Isn't this great to bring the
new year over and the new year in with our beloved family? I
feel just so blessed to be here and to get to share this with
all my loved ones, my family. And we're so pleased to have
our friends from the Redeemer Baptist Church in Louisville
with us. Quite a number of you. Glad having you all with us.
And we're so pleased to have Paul and Mindy Mahan, Gabe and
Hanneke Stoniker. Paul's going to preach for us.
Paul's a dear friend of this congregation, has been for many
years, and we're looking forward to hearing you preach. So you
come up and preach to us. Thank you for that song, Matt,
and that trumpet. I really did enjoy that. So scriptural,
isn't it? That song. For one day the trumpet
will sound for His coming, Paul wrote, and the trumpet shall
sound. And I enjoyed that very much. It's good to see you all. It's
a privilege to be here and an honor that I do not take lightly
that your pastor has asked me to preach here. We have come
a long ways. for me to do this. And I certainly
hope it's more than just a sermon. I hope the Lord, first of all,
the Lord will be glorified. And I hope you, I hope God's
people will be edified. That's my real heart's desire. Go with me to Exodus Exodus 11,
and let's read verses 4 through 7. And all the firstborn in the
land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that
sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maid
servant that is behind the mill, and all the firstborn of beasts. And there shall be a great cry
throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it. nor shall be like it any more.
But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move
his tongue, against man or beast, that ye may know how that the
Lord doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel." The Lord doth put a difference
between the Egyptians and Israel. What a vast difference between
what you hear Sunday after Sunday after Wednesday and what the
world hears. With each passing year, the truth
such as you hear of who God really is, the living and true God,
and who Christ is, the true Christ, and what salvation really is,
the truth. With each passing year, it becomes
more and more scarce, doesn't it? And when people hear it, when
people hear the truth for the first time, they say, as they
said to Paul at Mars Hill, They say, what is this strange doctrine? They say, he seems to be one
that sets forth a strange God. Don't they? But the fact is,
and they say, let's hear this new doctrine. But the fact is,
this gospel, this truth, the truth, is not new at all. but is the old, old gospel, or
as Jeremiah put it, the old path, path, sing it, wherein is the
good way, the truth, and the life. I've entitled this message,
An Old Message for the New Year. The Old Message for the New Year.
And how blessed you are, how blessed I am, we are, to hear
the gospel, the gospel, time and time again. The old story
of how the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt is the gospel story. If you look at the preaching
of the apostles in the New Testament, most of the time what they did
was go back and recount what the Lord did with Israel, how
the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt. The word Exodus means
that, doesn't it? Bringing out. Well, that's the
gospel story. That's our story. If you're true
Israel, this is your story. Egypt, as most of you know, Egypt
was a modern, civilized nation. A civilized nation like Rome
later on, like the United States of America now. Egypt represents
the world. It always has in the scriptures,
hasn't it? Represents the world. Now God did not love Egypt. He did not love the Egyptians.
It's very clear, isn't it? He said, I'm going to destroy
it. But God had a chosen people whom he loved. Israel. God loved Israel. God chose Israel. And God's will and God's purpose
was concerning Israel. Of which purpose Egypt played
a part. Everything about Egypt played
a part in the purpose of God concerning Israel. God's elect,
Israel, were in Egypt. They were living in Egypt. They
were working for Egyptians. They were not of Egypt. And God would soon bring them
out. Though they were in Egypt, they were not of Egypt because
why? The Lord put a difference between
them. We're going to see that in a
moment. And as it was with Israel then, so it is with the true
Israel now. Didn't Paul say, he is not a
Jew which is one outwardly. Not all Israel are of Israel.
But he is a Jew which is one inwardly. God's true chosen Israel. True Israel. And so as it was
with Israel then, God's elect, so it is with Israel now. The true circumcision. God's
elect. God has an elect people whom
He loved before the world began. Whom He chose before the world
began. Chosen by God. This is the old message, isn't
it? I don't have anything new or novel to bring to you. It's
a new year, but this is an old, old message. God has an elect
people whom he loved before the world began and chose out of
the world. And God in his eternal saving
purpose concerning his elect, of which all the world plays
a part in that purpose. Purpose to bring these people
out of the world. And they are in the world. Our
Lord said they are in the world, but they're not of the world.
