I've heard Brother Mahan say
a hundred times, I've heard him say it once, if a man can't preach
the gospel from the Old Testament, it's because he doesn't know
the gospel, and he can't preach the gospel. The Old Testament
is as full of the gospel as is the New, and the New it is explained
with greater detail and clarity, but the Old Testament contains
the same message. The book of Leviticus, that which
follows Exodus, is all about redemption, redemption by the
precious blood of Christ, the Lamb of God, as our sin-atoning
substitute. Everything in the book of Leviticus
typifies and portrays the accomplishment of redemption by Christ Jesus. But before we can know anything
about redemption accomplished for us, We must experience redemption
in ourselves by the grace of our God. Redemption by Christ
cannot be known except as redemption is experienced in the blessed
operations of grace. A lot of times people talk about
what you must know to be saved. You don't know anything to get
saved. Until God saves you, you are
an absolute blank. You know nothing until God puts
the light of his son in you. And when men and women are saved,
God causes the light of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ
to shine into our hearts. Redemption was accomplished before
ever we come to experience it, but it is only known when it's
experienced. I think it is perhaps for that
reason, if not another, that by the arrangement of divine
providence, we have the book of Exodus given to us before
the book of Leviticus. The book of Exodus is all about
the experience of grace. The book of Exodus is all about
the experience of redemption. The book of Exodus is all about
that which God's people experience in the blessed operations of
his grace, delivering us from all the horrible, horrible curse
of the law consciously in our hearts. Exodus portrays redemption
applied. Leviticus portrays redemption
accomplished. But no one can know that he was
redeemed by the blood of Christ at Calvary until the blood of
Christ is effectually applied to his heart in saving grace. Now, hold your hands here in
Exodus chapter 6. And let me show you this clearly in Ephesians
chapter 1. Ephesians, the first chapter.
This chapter of Ephesians, the first part of it, tells us all
about what God has performed for us perform for us from eternity,
and perform for us at Calvary. And then he gets to that which
God has performed and is performing in us. In verse 7, it tells us
what Christ has accomplished for us, this one in whom we were
accepted from eternity, in whom we were blessed from eternity.
He says, in whom, that is in Christ, we have redemption through
his blood. the forgiveness of sins according
to the riches of his grace. He obtained eternal redemption
for us when he died for our sins and entered into heaven once
with his own blood. But now we have it. It's mine
in the blessed possession of faith by the gift and operation
of God's grace. It is mine now. And look at it. This is how we came to have it.
Verse 11. in whom we have obtained an inheritance. We've already
obtained it, being predestinated according to the purpose of him
who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will,
that we should be to the praise of his glory who first trusted
in Christ, that we should be to the praise of the glory of
the triune God who put all the trust of his being into the hands
of his son as our mediator and redeemer. Now watch verse 13.
in whom you also trusted. After that, after that, after
that you heard, look at it, the word of truth, the gospel, what
blessed words, of your salvation. You who are born of God sat and
heard the word of truth for years, some of you. You heard it and
heard it and heard it. And then one day, you heard it. You heard it not as a message
that might somehow possibly apply to you, but you heard it by the
gracious, effectual operation of God the Holy Spirit declaring
to you. the gospel of your salvation,
the good news that Christ obtained eternal redemption for you, the
good news that the Son of God has saved you with his blood,
the good news that salvation is yours in Jesus Christ the
Lord, in whom also after that you believe. Now, I don't know
that there's a better way to translate those words, but it
is not as many imagine Here, the Apostle Paul is not here
talking about some kind of a second work of grace. First you heard
the word and believed, and then after that you were sealed. No,
no, no. In whom also, having believed,
might be a better translation, as soon as God the Holy Spirit
gives you eyes to behold his son. As soon as God the Holy
Spirit gives you faith in Jesus Christ, as soon as you look to
the Lamb of God by the gift of His grace, God seals to you all
the blessings of His grace in the experience of it by faith
in Christ. In whom also, having believed,
ye were sealed, sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise. Remember
God's requirement of circumcision in the Old Testament. Lots of
