John's Gospel, Chapter 1. The great Charles Spurgeon. His
congregation had increased. They were going to have to build
a larger building to worship in. While they were building
the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Mr. Spurgeon and his congregation
worshipped there in London at a place called Sherry Gardens,
a very large stadium. They asked Mr. Spurgeon to come
down and check the acoustics in the building. And he stood
in the pulpit area, sort of like I am this morning, and all the
seats on the first level and the second level and the third
level. And they asked him to say something. to check the acoustics. And Mr. Spurgeon said, Behold
the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world. They said,
Mr. Spurgeon, say that again. And
he said, Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of
the world. And little known to Mr. Spurgeon that there was a janitor
down in the seats cleaning. And a few days later, Mr. Spurgeon got a visit from that
janitor. And he said, Mr. Spurgeon, I
don't know you. But he said, one day while I
was cleaning last week, this voice fell from heaven into my
soul, Behold the Lamb of God. And he said, I did. I did. That's my subject this morning.
Behold the Lamb of God. Let me read my text in John chapter
1. The account is given of John
the Baptist, who was a man called of God to go give his witness
concerning Jesus Christ. In verse 19, this is the record
of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to
ask him, Who art thou? And he confessed and denied not,
but he confessed, I am not the Christ. And they asked him, What
then? Are you Elijah? And he said,
I am not. Are you that prophet that should
come? He answered, No. Then said they unto him, Who
art thou, that we may give an answer to them that sent me?
What sayest thou of thyself? And he said, I am the voice of
one crying in the wilderness. Make straight the way of the
Lord, as said the prophet Isaiah. And they which were sent were
of the Pharisees. And they asked him and said unto
him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not the Christ, nor
Elias, neither that prophet? And John answered them, saying,
I baptize with water, but there stands one among you whom you
know not. He it is who, coming after me,
is preferred before me, whose shoes latch it I am not worthy
to unloose. These things were done in Beth-Arabah,
beyond Jordan, where John was baptized. And the next day John
sees Jesus coming unto him, and he says, Behold the Lamb of God,
which takes away the sin of the world. This is He of whom I said,
After me comes a man which is preferred before me. He is preferred
before me because he was before me. And I knew him not, but that
he should be made manifest to Israel. Therefore, I am come
baptizing with water. And John Burr Records said, I
saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode
upon him. And I knew him not, but he that
sent me to baptize with water, The same said unto me, upon whom
thou shalt see the Spirit descending and remaining on him, the same
is he which baptizes with the Holy Ghost. And I saw and bear
record that this is the Son of God. And the next day after John
stood in two of his disciples, and looking up on Jesus again
as he walked, he said, Behold the Lamb of God. And the two
disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. Behold the
Lamb of God. One man has said, if we want
men to follow Christ, we must preach Christ. If men want to
be found complete and accepted, they must be found in Christ.
It's all about Him. May God give you ears this morning
to hear the message. John settles upon this name. upon this title, Behold the Lamb
of God. Oh, the ways that this wise prophet
could have identified Jesus of Nazareth. Oh, he could have identified
Him as that prophet, because He was that prophet. He could
have said, Behold the Christ, because He was. He could have
even said, Behold the Creator, because Jesus was indeed the
Maker of all things. He could have said, Behold, the
King of Israel has come. But He settles upon this name.
