All right, if you will, let's
open our Bibles to Isaiah chapter 42. In our service reading a portion
of Isaiah chapter 42. We'll begin our reading in verse
eight. I am the Lord. That is my name
and my glory. Will I not give to another either
my praise to graven images? Behold, the former things are
come to pass, and new things do I declare. Before they spring
forth, I tell you of them. Sing unto the Lord a new song,
and his praise from the end of the earth. Ye that go down to
the sea, and all that is therein, the isles and the inhabitants
thereof. Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their
voice. The villages the Kedar doth inhabit. Let the inhabitants
of the rocks sing. Let them shout from the top of
the mountains. Let them give glory unto the Lord and declare
his praise in the islands. The Lord shall go forth as a
mighty man. He shall stir up jealousy like
a man of war. He shall cry, yea, roar. He shall
prevail against his enemies. I have a long time hold of my
peace. I've been still and refrained myself. Now, while I cry like
a travailing woman, I will destroy and devour at once. I'll make
waste mountains and hills. and dry up their herbs. And I
will make rivers islands, and I will dry up the pools. And
I will bring the blind by way that they knew not. I will lead
them in paths that they have not known. I will make darkness
light before them and crooked things straight. These things
will I do unto them and not forsake them." We'll end our reading
there. Turn now to page 296. 296. All
the way my Savior leads me. All the way my Savior leads me. What have I to ask besides Then I doubt His tender mercy,
Who through life hath been my guide. Heavenly peace, divinest
comfort, Here thy faith in Him to dwell. For I know, whate'er
befall me, Jesus doeth all things well. For I know, whate'er befall
me, Jesus doeth all things well. All the way my Savior leads me,
He's each winding path I tread, Gives me grace for every trial,
Feeds me with the living bread. Though my weary steps may falter,
And my soul a thirst may be, Gushing from the rock before
me, Blow a string of joy I see. Gushing from the rock before
me, Blow a string of joy I see. All the way my Savior leads me,
Full of His love, perfect rest to me is promised In my Father's
house above. When my spirit, cold and mortal,
Wings its flight through rounds of day, This my song through
endless ages, Jesus led me all the way. This my song through endless
ages, Jesus led me all the way. Now a few pages back, 291, 291. Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah,
pilgrim through this barren land. I am weak, but Thou art mighty,
Hold me with Thy powerful hand. Bread of Heaven, Bread of Heaven,
Feed me till I want no more. Feed me till I want no more. Open now the crystal fountain
whence the healing strings doth flow. Let the fire and cloudy
pillar lead me all my journey through. Strong deliverer, strong
deliverer, be thou still my strength and shield. Be thou still my strength and
shield. When I tread the verge of Jordan,
bid my anxious fears subside. The swelling current led me safe
on Canaan's side. Songs of praises, songs of praises
I will ever give to thee. Let's open our Bibles now to
Psalm 114. Psalm 114. I woke up this morning very anxious
for this very hour to preach from this psalm. Now that it's
time to do it, I hope the Lord will bless it. This is a glorious
psalm. Psalm says, when Israel went
out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language,
Judah was his sanctuary. and Israel his dominion. The
sea saw it and fled. Jordan was driven back. The mountains
skipped like rams and the little hills like lambs. What aileth
thee, O sea, that thou fleddest? Thou Jordan, that thou was driven
back. Ye mountains that ye skipped
like rams and ye little hills like lambs. Tremble thou, earth,
at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of
Jacob. which turneth the rock into a standing water, the flint
into a fountain of waters. Thank God for his word. Let's
bow together in prayer. Our holy, majestic, gracious
Heavenly Father, Lord, we bow in your presence this morning
or this evening to thankful people. Father, how thankful we are for
this gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ that you've given us to
preach and to hear and to believe. How thankful we are for the good
news that in the Lord Jesus Christ there is salvation for sinners.
Salvation that's already accomplished, that's full, that's free, that's
sure. How thankful we are for all of your promises to your
people. That you have promised that you
will come to your people. that you'll call them out of
the world, that you will lead them and guide them every step,
that you will keep and preserve them, that you will provide all
of our needs, that you'll provide wisdom, righteousness, sanctification,
and redemption, that you put away the sin of your people so
that we have nothing to fear, no dread of the law, no fear
of death, and you promise that you'll bring your people all
the way to glory. and present us faultless before
the Father. How can we begin to thank you?
