I can think of nothing in the
world more comforting, soul-cheering, and delightful than the revelation
of God in Holy Scripture, which the Apostle calls redemption
that is in Christ Jesus. The Lord God says to His chosen,
fear not. And he gives this for the reason,
for I have redeemed thee. What could be more comforting?
What could be more satisfying? More cheerful? Fear not, for
I have redeemed thee. I have called thee by thy name. Thou art mine. I'm at the age now, like many
of you, I have a lot of friends in heaven. One of them is Brother
Harold Martin. None of you knew Harold except
my wife and I. He was one of the deacons in
the church I pastored in Lookout, West Virginia for nine years.
Brother Harold was a faithful man and served the cause of Christ
in that congregation for many, many years. Just a short while
before I moved to Danville, The Lord took Brother Martin home
to glory. He died just about a year or
so after finishing treatments for prostate cancer. Before he
died, his only child lived out in northern Virginia and took
him to be with her and her family the last few weeks of his life.
Then I heard that Harold was in the hospital and I decided
to fly out and visit with him. I didn't have any idea how near
the end of his pilgrimage was, but I had the privilege of spending
the last day with him that he spent on this earth. And most
of the day, of course, he was tired and sedated and slept and
he'd wake up and we'd talk a little bit and I'd read and he'd go
to sleep and I'd read and wake up again. And I had the privilege
of hearing him speak the last words of coherence He spoke in
this world. He took my hand late in the afternoon
and he said, Brother Don, it's good to come here and know that
everything is under the blood. It's good to come here and know
that everything is under the blood. I can't think of anything
this side of eternity more delightful. Everything is under the blood. The redemption of our souls by
our Lord Jesus Christ is indeed the most comforting thing God
himself reveals in his word. For the comfort of your hearts
and my own, I want to try to talk to you about that redemption. I want to give you five Old Testament
pictures of redemption. Turn to Hebrews chapter 10. We'll
begin there. We hope in the Lord because with
Him there is mercy, and with Him is plenteous redemption.
And He shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities. That's all
our hope, all our joy, all our comfort. The only hope for fallen,
guilty, depraved sinners is redemption. A redemption which includes atonement
for sin, the satisfaction of divine justice. effectual deliverance
from sin and all its evil consequences at last into heaven's everlasting
glory with Jesus Christ the Lord. That redemption could be accomplished
by only one person and that person is the God-man mediator our Lord
Jesus Christ. He alone could do it and he did
it alone. He said I looked and there was
none to help. I wondered, and there was none
to uphold. Therefore my own arm brought
salvation unto me, and my fury it upheld me." Hebrews 10, verse
1. Brother Stephen read this just
a little bit ago. The law having a shadow of good
things to come. The law refers, of course, to
all the Old Testament scriptures. Here it refers specifically to
all things involved in the Levitical ceremonial law. The law of sacrifices,
the law of the tabernacle and temple services given in the
Old Testament. He says this law had a shadow
of good things to come. You walk down the road and you
see a shadow coming up by you, you realize there's somebody
coming along behind you. The shadow is not the substance,
it's just the shadow. And the law was a shadow, typifying,
foreshadowing, portraying, setting before us, preparing the way
for good things to come. Now watch this. The law had a
shadow of good things to come and not the very image of those
things. And it can never, with those
sacrifices which they offered year by year continually, make
the comers thereunto perfect. They continually offered sacrifices,
morning and evening sacrifices, weekly sacrifices, monthly sacrifices,
yearly sacrifices. And every time they offered a
sacrifice, they knew they must come back and offer another sacrifice. Because those sacrifices could
never purge the conscience of guilt and sin. Those sacrifices
could never put away sin. But this man, Jesus Christ the
Lord, by one sacrifice, by the sacrifice of himself, put away
sin forever and sat down on the right hand of the majesty on
high because there's nothing else to be done. And that sacrifice
offered to God purges the conscience from dead works and from guilt. God Almighty says that's enough. God cannot and will not and does
not require more than the sacrifice of his son. And my conscience