For the Lord God hath put a difference between them. What's the difference? What is the difference between
God's people and the world? Well, first of all, God Himself
is the difference. Go with me to Exodus chapter
3. Go back to Exodus chapter 3. God himself is the difference. We worship the living and true
God. God who is God. We worship the
Christ who is Christ, don't we? The difference is Christ himself. That's the difference. Like Paul
the apostle, he said, we know whom we have believed. You remember
Elijah of old? He stood up and said, How long
halt ye between two opinions? Who's God? Who is God? If God is God, serve Him, believe
me. We know whom we have believed,
don't we? Our God is God. Who He is and why He came, who
Christ is and why He came, what He did and where He is now, we
know, don't we? Even our children know, at least
in their head, how blessed we are. As I said, I thought this
was a fitting message to bring in the new year to go all the
way back to the beginning. This is what every believer first
heard when God Almighty revealed to you Himself and His Son. This is the message. And it hasn't
changed, has it? You who have sat here for years,
and Brother Todd reminded us of when you all first started
meeting in, was it Paul's apartment? Whose apartment? Lynn's apartment.
Twenty-six years ago. And the message hasn't changed,
has it? This was the message that God Almighty used to awaken
you, to reveal Himself to you. When God revealed Himself to
you, He is God. He is God. Not trying to be God.
He is God. He's not like the gods of the
Egyptians, man-made gods, gods who cannot say, but He is God. This is the message. Israel's
God was unknown to them at first. They were just like the Egyptians.
They did not know God. I imagine they were idolaters,
as the Egyptians were, but God. chose them, and God Almighty
revealed Himself to them, the living and true God. Look at
verse 7. God Almighty, it says, the Lord said, I have surely
seen the affliction of My people which are in Egypt. I have heard
their cry by reason of their taskmaster, for I know their
sorrows. For whom He did foreknow, He
did predestinate. These people whom God foreknew,
He chose and He predetermined their destiny. It was His purpose
to bring them out of Egypt. His purpose. Look at verse 8.
He said, And I am come down. Here's their salvation. It's
of the Lord, isn't it? I am come down to deliver them
out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up into the
land. That sums up what the Lord has
done. I have come down to bring them
out, to bring them up." And that's exactly what our God has done
in the person of His Son. Well, did He? God promised that
He would do that. Did He? He sure did. Yes, He did. He did it, the Scripture
says, with a strong hand He brought them out. With a strong hand.
And He had decreed this salvation. God Almighty had decreed this
salvation. He promised this salvation. He
purposed this salvation. And when He did that, it was
fixed. When God Almighty said, I'm going
to do this, it was fixed. It was absolutely, unalterably
fixed. Look at verse 12. He said to
Moses, he said, Certainly I will be with thee. Moses was the deliverer.
And he said, This shall be a token unto thee that I have sent thee.
When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, you
shall serve me. I will and you shall. That's
our gospel, is it not? That's the truth. that God Almighty,
when He said He would do this in the beginning before the world
began, it was fixed. It was certain. The salvation
of God's people was unalterably fixed. Isn't that good news? He said, I will and you shall. You remember the Latin lesson
I gave you one time when I was here? I told you it's all the
Latin you need to know. Two words, dictum, factum. Dictum, factum. Said, done. God said, I have spoken it, I'll
do it. When he said it, as good as done. Known unto our God, what's the
difference? Known unto our God are all his
works from the beginning of the world. Our God is God. And when He spoke it, it was
as good as done. As good as done. For whom He
did foreknow, He did predestinate. I will and you shall. Salvation
of God's people was predestined and fixed before the world began. That's our God. That's our God. What's the difference? Look at
verses 13 and 14. The Lord revealed Himself to
Moses and told him to tell them who He was. Verse 13 and 14,
Moses said unto God, Behold, when I am come unto the children
of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers
hath sent me unto you, and they shall say to me, What is His
name? What shall I say unto them? Who is your God? What is He like? What's His name? Tell them, the
Lord said. God said unto Moses, I am that
I am. And he said, Thus shalt thou
say unto the children of Israel, I am hath sent me unto you. Our God is the I am. That means the eternal, ever-present,
unchanging, immutable, unchanging God of gods. I am. Over in Exodus 34, he said, proclaim
my name. Here's my name. He said, I am
the Lord. I mean the only sovereign. The Lord, not a lord. The Lord
of lords. I am the sovereign. I am the most high potentate. The Lord of lords. I am the Lord. Reigning, ruling, doing as I
will. The difference? Between our God
and their God, our God does as He will. Their God does what
they let Him do, what they will let Him do. Our God worketh all
things after the counsel, the predetermined counsel and will
of His that He made before the world began. Their God changes,
is fickle and finite. Our God is God. I am the Lord. He said, tell them I am the Lord
God. The name God means creator. The
name God means the maker of all things. God. He is the potter. Mark, he is the potter and we
are the clay. And the clay love it that way.
