in whatever light we view our
Lord, whether in his deliverance of Israel from Egyptian bondage
or in his fearsome wrath when he killed the firstborn of every
Egyptian, starting in Pharaoh's house, going all the way down
to the servant, the captive who's in the dungeon. As we think about
God's deliverance and God's judgment, we repeat the words of Moses
in the Song of Moses, and I'll have you to turn over a page
or two to chapter 15 in verse 11. As we consider the mercy
of God to his people and then the wrath of God to his enemies,
We say, as did the children of Israel, in this Song of Moses,
chapter 15, verse 11, we say, Who is like unto thee, O Lord,
among the gods? Who is like thee? Glorious in
holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders. Who is like the
Lord in his perfections? in his attributes. Oh, how we
ought to dwell, to meditate, to think upon the perfections,
the characteristics, the attributes of God. Everything that makes
him to be God. I fear we're so busy that we're
too busy to just stop and be thankful for and meditate upon
the greatness of our God. Think of His awesome, awesome
power, His marvelous grace, His unlimited mercy. Think of His
knowledge of you. He knows you inside and out.
His knowledge is so great, He knows the next thought that's
going to pop in your brain before you even know it yourself. He knows the way that you go.
He knows the path that you travel because He's the one who put
you on that path. Think of the justice of God.
Justice that demanded satisfaction for our sins. And then think
about the grace of God given to us in Christ Jesus who suffered
all of God's wrath in our stead. I know people today, especially
religion today, they're always saying, do this, do that. They
want to keep people busy, busy doing something. Here's my advice
to you. I'd say, stand still and see
the salvation of the Lord. Just think about the Lord. It's not wrong to ask the Lord
with our petitions. We come to Him for our needs.
We're instructed to do that. But don't all the time, don't
let your prayers always be full of petitions and weak on thanksgiving
and praise. And in your prayers to the Lord,
make sure that you use His Word, the Word of God. Use it liberally
in your prayers. I fear sometimes that we feel
like we need to come up with something new and different in
our language that we use in our prayers. Use the Word of God. This is what pleases God. This
is what honors Him. And not only in public prayer,
but in your private devotions, in your private prayer, give
back to the Lord the Word that He gave to you. Oh, how great and who is like
our Lord in the perfections of His nature? And who is like our
Lord in the works of His hands? works that are continually going
on. I know creation, creation is
a finished work, but providence, it's ongoing all the time. Think about how God is continually
working in every single thing going on throughout the whole
of the universe. All of the stars in the sky,
all the meteorites and everything in our galaxy, and everything
on earth, and everybody on earth, and everything on earth. Every
ant that crawls, every spider, every scorpion, name anything,
our God governs over all things. Stop and think about how marvelous
are His works. And remember, He's directing
your steps. Think about the works of His
hands. the judgments upon the ungodly. But especially think about his
sovereign mercy to you. He did not leave you in spiritual
darkness. He did not leave you in false
religion. You say, well, I wasn't in false
religion Everybody's in false religion before the Lord drew
us. It was a religion in which we were the God, because it was
all about I. All about me. I say, stop and think. Who is
like unto thee, O Lord? To whom will you compare God? There is no comparison. Isaiah
40 and verse 18, Isaiah said, to whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare
unto Him? In Isaiah 46 and verse 5, the
Lord said, to whom will you liken Me? Or make Me equal and compare
Me? that we may be like. No wonder
that we read in Romans chapter 11, this is what Paul said, His
ways, the ways of God are past finding out. And even in His work of grace,
and oh how we love to think about that work. In His work of grace, did you
know the Lord asked In Mark chapter 4, he said, what can be compared
to the kingdom of God, the kingdom of grace? What can be compared
to this great salvation that we have in the Lord Jesus Christ?