folks try to say that's talking about baptism, so they slosh
a little water on baby's faces and call it baptism. Has nothing
to do with baptism. Circumcision and baptism are
in no way at all related. Circumcision has to do with a
portrayal of an inward work of God's grace in the heart, that
circumcision made without hands by God the Holy Spirit when he
gives men and women life and faith in Christ. And that circumcision
that was the outward seal of the covenant made with Abraham
is that which portrays the inward seal of the covenant God made
with Christ on our behalf. I asked Brother Roundtree just
a little while ago how old he is. He'll soon be 84 years old,
just a few weeks. We'll try to remember. I tell
you, when you came to know that everything God gave you in Christ
before the world was, it was when God the Holy Spirit put
Christ in you and sealed it to you. How? Giving you faith. Giving you faith. which is the
earnest, the pledge, the down payment of our inheritance until
the redemption of the purchased possession under the praise of
his glory. Now, hold your hands here still
in Exodus 6 and turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 1. The Lord God had a
people in Egypt. They were his own people, his
elect. the people of his choice. They
had been grievously oppressed. They had been brought into horrible,
bitter, ignominious slavery. Yet his interest in their welfare
had in no way diminished. And all of these things that
appeared to show a lack of interest, a lack of concern on God's part,
were in reality but the work of that interest he had in them.
The Lord's purpose in sending Moses down to Egypt was that
he might bring that specific people, not another, but that
specific people, chosen people out from among all nations, and
make them a peculiar people unto himself. His purpose in sending
Moses was that he might give this specific people an inheritance,
even an inheritance which he had given to them in covenant
with Abraham 400 years before. And he would cause them to possess
that land, the land of Canaan that flowed with milk and honey,
and cause them to dwell there as his witnesses, as witnesses
of his boundless mercy, his infinite grace, his matchless goodness,
and his sovereign love. Well, how were they witnesses
to these things? They were just there. Now don't misunderstand me. Yes,
we are to confess Christ and we are to be as witnesses unto
him, proclaiming Christ to all men. But the very fact that God
Almighty put Israel in Canaan. It says God did that. Just the fact that they're there.
They could not have been there otherwise. And so it is with
us. The very fact that I stand before
you here among God's redeemed as one of his own. The very fact
that I stand before you in the land of the living, I'm talking
about those who live forever, is testimony to the fact God
did that. Don Fortner wouldn't be here
otherwise, and you wouldn't either. God did that. That which the
Lord God was doing with the land of Israel or with the nation
of Israel in the land of Ham is precisely what he's doing
with his elect throughout the world all the time. The great
object of gospel preaching is to gather out of the nations
a specific people. loved, chosen, and predestinated
by the triune God from old eternity, a people he has redeemed to himself
to be his peculiar heritage. No. It is not our ambition. It is not our purpose to have
all men saved. That's not what we seek. Our
Lord Jesus Christ came here to save his people. He seeks his
sheep. He redeemed his sheep. He calls
his sheep. And we are seeking by the grace
of God to call out his sheep in the preaching of the gospel.
Well, why don't you just preach to the elect? Because we don't
know who they are. We haven't a clue who they are until they're
called by his grace. And when God gives faith to a
sinner, well, there's one of his sheep. There's one he's called
by his grace. It must be a terribly frustrating
thing to those who vainly imagine that somehow Our business is
to get all men saved while at the same time acknowledging that
not all shall be saved, but only the elect shall. It's a terribly
confusing thing and frustrating and leads to terrible compromise.
The fact is the object of gospel preaching is the salvation of
God's Israel, the salvation of God's elect. We seek the saving
of God's people, the building of his kingdom for the glory
of Christ. Those people, all of them, loved
and chosen of God, redeemed by the precious blood of Christ,
his covenant people, must and shall be fetched by God unto
himself. just exactly as David fetched
Mephibosheth to him. That man for whom a covenant
was made long before he was ever born, David sent and fetched
him to himself. And he did it by his servant
Ziba. The scripture says David fetched
him. But Ziba's the one who went down there and said, Mephibosheth,
the king's called you. And Mephibosheth was brought
to David. You remember he was lame on both
his feet. He couldn't get there otherwise.