Human language fails to thank you and praise you as you ought
to be thanked. Father, I pray that tonight as your word is
preached, that you would open your word to our hearts, that
you give each one here this evening a heart that would believe and
receive your word, be comforted and thrilled at another side
of Christ our Savior, cause us to run to him, to rest in him,
to find in him everything that we need, everything you require,
and to not depend upon the arm of the flesh for one thing, but
rest in Christ and Christ alone. Father, bless your word for your
glory, we pray, for the good of your people. Reveal your glory
in the salvation of your people through the preaching of your
word this evening. Let us, as we drive home, be thrilled, have
our hearts thrilled at the thought of such a Savior as Christ our
Lord. Father, I thank you for this
place that you've given to us, a place that you've raised up
and preserved and protected. I thank you for this family of
believers. Father, I pray that you continue
to bless us. Don't leave us alone, but continue
to bless. Bless your Word. Bless your people.
Cause this place to be a lighthouse in a dark, dark world where sinners
can come and hear the Savior, where your people can gather
together and be refreshed in the midst of this dry and barren
land in which we live. Father, we dare not sin against
thee in forgetting to pray for your people who are in a time
of trouble. Father, I pray that you would
heal, that you'd lead, that you'd guide, that you'd meet the need
Until such time as you are pleased to provide a way out, Father,
I pray you give a fulfillment of your promise that you not
leave or forsake your people, but that you'll be with us everywhere
we go. Father, again, I beg of thee
your blessing on this service this evening. Bless the preacher,
bless your people who are here, that your name, the name of your
son might be glorified. It's in the precious name of
Christ our Savior we pray and give thanks. When all my labors and trials
are over And I am safe on that beautiful shore Just to be near
the dear Lord I adore, Will through the ages be glory for me. Oh, that will be glory for me,
Glory for me, glory for me, when by His grace I shall look on
His face. That will be glory. When by the gift of His infinite
grace I am accorded in heaven a place, Just to be there and
to look on His face Will through the ages be glory for me Oh,
that will be glory for me Glory for me, glory for me, When by
His grace I shall look on His face. That will be glory, be glory
for me. Friends will be there I have
loved so long ago Joy like a river around me will flow Yet just
a smile from my Savior I know will through the ages be glory
for me. Sing it with me. Oh, that will be glory for me,
glory for me. When by His grace I shall look
on His face, That will be glory, be glory, glory. Alright, let's open our Bibles
again now to Psalm 114. Psalm 114. I've titled the message this
evening, Lead from Bondage to Glory. Now this psalm describes
how the Lord led Israel all the way from Egypt to Canaan, the
land that God promised to give Abraham. And this is a picture
of God leading spiritual Israel from bondage to glory. And this
trip begins, number one, when God leads his elect people out
of the bondage of sin. Verse one, when Israel went out
of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of a strange language,
Now, you know, the Old Testament account of the nation Israel,
Israel was God's people. God chose that nation to be his
people to be. They didn't. Not many people
knew it at the time, but to be a picture of his true people,
spiritual Israel. God chose that nation to be his
people. And that nation began with one
man, Abraham. God chose Abraham and he called
this man Abram. out of idolatry and the error
of the Chaldees. And he told Abram, get up and
leave your father's house. Go to a land that I'll show you.
You're not going to know where you're going. Just go. Just take
off walking and I'll lead you. I'll lead you to the land that
I would have you go. And Abraham packed up and left.
He went in faith, believing God. And along his journey, the Lord
promised Abraham. He took him out. One night, Abraham
He probably was kind of depressed. The Lord had promised him a son
and he had no son. And the Lord told Abraham, I'm
going to keep my promise. I'm going to keep my word to
you. Your heir is not going to be the servant, the son of a
servant. I'm going to give you a son, Abraham. He said, look
up and count the stars if you can count them. As much as the
stars of heaven, so will your descendants be. They're going
to all descend from this one son of promise. And most importantly,
God promised Abraham that the Messiah The savior of his people
will come through that son of promise, through Isaac. And God
confirmed that promise. He made the same promise to Abraham
or to Isaac and to Jacob. But now hundreds and hundreds
of years later, those descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,
where are they? They're not inhabiting the land
that God promised. They're slaves in Egypt. I mean, the lowest
of the low. Not only did they not possess
the land that God had promised to give them, they were slaves
in a far away, strange country. Now, all of that is a picture
given to us as a picture of God's true people, his elect, spiritual
Israel. This is the people that God chose
to save from every nation and race under heaven. The scripture
makes it unmistakably plain that God has an elect people that
he chose to save. But when those people are born
in this world, they're born in bondage to sin. They're born
with Adam's dead, fallen, sin nature. And that's what Egypt
is a picture of. Egypt throughout scripture is
a picture of this world. It's a picture of sin, being
in bondage to sin. You see, God's people, God has
promised them salvation. He's purposed. He's even purchased
salvation for them. But when they come into this
world, they're not born possessing what God had promised them. They're
born dead in sin. They're lost. They need to be
found. They're lost. They need to be saved. They're
born in bondage to sin. They couldn't stop sinning even
if they wanted to. Now, they don't want to, but
even if they wanted to, they couldn't stop. They're in bondage
to sin because their nature can do nothing but sin. Egypt is also a picture of the
false religion of this world, which really it's the same picture. It's a picture of sin. But sin
that goes under the name of false religion, now that's the worst
kind of sin. Trying to approach God by your
own works, by this own way of righteousness, this own way of
worship that you made up is the worst kind of sin. David here
describes Egypt as a people of a strange language. The Egyptian
language, you think of Jacob and his family going down, 70
people going down there to Egypt, and the Egyptians had their own
language, their own customs and all of that was strange. That
was foreign to the children of Israel. They couldn't understand
what these Egyptians were saying at all. Now Israel was in Egypt
for 430 years and I would imagine over the course of 430 years,
they learned the Egyptian language. But all during that time, the
language of the Jews was not corrupted at all. In 430 years,
They didn't add jargon that they heard from the Egyptians to their
language. Their language was not corrupted. They did not join
their language to anything about the Egyptians. Now that strange
language of the Egyptians represents the language of false religion.