As God is beyond comparison, so His kingdom of grace is beyond
comparison. In that passage in Mark chapter
4, verses 30 through 33, He likens the kingdom of God in its infancy,
that is the church, the redeemed on earth, to being like a little
seed, a mustard seed. And then it grows. It grows. It grows. And it finally becomes
a huge tree. And what he's speaking about
there is the growth of the kingdom of God on earth. And actually,
we're supposed to pray for that. In that prayer that our Lord
gave to his disciples, he said, pray this way. It's not the Lord's
prayer, it's the model prayer, a prayer for us to kind of go
by, an outline prayer, if you will. We're to pray this, thy
kingdom come. How often do you pray that? How
often do I pray that? Thy kingdom come. We pray for
the kingdom of God to spread. We pray for the conversion of
sinners. And we're thankful that we read
in Acts chapter 2, the Lord added to the church daily, such as
should be saved. So His kingdom, the kingdom of
grace, to what can you compare that? Grace that was given us
from before the world began. Grace that was evidenced in our
Lord Jesus coming and living and dying for our sins. That's incomparable grace. Who
would lay down their life for the guilty? To save them. Who would do that? Only a holy
sovereign God would do that. And who would draw poor sinners
unto the Savior by effectual grace? Only God can do that. No preacher can do that. No super
soul winner can draw a person to Christ. It takes omnipotence
to lift us up out of the miry clay and set our feet on a rock,
the rock Christ Jesus. To whom will you compare our
God? He's great in His wrath. He's
magnificent in His grace. And He always does that which,
number one, magnifies His name, and number two, is best for His
people. Always. Which brings me to my subject
tonight. Four words. And I've read them
to you four times already. Look at verse 29. Back in chapter
12. And, here are the four words. It came to pass. It came to pass. And then over in verse 41, and
it came to pass again in verse 41, because it says, and it came
to pass at the end of the 430 years, even the self same day,
it came to pass that all the hosts of the Lord went out from
the land of Egypt. And then the last verse, of the
chapter, and it came to pass the selfsame day that the Lord
did bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their
armies. Now, you can mark this down. Everything that does come to
pass, God brings it to pass. That's a simple statement, but
believe me, that is all-inclusive in that. There's more in that
than we could ever begin to commence to get started to understand
it. Everything that comes to pass throughout God's creation
is brought to pass by our God. And everything that our God has
purposed will come to pass. In other words, nothing ever
comes to pass but that which our God has already ordained
from old eternity. Nothing, nothing ever comes to
pass except that which he has predestinated. That's one of
the statements that's found hundreds of times in the Bible is this,
it came to pass. Everything predestinated from
eternity shall come to pass in time. Because you see, God worketh
all things after the counsel of his own will. And all things
is all inclusive. That's everything. He works everything
according to the counsel of his own will. And we know that everything that
does come to pass in time was predestinated in eternity according
to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel
of his own will. Ephesians 1 in 11. You remember
Amos says in Amos chapter three and verse six, shall there be
evil in a city and the Lord hath not done it? Shall there be some
catastrophic event that happens in a city and the Lord hath not
done it? You name anything that has ever
happened, and I'll tell you this, God's the first cause of all
of them. Whether we can comprehend that
tremendous truth or not does not nullify the truthfulness
of the statement. The scripture says in Isaiah
45, that they may know from the rising of the sun and from the
west that there is none beside me. I am the Lord and there is
none else. I form light. I create darkness. I make peace. I create evil. I, the Lord, do all these things. All these things. Jeremiah says in Lamentations
3 and verse 37, Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass,
when the Lord hath not commanded it? You tell me you're going to do
something tomorrow? You'll only do it and it will come to pass if God
purposed it. But if God didn't purpose it,
it won't come to pass. You see, everything God has promised
shall come to pass in time, and here's the reason, because all
the promises of God in Christ Jesus are yea, and in Him amen
unto the glory of God by us, and we need to always remember
that. Let me ask you a few questions
here. Don't worry, I'll answer them. You don't even have to
answer. I ask questions and I give the answers. First question,
how did Israel ever come to be in Egypt? Well, we know the Lord
put Joseph II in command to provide for Israel and bring them down
into Egypt. Well, how did that come about?
Turn back to Genesis chapter 41. I'll take you to a few references
here as time allows. Genesis chapter 41 verse 8. You
know, the king's heart is in the hands of the Lord. As the
rivers of water, he turns it whithersoever he will. And the
Lord entered into the heart or the mind, the imagination, of
Pharaoh. And he had a dream. And it led to him finding out
about Joseph, who interpreted the dream. And we read in chapter
41 and verse 8, and it came to pass in the morning, his spirit
was troubled. Who do you reckon troubled his
spirit? Who bothered him? Who disturbed
his rest? Who put these thoughts in his
mind so that he dreamed the dream that he did? It came to pass
because God purposed it to come to pass. And what happens? Israel winds up in Egypt. you'll remember that the Lord
had arranged all of this and he told Abraham about it in Genesis
chapter 15. He said, your seed is going to
wind up in a foreign land and they'll be there for over 400
years. And God entered into a covenant
with him. And now it's all becoming reality
to the Israelites as they wind up in Egypt, and they're going
to be in Egypt for 430 years. And it came to pass just exactly
as God purposed it. Weren't you delighted in reading
there as I read those verses toward the end of chapter 12?
in the book of Exodus, the self-same day. I love that, the self-same
day. I mean, we're not dealing in
generalities here. Well, it'll be about, no, the
self-same day, the exact day that God had purpose, that's
when He led Israel. He brought Israel, effectually
brought them out of Egyptian bondage. So Israel entered into Egypt,
and it came to pass because God ordained it. Here's another question.