says that's enough. God can't require more. I offer
to God by faith in him. I offer to God by trusting him. I offer to God by casting my
soul on him. That which God himself has accepted,
and that's the blood of Jesus Christ, his darling son, in whom
we have redemption. Now the Old Testament scriptures
had a shadow of this good thing called redemption. In the Old
Testament, the Lord God gave us numerous, numerous pictures
of redemption and grace in Christ. And when you think about redemption,
again, I remind you, don't just think about the single event
whereby our Lord Jesus purged our sins with his blood when
he cried, It's finished, and gave up the ghost, and with his
blood entered into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption
for us. Redemption, like salvation, involves
the whole of the work of God, the whole work of the triune
God, which brings us from the depths of hell into the glorious
liberty of the sons of God at last in resurrection glory. Redemption,
however, suggests more than just salvation. It suggests deliverance. Deliverance by grace, deliverance
by blood, and deliverance by power. It is the deliverance
of one who is held in captivity by the grace of God through the
blood atonement of Christ and by the application of that grace
in the power of God in regenerating grace and preserving us in his
grace unto resurrection life. Redemption then is the complete
deliverance of our souls from sin and all its evil consequences
into heavenly glory by the blood of Jesus Christ our Lord. It
takes in God's eternal purpose. And it takes in all the events
of time, all the events of providence, all of what's described in the
book of God's wonders. The psalmist says, thou only
doest wonders. That's all God does, is wonders. Everything he does, wonders,
wonders by which he causes us who are saved by his grace to
be men marveled at forever by those adoring angels and even
by the damned in hell and by one another as we behold the
wonders of God's grace throughout eternity bestowed upon us in
Christ Jesus the Lord. So redemption involves the complete
deliverance of our souls. and is portrayed over and over
and over again in the Old Testament when you read this book when
you read this book understand that every law given in the Old
Testament moral, civil and ceremonial every law given to Israel and
the law was only given to Israel It was never given to Gentiles,
it was only given to Israel. Was intended, designed, and purposed
by God to give us a picture of redemption and grace in Jesus
Christ the Lord. Every event in the Old Testament
Scriptures was brought to pass in divine providence to portray
some aspect of that redemption and grace that's given us in
Christ Jesus the Lord. Now let's look at some pictures
of redemption. We'll look at five of them. The
first and perhaps the most well-known obvious picture will begin in
Psalm 106. Is the redemption of Israel out
of Egyptian bondage? What a picture of our redemption
that is. When God came to bring Israel
out of their 400 years of captivity in Egypt, he redeemed them with
a high hand and a stretched out arm. And he redeemed them with
the blood of the Passover lamb. Look here in Psalm 106, verse
6. We have sinned with our fathers. We have committed iniquity. We
have done wickedly. Our fathers understood not thy
wonders in Egypt. They remembered not the multitude
of thy mercies, but provoked him at the sea, even at the Red
Sea. Nevertheless," what a great word,
nevertheless, he saved them for his namesake, that he might make
his mighty power to be known. He rebuked the Red Sea also,
and it was dried up. So He led them through the depths
as through the wilderness, and He saved them from the hand of
Him that hated them, and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy. And the waters covered their
enemies. There was not one of them left. Then they believed
His words, They sang his praise. Now that redemption of Israel
out of Egypt is a marvelous picture of our redemption from a bondage
worse than Egyptian bondage. We were delivered by our God
from the bondage of sin and death in this world by the sin and
fall of our father Adam and by our own experience in this world. Redeemed and delivered by the
blood of Christ and by the power of God. Israel, you'll remember,
was brought into Egyptian bondage by an act of sin. Joseph's brethren, envying him,
sold him into slavery. And at last, he's brought down
into Egypt. By an act of transgression, by
an act of sin, that was ordered and ruled by God. Now somebody
says, Joseph's brethren didn't have any choice. Yes, they did.
Yes, they did. They chose to do evil. Did God
ordain it? Yes. Well, I don't understand
how both can be so. Well, don't try. Just bow down. Just bow down. God ordered it.
