Exodus 12 29 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
Unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon and all
the firstborn of cattle And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and
all his servants, and all the Egyptians. And there was a great
cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one
dead. And he called for Moses and Aaron by night and said,
rise up and get you forth from among my people, both ye and
the children of Israel, and go. Serve the Lord as ye have said. Also take your flocks and your
herds, as ye have said, and be gone, and bless me also." Pharaoh's
still thinking about Pharaoh, isn't he? The only reason he's
letting him go is to save himself. And while you're leaving, throw
me a blessing. It sounds just like superstitious religious
people of our day. And the Egyptians were urgent
upon the people that they might send them out of the land in
haste, for they said, we be all dead men. And the people took
their dough before it was leavened, their kneading troughs being
bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders. And the children
of Israel did according to the word of Moses. And they borrowed
of the Egyptians jewels of silver and jewels of gold and raiment.
And the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians,
so that they lent unto them such things as they required. And
they spoiled the Egyptians. And the Lord had foretold this,
that you'll go out with great spoils when you go. And the children
of Israel journeyed from Ramesses to suck off about 600,000 on
foot that were men beside children. And a mixed multitude went up
also with them. A mixed multitude. foreigners from other lands that
were in Egypt that had joined themselves to the people of God.
Some of the Egyptians, don't you imagine? There were a few
Egyptians that left with them that night that had seen the
work of God and the glory of God and joined themselves to
the people of God. And they baked unleavened cakes
of the dough which they brought forth out of Egypt, for it was
not leavened, because they were thrust out of Egypt and could
not tarry, neither had they prepared for themselves any fixtual. Now
the sojourning of the children of Israel who dwelt in Egypt
was four hundred and thirty years. It came to pass at the end of
the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came
to pass. that all the hosts of the Lord
went out from the land of Egypt. It is a night to be much observed
unto the Lord for bringing them out from the land of Egypt. You remember last Wednesday night
we talked about this is to be much observed. That's what we
do in the night. We're observing the fact that
the Lord delivered us from bondage. Not with the blood of a Passover
lamb, but with the blood of the Passover lamb. The Lord Jesus
Christ, he delivered us from the bondage of sin. It's to be
much observed. We worship him the rest of our
days and throughout all eternity for shedding his blood for us. that this is that night of the
Lord to be observed of all the children of Israel in their generations. And the Lord said unto Moses
and Aaron, this is the ordinance of the Passover. There shall
no stranger eat thereof, but every man's servant that is bought
for money, when thou hast circumcised him, then shall he eat thereof. A foreigner and unhired servant
shall not eat thereof, In one house shall it be eaten. And
that's the sign of the covenant, isn't it? We won't talk much
about that tonight. But circumcision, you remember Abraham and that
the Lord instituted that symbol of the covenant. That was the
sign of God's covenant with his people. And so the covenant of
grace is seen in the picture here in this. You can't partake
of the Passover unless you're in on the covenant. the congregation
of Israel keep it verse 48 and when a stranger shall sojourn
with thee and will keep the Passover to the Lord and all his males
be circumcised and Then let him come near and keep it and he
shall be as one that is born in the land for no uncircumcised
person shall eat thereof Paul said we are the circumcision
We're God's covenant people Who worship God in the spirit and
and rejoice in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh.
That's God's covenant people. One law shall be to him that
is home born and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you. Thus
did all the children of Israel as the Lord commanded Moses and
Aaron, so did they. 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. You notice in verse 29, the first
words of this passage of scripture, and it came to pass. And at the
end of the passage of scripture, the first words of verse 51,
and it came to pass. The selfsame day, exactly when
God had foreordained that it should come to pass. Men and
women in this world have all these mystical explanations and
superstitions regarding what happens in this world. Karma. Luck. Please don't ever wish me good
luck. That's an insult. I know you don't mean it that
way, probably. But that's an insult. I don't want to be...
I don't want luck to have anything to do with what happens to me.
I'm in the hands of a sovereign God who loves me and I wouldn't
be anywhere else. And he has ordained everything
that comes to pass. I don't want to be in the hands
of luck or anything like that. Fate, chance, fortune, destiny. The scriptural truth that reveals
all of these fabrications of men to be nothing but the superstitious
and idiotic ramblings that they are seen here in our text in
verses 29 and 51. And it came to pass. What came to pass? Well, look
at the verses. Verse 29, it came to pass that
at midnight, the Lord smote the firstborn in the land of Egypt.
That's exactly what God said he was going to do when he said
he was going to do it. So what came to pass is what
God said. Same thing in verse 51. Exactly what God said would
come to pass, came to pass. Exactly when He said it would.