Well, how did a cruel pharaoh, the cruelest of pharaohs, ever
come to be in power? Now go to Exodus chapter 2. And we know that they had a cruel
pharaoh, but then the next one was even worse. You see, things have got to get
so bad that God will use the difficult times that He brings
about in the lives of Israel, God will use that to force His
people to cry out to Him for help. So a cruel Pharaoh, he dies. And you look at chapter 2 and
verse 23, and it came to pass in process of time that the king
of Egypt died. And that which is certainly by
implication we can understand this, the children of Israel
signed by reason of the bondage. An even crueler Pharaoh took
over and it all came to pass because God purposed it. Because
the Lord, He brings Israel, and it's expressed this way in the
Psalms, to their wit's end. It's like they can't stand anymore. When things got a little bad,
we can bear through. We can just keep on going. We'll make it. But then a new
Pharaoh took over, and he's so mean, he's so cruel, he's so
wicked, he's so harsh to the people, so full of hatred toward
Israel that the children of Israel sighed by reason of their bondage.
They just cried out to God. They cried. And the scripture
says, their cry came up unto God. This is what he had purposed. This is what he had ordained. It was by the will of God that
this cruel, the cruelest of pharaohs got in power. But remember this. And it could
be I'm speaking to somebody tonight, some of God's people may be here,
somebody maybe who's watching, that you're in just unusually
difficult circumstances in life. Well, I would say that the Israelites
were in unusually difficult circumstances in life. Wouldn't you? You'd
agree with me on that. But remember this, Israel was
right where God would have them to be, and so are you. And so are you. The burdens that they bore, the
sorrows that they felt, the cruelty that they had to endure, Those
things were under the absolute authority of the Lord who chose
their nation for himself. And it came to pass. And I'll
tell you something about the difficulties of life. Using this
same expression, it came to pass. It didn't come to stay. It came to pass. Hold your place
here and go over to a familiar passage in 2 Corinthians. I'm
sure you know it well. The nearer you get to it, chapter
4 of 2 Corinthians, chapter 4. The nearer you get to it, you'll
remember it. 2 Corinthians chapter 4 and look
at verse 15. 2 Corinthians 4, verse 15. For all things are for your sakes. You got that? All things, not
most of them. Not the biggest majority of them.
But all things, all things are for, for, they're for, they're
not against, they're for your sakes. that the abundant grace
through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.
All of these things are for your sakes to magnify the grace of
God through Christ to you. And therefore, he says, for which
cause? Therefore, in other words, we
faint not. Don't be discouraged. Say, Jim, you just don't know
what's going on in my life. You don't know the turmoil or
the trouble or the sickness or the illness or whatever it is.
I don't, but I know who appointed it for you. Same one who appoints
difficulties for me. So he says, for which cause we
faint not. We don't want to be discouraged. Shame on us when we get discouraged
and then with the next breath we say, I believe in the absolute
sovereignty of God. Really. I don't know how much we really
do believe, to tell you the truth. And I love that passage of Scripture
in 2 Timothy chapter 2 that says, Though we are unfaithful, He
abideth faithful still. And if you are honest, you'll
have to say, I'm mainly unfaithful, but God is always faithful. He says, but though our outward
man perish, Yet the inward man is renewed day by day for our
light affliction, which is but for a moment. You know what? It came to pass. It came to pass. He said, you
think I'll always have this difficulty? No, you won't. It came to pass. Now you may keep it through this
life. I don't know about that. But
it will pass when you pass. Because our Lord governs all
things. And he says, for our light affliction, which is but
for a moment, worketh for us. You remember studying, when we
were studying about the sons of Jacob, you know, he thought
Joseph was dead. And so the other brothers going
to Egypt to get grain and they didn't take Benjamin with
them. And Joseph recognized him, but they didn't recognize Joseph.
And he said, well, I'm going to keep one of you. I'm going
to keep Simeon here. He's going to stay with me. You
go back, and if you guys are on the up and up, you bring your
younger brother. You remember what Jacob said?
He said exactly what we probably wouldn't say it, but we think
it. Jacob said, all of this is against
me. And that flies right in the face
of scripture. If God be for us, who can be
against us? And you see what it says here?
For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh
for us. It's working for us. Nothing's
against you. It's working for us, for you. A far more exceeding and eternal
weight of glory, while we look not at the things which are seen,
but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are
seen are temporal. This is all temporal. It's temporary. We was talking back in the office.