They did it. They're responsible. Somebody
said, Judas didn't have any choice but to betray the master. Oh,
yes, he did. He chose 30 pieces of silver. He did so on purpose. It's his fault, and he went to
hell for it. Did God ordain it? Of course
He did, or it wouldn't have happened. Of course He did. It was ordained
for our salvation. That's exactly how Joseph said
this concerning his being brought down to Egypt by his brethren.
They came to him and they said, boys, daddy's dead now, and Joseph
knows what we did, and he's going to get us. And they came to him
and started to present their fabrication of a tale of what
their father wanted him to do. And Joseph said to them, I'm
in the place of God. You meant it for evil. God meant
it for good. As it is this day, to save much
people alive. We were brought into this state
of bondage and death and sin by the sin of our father Adam
who willfully, deliberately transgressed God in the garden who said to
God, you've got no right to be God and took the fruit God forbade
him to eat and plunged himself and all his race into sin and
death and damnation And he did it exactly according to the purpose
of God. Yes, God ordained the fall, or
it wouldn't have happened. What does the book say? He worketh
all things after the counsel of his own will. That's what
the book says. Thank God for the fall. If there
hadn't been one, there'd always been the possibility of one.
Thank God for the fall to a representative man, to a substitute. You remember
the angels fell. And they fell one by one. And
for them there is no mercy given. They are reserved in chains of
darkness under the judgment of the great day. But Adam fell
and our race fell in him a representative man. Because God made Adam to
be a type of another man who would come called the last Adam
who is a representative man by whom we are redeemed from the
fall. Israel was redeemed by the hand
of a man whom God raised up. Stephen said God raised up Moses
to be a ruler and a deliverer of Israel. And so he raised up
a man like Moses, a prophet of whom Moses spoke, of whom he
said, him you will hear. And he raised up the Lord Jesus
Christ, that man like Moses, the one who gave the law to fulfill
the law and to redeem us from the curse of the law. And that
man is Christ Jesus our Lord. The price of redemption. Turn
back to Exodus chapter 12. The price of redemption was blood. It was then, it was at Calvary,
and it is now. The blood of the Paschal Lamb. These days folks don't like much
to hear about blood. Churches rewrite our hymns so
they say nothing about blood. Men keep trying to rewrite scripture
so it says nothing about blood. Without shedding of blood is
no remission. We are redeemed with the precious
blood of Christ. Precious blood because it is
his blood. The precious blood of Christ is of a Lamb who verily
was foreordained before the foundation of the world. Look here at the
price of redemption. Exodus 12 verse 13. It was the
blood of the Paschal Lamb. The Paschal Lamb portraying Christ,
our Passover, who has sacrificed for us. And the blood shall be
to you for a token upon the houses where you 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." Now look
at those words, God said, when I see the blood. He didn't say when you see the
blood. He saw the blood a long time
before I saw it. He saw the blood when I saw it. He sees the blood now as I see
it. And the time may come when I
can't see the blood. The time may come when I can't
see the blood. for the Marvin Stoniker. He'd
been here preaching for you. His father was a good friend
of mine. And Brother Gerald was a faithful
man. Faithful, faithful man. He supported
the cause of Christ wherever he could for as long as I've
known him. And a few years back, Gerald,
that big, strong man, they called him Papa. Called him Papa Bear. A big, strong man. He began to
get some symptoms of Alzheimer's. And then it got worse. And Marvin's
mother kept him at home as long as she could. But it was too
big for her to handle. She finally had to put him in
rest home. Last year or so he was alive. She'd go sit with
him every day. But he didn't know her. And he
didn't know his children. He didn't know his pastor. And
he couldn't see the blood. Did mine was gone? Did mine was
gone? But he's seated around the throne
of God now The Lord God said when I see the blood I will pass
over you And thank God his eye is always on the blood. He saw
the blood of the lamb slain from the foundation of the world and
preserved us even in our father Adam's loins, even when we fell
in the garden. His eye was on the blood, preserving
us all the days of our rebellion. His eye was on the blood, keeping
us when we were running madly to hell. His eye was on the blood,
fetching us by His grace to Himself. And His eye is on the blood now,
and it will be tomorrow, come what may. He says, Fear not,
I have redeemed thee, therefore no plague shall come upon you. No plague shall come upon you. Well, that can't be so. Plagues
come on God's people all the time. People experience disease
and sickness and bereavement and sorrow and death and war
and famine. You're right, they do. But that's
no evil to us. No plague to God's people. One
of these days, something's going to happen and I'm going to leave
here. And whatever it is that happens will be a blessing, not
a plague. Do you understand that? He promised
no evil shall happen to the just. He promised God performeth all
things for me. That means nothing evil happens.
