It is my prayer that before you
leave here, you can with confidence declare,
while God and I shall be, I am His and He is mine. Brother Tim James says that will
do when the world is on fire. Let's turn to Leviticus chapter
23. Leviticus chapter 23, verse 4. These are the feasts of the Lord,
even holy convocations, which you shall proclaim in their seasons.
And the 14th day of the first month at even is the Lord's Passover. The first feast, the very first
holy convocation, the very first season of divine worship, that
with which they were required of God to begin every new year
was the feast of the Passover. It is here called the Lord's
Passover. Now, this Feast of the Passover
coincided by God's providence with the last of the Egyptian
plagues. It is very intimately connected
with the next feast that begins the next day, the Feast of Unleavened
Bread. But let's look today just at
the Feast of Passover, the Lord's Passover. The Lord God determined. that he would in judgment kill
the firstborn in every house in all of Egypt. And there was
not a house in the land of Egypt where judgment did not fall on
that night. From the house of Pharaoh to
the house of the lowest servant in the land was one found dead
except in the house of the children of Israel. Among the children
of Israel who were bondmen in the land of Egypt, where there
was blood sprinkled on the doorpost and on the lentil, where the
Passover was kept because a lamb had been slain, there was not
found any mark, any trace of death or judgment at all. Because the Lord God had said
to his people, when I see the blood, I will pass over you. Now, the children of Israel were
not spared the judgment of God. Be sure you get this. They were
not spared the judgment of God because of their bloodline. They were not spared the judgment
of God because they were related to Abraham. They were not spared
the judgment of God because they were near akin to someone else
who was godly and believed God. They were not spared the judgment
of God because they were children of somebody who was faithful.
Not at all. They were spared the judgment
of God because of the blood on the door. You see, grace does
not come in bloodlines. Grace does not come to anyone
because of their connection to another person physically, emotionally,
or even spiritually. Grace comes because of blood
atonement made by Jesus Christ at Calvary. Grace comes to sinners
chosen, redeemed, and called of God Almighty. And the only
way any sinner ever obtains God's saving grace is because of, and
as a direct result of, Christ's blood atonement as our sin-atoning
sacrifice. In fact, this is clearly what
the Feast of the Passover speaks of. Turn, if you will, to 1 Corinthians
5. Just hold your hands here in Leviticus. Turn to 1 Corinthians
5. I'll address this a little more
next week if the Lord is willing, but for now just see this. It
was the blood by which the children of Israel were redeemed and the
blood by which we are redeemed. The blood that cleanses us from
all sin. The blood that makes us righteous,
accepted with God and saved. The blood and the blood alone. The blood, the precious blood
of Jesus Christ. It was by divine arrangement
that our Lord Jesus Christ was slaughtered by the hands of wicked
men at the time of the Jews' Passover. You can read it in
the first verse of Luke chapter 22. It was the time of the Jews'
Passover when they came to arrest him, brought him to Pilate, and
finally put him to death. Here in 1 Corinthians 5, verse
7, Paul tells us why. He says, purge out the old leaven
that you may be a new lump. As you are unleavened, that is,
you have been made pure by the grace of God, made pure by the
imputed righteousness of Christ, made pure by his precious blood.
For even Christ, our Passover, do you see that? Christ, our
Passover, is sacrificed for us. Therefore, let us keep the feast.
the feast of unleavened bread, the feast of the Passover, not
with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness,
but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. Now this is what Paul says, since
Christ Our true Passover has satisfied the wrath and justice
of God for us, since Christ, by His blood atonement, has canceled
all our sin, put away all our guilt, made us righteous and
holy before God, so that now we stand before God pure, righteous,
upright, justified, holy, sanctified, accepted in Him. Let us now keep
the feast. Nots. a carnal feast, the blessed
feast of faith, feasting continually upon Jesus Christ our Lord, feasting
upon Him as our true Passover by whom alone we have hope before
God. The Passover was the annual commemoration
of God's deliverance of Israel out of Egyptian bondage. It was
a time of remembrance, a time of reflection, and a time of
celebration. Would to God somehow we could
understand that worshiping God is not laughter and gaiety and
party time. Neither is it strict, long-faced sobriety. But rather, it is reverent worship
in the celebration of redemption. It's all right to smile when
you celebrate. It's all right to laugh when you celebrate.