Clay has no say. Do that. He is the potter and
we are the clay. How different is our God than
their God. That's the difference. He's the
difference. God made Himself known to Israel
of old, revealed Himself to Israel of old, and He's doing the same
now. True spiritual Israel. Did not our Lord say, This is
life eternal, that they might know Thee, the only true God? The only true God, the only God
who is God. There can only be one. They can
only be one who has free will. Whoever really has free will,
that is, doing as they will, with whom they will, when they
will, because they will, that's God. Either man is or God is. God
is. God said, I will. I will. Our God is God. And we know,
look it said there in verse 8, I love that verse, I am come
down. We know that the I am did come down, didn't it? God was
manifest in the flesh. He did come down, Brother Chuck.
He came down to deliver us. God was manifest in the flesh,
the I am. Who is Jesus Christ? Oh, what a difference there is
in our Christ. And there, huh? Our Christ is very God of very
gods, equal with the Father. Not just the Son of God, mind
you, but God manifest in the flesh. Is He not? Call His name,
Emmanuel. What's that mean? God with us. Call His name, the everlasting
Father, the mighty God. That's our God. They said in
Isaiah 25 and 9, they said, this is our God. He'll save us. We've
waited on Him. And when Christ came, like Thomas,
we say, my Lord and my God. So we are the Jehovah's Witnesses. Are we not? Jesus Christ is Jehovah. He is God our Savior. Jehovah
Sidken, the Lord our Righteousness. Jehovah Ray, the Lord our Shepherd.
Isn't it? He is God. I am that I am. He said, our
Lord Jesus Christ said, if you believe not that I am, You'll
die in your sin. And this is life. The Son of
God hath come, John said, and hath given us an understanding
that we may know Him that is true and we are in Him that is
true, even in His Son, Jesus Christ. And this is the true
God and eternal life. How blessed we are. And this
is the difference. God Himself, Christ Himself.
What's the difference? And you've spoken to people you
work with and your family and all, and when you declare this
God to them, the true God, when you declare the true Christ to
them, they do have to come to this conclusion, don't they?
We're worshiping different gods. My wife, her hairdresser, as
she was speaking to her hairdresser about her God, And what her hairdresser
finally said to her was, I hate your God. Well, all things work together
for good to them that love God. She made it known, didn't she?
Do you not love God being God? those who love God. I quoted
it. Work together for good to them
that love God. That means those who God has
revealed Himself to them as God and they love Him to be so. Do
you not love God being God, Clare? Aren't you glad that we don't
have free will? Aren't you glad that all things
are according to His will? Aren't you glad that you're the
clay in His hand? Aren't you glad? And what makes
the world exceedingly mad makes God's people exceedingly glad.
I am that I am and that He is. I am. And we love to have it
so. What was the difference between Egypt and Israel? God Himself. God made Himself known to them.
And the difference, Israel had a lamb. Go over to Exodus 12
that Brother Todd read for us. Exodus chapter 12. Israel had
a lamb. Egypt did not. This is particular
redemption. Is it not? God threw His preacher,
Moses, and how shall they hear without a preacher? God revealed
to all Israel that they must have a lamb. All Israel was given
this message. The Lord said, speak, verse 1,
speak unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, speak,
verse 3, unto all the congregation of Israel. All Israel hears this
message. You must have a lamb. All of Israel heard this message.