He was brought to David. Ziba went down and told him what
David had said, and somebody brought Mephibosheth there, and
he bowed before the king. That's exactly how God saves
every one of his elect. God fetches them, and he fetches
them by a means that no one would ever imagine. This great work
of grace is God's work alone. The Lord God says that he will
make his people a separated people, a peculiar people to himself,
in a distinct position by the distinct experience of grace.
And he declares, lo, the people shall dwell there alone and shall
not be reckoned among the nations. They shall be mine, saith the
Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels, and I will
spare them as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. It's
God's work alone. We will join with Miriam and
Moses and the children of Israel both today and in eternity, singing
with glorious praise to our God. He hath triumphed gloriously. The horse and his rider hath
he thrown into the sea. But God does this work by the
use of specific means. In great condescending grace,
in great goodness and mercy, God has chosen to accomplish
this work, the deliverance of his Israel out of Egyptian darkness
and bondage by the preaching of the gospel. Here in 1 Corinthians
1 verse 23, it is written, it pleased God by the foolishness
of preaching to save them that believe. But God only employs
instruments like Moses. The commentators give Moses a
rough way because of his reluctance to go. I understand his reluctance. I understand it. And I understand
it more now after preaching the gospel of his grace for nearly
47 years. that I understood it when I began as a boy 17 years
old. Moses knew he was totally unworthy to speak to a man on
God's behalf. He knew he was totally incapable
of faithfully, accurately delivering God's message. He knew it, and
he constantly spoke of it. And that's what he's spoken of
in chapters 3 and in 4. And now the Lord God is answering
him in Exodus chapter 6. But before you look there, I
want you to see that the only men God ever uses are men just
like that, men poorly suited for the work, utterly unworthy
to speak in his name, utterly incapable of the work. First
Corinthians 126, for you see your calling, brethren. Now,
the word doesn't just apply to the preacher. It applies to this
congregation and to any other assembly to whom God has committed
the trust of the gospel. Imagine that. We have this treasure
in earthen vessels, you and me. God has trusted us with his word,
with the gospel of his grace and glory. to proclaim around
the world for the saving of his people and the glory of his son. Well, what kind of folks are
these? Not many wise. Not many wise men after the flesh.
Not many mighty. Not many noble are called. But
God hath chosen the foolish things of the world. Some read that
God hath chosen Those things that appear to be foolish to
the world, that's not what it says. God has chosen the foolish
things of the world. Most unlikely man on this earth
to be sent of God to preach the gospel, the one talking to you
right now. Nothing to offer to anybody,
nothing. The foolish things of this world,
no one ever behaved more foolishly to confound the wise And I've
done a good job at that. And God hath chosen the weak
things of the world to confound the things which are mighty,
and the base things of the world, and things which are despised
hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not. Now that's just
about the right measure for Larry Brown and Don Fortner, nothing
nobodies, nonentities. That's what God's chosen. Look at one another. You see
your calling. Why did he choose such? To bring
to naught, to bring to nothing the things that are. And that's
what God does when he saves a sinner. He causes those who think they're
wise and mighty and great to be brought to nothing. before
his son, to count themselves fools before his son. And it
does it through the use of such things as we are, that no flesh
should glory in his presence. These first eight verses of Exodus
chapter 6 give us a very clear picture of what the Lord God
does in the saving of his people. Moses had gone to the Lord God
in the last two verses of chapter 5 and complained because the
children of Israel didn't hear him. And their troubles were
heavier than they had been before. And they blamed him for the trouble.
He had poured out his heart to the Lord and just unburdened
himself before God. In verses 1 through 5, God gives
him a very gracious answer, an answer by which he assures his
servant that what he promised he would perform. He said, Moses,
now you shall see what I shall do to Pharaoh. Now you shall
see the accomplishment of all that I have sworn to do. Now
you shall see the performance of every promise. And he makes
this assurance to Moses by two things. First, he declares to
him again who he is, reminds him of his name. And then he
shows him what he has already done. And on the basis of the
revelation of himself, and on the basis of that which he had
already done by his grace, he assures Moses, this shall be
accomplished. All right, let's look at it together.