What comes around is not what goes around. What comes around
is what God has purposed. And sometimes He reveals what
He has purposed. And we know to expect it. He
doesn't always reveal what will come to pass. But whatever comes
to pass is exactly what God has purposed in eternity. There's
no chance, there's no luck, there's no fate. There's a sovereign
God sitting on the throne who worketh all things after the
counsel of his own will. There is an omniscient will behind
all things that come to pass. It's the will of God Almighty.
Turn to Isaiah 46, please. We'll just make some general
comments about this passage tonight and we may go back to it and
do that again. Cause as I said, we won't, we won't make reference
to the covenant, which is clearly made reference to in, in this
passage and some other things. There's a lot more here than
we'll look at tonight. That's what I'm saying. I don't
know. We may come back, but Isaiah 46, nine, remember the former
things of old for I am God. And there is none else. Remember
Egypt. Remember the deliverance. Remember what I did. I am God
and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning. I
did that before. And if I declare something again,
it'll come to pass just like it did then. and from ancient times the things
that are not yet done saying my counsel shall stand and I
will do all my pleasure whatever God wants to do that's what he
does calling a ravenous bird from the east everything is at
his disposal everything and everybody The man that executed my counsel
from a far country. I'll use secondary means. I'll
use a bird if I want to, or I'll use a man. Not much difference
as far as God controls both, right? A man can't resist his
will any more than a bird can. He uses these secondary means
to accomplish what he pleases. That's what he's saying here.
Yay, I have spoken it. I will also bring it to pass. It came to pass. Why? Because
God said it. Do you know how few people have
any idea? Man rebels against that by nature. Well, we have a free will. We
can do what we want to do. You'll do what God pleases. And he'll get glory one way or
the other. Well, that makes me a puppet.
I don't have a problem with that. You can say that makes you a
puppet all you want to. I don't have a problem being
God's puppet. I really don't. Don't we pray to him, Lord, direct
my steps. Don't let me go. Guide me. Keep me. Move me, turn me, and
I'll be turned. That's exactly what I want. I
want God controlling me every step of the way. and bringing
me to the feet of his son to worship. I have purposed it. I'll also
do it. Everything he purposed is what
he'll do. If God has told you in his word
what will happen, then expect it. Without question, without
doubt, and without rebellion. Without question, don't second
guess God. Every time we murmur and complain,
we're saying, without saying the words, we're saying it, I
know better than God. I would have handled that differently.
Yeah, I know you would. That's why you're not on the
throne. And me neither. No second guessing, no questioning
of his purposes and his will and his actions without any doubt. Don't ever
entertain the thought that anything is outside of God's control.
If there's one germ, one macroscopic invisible to the human eye germ
in this world that God does not control, it'll wipe us all out
in a day. And if he wants it to wipe us
out, it'll do it at his sovereign discretion and will and power. I don't want to live in a world
where God is not in control of everything. Can you imagine the
Lord's taking his restraining hand off of sinful man in this
world? I would not want to be here for
that. And that's me and you and everybody.
We know none of us want to be in that world. Without question, without doubt,
and without rebellion, bow to His sovereign will. Thy will
be done. If God has revealed what shall
come to pass, expect it. If He has not, then trust that
whatever comes to pass will be what your heavenly father hath
ordained for his glory and for your eternal good, believer. And understand this now. I've
tried to impress this upon us before and I always feel like
I fall miserably short. Everything that God has purposed
and has brought is bringing and shall bring to pass. has one
specific and glorious end, the salvation of his people, the
deliverance of his people from bondage, the payment of their debt for
their sin and rebellion with the blood of an innocent victim.