But Brother Don, you surely have been through some difficulties.
I have some slight difficulties. Not one of them would I have
chosen if I'd had a choice in the matter. Not one of them.
I would never choose to weep if I had a choice to laugh. I
would never choose to be in pain if I could be in comfort. I wouldn't
choose difficulties. I wouldn't choose bereavement.
I wouldn't choose sickness. I wouldn't choose it. I wouldn't
choose heartache and difficulties in life. But let me tell you
something, maybe, I remember Brother Mahan
saying back when he was about 50 years old, he said, I keep
thinking maybe when I get to be 60 somebody will pay attention
to me. When he got to be 60 I asked him, he said it hadn't changed. Will you pay attention to this
61 year old man? Will you listen to me now? In 61 years, thus far, I have
never yet come through anything that looking back on this side,
I don't say thank you Lord. This was best for me. This was
best for me. He redeemed us from all the curse. From everything involved in the
curse. So that there is no curse upon
God's elect. No evil happens to the just. The power of this redemption
in Israel out of Egypt was the omnipotent hand of God Almighty. A picture of regeneration. Turn
to Exodus 14. Look at this. Exodus 14 verse
13. Moses said to the people, fear
ye not, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. Next time somebody comes to you
and says, Brother Don, I want to be saved, can you tell me
how to be saved? Follow biblical advice, will
you? Tell them to just stand still. Just stand still. About years
ago, you all know Brother Dan Parks, don't you? St. Croix. Dan and I went to school
together and he got married. I was preaching for his father
down in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and his wife Sandy and
Dan were there and they were leaving to go somewhere. We were
all about to go home and we saw a car went back into the driveway
pretty quick and it was Moose, Daniel and his wife Sandy and
he said, Brother Don, The Lord showed Sandy, now she was lost,
she wants to talk to Him. And so we went in and talked
and Moose went in with me and his father, Sandy's father-in-law.
We sat down and chatted for a little bit. She unburdened her heart. And I said to her, Sandy, seek the Lord and wait on Him.
That's all I can tell you to do. Seek the Lord and wait on
Him. Some years later, Moose said,
I thought surely you'd tell us something. Seek the Lord, wait on Him. Stand
ye still and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will show
you today. For the Egyptians whom you've
seen today, you shall see them again no more forever. Your oppressors,
your sins, your transgressions, you'll see them no more again
forever. The Lord shall fight for you
and you shall hold your peace. Chapter 15. Then sang Moses and
the children of Israel this song unto the Lord, and spake, saying,
I will sing unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously.
The horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. The Lord
is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation. He
is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation, my Father's
God, and I will exalt him. Fear and dread shall fall upon
them. By the greatness of thine arm
they shall be as still as a stone, till thy people pass over. O
Lord, till the people pass over which thou hast purchased." And
this redemption typified our redemption by Christ. Now I'm
going to show you something here. You've heard me say it
many times. I want you to get it. You've heard Brother Wayne,
Brother Gene both mention this nonsense of universal atonement,
universal redemption. The idea that most people had
that somehow Christ actually died for folks to go to hell
anyway. Now, write this down. If you're taking notes, write
it down. There is not a hint in the Word of God of such nonsense. Nowhere. Nowhere. Not a hint. Not a trace. Anywhere in the
Word of God. No passage of Scripture read
in its context in any way hints or implies that Christ died for
folks who perish in hell at last. But just the opposite. In every
place in Scripture where redemption is explained, in every place
where it is typified, we're going to look at these five pictures,
You can find these three things true every time. In every picture,
the Redemption was of a particular people. A specific number of
people. The Redemption was an effectual
Redemption. Such as God Almighty ordained
and God Almighty accepted. The Redemption spoke of blood
atonement. Those three things. Redemption
by blood, effectual redemption, the redemption of a particular
people. Turn over to Exodus chapter 30. Here's another picture. And you're going to see immediately
that there's no blood involved. It's atonement money. Atonement
money? Atonement money according to
the shekel of the sanctuary. Atonement money that was used
of God to make the sockets of silver in which sat the pillars
in the tabernacle where blood atonement was made. So the atonement
money has its connection with blood as well. Exodus chapter
30 verse 11. And the Lord spake unto Moses,
saying, When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel
after their number, then shall they give every man a ransom
for his soul unto the Lord. When thou numberest them, that
there be no plague among them, when thou numberest them. They
shall give every one that passeth among them that are numbered
half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary. A shekel is
twenty givers. And half a shekel shall be the
offering of the Lord. Every one that passeth among
them that are numbered from twenty years old and above shall give
an offering unto the Lord. The rich shall not give more
And the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, which they
give an offering unto the Lord, to make atonement for your souls.
And thou shalt take the atonement money of the children of Israel,
and shalt appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of
the congregation, that it may be a memorial unto the children
of Israel before the Lord, to make an atonement for your souls. Isn't it strange that God, some
years later, when David looked out and sent Joab to number Israel,
even Joab said, David don't do this, it's a wicked thing. And
yet, David insisted and numbered Israel, and when he came back
with the number of Israel, God killed 70,000 men. Because David numbered Israel.
But here he gives a law demanding that by law the priest number
Israel every year. How come? Because he wants us
to understand that his elect are a specific number. They're
described in the book of God as 144,000, 12,000 out of every
tribe in Israel. They're numbered exactly according
to the multitude of God's elect, a specific number. A number that
no man can number, 10,000 times 10,000, thousands of thousands,
but a specific number. God always has his elect whom
he has numbered from eternity, and he even numbered your hairs
before the world began. He numbered them. For these who
were numbered of Israel, every one of them, and none but they,
there was a ransom money given. and the ransom price was the
same for all and again it was that no plague should fall upon
them look at Leviticus chapter 25 here is the third picture here is the law of the kinsman
redeemer Leviticus 25 verse 47 If a sojourner or a stranger
wax rich by thee, and thy brother that dwelleth by him wax poor,
and sell himself unto the stranger or sojourner by thee, or to the
stock of the stranger's family, after that he is sold, he may
be redeemed again. And what's this? One of his brethren
may redeem him, either his uncle or his uncle's son may redeem
him, or any that is nigh akin unto him of his family may redeem
him, or if he be able, he may redeem himself." We have sold
ourselves into bondage and we cannot redeem ourselves. We have
no friend who is able or has the right to redeem us, except
one near kinsman. The Lord Jesus, in order that
he might redeem the seed of Abraham, took not on him the nature of
angels, but took on him the seed of Abraham. In order that He
might redeem us, He took on Himself our nature and became one with
us. Came here into the world, never ceasing to be God, but
a man like us. Now this man is willing to redeem,
and because he is God, he is able to redeem. He has that wherewith
redemption may be accomplished and purchased. He has righteousness
of infinite worth, atonement of infinite satisfaction, able
to redeem his own from their sins. Our Lord Jesus had no debt
to pay of his own, but he willingly laid down his life as a ransom
for us. If you want to understand the
book of Ruth, read again when you get home this Law of the
Kinsman Redeemer, and then go read those four chapters of the
book of Ruth. It's all about this Kinsman Redeemer.
