If you'd like to follow along,
I'm gonna be in Exodus chapter 12. Exodus chapter 12. I hope this is a very familiar
piece of scripture. Well, I'm just gonna read verse
23. Exodus 12 verse 23 for the Lord
will pass through to smite the Egyptians and When he see it
the blood upon the lentil and upon and on the two side posts
the Lord will pass over the door and Will not suffer the destroyer
to come in unto your houses to smite you One more verse. And ye shall observe this thing
for an ordinance to see, and to thy sons forever. Forever. All right. Israel is known as the people
of God. And as Walter started to talk
this morning, and I said don't do that, The people of God are a chosen
people, and they are chosen by God, not by man of any kind. And Israel in the Old Testament
is a type of the true people of God. Christ told us himself
this one statement, ye have not chosen me, I've chosen you. and ordained you, that you should
go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain,
that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he
may give it to you. Christ said that to his disciples,
and in turn, he said it to us, all of his believers. You didn't
choose him, he chose you. And what that means is, that
deep underlying meaning, that means you didn't choose him.
He chose you. And that's what he's showing
here. This is one of the most wonderful places, I think, in
the Old Testament. This is the story, actually the
account, of the Passover. The Passover. The Lord chose his people for
himself. And here's what that means. The
Lord saves his people by himself and for himself. Now, I've got
four things I'm gonna point out here about the people of God.
The first one is this. They are a people prepared to
go. The second thing is they are
a people redeemed from death. The third thing I wanna talk
about is a people dependent upon God. And the last thing, a people
delivered. Delivered. Now, the first one
is found in verse 11 of chapter 12. And thus shall ye eat it,
speaking of the Passover meal. with your loins girded, your
shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand, and ye shall
eat it in haste, in haste. It is the Lord's Passover. I like that verse, I do like
that verse. But my first point is this, God's
people, the people of God, that's my title, Paul, if you read this,
Israel, the people of God, God's people were a people prepared
to go, to go. Listen, if you want to get into
it, the preparation had been taking place for 400 years. They
had been slaves in Egypt for 400 years. There had been nine
plagues before this. And still Pharaoh would not let
the people of Israel go. Oh, I'm gonna tell you something.
The power and the majesty of God had been made known to the
Israelites, to the Israelites. After every plague, Moses went
to Pharaoh and said, let my people go. He said, the Lord said, let
my people go. But Pharaoh's heart was hardened,
and they didn't go anywhere. This is the final plague upon
Egypt, but it's also a blessing on the people of God. That's
the thing the world doesn't quite understand, and what Walter said.
Believers understand and know the power of God, the wisdom
of God in Jesus Christ. The world has no idea. They don't
understand at all. It's amazing, but it's true. We are that dense. We are that depraved. Oh my. All these other plagues had hit,
and the people had been promised deliverance from Egypt, and they
were made ready, made ready to go. By this time, the lamb had
been sacrificed. Remember that it started out
as a lamb, then the lamb, and then it turned into your lamb.
Your lamb had been sacrificed. The blood had been affixed above
on the lintel and the doorposts of every house that had slain
the lamb. And this lamb was roasted with
fire, the rest of the meal was fixed, all was ready for the
meal. And the family was gathered,
gathered. I'm telling you something, the
table is ready, the house is ready, and the people are ready
to go. They're ready to go. Then he says this, and thus shall
ye eat it. How's that? Loins girded. What's that mean? You're dressed
up, ready to go. Possibly ready for a fight. That's
what they always told them, is gird up your loins and fight.
It's protection. What's it mean? You're ready.
You're ready to go. That's the whole point. Oh, my. You're dressed for traveling.
I like that. Because you got your shoes on
your feet. Your loins are girded and your shoes on your feet.
Guess what? They're ready to walk. The people of God are ready
to walk. Oh, I like that. Staff in your
hand. No matter what the trail you
go, God will prepare you for it. You'll be prepared. You may not understand it while
it's happening, but I tell you what, you can look back and you
say, oh, he did get me ready for that. That's the way the
Lord works. He does his work. We find out
about it later. That's the way it is. It's the
way it is. It's the way it's always been.
But your loins are girded, your shoes are on your feet, your
staff is in your hand, because the people who partake of the
Lord's Passover are ready to go. They're ready to go, and
they have somewhere to go. God told them. All the instructions
for his Passover, from what to eat, how to kill your lamb, what
else to prepare, and how to dress, and how to eat. What'd he say?