It's a strange language. It's strange to the word of God.
They say God loves everybody. But you know, that's, that's
strange to the word of God that you won't find that in God's
word. God said, he's angry with the wicked every day. Jacob,
have I loved Esau? Have I hated? No, the, the wicked
here, those who refuse to believe on Christ, like, like Esau rejected
the birthright. God didn't love those people.
He said, he hates them. So saying God loves everybody.
That's strange to the word of God, strange language, the language
of false religion. It's strange to the person of
Christ. They say Christ died for everybody. That's what they
say. And Christ died to give everybody a chance to be saved.
Now, all you got to do is accept it. That's strange language. It's strange to the word of God.
It's strange to the person of Christ. The Savior, immediately
before he went to the cross, prayed to his father. And he
said, I prayed not for the world. He's not dying for everybody,
is he? I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast
given me for they are thine. That's who he was praying for.
That's who he was dying for. And that's who's saved. Whoever
it is that Christ died for is saved. The language of false
religion is strange to the grace of God. They say God's grace
is for everyone. It's even God's grace is even
for those who perish in hell. God just wanted to be gracious
to them, but they refused it. Now that's strange language.
That's strange to this book. It is strange to the character
of God, to the grace of God. God says in his book, for by
grace are you saved? Not by grace am I trying to save
you. Not by grace am I offering salvation
to you. By grace, you're saved. Will
that grace get the job done? I mean, now will it or not? Well,
God told the apostle Paul, and you can safely apply this to
everyone who believes God, my grace is sufficient for you. God's grace is never insufficient
to save. It's never insufficient to keep.
Never. The language of false religion
is strange to the truth of salvation by grace through faith. They
say, now a person will be saved if they make a decision for Jesus,
if they'll just make the decision to let Jesus come into their
heart and rule their heart, they'll be saved. They say a person will
be saved. Well, if you straighten up and
fight right, you keep the law and you follow all these religious
ceremonies we've got for you to do, you'll be saved. You know,
that's strange to the Word of God, strange language. It's strange
to salvation by grace. This is what God says. God says,
therefore, By the deeds of the law, there shall no flesh be
justified in God's sight, but the sinners are justified freely
by grace, by the grace that's in Christ Jesus. Now this strange
language, that's what we're all born believing by nature. It's
strange language. Oh, it appeals to the flesh. I know that. You can build a
big crowd preaching this strange language because a lot of people
speak it. But God's people are not going to corrupt the language
of grace, the language of the gospel, the language that God
uses in His Word to speak to the hearts of His people. They're
not going to corrupt the gospel by mixing in those things. But
still yet, God's people, when you find them in this world,
they're found in horrible bondage. That sin, their sin, is going
to make them miserable. They're going to become miserable. God will make them miserable.
So that just like Israel of old, they cry out to God and they're,
I mean, they're just in misery, horrible bondage. But God tells
us here, he's not going to leave his people in that bondage. No,
he personally is going to come and he's going to lead them out.
God comes, just like he led the children of Israel out of Egypt,
God's going to come and he's going to lead his people out
of the bondage of sin. out of the bondage of false religion,
and He's going to do it with a high hand and with a stretched
out arm. Now what's that talking about?
