd better
come right now, as Zacchaeus said. King said this. This is
what Jesus Christâ€”not some fanatical preacherâ€”Jesus Christ said this.
Come and come now. Today. Some of them, you know, well,
I don't know. I'm not ready. Others just flat laughed. You know what I think the big
problem was? Deborah, they were under a wicked
king who had brought the king of Assyria and all of them to
come in. The world was now. They were pretty well off, though
they were in captivity. They liked it. They had everything that Assyria
had and Egypt had. All the goods, and old-fashioned
religion, we don't want that anymore. And they were just all,
everything was just, they looked like the Egyptians, they acted
like the Egyptians, they were in love with what the Egyptians
were in love with, the world. That's my old, that's my daddy's
religion. That's my parents' religion. I don't need that. But if I ever
do, there'll be a time I'll get serious. Well, but look at this. Now look
at this. Here's the good news here. Nevertheless,
verse 11, nevertheless divers, or that is different. There were
different ones, of Asher and Manasseh, and of Zebulun. Humble
themselves. And they came. And they came. And they came. While the world,
the rest of them, everybody else, their brothers and sisters, they
were laughing. Some of them saw the letter. And they came. It broke them.
They were humbled. They said, we've been like everybody
else. We're going to die if we don't
get to Jerusalem. And they came. Bless God, they
came. Different ones out of every tribe
and kindred. They came. Well, who made them
to differ? Says God, verse 1, who made them
to differ? Look at the next verse. Verse
12. In Judah, the hand of God was to give unto them one heart
to do it. I tell you who made them the
dipper? God did. He said, that one's going to
come, that one's going to come, that one's going to come, whoever
he choose, that one's going to come. And they came. The Word broke them. The Word
said, I have been stiff-necked, hard-hearted. You say there's a Passover, you
say there's a blood sacrifice, you say God is merciful and gracious,
you say God will forgive an old rotten sinner like me. The letter
said, yep, just come. That's it, just come. Well, don't
I have to do something before I've got to quit this, quit that?
No! Come! The blood's going to be shed
for you. All you've got to do is just behold it. All you've
got to do is just stand there and watch. and your sins will
be gone. God will be pleased with you."
And some, different ones, said, Ha! Where are you? I'm taking the next ticket into
Jerusalem. They couldn't get there fast
enough. The hand of God was upon them. to give them one heart. The goodness
of God leads to repentance. Oh, my. You see, there's no room
for boasting. A lot of room for blame. Whoever
doesn't come to Christ and believe Him is going to be blamed. God's
going to blame them. He said, I would. He said, I
called and you refused. That's what He said. You refused. He said, you would not therefore. That's what Christ said. You
would not, therefore. But if any man comes, they can
be made willing in the day of his power. The king sent the
letter out, and God said, God said, Make the letter hit his
heart. Break him. The king sent the
sword. He girded on his mighty sword,
John. Do you hear this? Yes. Come. Come to Christ. Come to the Passover. Don't move a muscle, but come.
So they came. Our Lord told a parable himself
over in Matthew 22. I wish we had time to go over
there. But the flesh is weak. I've already lost many. Our Lord
gave this parable in Matthew 22, this very parable. And he said the king sent out
a proclamation, a marriage supper for his son. And he said, go out and tell
them, come. All things are ready. And it
says they began with one excuse. Oh, again, I've got to do that. I will when I get time. It says
the king was angry. And then he said, John, here's
what he said. He said, go out in the highways and the hedges.
I mean, you go out where the lowlifes are laying in the gutter. Where the no-goods, unworthy,
the lowdowns who couldn't get there for a try. You go out there
and you compel them to come in. You bring them. You gather them. You fetch them. And you know
what it says? They came. They all looked like Mephibosheth.
And they sat at the table by that. And at this table there
is no room for boasting. No room for boasting. They all
came because of sovereign electing grace. They all came because
of sovereign fetching power. No room for boasting at this
table. You see, none of them had decided. None of them chose
to come. They were brought. The good hand
of God was on them. Is that your calling, brother?
Do you see your calling, Brother Stan? Do you see your calling? Not many wise men, not many mighty,
not many noble are chosen, but God has chosen the sons of dairy
farmers. My grandfather operated a little
dinghy down in South America on a banana plantation. That's where I come from. To hear the decree, to be brought
to see this glorious thing. And I'm going to quit with you.