You must have a lamb. Without the shedding of blood,
there's no remission of sin. It is the blood that maketh atonement
for the soul. All Israel knows that. They know
what their redemption is. They know what their peace with
God is. They know what their salvation is. There's no doubt.
No gray area here with God's people. They all know that it's
the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ that covers their sin. It's the
blood of the Lord Jesus Christ that puts away their sin. Hall
history. They have a lamb. They have a
lamb. You know the story of Abraham and Isaac. Most everyone in here
knows this story well. Probably very few people in the
world know this story. How blessed we are that we have
this revealed. That when Abraham was taking
his son Isaac, which is one of the clearest gospel pictures
in all the world, taking him up to the mountain to offer him
as a burnt offering unto the Lord. Do you remember what Isaac
said? Isaac was carrying the wood and Abraham the fire. And
Isaac, that young man, walking up that mountain with his father,
said, Father, he said, here's the wood and here's the fire. Where's the lamb for a burnt
offer? That young man knew you cannot
approach a holy God without a lamb, without a substitute, without
a blood atonement. That young man knew that, and
I venture to say that every young person in this congregation knows
this, at least in their head, how blessed we are that Jesus
Christ made peace for us by the blood of His cross. There's a famous woman preacher,
so-called. If I called her name, you'd know
her well, but her name is not worthy of mention. But she has
a column in our local newspaper every week. And last week, around
Christmas time, she wrote an article on peace. That was the
title of it, peace. And that caught my attention.
I rarely read it, but I read this one. Read the whole thing
carefully. And she was talking about peace,
peace, peace. And she quoted several verses
of scripture, blessed are the peacemaker, and so forth. But
she did not one time mention Jesus Christ's name. Now you know, we know, our young
people know, He is our peace. How do we have peace with God?
The chastisement of our peace was laid on Him. He made peace
by the blood of His cross. We know that, don't we? It's so old-fashioned, so barbaric,
so bloody, so archaic that it's thrown out now. You don't hear
about the blood, do you? You do. How blessed you are. You hear about the blood time
and time again. I said one time, a fellow wants
to do some good preaching. Whether he has any liberty or
not, at some course during the message, he ought to at least
just holler out, blood! And it'll be a good message,
won't it? He is our peace. We know that,
don't we? A lamb, everyone must have a
lamb. And that lamb was well described,
wasn't it? We read it, a male, the first
year, first born male, spotless, beautiful lamb, an innocent creature,
a substitute. That's what this lamb was. This
lamb was to die in the stead of these guilty people. See,
these Israelites were all guilty. They were sinners. They all knew
this. They knew they were no better than the Egyptians. Isn't
that what Paul wrote in Romans 2? Are we better than that? No.
And know why? What's the difference? Israel had a lamb. God provided
Himself a lamb. God revealed to them they needed
a lamb. Where'd they all get this lamb?
They had to have a lamb for a house. But everybody had one. Where'd
they get it? All of a sudden, at a moment's notice, where'd
they get their lamb? God provided them all a lamb.
Everyone that needed a lamb had a lamb provided for them. Every house must have a lamb. Now, what is this talk about
peace with God and leaving a substitute and it's blood and death and
so forth? The soul that sinneth must surely...
Well, there's all this talk. You hear that today? You do.
But in the world, it's kind of like Malachi, where's the God
of judgment? Malachi said that. Where's the
God of judgment? You don't hear of Him anymore, do you? Before this Lamb was revealed,
God sent plague after plague after plague upon Egypt, didn't
He? Plague after plague after plague.
We read that and we look at it and we think, it's obvious. flies and frogs and lice and
hail and fire and so forth. It's obvious that God Almighty
is angry with this place. Shouldn't it be obvious? Apparently
it was not obvious to the Egyptians. Apparently none of the Egyptians
saw this as being the hand of God. All of Israel knew this,
Brother Clarence, didn't they? You and I read it and we see
it. What is it? Paul wrote in Romans 1, the wrath of God is
clearly revealed from heaven, didn't it? Against all unrighteousness
and ungodliness of men who hold the truth in unrighteousness.