I've been redeemed. The Feast of the Passover was
a solemn reflection of God's goodness and God's mercy, bringing
the children of Israel out of Egyptian bondage and darkness
and a celebration of grace, celebrating the high praises of Jehovah for
what he had done. First, standing foremost in all
the Old Testament, as in the New, is the Lamb. Get this. That which is preeminent in the
Scriptures from beginning to end is a Lamb of sacrifice, the
Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. The Lamb is
always in the forefront in the book of God. The Lamb slain from
the foundation of the world. The Lamb slain here is the first
object held up to the view of Israel when they are about to
be delivered. The Lord says, I'm coming tonight. And I'm coming to bring you out
of Egypt tonight. I'm coming to perform my covenant
promise to you tonight. Now the first thing you need
to see is a Lamb. And when God comes to your soul
in saving grace, the first thing He causes you to see is the Lamb. Behold the Lamb of God that takes
away the sin of the world. The Lord Jesus Christ, the sin-atoning
Savior, God's sacrifice, God's Lamb is the very first thing
chosen redeemed sinners see in the experience of grace. Folks who call themselves preachers
talk about having difficulty seeing the matter of redemption.
Having difficulty seeing that Jesus Christ actually did put
away the sins of his people. Having difficulty seeing that
the Lord Jesus actually accomplished something with Calvary. Having
difficulty seeing that justice is actually satisfied. Let me
tell you something. When God saves a sinner, the
first thing he sees is that Christ put away his sin. That's not the last thing. That's
not something you learn as you study the book and get to be
a little brighter. That's what God teaches sinners in the very
inception of his saving grace. Christ the Lamb has put away
my sin. The very first feast with which
God would have his people to worship him. The first feast
which God gave the children of Israel, which God, the God of
all grace, required them to keep. The very first day of the very
first year in the display of his providence and grace is the
Feast of the Lamb, the Feast of the Passover. How gracious
our God is. He delights in mercy and he meets
his people. a covenant people in the land
of darkness and bondage into which they had brought themselves
by their own rebellion and unbelief. He meets them in the land of
Egypt with a lamb of sacrifice by whom he brings them out. Oh,
he delighteth in mercy. What grace! God meets sinners
with a lamb in his hands. God meets sinners with a lamb
of sacrifice that he has accepted. He meets us with that lamb that
is his own beloved son. Do you well sometime to sit down
and just go through the scriptures and mark how often, how frequently,
how constantly the Lord points us to the lamb. The Lord Jesus
Christ is the lamb of God. whose death gives us life. The very first recorded sacrifice,
the very first recorded death in the pages of human history
was the death of a lamb when God Almighty sacrificed an animal
and clothed our first parents in the garden, covering their
nakedness and symbolically putting away their sin. The very first
altar that was erected after the fall of man is an altar covered
with the blood of a lamb. Abel, God's servant, came and
worshipped Him with the firstling of the flock. The first act of
God in bringing Israel into the land of promise, the very first
act of God in taking that nation out of darkness and out of bondage
is an act of sacrificing a lamb. The first deed of the new dispensation,
the very first word of the first preacher in the gospel age is
this, behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the
world. When heaven's door is opened for the first time and
a man's allowed to, by the Spirit of God, peer into the portals
of glory, he sees a throne. and a rainbow. He sees God sitting
on His throne. He sees the bow of God's covenant
and a lamb as it had been slain with the book of God in His hand.
And at the end, all the people of God say, worthy is the Lamb. The Lamb of God is everything
in the purpose of God. Everything in the redemption
of our souls. Everything in the song of praise.
Everything in divine revelation. Now, don't miss this connection. The lamb was sacrificed. But the sacrifice of the lamb
would give no comfort, would yield no peace, would offer no
assurance if there was even one person for whom the lamb was
sacrificed who didn't come out of Egypt. What good does it do to tell
a sinner, any sinner, that Christ died, and at the same time turn
around and tell him the death of Christ doesn't really do anything? Well, preacher, who on earth
would do that? Open your ears and listen sometimes. Just open
your ears and listen. To declare that Christ died for
men who yet perish under the wrath of God. To declare that
Christ died for men who must yet suffer the justice of God
for their sins, to declare that Christ died for some who yet
perish in everlasting damnation, is to declare to sinners that
Christ is a useless sacrifice. There's no comfort in that. There's
only mockery of God, mockery of justice, mockery of truth.
