Sovereign Grace Chapel, located
at 135 Annabel Lane in Beaver, West Virginia, invites you to
listen to a gospel message concerning Jesus Christ our Lord. Good morning. Good morning. It's good to be
with you all this morning. If you would, open your Bibles
with me to Revelation chapter 13. Revelation chapter 13. And we'll look here at verse
8. Revelation chapter 13 verse 8.
says, and all that dwelt upon the earth shall worship him whose
names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain
from before the foundation of the world. The Lamb slain from
before the foundation of the world. Before God created the
universe, before God created man, before man sinned, Christ
was always the Lamb slain. And there's a whole lot of information
contained in this book and different people who argue different religious
doctrines and different points, but if you want to get down to
what this book is about from cover to cover, it's about the
Lamb slain. the heart of the whole book,
the message of the whole book is the Lamb slain. And about
two or three months ago, I came across an outline, and this outline
had six scriptures listed about the Lamb slain, and they were
such a blessing to me, and Lord willing, that's the message that
I will bring to you all this morning. And if you would, go
ahead and turn in your Bibles to Genesis chapter 4. Genesis
chapter 4 We'll turn to six scriptures
this morning and hopefully see the Lamb typified, the Lamb set
forth, the Lamb pictured. We'll see the Lamb prophesied,
the Lamb promised. We will see the Lamb slain, the
Lamb's blood applied. We'll see the Lamb personified. It's not a lamb, it's a man. We'll see the Lamb identified.
That Lamb is the Lord Jesus Christ. And then we'll finish up with
the Lamb magnified. But here in Genesis chapter 4,
starting in verse 1, it says, And Adam knew Eve his wife, and
she conceived and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man
from the Lord. And she again bare his brother
Abel. And Abel was a keeper of the
sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in process
of time it came to pass that Cain brought of the fruit of
the ground an offering unto the Lord, and Abel he also brought
of the firstlings of the flock, and the fat thereof. And the
Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering, but unto Cain
and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth,
and his countenance fell. The picture of what God would
accept, it's set forth right here. Abel brought that lamb. God accepted that lamb. Cain
brought of the fruit of the ground. He brought what he had planted,
what he had watered, what he had produced. And God didn't
accept that. If you think back there in Genesis
chapter 3, when Adam and Eve fell, when Cain and Abel's parents
fell, it says God slew an animal and made those coats to cover
them. And I can only imagine that they would have passed that
down, that account down to Cain and Abel. and told them that
the only thing God would accept is the lamb, is that blood, is
that sacrifice. And here we see Abel brought
of that, and God accepted that. Here we see that forgiveness
is going to come from that sacrifice. And when it comes to the redemption
of our sins, we don't have salvation by what we do or what we produce.
It's by that lamb slain. The works of our hands must stay
out of it. And our Lord sets forth right
here what he will accept. The lamb is typified. The lamb
is pictured. It's set forth in type. You've
got to have a lamb. Go now with me to Genesis chapter
22. Genesis chapter 22. Here we have another familiar
portion of God's Word. Start here with me in Genesis
chapter 22 verse 1. We'll see our second point. The
Lamb prophesied. The Lamb promised. A promise
that is guaranteed to be fulfilled. Genesis chapter 2 verse 1. It
says, And it came to pass, after these things, that God did tempt
Abraham and said unto him, Abraham, and he said, Behold, here I am.
And he said, take now thy son, thine only son, whom thou lovest,
and get thee into the land of Moriah, and offer him there for
a burnt offering upon one of the mountains, which I will tell
thee of. And Abraham rose early in the morning, and saddled his
ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son,
and claimed the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up,
and went unto the place which God had told him. And then on
the third day, Abraham lifted up his eyes, and he saw the place
afar off. And Abraham said unto his young
men, Abide ye here with the ass, and I and the lad will go yonder
and worship, and come again unto you. And Abraham took the wood
of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son. And he
took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and they went both of
them together. And Isaac spake unto Abraham
his father, and said, My father. And he said, Here am I, my son.
And he said, Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the
lamb for a burnt offering?" In any message, any gospel message
we hear, we ought to be able to answer that question right
there. Where is the lamb? Let's read on here. Verse 8,
and Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for
a burnt offering. So they went both of them together.
And they came to the place which God had told him of, and Abraham
built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound
Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. And
Abraham stretched forth his hand, and he took the knife to slay
his son. And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven,
and said, Abraham, Abraham. And he said, Here am I. And he
said, lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything
unto him, for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing that
thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. And Abraham
lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him, a ram
caught in a thicket by his thorns. And Abraham went and took the
ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of Isaac
his son. And Abraham called the name of
that place, Jehovah-Jireh, as it is said to this day, in the
mount of the Lord it shall be seen. Jehovah-Jireh, the Lord
will provide. God will provide Himself a lamb
for a burnt offering. When none in heaven or in earth
could have found a lamb for that burnt offering, God Himself provided
Himself a lamb for the burnt offering.