Thou shalt eat it in haste. In haste. Not gonna waste any
time. When it comes time to go, it's
time to go. And when he's ready for you to go, you're gonna be
ready to go. Oh, I like that. All was instructed according
to the word of the Lord, and all was done according to the
word of the Lord. Oh my, I'm gonna tell you something. The other reason it told them
to eat it in haste, because while this was going on, while they
were enjoying a meal at the table that the Lord had prepared for
them, there's death. We'll get into that in a little
bit. but there's death going on somewhere else while you're
eating at the table of the Lord. It says it in Psalms 23, and
I really like it. Thou shalt prepare me, prepare
a table for me in the midst of mine enemies. That's what this
was. Oh my, oh. but they've got somewhere
to go. God's chosen people, God's people,
are leaving. Leaving. What does it say? Come out, come out from among
them. What? What? And be separate. Be separate. Oh my. Separate, says the Lord. Mm-hmm. What's he say then and
I will receive you I will receive you And we'll be a father unto
you And you shall be my sons and my daughters I'll tell you
something folks the people of God are prepared to go When God
prepares them then verse 12 and 13 For I will pass through the land
of Egypt this night, and I will smite all the firstborn in the
land of Egypt, both man and beast, and against all the gods of Egypt
will I execute judgment. What's that next one? I am the
Lord, 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. You know what I think of when
I read that, right? Smile, God loves you. You understand, that's what people
think about God nowadays. Well, that's the Old Testament
God. No, no, I am the Lord, I change not. Therefore, you sons of Jacob
are not consumed. I'm gonna tell you something,
folks. God is God. God's people the
people of God are a people redeemed from death All over the land
of Egypt there was death except for one place That was the place
where the blood was shed that was a place where the blood was
applied upon the door and the door lentils and the doorposts
and That's the only place death didn't apply in the whole land
of Egypt. You understand what I'm trying to say here? Some
people are redeemed by his blood and some people are not. It's
just as simple as I can put it. Is that too hard? Is that too
strong? Oh, is that too exclusive, Walter? Is it too restricted? That's all the wrong questions.
The question is this, is it true? Is it true? That's what this
book says. And it says it, not just here
in Exodus 12. It says it all throughout the Bible. Those for whom Jesus Christ's
blood was shed have remission from sin. Understand, without
the shedding of blood, There is no remission. The opposite is also true. With
the shedding of blood, there is remission. Oh, I like that,
I do. I know a lot of people don't
like it. God says it's true. God says
it's true. This is a particular redemption. This is a particular redemption.
Like I said, you can look at verse three. You'll see a lamb
shall take to them every man a lamb. Then you look at verse
four, and the household be too little. Everybody gather together. Every
man according to his eating shall make account for the lamb. Ah. But then look here. Where is
it? I've lost it. I knew I should
have underlined that. And I will. Hey, I'm sorry, verse five, right
after it. Your lamb, your 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 keep it up to the 14th day of the
month to make sure it is perfect. No blemishes. But you went from
a lamb to the lamb to your lamb. Redemption is always personal. It's for the people of God. Redemption
was for the people of God. I mean, he said it right there.
And thus shall, for I will pass through this, 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, and the blood shall be to you for
a token, a sign upon the houses where you are. And when I see
the blood, I will pass over you. So what does that mean? Where
there was no blood, there was no Passover. There was death. There was death in that house. The firstborn of man and beast
died that night in that house. God's people are chosen particularly
and personally. The blood of the Passover lamb
is a type of the shed blood of the lamb of God, Jesus Christ.
Because I'm going to tell you this, folks. So this blood should
be for a token. The blood of Jesus Christ is
not for a token. It's reality. It's for redemption. We are redeemed
by the precious blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, my. And the shed blood of Christ
was shed, redeeming them, all of them, that the Father gave
to him. Gave to him. And this is it. And when God sees the blood,
not you, not me, not anybody else. When God sees the blood,
I will pass over you. Understand, you could have been
in that house as a kid, a little kid. You never saw that blood. But Christ did. God did. The Lord God did. And he passed
over that house and he passed over you while you were in that
house. Oh my goodness. You understand? Christ's blood
was only shed once. Once. Redemption has happened. God's people are redeemed. Oh, I like that. And when I see
the blood, I will pass over you. God's people are redeemed by
the blood of Jesus Christ, offered once, for sin, forever. Forever. Oh, I like that. God's people, the people of God,
are a people redeemed from death. Now, look at verse 23. For the Lord will pass through
to smite the Egyptians and when he seeth the blood upon the lentil
and upon the two side posts, the Lord will pass over the door
and will not suffer the destroyer to come unto you, in unto you,
unto your houses to smite you. This Passover had the people
of God completely dependent upon the Lord. If the Lord didn't pass over
you, he killed the firstborn in every house. Oh, some people
were smitten that night. It says the Lord passed through
to smite the Egyptians. Israel was dependent upon the
Lord And God said, when I see the
blood, I will pass over you. My, because here's the thing,
just like I said, it's God's sight that matters. Not your
sight, not my sight. God's sight is the one that matters.
The firstborn son of six months old is just as safe under that
blood as a grown son of 2023. I'm gonna tell you something.
It was according to the purpose of God that he passed over the
people of God. Oh my, he told them about the
blood before he came. And he smote the Egyptians according
to the word of the Lord. The Israelites were totally dependent
upon the Lord to pass over. Their salvation depended totally
upon the actions of God, the actions of the Lord. Because I'm gonna tell you something,
this is the same thing. This is a tough thought, folks.
It's the same Lord that passes over, it's the same Lord that
smites the firstborn. A lot of people don't wanna think
about stuff like that. And like I said, God has not
changed. He saves his people as he will. And the sign is the shed blood
of Jesus Christ. Because it, we are redeemed by
his precious blood. I'll say that again, I like saying
that. We are redeemed by his precious blood. that was shed
once for us, for us. Oh my. The Lord's chosen people
are dependent upon the Lord. We are dependent for redemption.