And I think there's a good reason. And you notice when He addresses
the Lord Jesus as the Lamb of God, you can almost feel the
enthusiasm in His heart. He's so excited about it. That's
what this word denotes. Behold. Look. Looky there! Look at that! Cast
your eyes! A note of excitement. Oh, I think
he'd have been excited no matter how you addressed the Son of
God. But there's something in this name that meant so much
to John, that brought great joy and excitement in his soul. So
he addresses Him like this, Behold the Lamb of God. Now why does
he do that? Why does this great prophet address
Jesus of Nazareth as the Lamb of God? Let me give you some
reasons this morning why. And I'm just certain of it that
this is why he addressed Jesus, Behold the Lamb of God. First
of all, we know that this man, John, was of the lineage of Aaron,
the high priest. He was of that tribe that God
had chosen to be the priest among Israel. This man's father was
a priest, and his mother was of the tribe of Levi, a child
of Aaron. So he's well acquainted with
what went on in this priesthood. He knew all the sacrifice that
was offered under the ceremonial law. And as he thought of this
name Lamb, there's no doubt that his mind went back to Exodus
chapter 29. And he thought of the lamb. You
know this is the most common sacrifice among all the sacrifices. The lamb was the most often offered
sacrifice in all Israel. John knew this. Every morning
they took a lamb and they would cut his throat and they would
bring him there at the door of the tabernacle and they would
offer that lamb for a burnt offering. Every evening they would take
another lamb, and they would offer him there upon the altar
as a burnt offering. Every morning and every evening
they offered a lamb. Can you imagine just the 40 years
that the children of Israel wandered in the land of the desert? They offered a lamb every morning
and every evening. That's almost 15,000 lambs. What
a herd of lambs they offered just in those 40 years. John
remembered this. Every morning, God says, you
offer this lamb, and I'll smell the sweet savor of that sacrifice,
and I'll dwell among you all the day long. And in the evening,
you offer that lamb for a sacrifice, and all the night long, I'll
dwell among you. And now here comes John, and
he looks upon the Lord Jesus Christ, and I can't help but
think that in John's heart, as he looked upon Jesus, he thought
to himself, here is the perpetual sacrifice. Here he is. God has sent him for this very
purpose, that he may dwell among us. And here he stands before
me. The Lamb of God. You know, Israel
didn't always offer those lambs as God commanded them to. Sometimes
they were backslidden, even closed the door of the temple. Sometimes
they were carried off into captivity. They didn't have the opportunity
to offer these perpetual sacrifices. But it's not so with Jesus, the
Lamb of God. The Scripture tells us that in
the purpose of God, In the mind of God, he's always been a lamb
slain. Even before the foundation of
the world, in the very heart of God, God always viewed him
as a perpetual sacrifice. Even before the Lord Jesus actually
came, just because he had agreed to come. God viewed him as a
lamb slain. And you read in the book of Revelations
when John saw the Lord Jesus there in the midst of the throne,
and he said, I saw Him like this, a lamb as it had been slain. And you can read that like this,
that as Jesus was there in heaven in His humanity after His resurrection,
it was as though He was just being slain. That's what that
word means. As though He had just poured
out His blood. That's how fresh the sacrifice
is, even this very morning, brothers and sisters. It's as though He
just poured out His blood. The aroma of that sacrifice has
never diminished. The sweetness of that smell is
still in the Father's nostrils, just as though Jesus had lifted
up His voice and says, it's finished. You know, you and I, we buy something
new, and it's not long the new wears off. We buy something that's
precious to us, but it's not long until it's not precious
anymore. It grows old and its glory fades,
and it's not attractive. We lose our desire for it. But
it's not so with Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God. When He rendered
to God a perfect sacrifice for sin, when He satisfied justice
there upon the cross, oh, I tell you what, it never ceased to
be pure. and full of fragrance, and precious
in the Father's sight. Haven't you found Him to be so,
brothers and sisters? How many times have you, through
the eye of faith, got a fresh glimpse of the Lamb of God? And
your conscience was loaded down with guilt. And oh, you felt
so unworthy. Oh, but by the eye of faith,
you got a glimpse of Him. A fresh glimpse. You got a glimpse
of that fountain that was filled with blood. And wasn't it as
fresh as it was when you first viewed it? Has it grown old to
you? No. And it never shall grow old
to you. Dear thine Lamb, thy precious
blood shall never lose its power. And it will never lose its preciousness. That thine thief rejoiced to
see that fountain in his day. And there may I, though vile
as he, wash all my sins away." Has that fountain lost its preciousness? Has it lost its power? No, no,
no. It's just as effectual today,
just as fresh today. And brothers and sisters, I'll
say this, as long as time stands, Jesus Christ will be the Lamb.