Oh, the comfort of Christ's redemption is this. There is no possibility
that any sinner for whom Christ has died shall suffer God's wrath
at all, ever. He put away our sins by the sacrifice
of Himself. He did not die in vain. All for
whom the blood was shed, came out of Egypt on the night of
the Passover. And all for whom Jesus Christ
shed his blood at Calvary shall be delivered from the bondage
and darkness, worse than Egyptian bondage and darkness, by the
power of God's grace at the appointed time of his love. The place of
feasting needs to be noted as well. The Jews were required
first to keep the feast in the land of Egypt. We read it back
in Exodus chapter 12. The feast had to be eaten before
they came to the land of Canaan or it could not be eaten in the
land of Canaan. They were required to keep the
feast while they were still in Pharaoh's bondage. You see, the
Passover was a feast of faith. A feast of faith. They did not have, now read the
book carefully, the Jews, the children of Israel, did not have
one speck of physical evidence to go on by which they could
say, yeah, the Lord is going to bring us out. Not one speck. Every plague only caused Pharaoh
to harden his heart more and increase their bondage and make
their servitude a more bitter servitude. Moses said, the Lord
sent me to deliver you. This is how he's going to do
it. And from the time he opened his mouth to the day they came
out of Egypt, they only got worse. There wasn't anything for them
to go on except God said it. God said, God said, we're going
out of here. God said, we're leaving this
place. God said, you take that lamb, sacrifice that lamb, put
his blood on the doorpost and the lamb, eat that lamb and put
your coat on your back and your shoes on your feet. You're leaving
this place. And you know what they did? They
believed God. Pastor. I don't have any evidence
that God's chosen me. I don't have any evidence that
God's redeemed me with the blood of His Son. I don't have any
evidence that the Lord's called me. I don't feel it. I don't see it. I don't sense
it. Quit looking at yourself! Believe
God. And I promise you, soon as you
believe Him, you're going out of this place. You're delivered. You're set free. The ransom is
found by faith. The ransom is accomplished 2,000
years ago. The ransom was accomplished before
the world began. But every sinner, believing God,
is delivered from bondage. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and thou shalt be saved. I had a preacher friend one time,
just recently, a good friend of mine said to me, he said,
you know, I don't dare make any statement to a sinner that implies
in any way that if he will, God will. Let me tell you something.
Let me tell you something. You believe and you shall be
saved. That's Bible language. And I don't care how much it
contradicts what men imagine. Our theology can get so precise
that we shut God out of everything and shut man out of everything.
The fact is the gospel brings God and man together. Believe
on Him, yes, life is yours. Believe on Him, God's already
given you life. Anybody who lives knows that.
But I'm telling you, believe, and you shall live. Believe,
and you're going out from under the curse of God. Now, let me
show you four things, and I'll wrap this up. Four things. Four
things that were essential to the Passover. Four things that
are still essential with regard to the true Passover, the Lord
Jesus Christ. Number one, sacrifice. The Passover
feast required a sacrifice. Not just any sacrifice would
do. We read in Exodus chapter 12 that the sacrifice had to
be a male, a male of the first year, taken from among the sheep
or from among the goats, And the sacrifice had to be altogether
without blemish. What a picture of Christ. A male. A man, but a man made of a woman. A man without blemish. God Almighty
come in human flesh to redeem and save His people, holy, harmless,
undefiled, and separate from sinners, because this man came
with no connection to our father Adam. This man came not as the
seed of Adam, but the seed of Abraham. He came not as the seed
of Adam, but the seed of David. This man is the God-man. He's a male of the first year.
Now, wait a minute. The Lord Jesus was 33 years old
when He died. The male sheep, the male goat,
in the first year is at the prime of its physical maturity and
strength. And the Lord Jesus Christ, having
lived the full life of a man in perfect righteous obedience
for us, in the prime of his life and strength, lays down his life
upon the cursed tree as our substitute, not from exhaustion, not from
old age, not from weariness, but in the prime of his kingly
strength, he said, it is finished, and willingly breathed out his
life, giving himself unto God as a sacrifice for sin. Turn
over to 1 Peter 3, verse 18. I want you to see the reason. Hear me now. Hear me now. No
sinner, no sinner could ever be saved. It was not possible
then, and it is not possible now. No sinner can ever be saved. God Almighty in His holiness,
justice, and truth cannot show mercy apart from a sacrifice. It can't be done. That's why
Christ died. Look in 1 Peter 3.18. For Christ
also hath suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that
he might bring us to God. How can he bring us to God? Suffering
for sins, the just for the unjust, being put to death in the flesh,
but quickened, raised up again by the Spirit. Okay, here's the
second thing. First requirement is a sacrifice. The second requirement is sprinkling. The blood of the Lamb had to
be sprinkled. Turn back to Exodus 12, verse
7. I want you to see this. When you found that, turn over
to the book of Hebrews. Hebrews chapter 9, look at both places. The Passover feast required the
slaughter of an innocent lamb. And secondly, the blood of that
lamb that was slaughtered had to be sprinkled. Exodus chapter
12, verse 7. They shall take of the blood
and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post
of the houses wherein they shall eat it. Before the sinner can
eat the feast, before the sinner can trust the Lord Jesus Christ,
the blood must first be sprinkled. Years ago, a man wrote a book
called Redemption Accomplished and Applied. Pretty good book.