Pictured here in God bringing to pass the deliverance of of
Israel from Egypt from 430 years of cruel bondage and ultimately
bringing them into the promised land of Canaan. Why do you suppose
the Egyptians gave all their valuables to the Hebrews? They
were nothing but trouble for them. These are the ones that
didn't go with them now. These are the ones that said,
get away from here. Get out of here. We're all dead
if you stay. Get out of here. and take all of my gold and silver
and everything that's worth anything with you. Why do you think they
did that? This picture is God's providence
for his people in this life, no question about that. This
earth is the Lord's, and he giveth it to the children of men, to
whoever he will. The silver, he said, is mine,
and the gold is mine. He may have given some of it
to you for a little while, but it's his. And he provides for his people
in this world. David said, I haven't seen one
of his people begging yet. I was young once and I'm old
now. I still ain't seen it. Have you? But also how that God orchestrates
all things to that ultimate end of bringing us to the promised
paradise. Everything you need on the way
from the day you're born To be in the arms of the Lord Jesus
Christ, you'll have it. And this world won't have any
idea why they're giving it to you. But we know it's because
God's on the throne. Not only will we have everything
we need on the way, but everything that needs to happen in order
for us to get there will happen. because he's purposed it, he
has predestinated it. Let's look at that together in
Romans chapter 8. Probably the most familiar passage of scripture,
at least around here. But it's always glorious to see
in the context of other scripture. Now you think about this now,
Romans 8, 28, everybody in here could quote it most likely. Think about this in the context
of what we just said. Everything that God purposes
in eternity and brings to pass in time has one specific and
glorious end. It's the glorification of His
Son in the salvation of His elect. Romans 8, 28, and we know that
all things work together for good to them that love God. We know that, but we don't half
know that, do we? Did you know it when you were
murmuring this morning, probably, or if not, more recently than
that? Did you know it last time you
scared about something? Did you know it when you were
anxious or fretful or worried? How can we be any of these things
if we know that all things work together for good? to them that
love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Now you think about this. This
is telling us what all things are for. The good of God's people is not
just a byproduct of God's purposes, but the prescribed end of every
one of them. That's what he said. All things
are purposed and come to pass for your good, if you're His
sheep. It doesn't just happen that way. That's not just a by-product
of God's purposes. That's why He purposed them to
do you good. Don't be afraid, little flock
of sheep, because it's your Father's good pleasure to give you the
kingdom, and it always has been. And He's been giving you the
kingdom since the day you was born. David said, His goodness and
mercy have been pursuing me all my life. And they'll pursue me
all the way to glory. The reason he purposed everything
that he purposed is that it is his glory, his desire, and his
work to do good to his people. All things do not just happen
to work together for our good. The very reason that there is
an all things is because God has determined from eternity
to do you good. I don't think I've ever seen that
in that verse and I've been reading that verse since before I could see it all. The reason that all things are
all things is because God loves His Son and all of His sons who
are in His Son. And because He loves them, us,
He desires purposes and brings to pass good for us. And all things are included in
that. good to us is not just the result
of all things that are and that happen. That is the result. But
all things are the result of God's purpose of good toward
his people. Do you see that? Let me say that again, because
I haven't gotten it. And so maybe you haven't either. good from God to us, his people,
is not just the result of all things that happen, have happened, are and shall
happen, but everything that happens, the all things that are mentioned
in this verse are the result of God's purpose to do you good. If we can ever get the perspective
on this, the true perspective on it, all things work together
for good. That's why they are what they
are to do you good. God has purpose. He said, tell
the righteous, it shall be well with them. What is the good that he will
do them? What is meant by good? We know
what all things are. All things are all things. What
is the good that is accomplished by these all things? What is
the real definition of good? Verse 29, for whom he did foreknow,
he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his
son. If you don't know much about
that, you don't know much about good. That's what good is. Christ is good. And to be like
him is good. And there's not much else good.
They're just not, is there? They're just not. What we call
good is usually not good. We don't know good from bad unless
we know Him. All things work together for
good, for, because, who He loved. He purposed all of those things
to result in them being conformed to the image of the Lord Jesus
Christ. that Christ might be the firstborn
among many brethren. All of the speculations of superstitious
man regarding what happens in the universe and why it happens
are either the cold, calculated, heartless clicking together of
some cosmic mechanism of some kind, or they are the blind and
wild and uncertain and hopeless current of happenstance. But
the truth about what comes to pass in God's world is a love
story. Because God loves us, we will
be exactly like His Son, and with His Son, that we may behold
His glory forever. That's why what happens, happens. and it came to pass. You see to the earthly Israelites,
freedom was deliverance from the Egyptian bondage and ultimately
the habitation of a promised land. A land flowing with milk
and honey. The spiritual fulfillment of
that, spiritual freedom from spiritual bondage, What our Lord spoke of when he
said, if the Son shall make you free, you'll be free indeed. That freedom is deliverance from
this present evil world and the bondage of sin that we're born
under because of the curse. Galatians 3.13, Christ hath redeemed
us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us. He
delivered us from the bondage of the law, the bondage of sin. And this in the picture in Exodus
is the Passover lamb slain in the stead of the sinner. That's
him being made a curse for us. The destroyer going into every
house except where he's already been. He already came into the houses
of the people of Israel. There was already a victim slain.
There was already blood on the door. And God would not permit
the destroyer to go in. Spiritual deliverance. It also
has to do with ultimately inhabiting paradise, where the dying thief
is. Now the Lord said, today you'll
be with me in paradise. What's paradise? With me. That's
what he said. With me in paradise. That's what
it is. And that thief said to the Lord Jesus Christ, who hung
on that cross just a few feet away from him, he said, Lord,
remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And the Lord said to him, today
shalt thou be with me in paradise. After a long time in bondage, and all of his spiritual Israel
shall leave this Egypt and be with him in paradise. John 17, 24. Listen to that. Turn over there if you'd like
to and look at this. Just one verse, but what a blessed
verse. What a blessed scripture from God. John 17, 24. We're going to Canaan now. We're
going to inherit the promised land. We're going to be where
God said we'd be. We're on the way there now. John
17, 24. Father, I will that they also
whom thou hast given me be with me where I am, that they may
behold my glory which thou hast given me. He said in the beginning of chapter
17 there, Father, glorify thou me with the glory that I had
with thee before the world was. And right here, he said, I want
them to get in on that too. For thou lovest me. It's a love
story. We're going to be delivered.