God's high hand and His stretched out arm? That's the Lord Jesus
Christ. It's God's Son who has come into
flesh, who came to lead God's people out of that bondage. Look
over Matthew chapter 2. See, it is the Lord Jesus Christ,
God's Son. He's the one. He's going to go
down to Egypt. He's going to go down to where
his people are found in this bondage, and he himself, by his
power, is going to lead them out. He's going to lead them
out by the power of his righteousness, by the power of his blood, by
the power of his will. Look here at Matthew chapter
2, verse 13. And when they were departed,
these magi, when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord
appeared to Joseph in a dream. saying, arise and take the young
child and his mother and flee into Egypt. It was no mistake. It was no accident that the Lord
told him flee into Egypt and be thou there until I bring thee
word for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. When
he rose, he took the young child and his mother by night and departed
into Egypt and was there until the death of Herod. That, now
here's why all this took place, that it might be fulfilled, which
was spoken of the Lord by the prophet. saying, out of Egypt
have I called my son. Now, the Lord Jesus literally
went down into Egypt to fulfill this picture of him going down
where his people are, down there in bondage and bringing them
out, bring them out of bondage to sin, bring them out of the
bondage of false works religion and bringing them into God's
promised freedom and God's promised rest in Christ. Christ is going
to come and he's going to lead them out. And they went out,
didn't they? Just like just as surely as the
children of Israel went out of Egypt, God's people are going
to leave the bondage of sin, the bondage of false religion.
God cares for them too much to leave them there. They're coming
out. And notice, none of it was done by the strength of the flesh,
was it? Why'd they go free? Because God came to let them
out. That's why. So God comes and leads his people
out of bondage. All right, number two, Christ
leads his people out of bondage by making them holy. Verse two,
back in our text, Psalm 114. Judah was his sanctuary and Israel
his dominion. Now, where do I get that Christ
makes his people holy from that verse? Well, it's from two words.
The first word is sanctuary. Christ made his people his sanctuary. And that word sanctuary means
to be holy. and to be set apart. And the
sanctuary, I mean, you know the story after Israel left Egypt,
they went out into the wilderness and God gave instruction to Moses
to build the tabernacle. Now the sanctuary that God gave
Israel was that tabernacle, that place, that tabernacle was holy.
It was holy because it's God's dwelling place. The one and only
place on earth where God would meet with man. only place God
would do business with me, the only place, the one and only
place on the face of this earth, God could be worshiped. But that
tabernacle, it's the only place. And God said the tabernacle was
holy, it had a holy place, the holy of holies, it was holy because
God dwelt there. And the things that God told
Moses to take and put together to make that tabernacle, They
were common, ordinary items, things that Israel had in the
camp. They had gold and silver, and
they had wood, those little acacia trees that grew there, incorruptible
wood. That grew right around where God told them to make the
tabernacle. That's where they got the wood.
They had linen and thread and dyes and all these things, just
common, ordinary things you'd use in your everyday life if
you were there in the camp at Israel. But God called those
things holy. They were holy because they were
set apart for the worship of the Lord. They sacrificed animals
in that tabernacle there in the courtyard by the brazen altar.
They sacrificed animals. They were common, ordinary animals.
Bullocks, rams, goats, just common sheep, common, ordinary animals.
But God called the blood of those sacrifices most holy because
they're pictures of the blood of Christ. The water that was
in that brazen laver that the priest used to wash, God said
it's holy water. Holy water. Jonathan and I were talking the
other day about the first time either one of us appeared at
a Catholic wedding. You can tell we're brothers because
he didn't know what I did, but he did the same smart aleck thing
I did. Started talking about the holy
water. They had this little thing hanging on the wall that was
a sign in case you didn't know what it was. It was holy water.
And the holy water was stagnant. And my smart aleck 18-year-old
self started talking about how foolish that is, you know, and
I missed all these Catholic people. Now, maybe I shouldn't have done
that, but you see the folly, the bondage, the bondage of false
religion they put people under? What was in that brazen labor?
God called it holy water because it pictured being washed in the
water that flowed from Christ's side. The anointing oil they
used to anoint the priest was holy anointing oil. The priest's
garments that he would wear on the day of atonement were holy
garments. He wore it on his miter. Holiness
to the Lord. All those things were holy because
every detail, every stitch, every detail of that tabernacle is
a picture of Christ. Those things are pictures of
Christ who makes his people holy, not in picture, not in type,
not representatively, but Christ makes his people holy. He makes
them to be actually holy because you know what he does by his
power? He takes their sin away from them. Now they have no sin
and they're holy. And Christ put that sin away
by the shedding of His holy, perfect blood. And He makes His
people by giving them a new nature, His nature, a nature that cannot
sin. The writer to the Hebrews said,
by the which will we're sanctified, we're made holy, how? Through
the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. He said
another place, for by one offering, He hath perfected forever them
that are sanctified. We're made holy in the sacrifice
of Christ. And Christ makes his people holy
by dwelling in them, just like he dwelt in the tabernacle. The
Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3, 16, he says, know ye not that
you are the temple of God? How can you be the temple of
God? Because the spirit of God dwelleth in you. Now the people
of God, they're common, ordinary, sinful flesh, just like every
other flesh of the sons of Adam. But they're holy. They're holy
because God called them holy. If God called them holy, that's
what they are, isn't it? They're holy because God set them apart
for His holy use. They're holy because they've
been washed in the blood of Christ. They're holy because God dwells
in them. And if you look in Acts chapter 26, you'll see that He
makes them holy. through the preaching of Christ.