We are dependent for deliverance. We are dependent for salvation.
We are dependent for life itself, for life itself. And the last thing. people delivered
God's people are delivered verse 51 And I love this verse here,
and it came to pass the self same day That the Lord did bring
the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their armies
I'm tell you something The Lord's people are delivered what His
day in his day. Oh, I like that That very same
day after the death of the firstborn and that only Passover. There's
only one Passover. I didn't say that After this
you have the ordinance of the Passover But this is the one
and only Passover and I'm gonna tell you something There was
one and only time that our Lord Jesus Christ blood was shed.
That's it. Just once only once That same
day after the death of the firstborn after the Passover The Lord did
bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt Understand
they had been crying out and praying for 400 years Don't say
something God delivers in God's own time The scriptures they
refer to it as the fullness of time That's when it is, it's
when God's pleased to do this. Oh my, he prepared them, he redeemed
them, and he delivered them. And all these are the same people,
the same exact people. Understand, this is a type of
how God still saves his people to this day that shows forth
because it shows forth the work of the Lord. Of the Lord. Mm, I like that. He prepared
them, he redeemed them, and he delivered them. And I'm gonna
tell you something, God does the same thing for every single
believer that there is. For every one of his people,
because here it is. That salvation is true to this
type. God saves his people from their
sins. God saves his people. What did
he say? By grace, through faith, and here it is folks, and that
not of yourself. It's the gift of God. Not of
works, lest anyone should boast. Why? Because we would boast. We would. But no, not of works. Why? Because
we are his workmanship. I like to think that. His workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus. Oh, I like that, I do. The Lord
did bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt. He
prepared them, he redeemed them, he delivered them. Salvation is of the Lord. All of it. All of it. All of it is of the Lord. It's
from the Lord. It is the work of the Lord. It
is His salvation. That's what the scripture calls
it. Thy salvation, O Lord. Oh, I like that too. He gives
his salvation to his people in the fullness of time. This is
the work of God. What is that? That you believe
on the only begotten Son of God. Now let's look at this work of
the Lord as told us in the New Testament in one place. You don't
have to turn there, but you can if you want, because it should
be marked in your Bibles. Romans 8 and 28. And we know
that all things work together for good to them that love God,
to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did
foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image
of his son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. whom he did predestinate, them
he also called. What? And whom he called, them
he also justified. Justified. And whom he justified,
them he also glorified. What's that mean? Well, you see whom? You see them? Matter of fact, you see, whom
he did predestinate, whom he justified, whom he did foreknow, them he also glorified. The deliverance of God's chosen
people is of the Lord. Period. Period. Stop right there. Oh my. When it pleased God, he delivered
them the self same day. Oh, I like that. Oh my. He didn't deliver any other slaves.
He didn't deliver any Egyptians. He delivered his people. Oh my. What can you say to this? Who can lay anything to the charge
of God's elect? It's God that justifies. It's
Christ that died. Yea rather, he's risen again.
Oh my. It's God that prepared us. It's
the Lord who redeemed us. And it's Jesus Christ who's delivered
us. His son shed his blood for his
chosen people and his people are delivered from the slavery
of sin and death Satan All of this is the work of the
Lord Now I'm not saying all these Israelites were believers. A
lot of them died in the wilderness. There's a whole lot more to go
on, but like I said, this is a type of the deliverance of
the Lord Jesus Christ, because whoever God wanted delivered
out of Egypt was delivered out of Egypt. Every single one. A lot of them died in the wilderness,
but that was because of their own unbelief. As a type, as an
example, they were all delivered from Egypt. Paul tells us, not
as though the word of God had taken none effect, for they are
not all Israel, which are of Israel. The same is true today. You understand, the Lord, and
this is just a great thought, the Lord takes pleasure in his
people. He takes pleasure in his people.
Oh my Because true salvation is the
work of the Lord the Lord Jesus Christ and He came into this
world and the angel told Joseph said call his name Jesus For
he shall save his people from their sins I'll tell you something,
folks. He did. He redeemed us from our
sins. And he's making that known unto
his people this day, up till this day and on. And here's the
beautiful thing. It is he that made us and not
we ourselves. I don't know how to get any plainer
than that. You understand? We are his workmanship, created
in Christ Jesus unto good works. The people of God are his people,
his people. And he has saved, is saving,
and shall save his people. He's calling them out. Jesus
Christ is bringing in many sons unto glory. It's not over. It's not over. But God only works
one way. That's by grace and truth, which
came by our Lord Jesus Christ. Our Heavenly Father, we're thankful
again for this time, this place. Lord, you've been so good to
us. And you have given everything
to us, even what we don't understand. Thank you, Lord. Most of all,
for your son, who gave himself for us, a ransom for many, shed
his blood for us, gives life to us and in us, and close us
in his robe of righteousness that we might stand before thee
one day. Thank you, Lord. Be with Walter
as he comes to preach. Be with all of your preachers
everywhere to give out your message of hope and life in Christ Jesus,
whose name we ask, amen.