It's hard to believe January is already gone. Bill spoke up
and said one twelfth of the year is gone. It just got started. And soon we shall be with the Lord. He says, while we look not at
the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen.
For the things which are seen are temporal. This is just temporal,
it's temporary. But the things which are not
seen are eternal. Here's another question, okay? Exactly how was it that judgment
fell upon the Egyptians? You know, the Lord said, go back
in chapter 11, Chapter 11, the Lord told Moses
what was going to happen. And the Lord says, and then Moses
tells the elders, but look at verse 4, chapter 11, verse 4
of Exodus. And Moses said, Thus saith the
Lord about midnight, while I go out into the midst of Egypt,
And all the firstborn of the land of Egypt shall die from
the firstborn of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even
unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill, and
all the firstborn of the beasts. And there shall be a great cry
throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it,
nor shall it be any more. Now compare that to chapter 12
and verse 29. And it came to pass. What came
to pass? Exactly what God said was going
to happen there back in chapter 11. And it came to pass that
at midnight the Lord smote all the firstborn in the land of
Egypt from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne under
the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon and all
the firstborn of cattle. It came to pass because God purposed
it. And I know people say, people
who have no knowledge of God say things like, well, a good
God would never do anything like this. They have no idea the character
of God. the justice of God, and the holiness
of God. He's good to his people, but
he must always act in accordance with his holiness. And he will smite the enemy. I won't make any apology for that.
I know foolish preachers say things like, well, God doesn't
send anybody to hell, they send themselves. What a foolish thing
to think. They send themselves? It's God
who executes judgment upon the wicked. He will rain wrath upon
unbelievers. It came to pass that at midnight,
God went through, and He went through with a two-edged sword,
killing an Egyptian here, an Egyptian there, an Egyptian here,
an Egyptian there, and went all the way through the land, killing
the firstborn of man and beast. That was a lot of bloodshed that
night. Oh, a loving God wouldn't do
that. You don't know anything about God. He didn't have any love for the
Egyptians. What are you talking about? You see, those he loved were
behind blood-marked doors. Not one soul beloved of the Lord
shall ever perish. Somebody starts talking a little
theology with me. I usually try to get right to
the nuts and bolts of things. And I'll say, well, do you believe
there's anybody in hell for whom Jesus Christ has paid their sin
debt and put all their sins away and brought in everlasting righteousness?
Well, usually I'll say, well, I don't know. I'll tell them there's nobody
in hell for whom Christ died. "'cause twice payment God will
not demand. "'First at my bleeding surety's
hand, "'and then again at mine.'" I'll tell you what judgment fell
upon the Egyptians. It came to pass at just the right
time, just as God said. And when will the deliverance
happen? Well, look at verse 41 again
of chapter 12. And it came to pass at the end
of the 430 years, even the self's same day, it came to pass that
all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt. When
does salvation come to a sinner by sovereign, arresting, effectual
grace? To bring him to Christ Jesus,
the selfsame day that the Lord appointed from old eternity. That's when it will come to pass. We used to have testimony meetings. Y'all ever have that church?
It's be like popcorn, you know, popping up all over the place.
I used to say that, too. Sometimes, because I was youth
director, sometimes one of the counselors would stand up and
say, can I say something, brother? And I said, sure. I tell you,
I wish I'd got saved years ago. I wish I'd gave my heart to Jesus
a long time ago. And back then I thought, boy,
that sounds really good. But exactly when is it that a
person comes to Christ Jesus? It will come to pass the selfsame
day that God has ordained from old eternity. And there might be some people
say like that, believing thief, my goodness, he wasted all of
his life, shouldn't have made that decision years ago. It came to pass at the self same
day, at the self same hour, when he's about to go into eternity,
that the sovereign savior rolled up the sleeves of his saving
grace and snatched that guy from the jaws of hell that opened
up ready to swallow him whole. And the Savior rescued him by
omnipotent grace. That's what the Lord did for
you. It came to pass in the self same day that God ordained. And how does it happen? Well,
I'll just give you this. By a great slaughter. By a great slaughter. What's
that? The slaughter of the Passover
lamb. That's how it happens. What about the enemy? How'd that
happen? That's a great slaughter, too.
See, lambs were dying all over the place. Bloodshed. Go back in the house, shut the
door, and stay in there. Don't come out. No matter what
you hear, you're going to hear some bloodthirsty cries throughout
the land of Egypt. You're safe to stay in that house. God doing his work, self same
day. Well, I better quit. Let's sing a clover.