Every single time God leads his people out of the world, out
of sin, out of false religion, he makes them holy. Acts chapter 26, verse 15. This is when the Lord
met the apostle Paul on the road to Damascus. And the apostle
said, who art thou Lord? And he said, I am Jesus, whom
thou persecutest, but rise and stand upon thy feet. For I have
appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a
witness, both of things which thou hast seen and of those things
in the which I will appear unto thee, delivering thee. See, I've appeared to deliver
thee from the people and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I
send thee. And Paul, I'm sending you to
deliver them, to open their eyes. and to turn them from darkness
to light and from the power of Satan unto God. I'm sending you
to deliver them from the power of Satan unto God that they might
may receive forgiveness of sins and inheritance among them which
are sanctified by faith that is in me. See, God delivers his
people and he sanctifies them through the preaching of Christ
and gives them faith in Christ. And they're sanctified. They're
delivered. They're delivered. And notice again, none of that
happened by the strength of the flesh, did it? It was all what
Christ has done for His people. He came and delivered them. Now
second, I got that Christ delivers His people and makes them holy
by these words, His dominion. It says here that Israel was
His dominion. Christ delivers His people from
sin. He delivers His people from false religion. And people in
false religions say, no, you've got to decide to let God do this.
Brother, no, you don't. No, you're coming out. If you're
His and He comes to you, you're coming out. Because He rules. He's the King. You're under His
dominion. And you can't stay. When He calls
you out, you can't stay. What's more, you don't want to
when He calls you. See, nobody can stop Christ from
delivering His people. Nobody can. Because Christ is
sovereign overall. And when Christ calls his people
by his power, they follow him willingly. They worship Christ
the King willingly. They bow to him willingly. They
bow to his will. They bow to his way. They bow
to it. They bow in submission. He's
the king. I look at Numbers chapter 23.
This is the. The verse that is referenced
here in our text, Numbers chapter 23. You know, no one can stop
Christ from delivering his people. He's going to bless them. And
you know what's more? Nobody can curse God's people
either. You cannot curse God's people, the people that God has
blessed. Balaam found that out here in Numbers chapter 23. He says in verse 21, well, look
at verse 20. He says, behold, I have received
commandment to bless. He tried to take money and curse
God's people, and he could not do it. God wouldn't let him.
You can't curse God's people. Behold, I've received command.
I'm not going to curse this people. I'm going to bless them. And
he hath blessed, and I cannot reverse it. They can't be cursed.
And here's why they can't be cursed. He hath not beheld iniquity
in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel. The Lord
his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them. See, the Lord is the king of
his people. They bow to him willingly. They
worship and praise him willingly. And Balaam says, you can't curse
God's people because the Lord does not see any iniquity in
them. By his sovereign crown rights, he has made them holy. Now, when you look at them, you
might not see them as holy, but God says they're holy. And if
the all seeing eye of God does not see sin in his people, if
the all seeing eye of God does not behold iniquity in his people,
brother, it's not there. And it's not there because Christ
took it away. God delivers his people from
the power of sin and from the bondage to sin so completely
they don't have any sin at all. That's being delivered from sin.
And notice again, None of that was done by the arm of the flesh,
was it? None of that was done because God's people somehow
had the power to sin less than they used to. It didn't happen,
did it? No, they're made without seeing
how, because Christ took it away. It's all the doing of God. All
right, now back in our text, verse 3, Psalm 114. Christ powerfully
delivers his people. Verse 3 says, the sea sought
and fled. And Jordan was driven back. I'm
just going to deal with the Red Sea here for a few moments and
we'll come back to the river of Jordan in a minute. But the
point I want to make from this verse is this. Christ powerfully,
powerfully delivers his people. There's no resisting his power.