the perpetual sacrifice as though He was just slain. And I would
say through all eternity, when time shall be no more, as long
as those prints are in His hands and the whole is in His side,
He'll be a perpetual sacrifice. And we'll look upon Him out in
eternity, and this will be our thoughts. Behold the Lamb of
God. And he'll be as sweet then as
he was the day that he lifted up his voice. Oh, how fitting
then John's words, Behold the Lamb. Behold the perpetual sacrifice. But not only that, I imagine
as John saw the Lord Jesus standing there and he said, Behold the
Lamb of God, his thought not only went to those sacrifices
under the law, But I imagine he was thinking of the words
of the prophet that often mentioned the lamb. I remember the first
time it's mentioned. Moses mentioned it, and all of
us remember it well. Remember Abel's lamb? Abel was
a keeper of the sheep, wasn't he? A keeper of the sheep. First time it's mentioned in
all the Bible. And you remember the situation that Abel had found
himself in. I imagine the fall was so fresh
in his mind. So vivid. He had fallen. His brother had fallen. Because
his mom and dad had fallen. They had sinned against God.
And oh, how fresh it was. Because they could go there to
the gate, to the Garden of Eden. But they couldn't enter, you
see. There was that cherub there with that sword drawn, keeping
every way that no one could enter there to that tree of life. Oh,
the guilt was so fresh upon their minds. The fall. Oh, we're guilty. We're guilty. How fresh it must have been upon
their minds and conscience. But God had told him of the way
that he could be approached into. God had told them of the way
of reconciliation. How He would accept sinners.
He told them of it. And here this man believed it.
Abel believed it. And you know what he did? The
Scripture says he went out to his flock. And he picked him
out a healthy, fat lamb. And he cut its jugular vein.
And he ripped back the hide and opened it up where the fat would
be exposed. And he took this bloody lamb
in his arms and he approached him to God with it. And he laid
this lamb between him and the living God. He laid this lamb
between his guilt and God's offended justice. He laid it between his
shame and God's all-seeing eye. And you know what happened? God
said, I accept you, Abel. You're a righteous man, Abel.
I love you, Abel. Oh, I see you as white as the
driven snow, Abel. And he bore witness to that man's
heart. I've accepted you. I've accepted
all that you are. I've accepted your worship because
I've accepted your sacrifice. Oh, what a lamb to place between
your guilty soul and offended justice. And I wonder if John,
as he looked upon the Lord Jesus, I wonder if he wasn't thinking
within his own heart that he felt as Abel felt. He felt himself
to be such a wretched, fallen sinner. But he thought to himself,
behold the Lamb of God. Here is the one that is accessed
into the Father's presence. Here is one that is able to take
my sins away, and he shall take my sins away. He must have thought
of this Lamb as Abel did, because he not only said, the Lamb of
God, but he said, the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin
of the world. He takes away my sin. Oh, here
is my substitute. Here is my access to God. Here
is my righteousness. Here is Abel's Lamb. The Lord
Jesus came to John one day to be baptized of him. And John
said, Lord, you're coming to me. You're coming to me. He said, I'm the one in need.