There was a man in Bethlehem, Judah, by the name of Elimelech. His name means, My God is King. Elimelech's parents obviously
believed God. He didn't. He was a filthy rich
fellow. And when trouble came to Bethlehem,
Judah, and there was famine in the land, Elimelech gathered
his family and all his possessions and left Bethlehem, Judah, and
went down to a land of the Moabites, a cursed land. Among the cursed
people, the Moabites, you'll remember, were the offspring
of Lot's incestuous relationship with his daughter. And there,
Elimelech died. And he left his wife Naomi with
two sons. And they stayed there. They married
wives of the Moabites. One married a woman named Orpah,
the other a woman named Ruth. And then her sons died, and Naomi
said to her daughters-in-law, because she had heard that there
was bread again, the Lord had visited Bethlehem, Judah, and
there was bread again in the land of Bethlehem, Judah. And
so at the beginning of the barley harvest, when she had heard there
was bread in Judah, Naomi said, girls, I'm going back to my people. You go back to your fathers and
to your fathers' gods. And as older, we'll go with you.
And Naomi said, If I should have sons right now, I'm too old to
have sons that you'll wait for to marry, go back to your gods
and to your fathers." And Orpah said, well that makes good sense,
I will. And Ruth said, not me. Not me. Where you go, I'll go. Where you lie, I'll lie. Where
you die, I'll die. Your people shall be my people,
and your God, my God. Reckon how come she said that?
Naomi was a faithful woman. She believed God. And she had
told her daughters-in-law about God's goodness in His law in
providing for His own. Even the poor who sold themselves
into slavery, there's a possibility of redemption if there's a kinsman
able and willing to redeem. And Ruth said, I'm going home
with you. And they went back to Bethlehem, Judah. And everybody
came out to see them. They saw Naomi come in and man
the scuttlebutt went around. Here this old, broken, ragged,
poor woman comes. She went out, Naomi, favored
of the Lord, blessed of God, rich and young, beautiful with
everything you could want. And she comes back and she could
hear them whispering in the streets, is this Naomi? That can't be
Naomi. That can't be Naomi. She said,
don't call me Naomi. Call me Mara. Call me Mary. For the Lord hath dealt bitterly
with me. And Naomi and Ruth took up their
boat where they could. And Ruth says to Naomi, she said,
allow me to go out and glean. Reckon where she heard about
that? Her mother-in-law told her about
God's law. He requires that the fields be
not gleaned. He takes care of the poor. And
she said, go glean where you may, my daughter. And Ruth went
out to glean in the fields and as luck would have it. In fact, the scriptures even
say it just that way. Her hat was to light on the field
belonging to a man named Boaz. As far as she was concerned,
she didn't know where she was, but she found herself in Boaz's
field. And she's gleaning, and Boaz
came out to greet his gleaners, and he saw that Moabitess girl
there, and he said, who's she? They said, well, that's Ruth
the Moabitess. And after a while, Boaz called Ruth to himself,
and he said, you follow after the young men. He said, If you
want something to drink, I've given them orders to draw water
for you. You go right there to the well and you get water. And
you'll eat at my table tonight. And when they ate, he dipped
his cornbread in a little gravy and flirted with her a little
bit, kind of enticing her heart and gave her a little bite of
his cornbread. And when she started to go home, he told his servants,
he said, now you leave handfuls of purpose for her. And she came
home with so much grain she could hardly carry it. She walked in
and Naomi said, Honey, where have you been gleaning today?
She said, I went out to glean and I fell in the field of a
man named Boaz. Huh? Boaz! Oh, bless God! He's a dear kid. He's no kid. There's hope, I
told you. There's hope. He's no kid. And
she said, I'll tell you what you do. You go down to the threshing
floor tonight while the men are eating and drinking. And after
they've eaten and drunk and Boaz comes and lays himself down on
the threshing floor, you go and pick up his blanket and lay down
at his feet. And he'll tell you what to do.
I can't do that. The only thing I've got left
is my good name. Everybody knows I have a good
name. Good reputation, I can't do that. Go lay down at his feet. Because you're going to have
to give up everything. Even your imagined good name. And he'll tell you what to do.
And Boaz discovered a woman laying at his feet in the night as he
turned to himself. And he said, who are you? She said, I'm Ruth,
your handmaid. Take me. And he said, I'll redeem you. I'll do it. But somebody's got
a nearer claim on you than I do. Better go talk to him first.