Now the sea that David refers to here means the Red Sea. God
led his people. out of Egypt. He led them. He
wandered around to where Pharaoh thought they were trapped down
by the Red Sea. And God did that on purpose so that he might show
his power in destroying Pharaoh and delivering his people. And
there, the children of Israel were trapped down this little
peninsula. Pharaoh's army blocked the only way out. And they're
trapped. And God appeared. And when God
appeared, the waters of the Red Sea fled back. They fled away. And they formed walls, giant
walls of water on each side with dry ground in the middle. And
the children of Israel walked out of Egypt. They walked away
from bondage of Egypt. They walked away from Pharaoh's
army that would destroy them. They walked away. They didn't
have to run. They weren't afraid. They walked
away on dry ground, right through the middle of the sea. Buddy,
that's power. I mean, that's power. You try
to stop water from going somewhere it wants to go. You've got a
job on your hands now. Well, Pharaoh and his army, they
watched all this happen. They were held back by that pillar,
you know, and they watched it happen. The pillar moved away.
Now, Pharaoh could have said, I've seen the power of God. I'm
going back home. That's not what he did. No, Pharaoh
and his army tried to do the same thing Jehovah's Witness
did. They went down to that sea. And the water, the walls of water,
came back down and drowned every last soldier. Every single one
of them. Not one soldier survived. Every
single soldier chasing God's people who would do them harm
was killed at one time. That's the power of God. See,
there's power in God's grace to deliver. Don't you ever be
mistaken. There's power in God's judgment
to destroy. Power. And all of that at the Red Sea
is given to us as a picture of how Christ delivers his people
from the bondage, their bondage to their sin. He does it by his
sacrifice. And because of the sacrifice
of Christ, God's people walk away. They walk away from justice. They walk away from the sin that
would damn them because the blood of Christ took every sin that
would damn his people, and in one sacrifice, put it away forever. The children of Israel didn't
see Pharaoh, one of those soldiers, ever again. And because of the
sacrifice, because of the blood of Christ, he has washed away,
he has put away the sin of his people, so that it does not exist
anymore, and you'll never see it again. It will never come
after you to damn you again. Ever. Christ put it away. You're deliberate, aren't you?
Oh, the power, the power of the blood of Christ. And when Christ
makes His people free, they are free indeed, truly and completely
free. God's people walk away from Him. They walk. They're not running
in fear the rest of their life, afraid their sin is going to
catch up to them. Because their sin doesn't exist anymore. They're
not afraid of it. It already put Christ to death.
It can never put you to death. Christ died for you. They're
not afraid of it. It's been put away. They're not running around
in fear of the law because their sin is gone. Justice is satisfied
in the death of the substitute. The law's not even hunting you.
You don't have to be afraid somebody's not hunting you. The law's not
even looking for them anymore. Justice is satisfied. Now that's
God's power in delivering his people. Now look at verse four. The mountains skipped like rams
and the little hills like lambs. Now, I haven't found anybody
that can convince me they know 100% of what this is saying.
It could mean that the mountains of God's creation and the little
hills, they all got together and they skipped and jumped for
joy when God appeared. When God appeared to deliver
his people, creation shook just with joy. at the power of God
come to deliver His people. But it could also mean this,
that even the great mountains, those mountains you think are
unmovable, those mountains shook and trembled when God appeared.
Mount Sinai shook and trembled when God came and thundered and
spoke to Moses. The mountains shook. Either way,
creation is moved to tremble and to rejoice when God appears
in power. Now, the children of Israel,
over three million of them, saw this happen firsthand. They all
saw it happen firsthand. And when that happened, these
things happen, these miracles or wonders of God's power. I'm
confident they never forgot them. I'm confident they never did.
Now those wonders didn't make them believe God. Seeing God
part the sea and enable him to walk over on dry ground and God
kill every last soldier in the Egyptian army didn't make them
trust God and say, you know, God's going to provide for us
too, we get thirsty. God's going to provide for us. It didn't
do that. They didn't trust God when they
saw those things. But I'm confident of this. They
saw water stand up in walls and dry ground appear in the bottom
of a sea. No, they didn't forget that. They saw those mountains
shaking and trembling at God's presence. They didn't forget
that. But when everybody had saw these
things firsthand, when they all died, people might've wondered
about the stories those old timers told. And they asked one another,
do you think that really happened? I mean, they're telling this
story. Do you think that really happened? How did that happen? Why did that happen? Can you
see him asking those questions like that? Look at verse 5. Here's
the questions. What ailed thee, O sea, that
thou fleddest? What ailed thee, O Jordan, that
thou wast driven back? And you mountains that you skipped
like rams, and you little hills like rams, what ailed you? What
made you do that? Sea, why did you flee away and
form those walls of water? Mountains, why did you shake
and tremble? Here's the answer. It's because God appeared. I
have here in my notes, God appeared in power, but you know what?