And I can just picture Abraham raised up that knife to slay
his only son. Can you even imagine what that
must have been like? What that must have felt like?
And the relief that must have come to Abraham when that angel
appeared to him and behold that ram caught in the thicket. And
here we see that second point. The Lamb prophesied. The Lamb
promised. God will provide Himself a Lamb. From the beginning, God had a
Lamb. And then we see here, God will
provide Himself that Lamb. And turn with me to Exodus chapter
12. Exodus chapter 12. We'll start in verse 1. Here
we see the lamb slain and the blood applied. Exodus 12 verse
1 says, And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of
Egypt, saying, This month shall be unto you the beginning of
months. It shall be the first month of the year to you. Speak
ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth
day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb,
according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house. And 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. Your lamb
shall be without blemish. A male of the first year, you
shall take it out from the sheep or from the goats, and you shall
keep it up until the 14th day of the same month. and the whole
congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. And they
shall take the blood and strike it on the two side posts and
on the upper door post of the houses wherein they shall eat
it. And they shall eat the flesh
in that night and roast with fire. and unleavened bread, and
with bitter herbs they shall eat it, eat not of it raw, nor
sodden at all with water, but roast with fire, his head with
his legs, and with the pertinence thereof, and ye shall let nothing
of it remain until the morning, and that which remaineth of it
until the morning ye shall burn with fire, and thus shall ye
eat it, with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and
your staff in your hand, and ye 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 house is 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. He said, when I see that blood
applied to you, I'll pass over you. Because of sin, death must come
to every household in Egypt. Every household. None will be
spared. No house is exempt. Egyptian
or Israelite, Jew or Gentile, all have sinned and come short
of the glory of God. Aren't we thankful that He says,
when I see that blood, the blood of the lamb slain, I will know
that justice and judgment have already been here. And I will
pass over you that lamb slain, and the blood applied will be
our salvation. Turn with me now to Isaiah 53. Isaiah 53. We have the Lamb typified. We have the Lamb prophesied.
We have the Lamb slain and the blood applied. And here in Isaiah
53, we have the Lamb is personified. Up to this point, up to this
point we've seen God will accept the Lamb. God will provide that
lamb. That lamb has to be slain and
the blood applied. And here in Isaiah 53, we see
that It's not actually a lamb, it's not by the blood of bulls
and goats, but it's a man. How many lambs do you think had
been sacrificed up to that point that never put away any sins?
But here we see that it's not the blood of bulls and goats,
but the blood of a man, the lamb personified. Look here at Isaiah
chapter 53. It says, Who hath believed our report? And to whom
is the arm of the Lord revealed? For he shall grow up before him
as a tender plant and as a root out of dry ground. He hath no
form nor comeliness. And when we shall see him, there
is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected
of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we
hid as it was our faces from him. He was despised and we esteemed
him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows. Yet we did esteem him stricken.
smitten of God and afflicted, but he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace
was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep
have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his
own way, and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and he was afflicted,
yet he openeth not his mouth. He is brought as a lamb to the
slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth
not his mouth. He was taken from prison and
from judgment, and who shall declare his generation? For he
was cut off out of the land of the living, for the transgression
of my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with the
wicked, and with the rich in his death, because he had done
no violence, neither was any deceit found in his mouth. Yet
it pleased the Lord to bruise him. He hath put him to grief. When thou shalt make his soul
an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong
his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his
hand. He shall see the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied. By his knowledge shall my righteous
servant justify many, for he shall bear their iniquities.
Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall
divide the spoiled with the strong, because he hath poured out his
soul unto death, and he was numbered with the transgressors, and he
bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors."
This lamb, it's a man. A man that bore our sorrows and
carried our grief. A man that was wounded for our
transgressions. We see the Lamb typified, the
Lamb pictured back there with Abel. We see the Lamb provided
with Abraham and Isaac. We see this Lamb. Its blood must be shed and applied
unto us. We see this Lamb as a man. Right
here, a man is coming. And we think, who is he? Where
is he? Where will he be? Turn over with me to John chapter
1 verse 14 John chapter 1 verse 14 It says
in the word was made flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld
his glory in the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,
full of grace and truth. John bare witness of him and
cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake. He that cometh
after me is preferred before me, for he was before me. and
of His fullness have all we received, and grace for grace. For the
law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
No man hath seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, which
is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him. And this
is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites
from Jerusalem to ask Him, Who art Thou? And He confessed, and
denied not, but confessed, I am not the Christ, And they asked
him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith,
I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he
answered, No. Then said they unto him, Who
art thou, that we may give an answer to them that sent us?