And so he goes and meets the law in chapter 4. And that nearer
kinsman said, I can't have her. If I redeem her, I'll mar my
own inheritance. And Boaz says to the elders,
you be my witnesses. I this day redeem Ruth the Moabitess. And all that she lost in her
father Elimelech. and He took her as His own. Oh, that's kinsman redemption
by Jesus Christ our Lord He assumed our nature and became one of
us and redeemed us by the sacrifice of Himself and took us to be
His own Turn to Isaiah 49 No, you turn to chapter 61 Isaiah
61 In Luke chapter 7, our Lord compares
our sins to debts, doesn't he? And the law gives a word concerning
debtors in prison, delivered from their prison. That's another
picture of our redemption. The Spirit of the Lord, the Lord
God is upon me, our Savior says, because the Lord hath anointed
me to preach good tidings unto the meek. He has sent me to bind
up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, the
opening of the prison to them that abound, to proclaim the
acceptable year of the Lord and the day of the vengeance of our
God. How can that be comforting? Vengeance
satisfied. To comfort them that mourn. to
them that mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil
of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness,
that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting
of the Lord, that he might be glorified. Now listen to this,
Thus saith the Lord in an acceptable time, Have I heard thee? And in the day of salvation have
I helped thee. I will preserve thee, and give
thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause
to inherit desolate heritages, that thou mayest say to the prisoners,
Go forth. To them that are in darkness,
show yourselves. They shall feed in the ways,
and their pastures shall be all in high places. And they shall
not hunger nor thirst, neither shall the heat nor the sun spite
them. For he that hath mercy on them
shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall he guide
them. Our Lord Jesus comes as our sacrifice
and pays our debt. And the Spirit of the Lord is
upon him. is anointed with the spirit above measure and he ascended
to the throne of heaven as our great king and pours out his
spirit as the inaugurate to the king upon all flesh and he calls
out his elect from among all nations by the power of his spirit
he comes in the gospel and by the power of the spirit he says
to the prisoner go forth Go forth. I bought you. I paid your debt. You're free. Now go show yourself. Show yourself the Lord's free
man. And then in Zechariah chapter
9. Zechariah 9. In the days of the Old Testament,
godless men often took their slaves. and threw them into a
deep pit at night filthy pits that would take them
out only to perform their slavish labor or if someone purchased
them with a ransom that was satisfactory that's what Christ has done for
me Zechariah 9 verse 11 As for thee also, by the blood of thy
covenant I sent forth thy prisoners out of the pits wherein is no
water. Out of the depths have I cried
unto thee, O Lord. I was in the pits, in the deep,
my reclaim. And the Lord Jesus came by the
power of his grace, having paid my debt, having cancelled all
my sins, having settled all my score, having blotted out all
my transgressions and the Holy Spirit says to him, by the blood
of thy covenant I have said to thy prisoners, go forth. Thy prisoners, his ransomed ones. Several years ago, Mother Mayhem
was preaching for some folks and had dinner with a widow lady
and her daughter. The daughter was grown and she
talked so admirably, so lovingly of her father. And sitting after
dinner, Brother Henry said to us, he said, you talk so admirably,
so lovingly of your dad, I've got to know something about him.
And she said, well Brother Mahan, my daddy died for me. She said, when I was just a little
girl, I've forgotten now, four or five years old, She said,
when I was four years old, we were out on the beach and my
dad had a bad heart. And he knew he couldn't take
any strain. He knew the least strain would kill him. But I
got too far out in the water, and there was nobody there but
me and dad. And he called me, but I couldn't
hear him over top of the ocean. And he got up and ran, and dove
in, pulled me to the shore, And by the time he did, others came
around, but he dropped dead on the shore. And I can't forget
him. That's what our Redeemer has
done for us. Gave his life that we might live. I beseech you therefore brethren,
by the mercies of God, That you present your bodies a living
sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto the Lord, which is your reasonable
service. Nothing else makes any sense,
does it? Nothing else makes any sense.
That's redemption by our Savior. Amen.