That's what Romans 1 says. The wrath of God is clearly revealed.
And the same thing is happening today, young people. The same
thing is happening today. But men and women are willingly
ignorant of this, aren't they, Brother Brian? The only ones that seem to acknowledge
the hand of God are insurance companies, huh? Don't have to
pay the claim. But God Almighty will send a
hurricane and weave it in and out of these Western Indies and
the islands and so forth and snake that hurricane up Missing
Florida and Texas and hit the most decadent city in the United
States. The one that boasts itself of its wickedness. and wipe it
out. Does anyone acknowledge that? Does anyone take notice? Would
anyone dare say that God did that? It's a wrath of God, the
judgment of God. We do. God's people clearly see
it. What made the difference? Why
couldn't the Egyptians see this, this plague, but the Israelites
plainly did? God made the difference. God
blinded their minds. He hid these things from the
wise and prudent and revealed it unto His people. Proverbs 8 is a verse that says,
it's all plain to him that understands. It's all right to them that find
knowledge. They clearly see this as the hand of God. Clearly see
His eternal power in Godhead and His wrath revealed from heaven. This is no cunningly devised
fable, as Peter said. This is true. This is no fairy
tale, this story of Israel. It's true. And the God Almighty hated sin
then, and He hates it now, and He's going to punish it. He will
punish sin. And so the Israelites knew this. And the Israelites knew that
they themselves were sinners. They're no better than the Egyptians. But God, rich in mercy, for His
great love wherewith He loved these people who were no different,
no better, revealed to them Himself, told them He's going to have
mercy on them, told them He's going to bring them out. And
He'd chosen them out as a bran plucked from the burning. And
He gave them this lamb. What mercy! What grace! Blood, it's the blood, and I
provided it, God said. And He provided them with this
Lamb. And that Lamb is who? Who is that Lamb? I'd love to
ask the youngest child in here. Who does that Lamb represent?
Who does that Lamb represent, Molly? The Lamb. Who's the Lamb of God in the
Bible? Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is
the Lamb of God. John stood that day and said,
Behold the Lamb of God. There He is, the One prophesied
and typified from the very beginning. The Lamb of God, the sinner's
substitute. John said, We beheld Him, the
Only Begotten of the Father, the altogether loveless, spotless,
sinless, like this Lamb here, the righteous One, He who was
righteous, who had made sin for us. The innocent One who died
for the guilty. And the bloody death of the Lamb
of God, the Lord Jesus cried. The bloody death of the Lamb
of God, the Lord Jesus cried. The bloody death of the Lamb
of God, the Lord Jesus cried, put away all the sins of all
of God's people once and for all. He obtained eternal redemption
for them by the blood of His cross. That's the message. It hasn't changed. What made
the difference between the Egyptians and the Israelites? Every house
in Israel had blood over the door. And not one house in Egypt
had that blood. God said, when I see the blood,
in verse 13, I will pass over you. Did He? God promised. When I see the blood, there were
young people in those houses, there were babies in those houses. When I see the blood, not when
you see the blood, but when I see the blood, I will pass over you. That's the promise of God, wasn't
it, Brother Todd? Did He? Wherever there was blood on a
door post in the lintel, Did God smite? Was there death in
that house? No, sir. They did not see death. And our Lord Jesus Christ said,
He that liveth and believeth in me shall never die. You believe
that? Why? Because Christ died. Because He shed His blood. And
the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanses us from all sin. That's the message. It's the
blood. The blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
What made the difference? Particular redemption. Particular
effectual redemption. Here's something to note. We're going to partake of the
table in a moment, which is symbolic of the blood of the Lord and
His broken body. But look now at verse... 7 in chapter 12 says they shall
take of the blood and Strike it on the two side post on the
upper door post of the houses wherein they shall eat it who
did that? Who put this blood on the door pop? That every single
person put this blood on the door post. No As I said there
were some they were weak people in those hands There were children
in those hands who did it. I The elders did. Look down at verse 21. Moses called all the elders of
Israel and said, Draw out, take your lamb according to your family,
and kill the Passover, and you shall take a bunch of hyssop
and dip it in the blood that is in the basin and strike it
on the lintel and the two-side pope. The elders put that blood
on the doorpope. And what this represents is the
triune God. He's the one that applies his
blood to his people. He's the one. We don't make the...