You don't need me. It's me in need of you. I'm in
need of you. That's the way Abel felt. Do
you feel that way this morning? Is that the way you feel? Or
do you feel like you need access to the Father? Oh, but your guilt
has just eaten your conscience up, and you're afraid of offended
justice? Behold the Lamb of God. Behold
Him. By His blood, you can approach
Him to the holiest of all, even God's sacred and blessed presence. Behold the Lamb of God. I think John probably had his
mind on another scripture the prophets told of. Another scripture
very familiar to you and I. You find it in the Genesis record
in chapter 22. We remember this well. The Lord had told Abraham to
take his son Isaac up on Mount Moriah and offer him there for
a sacrifice. Remember that? Offer him there
for a burnt offering. Offer your only son for a burnt
offering. And they were going up the hill,
and Isaac looked over at his father, and he said, Father,
here's the wood, and here's the fire, but where is the lamb? You can't approach unto God,
Father, without a lamb. You know that. You've taught
me that. Where's the lamb? And Abraham made this statement. He said, My son, God shall provide
him a lamb." Oh, how full that is. How full that one little
verse is. God shall provide. Abraham was a man who was strong
in faith. He gave glory to God. And here's
the way he did it. He said, God shall provide. Who among us can stand this morning
and say pertaining to this life that God hasn't provided? All
of us are here this morning because God in Heaven has provided everything
we needed for this life. Hasn't He provided? Oh, there's
things that we want, but He's provided what we need. Has He
not? Could all of us not say that
this morning? Yes, we could. God is a God that provides. And when we say this, we have
to recognize this, how much more Has He provided what is required
for the life that's to come? He has provided all we need for
this natural life, but now Abraham says, God has provided a lamb. That's what we need to prepare
for the life to come. A lamb. Oh, as John looked upon
Jesus of Nazareth. I like to think that the Holy
Spirit whispered to his heart and said, John, God hath provided. There he is. There he is, John. God hath provided. Brother Scott
Richardson used to say, what God requires, only God can provide. And what God hath provided, He
will accept. And I tell you this morning,
behold the Lamb of God. And this is what you'll learn,
that not only does God accept the Lamb, but God accepts you
in the Lamb. Behold, God hath provided. But old Abraham says something
else, and listen to this. Not only shall God provide, but
God shall provide Himself a Lamb. Some men have asked the question,
what does that mean? Does that mean that God will
provide for Himself a lamb? Well, it means that, doesn't
it? But it means more than that. It means that God will provide
Himself for a lamb. Who is this man, as John looked
upon Him? Why, it's God in our humanity,
isn't it? It's God in the flesh. We read
the context of my text this morning. And what does it tell us? In
the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word
was God. And down in verse 14, the Word
was made flesh. God was made flesh. Who is this
Lamb? It's God. Oh, behold God, the
Lamb. No wonder he was so excited. When John says, Behold the Lamb,
thirdly, he thinks this. He thinks of another incident
in the life of the Jews. You remember this also in Exodus
chapter 12. The Lord had spoke to Moses.
And He said, I'm going to pass through the land of Egypt for
you all dwell. And I will smite all the firstborn
of man and beast And against all the gods of Egypt will I
execute judgment. And I can do this, he says, because
I am the Lord. I've got a right to do this.
I have the authority to do this because I am the Lord. Who is the Lord, someone will
say, that I should obey Him? Who is the Lord that I should
fear His judgment? I am the Lord. That's enough.
That's enough. And here's what he tells Moses
to do. He tells him some things to do.
And he says, you tell Israel to pick them out a lamb of one
year old, in his strength, a male lamb. And the lamb is to be without
spot and without blemish. You are to keep him up for four
days and examine him. Make sure that he has no scars
or blisters or any infirmities on him at all. And then when
you find that he's without any blemish or spot, then you take
him in the evening, and you offer that lamb. And you take and catch
his blood in a bowl. And you take just some hyssop,
and you dip it down in that bowl, and you sprinkle that lamb's
blood over the door post. And you sprinkle his blood along
the side post. And then you get in that house
You get in the house behind that blood and you stay there in that
house. And then at midnight, when I
come back to smite and to destroy, I'll see the blood and I'll pass
over you and the plague will not be upon you to destroy you. You know why they call that the
Passover? Because that night God saw the blood and He passed
over the firstborn. He spurred the firstborn. Oh, can we begin to see this
morning why this great prophet, looking upon Jesus, said, Behold
the Lamb of God! Behold the pure, spotless Lamb
of God! Oh, John had never saw anybody
like Him, because there was nobody like Him. John was a poor sinner. John's mother and his father
were poor sinners. They were born sinners. John
had sinned. And his mom and dad had sinned.