First, the Lord God reminds Moses of his great name. He had revealed
himself to Moses in chapter 3 by his name Jehovah. By giving him
again the revelation of his name, he assures this man that he can
believe it. You see, the name of God, the
name of God is not just a word. The name of God is that by which
God reveals his character. When the scripture talks about
us calling on the name of the Lord, it's not simply crying,
Jesus, save me. No, no, no. That's not calling
on the name of the Lord. Everybody who gets in trouble calls on
the name of the Lord in that sense. They don't have a clue what they're
saying. To call on the name of the Lord is to worship the Lord
God as he has revealed himself in his son, Jesus Christ, our
Redeemer. And God reveals himself here
by his great name. Look at verse 1. Then the Lord
said unto Moses, Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh. For with a strong hand shall
he let them go, and with a strong hand shall he drive them out
of his land. Verse 2, And God spake unto Moses,
and said unto him, I am the Lord, I am Jehovah. And I appeared unto Abraham,
and unto Isaac, and unto Jacob by my name, God Almighty, that
is, El Shaddai. But by my name, Jehovah, by my
name, the Lord, I was not known to them. Now wait a minute. I
can show you repeatedly in the book of Genesis where Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob called him Jehovah. And Jehovah came and spoke to
Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. Well, what does this mean? By
my name El Shaddai, they knew me. But by my name Jehovah, I
was not known to them. God's revelation of himself throughout
scripture until the final coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and
the completion of the New Testament was a progressive revelation,
given line upon line, precept upon precept, exactly as God
Almighty would reveal himself. And the Lord God Almighty, Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit, revealed himself from the beginning to
his chosen. But he revealed himself a little
here and a little there. And I don't mean that they just
knew a little. When you know a little bit about God, you know
a lot. When you know him, you know a great deal. But he reveals
himself fully in the incarnation and the doing and dying of our
Lord Jesus Christ, the word by which he's spoken to us with
finality. So when the Lord says now, by
my name, Jehovah, I was not known to them, he's saying Moses. Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob knew me, just as you know me, but they didn't
know what I'm about to show you. They hadn't yet experienced what
you're about to experience. And he's talking about the deliverance
of Israel out of Egypt, which was the portrayal of our redemption
and salvation in Christ. Jehovah is his name. the name
by which he makes himself known to us distinctly as our eternal,
immutable, self-existent, life-giving, life-sustaining covenant God. He who is El Shaddai, God Almighty,
is Jehovah, our covenant God. He who is the Almighty is He
who has sworn to redeem us, who has entered into covenant for
us, and has pledged Himself and His glory to our everlasting
salvation. Now you can believe all that
He has promised He will do. Do you know Him by that character? If so, it's because He made Himself
known to you by that character. It is by this name, by the very
being of our God, that we are encouraged to believe Him and
to walk before Him with confident faith. Hold your hands here in
Exodus 6 and turn to Isaiah 40. The prophet had been sent and
commissioned of God to cry, preach the gospel to the children of
Israel. And he said, Lord, what shall I cry? What's my message
supposed to be? He said two things. You're nothing. Behold your God. Just two things. All flesh is
grass. Behold your God. What do you
expect from withering grass? Expect anything from it? Nothing. What are you going to do with
withered grass? Nothing. It's cut down. It's
blown away. It disappears. It's gone forever.
You expect nothing else. It's just withered grass. That's
what we ought to expect from all flesh, our own included. Now, behold your God. Look at
verse 26. Lift up your eyes on high. Quit
looking at Pharaoh. Quit looking at hell. Quit looking
at yourself. Lift up your eyes on high, and
behold, who hath created these things, that bringeth out their
hosts by number? He calleth them all by names,
by the greatness of his might. For that he is strong in power,
not one faileth. How long the stars burn? Just
as long as God keeps them burning. Read on. Why sayest thou, O Jacob,
And speakest, O Israel, my way is hid from the Lord, my judgment
is passed over from my God. Hast thou not known? Hast thou
not heard that the everlasting God, the Lord, the creator of
the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? There
is no searching his understanding. He giveth. He continually, constantly
giveth power to the faint. And to them that have no might,
he increaseth strength. Even the youth shall faint and
be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall. But they that wait
upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up
with wings as eagles. They shall run and not be weary.