Our faith doesn't make the blood of Jesus Christ effectual. Our
faith doesn't apply the blood of Jesus Christ to our soul.
Because the blood was shed, we have faith. Faith makes... Our blood makes faith effectual,
not vice versa. It's the blood that makes atonement
for the soul, not our faith. Faith simply sees that. Faith
simply acknowledges that. It's the blood, it's not my faith.
And I didn't put it there. How does the death angel, when
he comes through, and he said he will come through in the revelation,
he's coming through just like in Egypt. He said, I will smite
the land. But the same earth is reserved under fire under
the day of judgment. Not a fairytale. But there's
some who have the blood upon them. We can't see it, can we? Huh? But God looks on the heart.
With the heart man believeth unto salvation. And God looks
on the heart and he sees who is truly trusting the Lord Jesus
Christ, his shed blood. Why? How? Because he put that
faith there. Because they were given to Christ
in that covenant. And He had their names written
in His palm. He had their names on His breastplate,
on His shoulder, engraved in blood, His own blood. The foundation of God stands
assured, you see. Having the seal, sealed in blood,
the Lord knoweth them that are His. Because He died for them. And he applies this blood. The
Holy Spirit comes through the preaching of the gospel and gives
them faith. And he knows who they are because
they have blood on them. He goes, God says, gather my
people from the four corners of the earth. And how he knows
them is they have blood on them. That's who Christ died for. When I see the blood," he said,
I will pass over you. Did God smite Egypt? Yes, He
did. Verse 29, it says He did. Came to pass at midnight, the
Lord smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt. Verse 30,
there was not a house where there was not one dead. He said there was never a cry
like this. But Israel, there was not a house. with one death. Nobody. Not one Israelite died. And back
there in chapter 11, he said, when you're going out, I'm not
even going to let a dog bark at you. There is no condemnation
to them that are in fire. None whatsoever. Why? Because
God justified. Because Christ died. That's why. That makes a difference. He makes
a difference. We're taking this table tonight,
which is a blessed thing. Brother Rich kept praying in
a study tonight. What a privilege. What a privilege
we have. And this is. This is a privilege. Our Lord said, this do in remembrance
of me. He said to the Israelites back
then, he said, this is an ordinance forever. You keep this as an
ordinance forever. We are, aren't we? We're doing
the same thing. This is, Paul said, the Lord's
Passover. We have a Passover lamb. Christ
is our Passover lamb. We have an altar, don't we? Christ
is our altar. We have a lamb. The blood is
before the Lord. Christ, our Passover. And we're
observing what the Lord told us to do, this do in remembrance
of Him, as He told Israel. Look briefly with me in observance
of this table, verse 8. He said in verse 8 of chapter
12, they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire
and unleavened bread, and with bitter herbs shall they eat it.
They'll eat the flesh in that night. Scripture says today is
the day of salvation. Today. Right now. Tonight. Believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Our Lord
said, except you eat my flesh and drink my blood, you have
no part in it. What's that mean? To eat his
flesh and drink his blood. He said, he that doth eat the
flesh of the Son of God and drink his blood hath life in him. Eating
is a sign of life. You eat out of need, don't you?
If there's life there, you have to have food to sustain it. If
there's life there, you need it, you want it, you have a desire
for it, you have a taste for it, don't you? Blessed are they
that hunger. Do you have a need for the Lord
Jesus Christ? Have you tasted that He is gracious?