Verse 13, it says that they came and there assembled at Jerusalem
much people to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the second
month They took away the altars and all that garbage and all
that, and verse 15, they killed the Passover. You see, Christ
came. Do you remember the story of
Hezekiah? Christ came and he was God's
king. He came and he chose whom he
will, his ministers, his priests, made kings and priests under
him. He cleaned his house. There is one thing on his mind.
to make that sacrifice of himself, the Passover lamb. And in the
fullness of time, he came and he laid down his life, he shed
his precious blood. And he said, if I be lifted up,
I'll draw my men to me. I'll draw them to me, because
every snake-bitten son of Adam that beholds this Lamb of God,
they'll be healed and they'll work. You know, some of them
weren't healed right away, though. Some of them didn't believe.
Listen to this. I've got to tell you this. Some of them came by the
hand of God. They came and they rejoiced.
They saw the Passover and they rejoiced and all that, but not
all of them. Not all of them were there. Look at it, verse
17. There were many in the congregation
that weren't sanctified. And there are some in here. They
are not yet in this foe, who do not yet care for this Passover.
Though they are there, though they witness it, though they
see it, though they hear it. Well, look at this. Verse 18, the last
line of verse 18 says, But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, But
good Lord, pardon everyone. Father, forgive them. They don't
know what they are doing. They are watching the Passover,
they are hearing the Passover, they are hearing the only way
to God, and they don't even care. They are under the wrath of God,
but they don't even see it. They are sitting at the table,
starving to death, and don't know it. The Lord forgave them, pardoned
them. Verse 19, The Lord pardoned everyone
that prepareth his heart to seek God, the Lord God of his Father.
Though he be not clean. And verse 20 says, And the Lord
hearkened to Hezekiah. He heard him. Just like he did
to the Lord Jesus Christ. Everyone he prayed for. Everyone. And then it goes on to say that,
Oh, the people, they were just glad. They were so happy. Oh,
they were so happy. It says in verse 22, it says,
Hezekiah spake comfortably. Spoke to their hearts. Peace
beyond the year. Why? Passover. They were just
so happy. And at rest, verse 23, the whole
assembly took counsel. And here's what they said after
they saw the Passover and they heard this comforting message. They said, let's just stay here
seven more days. That's what they said. Let's
stay here a little while longer. Let's build three tabernacles. And it says there, great gladness,
verse 21, great gladness and praise. And they say, let's just
stay a little longer. Well, let's just read these verses
in closing. Chapter 31. And I quit, I promise. God's word will be the last word.
Look at chapter 31. It says, verse 20. throughout all Judah, and wrought
that which was good, and right, and truth, before the Lord his
God." In every work that he began in the service of the house of
God, every work, and in the law, and in commandment to seek his
God, he did it with all his heart and he That's the best message I've
ever preached. Oh, that's wonderful. Did you
see Jesus? Anybody see Jesus Christ in that? Thus did the Lord Jesus Christ
when he came. He did it all. Everything. The pleasure of the Lord shall
prosper in his hand. You'll see the travail of his
soul. King of the Jews. All right, Sherry, if you'll
come, we'll sing a closing hymn. Number 23, hymn number 23. And if you didn't understand
everything, go back, take your Bible, go home. Please, please,
take your Bible, go home. And open it up to chapter 29
there, where we began. And read those chapters again.
And ask the Lord. And keep Christ in your mind.
Say, Lord, show me Christ in them. I don't fully understand. He said all those that prepare
their hearts to seek Him, God pardoned them. He pardoned
them. And they were very glad, and
they were glad. Oh, they were a people in captivity
before then. They were sad, and they were
made glad. They were poor, but they were
made rich. So do what I say, and the Lord do thee good. All
right, what did I say? What number? Twenty-three? All
right, hymn number twenty-three. Let's stand and sing a couple
of verses in close. And number 23.

Letters From The King

What does the Bible say about the Passover?

How do we know Jesus is the true Passover Lamb?

Why is repentance necessary for salvation?

What does it mean that God is unchanging?

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Letters From The King

What does the Bible say about the Passover?

How do we know Jesus is the true Passover Lamb?

Why is repentance necessary for salvation?

What does it mean that God is unchanging?

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About Paul Mahan

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