We're going to be taken every step of the way. We're going
to be given everything we want, everything we need on the way.
Not everything we want because we're sinful. Everything we need
on the way and everything that needs to happen for us to get
there will happen. And he's going to bring us home
because of the love of God for his son. And he just got to saying in
the verse before we just read in verse 23, you love them just
like you love me. And you've loved me from before
the foundation of the world. It all begins with God's love
for His Son and those who are in His Son and one with His Son
and chosen in His Son. It involves all things being
purposed by God and brought to pass for the glory of His Son
and the good of His people. Everything working together for
good right now. And it culminates in us being
in Christ, like Christ, and with Christ. And so, whom he did foreknow
and predestinate, he called. And whom he called, he justified.
And whom he justified, he glorified. All of this happens by the person
and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. All of these blessings are ours
in Christ. We're foreknown in Christ. He
said, whom I did foreknow. Paul said, whom he did foreknow.
How does that happen? What happened then? What's that
all about? What's the foreknowledge of God? This is electing love. Ephesians 1, 3, Blessed be the
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with
all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ, according as
he hath chosen us in him. Before the foundation of the
world that we should be, holy and without blame before
him in love. Who he did foreknow, he did predestinate. We're predestinated in Christ
and to be like Christ. Ephesians 1.5, having predestinated
us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself according
to the good pleasure of his will. And as the text itself in Romans
8 there where we read a while ago says, we are predestinated
to be conformed to the image of his son. We're predestinated
unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ and to be like
him. Whom he did predestinate, he
called. What does our calling have to do with Christ? Romans
1 5, by whom we have received grace and apostleship for obedience
to the faith among all nations for his name, among whom are
ye also the called of Jesus Christ." That's who we are. Because he
loved us and predestinated us. And whom he called, he justified.
Romans 3.24, being justified freely by his grace through the
redemption that is in Christ Jesus, through that blood on
the door. through that precious blood of the Passover. Whom he justified, he glorified,
1 Peter 5.10, but the God of all grace who hath called us
unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus. This is the fulfillment
of predestination, glorification. Predestination is unto the image
of Christ. And glorification is being in
the image of Christ. Being like Him. And in closing,
let me remind you of a couple of things. In our text in Exodus
12, 30, it said this. We read it already, but I want
to just remind you of it. And Pharaoh rose up in the night,
he and all his servants and all the Egyptians. And there was
a great cry in Egypt. Can you imagine? And the Lord
said, it'll be like there's never been before and like there never
will be again. I'll cry. For there was not a house where
there was not one dead. It's terrible, terrible, terrible
judgment. But understand this, it's exactly
what Pharaoh and every rebel like him deserves. You remember what Pharaoh did
in Exodus chapter one, how it didn't mean a whole lot to him
to kill all the male children of the Hebrews. He commanded
all the midwives, he said, if it's a boy, you kill him and
throw him in the river. He didn't think much of that,
but now it's Pharaoh's son who's dead. And so shall every sinner reap
what they sow in this world. And there shall be weeping and
gnashing of teeth. There was not a house where there
was not one dead. The soul that sinneth, it shall
die. There are no exceptions. God
must and shall punish sin. But bless God, he has accepted
the death of a lamb in the place of the sinner. He has accepted
the death of the lamb in the place, in the stead of his people. That's what Paul said when he
said, we're dead with Christ. We're crucified with Christ.
When the Lord Jesus Christ died on that cross, that's me paying
for my sin in my substitute. He so loved his people, Israel,
who dwelt in Egypt, the world, that he gave his only begotten
son, our Passover lamb, that whosoever believeth in him
should not perish, but have everlasting life. Have you partaken of the
lamb? Have you dipped the hyssop in
his blood and put it on the door? God said, when I see it, I'll
pass over you. And it'll be a great observance.
You'll never forget it as long as you live. How that God came
in judgment and spared you. How that he sent the destroyer
to exact vengeance and justice for sin and rebellion. And instead
of destroying you, he destroyed his own son in your place. It'll be a memorial to you all
the days of your life. And when we leave Egypt and finally
enter into that Canaan that he's promised into his very presence,
in his very arms, we'll still be singing worthy is the lamb
that was slain to receive honor and glory and
blessing and power. For thou wast slain, and hast
redeemed us unto God by thy precious blood. I don't sing it very good now,
but I will then. But I will sing it now, by his
grace. Let's bow in prayer.