Is this gospel good food to you? Meat, indeed, to you? He said,
eat it, the flesh. Roast with fire. That's a symbol
of the Lord enduring the fiery wrath and judgment of our God
upon Him. Hail fire against the unleavened
bread. That's His sinlessness. Bitter
herbs. We eat it, remembering the bitterness
of our own sin. Verse 9, eat not of it raw or
sodden at all with water, but roast with fire, his head, his
legs, with the pertinence thereof. No watered down gospel. and a
complete message. Complete cry. Not a bone of his
shall be broken, huh? Complete cry. You are complete
in Him. Verse 11, he says, Thus shall
ye eat it. And verse 10, there's nothing
to remain in the morning. If we sin willfully, Paul wrote,
there remaineth no more sacrifice for sin. There remaineth no more.
There is no other sacrifice for sin. There's but one. One way, one truth. Verse 11,
he said, Thus shall you eat it with your loins girded. Girt
with the truth. Your loins girded. Your shoes
on your feet. Your shoes. Do you see that?
You look at it, your shoes on your feet. Everyone in here is
wearing shoes, aren't you? Whose shoes are you wearing?
Somebody else's. Your shoes. Is this gospel your
gospel? Paul said, this is my gospel. It's God's gospel, he said, but
he gave it to me. And it's my gospel. Is this gospel?
Not, is this gospel your gospel? What you've heard tonight, what
you hear every Sunday and Wednesday, is this your gospel? Not another
gospel. Is this gospel, the gospel of
God concerning His Son, declared to be the Son of God with power,
is this gospel your gospel? You profess this gospel before
the whole world. This is my God and this is my
gospel. I won't have another. Herein
I stand. I can believe no other. Huh?
Your shoes, shod with the preparation of the gospel. Your shoes fit
you well. They fit you, don't they? Does
this gospel fit you? The Israelites of old wore the
same pair of shoes for 40 years. They never wore out. Forty years. There are some folks in here
who have been hearing the Gospel probably that long. Has this
Gospel worn out yet? Does it still fit you well? Kind
of like an old pair of shoes. Wouldn't trade it for anything.
Your shoes. And he says, with your staff
in your hand, Your staff. You got your staff there? John,
you got your staff? You need a staff. This is a staff. Thy rod and thy staff. Comfort
now. Staff is a walking stick is what
it is. Your staff in your hand. It's what you lean on. This is what you lean on. Can't
walk without it. Can't walk without it. We walk
by faith and faith cometh by hearing the Word. Your staff
in your hand. And you eat it in haste. Time
is short. 2009. Do you remember the millennium
rolled around? That was yesterday, wasn't it?
Yesterday. Claire and Andy will both be
50 years old this year, in case anyone didn't know. So will Lynn, so will Todd, so
will Mindy. Fifty. She was seventeen yesterday
when I started dating her. It's like a vapor. What is your
life? Vapor. It really is, isn't it? It really
is a vapor. Time is short. This thing is
urgent. Eat it in haste. Eat it in haste. It's urgent. The message we preach is urgent.
Young people, this is urgent. It's the Lord's Passover. This
is what we're eating. There's nothing in this bread
and wine. It's just that. No sacred elements. But it represents sacred elements. It represents the broken body
Christ crucified and the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ,
which every believer knows is their salvation. Christ did Him
crucify. And this is symbolic, and what
we do is in remembrance of Him, the Lord's Passover, that God
Almighty said, all in Christ, He will pass over. He will show mercy to you. When
I see the blood, I'll pass over you." And Israel of old, they
walked out of, just like God promised, just like God decreed,
God said, I will, and they did. He brought them out with a strong
hand. You know that every single Israelite that was brought out
of Egypt knew what it was, what the difference was in them
and the Egyptians. They all, every one of them,
looked back and they saw that blood. That's the reason. If one of the children, and he
said in the Exodus there, he said, when your children ask
you, what do you mean by this servant? You tell them. It's
the Lord's Passover. We're doing this in remembrance
of how the Lord brought us out of Egypt, the salvations of the
Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ. How He was made peaceful by His
blood. Look, son. Look at that doorpost. Look at that lamp. That shed
blood of that innocent lamb is why we're walking out of here.
That's why we're free. That's the mercy and the grace
of God upon us. And in heaven today, as I speak,
as we meet, they're all shouting unto Him that loved us and washed
us from our sins in His own precious blood. Oh, may the Lord reveal
Himself and His Lamb to you. May the Lord bless you.