What sayest thou of thyself? And he said, I am the voice of
one crying in the wilderness. Make straight the way of the
Lord, as said the prophet Isaiah. and they which were sent of the
Pharisees. And they asked him and said unto him, Why baptizest
thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor liest neither that
prophet? John answered them, saying, I
baptize with water, but there standeth one among you whom ye
know not. He it is who, coming after me,
is preferred before me, whose shoes latch it I am not worthy
to unloose. These things were done in Bethabara
beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing. And the next day John
seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of
God, which taketh away the sin of the world. This is he of whom
I said, After me come with a man which is preferred before me,
for he was before me. And I knew him not, but that
he should be made manifest to Israel. Therefore am I come baptizing
with water. And John bare record, saying,
I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode
upon him. And I knew him not, but he that
sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, upon whom
thou shalt see the Spirit descending and remaining on him, the same
as he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. And I saw and bear
record that this is the Son of God." This is He. This is the Lamb of God. Jesus
Christ is the one who laid down His life. He was that Lamb slain.
for His people. He's the one who promised to
do it. He's the one that came and finished the work. It is
finished. He cried. God has accepted His
sacrifice and His people. We are redeemed in Him. And isn't it, I just like to
see this progression, the lamb was pictured, the lamb was promised,
the lamb was slain, the blood was applied, that lamb is a man,
and that man is Christ Jesus our Lord. And turn with me to
our last scripture, Revelation chapter 5, the final point, the
lamb glorified, magnified and glorified, Revelation chapter 5, we'll start
here in verse 1. And I saw in the right hand of
him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside
sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming
with a loud voice, who is worthy to open the book and to loose
the seals thereof? And no man in heaven nor on earth,
neither under the earth, was able to open the book neither
to look thereon. And I wept much, because no man
was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to
look thereon. And one of the elders saith unto
me, Weep not, behold the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root
of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven
seals thereof. And I beheld, and lo, in the
midst of the throne, and of the four beasts, and in the midst
of the elders, stood a lamb as it had been slain, having seven
horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God, sent
forth into all the earth. And he came, and he took the
book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne, And when he had taken the book,
the four beasts and the four and twenty elders fell down before
the Lamb, having every one of them harps and golden vials full
of odors, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang
a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and
to open the seals thereof, for Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed
us to God by Thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and
people, and nation, and hast made us unto our God kings and
priests, and we shall reign on the earth. And I beheld and I
heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the
beasts and the elders and the number of them was 10,000 times
10,000 and thousands of thousands saying with a loud voice, worthy
is the lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and
wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing. And every
creature which is in heaven and on the earth And unto the earth,
and such are as in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I
saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power be unto
him that sitteth upon the throne, and upon the Lamb forever and
ever. And the four beasts said, Amen.
And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshiped him that
liveth forever and ever. The Lamb magnified and glorified. Back in Genesis, we had the Lamb
typified, the Lamb pictured. God will accept the Lamb. Over
there with Abraham and Isaac, we had the Lamb promised, that
Lamb prophesied. God will provide that Lamb. Over
there in Exodus, the Passover Lamb, we saw the Lamb slain and
the blood applied. There in Isaiah, we read it's
not actually a Lamb, it's a man. And then over in John, that lamb
was identified as Jesus Christ our Lord, who came and died for
his people and finished the work. And then right here we see the
lamb magnified and glorified. We sing that song, all glory
and praise to the lamb that was slain, who has borne all our
sins and cleansed every stain. Hallelujah, thine the glory.
Hallelujah, amen. Worthy. is the Lamb. Worthy is
the Lamb that was slain. That is the theme of this book,
and that'll be the theme of Heaven for eternity. Amen. ? Brick and
smitten and afflicted ? ? See Him lying on the tree ? ? Tis
the Christ I've been rejected ? ? Yes, my soul, tis He, tis
He ? "'Tis the long-expected prophet, David's son, yet David's
Lord. "'By his Son God now hath spoken,
"'Tis the true and faithful word. Tell me, ye who fear him groaning,
was there ever grief like his? Friends through fear his cause
disowning, foes insulting his distress. Many hands were raised
to wound him None would interpose to save But the deepest stroke
that pierced him Was the stroke that justice gave Ye who think of sin but lightly,
Nor suppose the evil great, Here may view its nature rightly,
Here its guilt may estimate. Mark the sacrifice appointed,
see who bears the awful load. Tis the word the Lord's anointed,
Son of man and Son of God. Here we have a firm foundation,
here the refuge of the lost. Christ, the rock of our salvation,
is the name on which we boast.