All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. But he was
looking upon Jesus as nothing. And he says, I've never seen
anybody like Him. He's not a sinner. Oh, look at
Him. He wasn't born in sin. He was
born of a fallen woman, but He's not fallen. He has no sin! He cannot sin! Behold the spotless
Lamb of God! Oh, have you ever learned anybody
like him, brothers and sisters? Do you know any like him? We
can hardly relate to him, can we? He's so holy. He's so good
and just and pure. Behold the Lamb of God. And I'll
tell you how holy He is. I'll tell you how pure He is.
I'll tell you how precious to God He is. His blood can stay the wrath
of God from our souls. That's how holy He is. The just
for the unjust. He offered Himself without spot
to God. What a sacrifice! And God accepted
that sacrifice. And now when the Spirit brings
the blood and purges our conscience from its sin, then the justice
of God comes and says, I'll never smite again. I'm satisfied. Oh, has Jesus not delivered us
from the wrath to come? When He sees the blood, what
does He see? He sees purity. God smiles. And the awful wrath of God that's
likened to a plague, He passes over. He passes over. Oh, saint
of God, you don't have to fear death. Jesus has already destroyed
that. You don't have to fear the wrath
of God. He's already overcome that for you. He stayed there.
God has not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation. How? Through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Behold the Lamb of God. Oh, I think surely too that John
said, Behold the Lamb of God. His thoughts had to go to Isaiah
53. He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
yet He opened not His mouth. He is brought as a lamb to the
slaughter, and as a sheep before her shears is done, so He opened
not His mouth." What kind of a person was Jesus Christ? What
kind of disposition did He have? Oh, we know where He came from.
He came down from heaven. We know who He is. He is the
Son of God. We know He's the King of nations,
the King of kings, and the Lord of lords. But what's He like
in His heart? Can He be approached into? Can
people like us approach Him? Can we feel free and relaxed
in His presence? Yes, we can. Have we not read
of the gentleness of Christ? I like that little rhyme, Mary
had a little lamb. I love that. I love that. Why didn't Mary have a lion?
Why didn't Mary have a bear? Oh, we think of those things.
You don't lead a little bear around, do you? You'd never trust
a child with a lion. But Mary had a gentle, kind lamb. Oh, the Lamb of God, He is so
kind and so gentle. You and I can approach Him today.
I love that passage where he says, smoking flax, I will not
quince. Do you ever feel like that? You
can't even see the flame within you. There's no heat. Your profession
seems so weak. Your faith seems so dim. You're
like smoking flax. But here comes the gentle Savior.
And He says, I know that and I'll never quince it. Sure, your
faith is little, but I gave it to you and I'll never quince
it. A bruised reed that's almost ready to break. Yeah, but He
won't break it. He won't despise it. What does
He do? He comes and gently holds it
up. I am meek and lowly in my heart. Behold the Lamb of God. I used
to be so afraid of Him. I lived my teenage years scared
to death of Jesus Christ. The devil used to tell me, he's
come to destroy you. All he is, is just a judge. And
everything you do, he's marking it down. And someday he's going
to bring you up there, and he's going to destroy you. And I found
out who he was, and what he was like, and how I could approach
him to him. You may not want to lay down
with an old goat, but a lamb? A lamb? Oh, He's accessible,
dear soul. Go to Him. Don't be afraid of
Him. He came to the common people,
did He not? When He came, He didn't associate
with kings and governors. The common people heard Him gladly.