They shall walk and not faint. I've told you before, but it
will bear repetition. There's a reason why the words
of scripture are given in the order in which they are given.
Looks like this passage ought to have read, they shall walk
and not faint. They shall run and not be weary. But it says, they shall run and
not be weary. And they shall walk and not faint.
as we wait on Him, as we confidently expect God to do what God alone
can do, as we confidently expect God to perform His word and His
promises, waiting on Him. That doesn't mean I'm waiting
on the Lord. No. And there's a huge difference.
It's the waiting of expectation. We run and never grow weary of
it. And we walk even through the
valley of the shadow of death without fear and never faint
as we wait on him. Now, when we get to waiting on
ourselves, David, the story is different. When we get to expecting
something from ourselves, it's another story altogether. So
connecting these two names together, back here in Exodus chapter 6,
connecting El Shaddai, the Almighty God, and Jehovah in the person
of our Jehovah Jesus, the Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior, we
are assured that what God has promised, he will perform. Oh,
how blessed we are to whom the triune God reveals himself in
the saving operations of his grace, causing us to behold the
glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Others know a lot about
him. Believers know him. And you can know a lot about
him and never know him. You can't know him without knowing
a lot about him, but you can know a lot about him and never
know him. This is life eternal. that they
might know Thee, the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom Thou
hast sent. This is our joy, and this is
our glory. That is, it is our confidence.
Listen to these words. You can look at them later in
Jeremiah 9. Thus saith the Lord, let not the wise man glory in
his wisdom. Don't put any confidence in that.
Neither let the mighty man glory put any confidence in his might.
Let not the rich man glory put any confidence in his riches.
But let him that glorieth, let him that trusteth glory or trust
in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me. that I am the
Lord, which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in
the earth. For in these things I delight,
saith the Lord." But when we start to look at ourselves, to
think of ourselves, to talk of ourselves, to seek satisfaction
in ourselves, to seek something in ourselves that we can lean
on, something in ourselves that we can depend on, something in
ourselves by which we measure our ability to do that which
God commands or measure our ability for God's ability to do that
which he said he would do. Then we meet with disappointment,
frustration, and failure constantly. Let me give you a couple of examples. In Job 29, we have a picture
of Job. Don't turn to these two passages,
but read them when you get home. It is, in my opinion, the saddest
picture we have of God's servant Job. Bildad, along with his other
friends, God save me from such friends, had been accusing Job
of a great deal. And Job had just about had enough.
And he starts to defend himself. And when you get to defending
yourself before men, you get in trouble. In Job 29, in 25
short verses, Job starts talking about what he had done and what
he had experienced. Glory in that. In 25 short verses,
he uses these words, I, me, and my, 39 times. In Ecclesiastes chapter 2, Solomon,
the wise man, spoke of all that he had seen and learned. He used
those same words, I, me, and my, 38 times in that short chapter. And he says, concerning it all,
it was all vanity, nothing but vanity. Our thoughts are at their
lowest. when our thoughts are turned
inward and we begin to look to ourselves for anything. And our conversation is at its
lowest when we begin to brag about what we know, what we have
done, what we are doing, what we've experienced. I told you. Some experiences I've had, first
time I was in California, in a matter of just a couple of
minutes, just a couple of minutes, two different fellows came up
to me. One of them introduced himself. I've forgotten his name.
I'm glad I did. And talked a little bit. He said, you'd be surprised
how much I know. And I said, I'm sure I would. And right behind him, another
one came up, and he said, He said, Brother Fortin, I want
to talk to you about something. He said, I want you to know I'm
a really spiritual man. Oh. You are? Such thoughts of vanity, pride,
self-righteousness, and you're headed for destruction. None
but God can rightly and truly speak much of I. And I can't tell you. How I love
to hear him use those words, I and me and mine. He comes to Moses now. He comes
to Moses and in this, these first eight verses, he uses these words
19 times to assure his servant Moses of his grace. He said,
Moses, put a hand over your heart and let it be still. Quit taking
deep breaths and just be still. Let your fears be silent. His
fear nots are always followed with I. Fear not, it is I. Fear not, I have redeemed thee.