God just appeared. I mean, you know, there's power
with God. He just appeared. He appeared
and delivered his people. Now, when God appears, things
happen. Things happen. When God appears,
if God will ever appear to your heart through the preaching of
the gospel, something's going to happen. You'll never forget
it. You'll never be the same again. And here's some good advice for
you and me. If creation, the seas and the rivers and the mountains,
they tremble and flee at God's presence, I'm pretty sure you
and I should too, don't you think? Verse seven says, tremble thou
earth at the presence of the Lord and the presence of the
God of Jacob. You know, we would be wise to
tremble in fear and worship the Lord God of Jacob. We ought to
approach these worship services carefully, reverently, with fear
and trembling. The presence of the Lord God
of Jacob is here. The presence of the Lord who
saves sinners like Jacob is here. And that's just exactly what
we'll do. I'm convinced that's what we'll do. If the Lord ever
saves Jacobs like us, we're going to approach him in fear and tremble. awe and wonder at His power come
to deliver His people. All right, here's the fourth
thing. The Lord will deliver His people from this world to
glory. Now we come back to the waters
of the River of Jordan. Those waters of the River of
Jordan were driven back at the presence of the Lord, just like
they did at the Red Sea. Now you know this, in Scripture,
the River of Jordan is a picture of death. The river Jordan was
between the wilderness where the children of Israel were and
the promised land where they were going. If they're going
to go take the land that God had promised to give them, Israel
is going to have to cross Jordan. Now they come to this river,
how are they going to cross the river? Well, they didn't need to build
a bunch of boats to get across. They didn't need to build them
some bridges to get across safely because God did the same thing
he did to Red Sea. God appeared. He appeared before
his people and he made the waters flee away. The waters of Jordan
formed walls of water too, so that the people could walk across
on dry land. They walked on the bottom of
a riverbed, completely dry, and just walked into the land that
God had given them. They walked in and took it. Now
here's the picture. God has promised to give his
people eternal glory with Christ. But if we're going to get from
here to there, something's got to happen, doesn't it? We're
going to have to leave this world. And we're going to have to enter
into glory by going through the river of death. That's very mysterious
to us. It's mysterious because we've
never died and crossed the river. We've never died and talked to
somebody. Or somebody hadn't died and crossed the river and
come back and told us about it. So it's very mysterious to us.
But don't let that worry you. Don't let that get y'all confused
and focus on that. You don't need some sort of mystical
guidance system to get across this river of death. When it
comes time for you, God's people, to cross that river, you know
what God's going to do? God's going to appear. You're
not going there alone now. God's going to appear. And God's
going to part that river. And you're going to walk straight
from this world into the next world. You're going to walk straight
from this world into the presence of God Almighty. You're going
to walk straight from this world. You're going to walk straight
into the presence of Christ himself, or you're going to see him face
to face. And the way will be easy. Now, the suffering of the
body before that time you come to cross, that could be very
difficult. But the way for a believer to enter into glory It's very
easy. You know why? Christ has come
and removed every obstacle that would keep you from going. You think about Adam. When Adam
left the Garden of Eden, you reckon he ever wanted to go back
there? I mean, I would have, wouldn't you? But he couldn't
go back, could he? Because the Lord put an angel
with a flaming sword that turned every way to keep Adam from coming
back to the tree of life. There was a sword of justice
there against Adam's sin that stopped him from ever coming
back into God's presence again. And that same sword of justice
is against you and me. It's against our sin, stopping
us from coming into the very presence of God. So Christ the
Savior came. And he took the sin of his people
away from him. And he suffered. And he died
under the sword of God's justice. So now justice is satisfied.
See, something's got to be done with this sword. So what the
father did is he plunged that sword, the sword of his justice,
straight into the heart of his darling son. And now justice
is satisfied. And the father will never again
pull out that sword against anyone for whom Christ died. Because
justice is satisfied. The death of Christ made the
way to God wide open for his people by taking away everything
that would be a hindrance for us from coming to God. And believer,
when your journey on earth is done, at times it's going to be a tough
journey. I mean, it's going to be tough.
At times, the journey seems so long you can never make it. At
times, The journey seems impossible. It seems like the Lord has put
you in impossible terrain. There are times the way is so
dark, it's so dark, oh, you can't see, you just, oh, the darkness. But you mark my words, that journey's
coming to an end. And when that journey is over,
you know what the Savior's gonna say to you? Come on home. Come on home. You just walk in
and you enjoy everything that I've prepared for you. I've gone
to prepare a place for you. It's all prepared. Now you come
and enjoy it. You come and have everything
I've ever promised you. Oh, what power, what power. And
to think that God uses that power to deliver the likes of you and
me. Oh my, what grace. And you don't
have to worry that you're not going to make it. all the way
to the end. You don't have to worry that somehow you're going
to stop and falter and just can't go any further. Because this
trip, this journey is not done by the power of the flesh. It's
not done by your intellect, your smarts that you can know the
right way to get there. You come to the end because Christ
is going to lead you all the way to the end. He's not going
to leave you nor forsake you at any point along the journey.