The sick, the afflicted came to Him, and He turned not a one
away. He could not do it. That's not
the way He is. He's gentle as a lamb. Oh, may God give you ears this
morning. May God give you a heart to see
just what kind of a Savior we have. A lamb. A lamb. You may not be able this morning
to approach Him to a king or a mighty person or a rich person,
but you can approach Him to Him. Notice something else about this,
and I'll quickly come to a close. When we get such views of the
Lord Jesus as John did, behold the Lamb of God. How does that
affect our attitude? Well, look back here in verse
27. Look in verse 27. Here's how this affects our attitude.
I want my attitude to be right, don't you? I want it to be right
before God. I don't want to be proud. He
hates a proud look. Those who walk in pride, He's
able to obey. I want to have right thoughts
of myself. I want to walk humbly before You, not as a show, but
truly in my heart. Well, here's the very way to
have a good attitude and to maintain that attitude. Always be beholden
to the Lamb of God. Here was a man who did. Said
it twice. And look at his attitude in verse 27. He it is who coming
after me is preferred before me, whose shoes latchet I am
not worthy to stoop down and unloose. I tell you, to stoop
down and loosen the latchet of someone's shoes, that's the most
humble of services. And John said, I'm not worthy
to do that. It didn't have anything to do
with shoes or the latchet. It's who's wearing those shoes. It's whose feet it is. Oh, John
said, look at me in His presence. That's what it's about, ain't
it? When we stand in His presence, what do we see? We see the glory
of God in this man. Look at His redeeming glory.
Look how high He is. And look how He stooped down.
And look what He's done for me. Wretched hell deserving me. And
look at Him, how good and high He is. And John said, oh, I'm
not even worthy to bow at His feet. Oh, what worthy thoughts
of ourselves we have, brothers and sisters, when we view Christ
as He really is. And who is it? I love that statement
in Colossians chapter 2. Paul says, in Him, in Jesus Christ. Get this, what a magnificent
statement. In Him dwells all the fullness of God bodily. There is an object that you can
look at and you can see the fullness of God. Yes, there is. That's Jesus. This man, this
Lamb, all the eternal perfections of God, you see in Him? Oh, my soul, what a statement.
And John said, I've got a view of Him. I've got a view of Him.
And I don't even feel worthy to bow and unloose the latchets
of His family. But what does He bid us do? Oh,
come and bow down at His feet, but look up into His face." Yes,
we're unworthy. Yes, we're unworthy. But He bids
us look. Does He not? Is this not the
Holy Ghost speaking to this man? Behold! Behold the glory of God! Where do we see the glory of
God? Moses asked God one day, he said, oh, show me your glory. And God says, you can't see My
face and live. Is that what He told him? You
can't see My face and live. That's what He told Moses. But
He tells us, look at My face and you shall live. Where do
we see God's face? Where do we see His redeeming
glory? In the very face of the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, go to
His feet. Go humble yourself at His feet. Yes, you feel unworthy. But,
oh, look up into His redeeming face and by faith see Him, this
redeeming Christ. And I tell you, He will change
you. I know preachers bless their hearts. They try to put believers
under the law. They try to keep them in line
by preaching hell to them. You know how to get believers
to love. to love one another and forgive one another and be
kind and generous and tender. You know how to do that. Just
keep telling them, Behold Christ. Behold the Lamb. That will keep
you in the right attitude. That will keep you where you
should be. Two more things and I promise you, I haven't been
too long. I want you to turn right quickly. Two quick things.
I want you to turn quickly to Luke. I want you to turn to Luke. Chapter 3. And this is along the same line,
right quickly. I wanted to say this. Some people
have, you know, the idea that you folks just preach Christ.
You just preach Christ. We do. And that's a compliment
for me. And it is for you. We just preach
Christ. But they said, when you preach
Christ, you just forget about good living. Well, here's a man
that says, Behold the Lamb of God. And look at his attitude. And look how he lived. Look here
in Luke chapter 3. Here were some people that had
been hearing John. Behold the Lamb of God. And they came to
him one day, different types of people. In verse 10, look
at this. And the people asked John. And
they said, What shall we do then? You're telling us to behold the
Lamb of God. Is there anything else now that we should do? Look
what he says in verse 11. He answered and said unto him,
He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none.