Fear not, I have loved thee. I have called thee by thy name
and thou art mine. Fear not, I will be with thee. Fear not, I will keep thee. Fear not, I will uphold thee
with the right hand of my righteousness. It is constantly, fear not, I. And that's what God declares
here to Moses. The second thing. having reminded
Moses of his great glorious name, Jehovah, the almighty God, El
Shaddai. He reminds his servant of all
that he had done in the past for his people. Look at verse
four. And I have also established my covenant with them to give
them the land of Canaan and the land of their pilgrimage. wherein
they were strangers. I've established my covenant
with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to give them the land of Canaan,
the land of their pilgrimage, wherein they were strangers.
And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom
the Egyptians keep in bondage. And I have remembered my covenant.
Put the name of God to his promise, and add to his promise all that
he has already done. and doubt should forever be driven
from our hearts. God has established his covenant
for us. He's heard our groanings, and
he has remembered his covenant. He will never forget to be gracious
to his own. And then the Lord God follows
this word to Moses by giving him seven sure promises, promises
based on nothing except his glorious being and his immutable word. And he declares these promises
to Moses in the words, I will. Seven times, God uses these words,
I will. Oh, how wondrous they are. Look
at, he says in verse six, I am the Lord, and I will bring you
out from under the burdens of Egypt. What they needed was rest. And God said, I'll give it to
you. The same is true with us. Come unto Me, all you that labor
and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon
you and learn of Me, for My yoke is easy, My burden is light,
and you shall find rest unto your souls." We come to our Savior
by faith, and He gives us rest. And we quit trying to make bricks
without straw. But then we meet with trouble. It's something
that disturbs us. And until you quit kicking against
the bricks, until you quit fighting with God, you're going to meet
with nothing but more trouble. So our Savior says, take my yoke
upon you. Just like a well-trained ox,
when you see the yoke, just slip under it. Just slip under it. And you shall find rest to your
soul. Lord, do what you will. It's all right. You know best. Too good to do wrong, too wise
to err, too mighty to fail. Look at the next line. I will
rid you out of their bondage. I wonder why he used that word,
rid. I'm sure glad he did. I will rid you of every trace
of I will rid you of every trace of sin. I will rid you of every
trace of sorrow. I will rid you at last of everything
that's ever troubled you. And he makes a third promise.
He says, I will redeem you with a stretched out arm and with
great judgments. That's how redemption's accomplished.
by the power of his grace. But the power of his grace alone
never did and never could and never shall redeem anyone. Redemption
is accomplished by the power of his grace on the basis of
great judgment. Christ was made a curse for us
that the blessing of God promised to Abraham, his spirit should
be given to us in the power of his grace. Here's the fourth
promise. I will take you to me for a people. Christ has redeemed us to himself
a peculiar people. You're not your own. You're bought
with a price. He's taken you for his. Fifth,
I will be to you a God. Oh, isn't he God to everybody?
No, he's God over everybody. He's only God to folks who acknowledge
him so. And you shall know that I am
the Lord, your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens
of the Egyptians. All who are set free by him know
who he is, and they know the work is his alone. Sixth, I will
bring you into the land concerning the which I did swear to give
it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. But long and short
of it is, I will bring you to glory at last. But that's not
all. He makes a seventh promise. I
will give it you for an heritage. It was divided among the Israelites
physically. But we're heirs of God and joint
heirs with Jesus Christ in all the glory that the Son possesses
as our mediator. He says, I'll give it to you
as your rightful heritage because you've been made meet to be partakers
of the inheritance of the saints in light by my free grace through
my sin-atoning blood. The opening word of this message
in verse 6 was, I am the Lord. Notice the last word. You can
be sure of it, because I am the Lord. And that's the gospel according
to St. Moses. Amen.