And He's not going to lead you wrong. He's going to lead you
all the way from bondage into glory in His presence. But now
one more thing. God uses His power to deliver
His people and to provide for them. I remember this journey
I talked about. It seems impossible. It seems
so long. It's so dark. I just don't think
I can make it. Well, you don't have to worry
about that. if Christ is the one leading you. Because if Christ
is leading you, he's going to provide for you too. And actually
a better way to say it, a more accurate way to say it is this.
Christ will be the leader of his people and he'll be their
provision too. Look here at verse 8. Which turn
the rock into a standing water, the flint into a fountain of
waters. Now, yes, the way will be long, but you rest assured
of this. Christ will be your provision.
He will be your provision along the way. Now you know what this
is referring to. The people were in the wilderness.
They left Egypt. They were in the wilderness and
there was no water. They were thirsty and they're afraid. I'm
going to die first. And Lord told Moses, you go stand
on a rock. Now the people murmured and complained. They wanted to take Moses and
string him up, you know, and God could have said, I'm going
to leave, give you what you deserve. But he did. He told Moses, Moses,
go stand on a rock, take your rod with you. And you smite that
rock with your rod. And that Moses rod is a picture
of God's justice. Every time Moses used that rod
in Egypt, something happened, didn't it? Something bad for
the Egyptians. It's a picture of God's justice. And when Moses
struck that rock, it was a flinty, hard rock. So much water poured
out of that rock that the desert became a pool of standing water. Fountains of water ran from that
flinty rock, and the people had all the water they wanted. And
Scripture does not lead us to wonder, what is this talking
about? What is the spiritual application of this? Scripture
tells us that rock was Christ. You can't mistake it. That rock
was Christ. And Christ, smitten by the rod
of God's justice as your substitute, delivers you from sin, from the
world, from false religion. And Christ, smitten by the rod
of God's justice, provides everything that you'll ever need for your
journey. here below. And Christ, smitten
by the rod of God's justice, opens heaven wide for all of
God's people. Just walk in. God's provided
for you every step of the way. Now the journey's done. Walk
in. Because Christ has removed every
obstacle. Aren't you thankful that Christ
is the one leading you? If he is, He's going to lead
you from bondage all the way to glory and you'll make it safe.
There'll be days you're scared to death and you think you can't
make it, but you will because of who's leading you. See, not
because of our power, because of who's leading us. I hope that'll
be a blessing to you. Let's bow together. Our Father, how we thank you
for this precious portion of your word. How we thank You that
You promised to lead Your people, to guide us, not leave us to
our own way, our own thoughts, but to lead and to guide us. And Father, I pray that You would
lead us, that You would not leave us alone, but lead each the heart
of each one here. Lead us to Christ. Lead us to
depend on Him even more. Lead us to rest on Him even more. Lead us to see more and more
and more of His glory. until you're pleased by your
grace to bring us into his presence. Father, we thank you. Oh, how
we thank you. Bless your word to your glory
and to the hearts of your people, we pray. Amen. All right. And after Mike leads us in singing
a song, some of you men would, you know the drill, set up the
tables for us and the vestibule and the chairs here so we can
be ready to give Blaine a good send off on Sunday. That'd be
good. I appreciate it. Well, let's stand and sing 298,
298. In shady green pastures, so rich
and so sweet, God leads his dear children along. Where the water's cool flow bathes
the weary one's feet, God leads his dear children along. Some through the waters, some
through the flood. Some through the fire, but all
through His blood. Some through great sorrow, but
God gives us all. In the night season and all the
day long. Next two verses. Sometimes on
the mountain where the sun shines so bright, God leads his dear
children along. Sometimes in the valley in darkness
of night, God leads his dear children along. Though sorrows befall us and
Satan oppose, God leads his dear children along. Through his grace we can conquer,
defeat all our foes, God leads his dear children along. Some through the waters, some
through the flood. Some through the fire, but all
through His blood. Some through great sorrow, but
God gives us all. In the night season and all the
day long. Away from the mar and away from
the clay, God leads his dear children along. Away up in glory, eternity's
day, God leads his dear children along. Some through the flood, some
through the fire, but all through His blood. Some through great sorrow, but
God gives us all in the night season and all