And he that hath meat, let him do likewise. I tell you what,
those who behold the Lamb of God are some of the most generous
people in this world. And they don't give just to be
seen. They'll give in secret. They won't let their right hand
know what their left hand does. They're generous people. They
are. That's what beholding Christ
will do for you. Oh, how He gave His self for
me. I'll give myself now for His people. And look in verse
12. Then came the publicans, the tax collectors, to be baptized.
And they said unto Him, Master, what shall we do? And He said
unto them, exact no more than that which is appointed you.
What do you tell them? Be honest. You have a job, be
honest on your job. You have duties to do in this
world, you be honest in your duties. Don't you lie, don't
you cheat, don't you steal, be honest. Oh, that's a Christian
virtue, ain't it? And I tell you, that's a telltale
sign for everyone who beholds the Lamb. He's an honest person. He's not going to harm you. He's
not going to lie to you. He's not going to cheat you.
He cannot do it because he's beholding the Lamb. And look
in verse 14, the soldiers likewise demanded of John said, and what
shall we do? And he says, have you beheld
the Lamb? Are you beholding the Lamb of God? Then here's what
you'll do. Do violence to no man, neither
accuse any falsely. Consider it. See that? Consider
it. Don't go to people's houses and
knock on their doors and put them in fear. Don't threaten
them with jail time or punishment. Be considerate. You know what
beholding Christ will do? I'll tell you what it'll do. When you go down to the restaurant
and you order your meal, you'll make certain that you got a good
tip to leave the waitress. Even if you have to leave off
the dessert because you don't have enough money. Brother Mahan
said one time, grace shows itself in how we treat those who serve
us. Ain't it so? Be considerate,
John said. Be considerate to those who are
under you. And notice this, contentment.
And be content with your wages. Contentment. Contentment. Ain't that wonderful? How can
we live such a life? Behold the Lamb. Behold the Lamb. Lastly, I've got to confront
you with this, dear soul. And this is the only bad part
of my message. And it's this. And this is a
dreadful thing. It's dreadful to think of. Revelation
chapter 6 and verse 14. Speaking of the end of time,
the heavens departed as a scroll when it's rolled together. And
the islands were moved out of their place. And the kings of
the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief
captains, and the mighty, and the slaves, and the free men,
they hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks and said, fall
on us and hide us from the face of him that sits on the throne. Now get this. and from the wrath
of the Lamb. For the great day of His wrath
is come, and who shall be able to stand?" Oh, what an awful,
awful concept. Hugh, you and I have been talking
about the Lamb, a gentle Lamb that we can approach Him to.
And now we read about the wrath of the Lamb. And it's awful. It's so bad that they, in just
perceiving it, hide me from Him. Hide from the face of the Lamb?
Yes. Because I've offended His mercy.
I've rejected His Gospel. Oh, to sin against the Ten Commandments,
that's bad. To despise the law of God, that's
bad. But to despise the Son of God?
To sin against the Lamb? How could we face Him if we do
that? I had a young man, he was a teenager,
when I went to school with him, and he was very meek and very
gentle, but boy, he was so strong and stout. But we picked on him. We abused his kindness and his
gentleness. And one day he came in, and I
saw a look on his face, And I thought, boy, I'm going to avoid that
man. I'm never going to pick on that boy again. I knew that
we had abused His mercies. We had abused His gentleness.
And He was laying wait then. The first one that said anything
to Him, I knew was going to incur that young man's wrath. That's what this wrath of the
Lamb is about. You're here this morning at God's
appointment. None of us are here by accident.
I have not preached this message by accident. I have not told
you the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world by
accident. Is He dealing with your heart
today? Is He dealing with your conscience? Has He made you concerned? Oh, dear soul, seek Him now.
I'm not talking about going home and seeking Him. I'm talking
about this very instant, give your heart up to Jesus Christ.
Come to Him and cast your soul upon Him. All your sins, all
your burdens yourself. And do it while He's a gentle
Lamb. So someday you won't have to be with these men. Hide me.
Hide me from His face. God bless His message. Let's
pray.