And it needs to be understood. Redemption was accomplished for
us at Calvary. When Christ died, redemption
was done. We were justified when Jesus
Christ satisfied the justice of God. Redemption, however,
cannot be experienced until it is applied by God the Holy Spirit
in effectual grace. When God comes to the sinner,
when God sends his Spirit to the sinner, when God speaks peace
to the sinner, he does so by sprinkling the blood. Now, first
the blood must be sprinkled in heathen. It's got to be accepted
at the throne of God, represented in the mercy seat, in the Holy
of Holies, over here in Hebrews 9, verse 11. Christ being come and high priest
of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle,
not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building,
Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood,
he entered in once into the holy place," look at it now, "...having
obtained eternal redemption for us." Verse 14. How much more
shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered
himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead
works to serve the living God? If these Jews in the Old Testament
came in a ceremonial way, with a ceremonial sacrifice, to a
ceremonial altar, through a ceremonial priest, and knew when God Almighty
accepted the blood of that ceremonial sacrifice, they were ceremonially
purged. The Lord had accepted their sacrifice.
How much more shall we Bring to God the true sacrifice, on
the true altar, the true mercy seat, through the true high priest,
Christ the Lord, bringing Him, have a conscience purged from
guilt, purged from sin. Look in Hebrews 10, verse 22. The blood must be sprinkled in
heaven, but it's got to be sprinkled on you. How on earth can I ever
have my conscience purged from guilt? Oh, pastor, how can I
have my conscience purged from guilt only when God the Holy
Spirit, by the hyssop of His gospel, sprinkles the blood on
your soul and speaks peace? I can't do it, Rod, but He can.
He can. Look at verse 22. Let us draw
near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our
hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed
with pure water. Here I come to God Almighty. I came here to preach to you
this morning, and I can't tell you how dead
and empty, and cold, and lifeless, and barren, and hard this heart
was when I came into this place, when I first stood here to speak
to you. How dares a man in such wretchedness
come My conscience is clean before
Him because the blood has been accepted by Him. And my acceptance with God, my
perfect, complete, perpetual, absolute acceptance with God
does not in any way depend on me. It's Him. It's Him. It's Him. It's all Him. No wonder
the apostles said, you know, we were not redeemed with corruptible
things such as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of
Christ. As of a lamb slain from the foundation
of the world, without spot and without blemish. Precious blood,
because it's His blood. Precious blood, because it's
distinguishing blood. What made the difference? between
the Israelite and the Egyptian. What was there? What was the
difference? Oh, they dressed different. Don't
think that was it. Oh, the Jews, they strictly observed
what they'd eat. Don't think that had anything
to do with it. They were related to Abraham.
Don't think that had anything to do with it. What made the
difference? Moses' sons deserved to die just like Pharaoh's sons.
He was just as sinful a man as Pharaoh. The Israelites deserved
God's wrath just like the Egyptians. What made the difference? Just
one thing, Bobby Estes. Blood. Blood. God Almighty called you by His
grace and passed by everybody else in your household? How come
God Almighty called you by His grace and passed by everybody
else you were related to, had any association with? How come
God Almighty had mercy on you and passed by multitudes? How
come? Because of the mark of blood, that's all. That's all. It was distinguishing blood.
The blood of the Passover was protecting blood. The Lord God
Almighty said, when I see the blood, I will pass over you. Blood was Israel's shield. And
the sword of justice could never pierce that shield, could never
even strike that shield, much less pierce it. Turn over to
Isaiah chapter 31. Let me show you something. The picture is this. God Almighty sent the death angel
through the land of Egypt, the angel of judgment. We call him
the grim reaper. Sent him to take the firstborn
in every house of Egypt. But he said, you put the blood
on the door, on the side post of the linen. When I see the
blood, I'll pass over you. Now this is the picture. When
I see the blood, I'm going to step. between death and you. Oh, with God Almighty standing
between me and death. Oh, death, where is thy sting?
Look what it says in Isaiah 31, verse 5. As birds flying, so
will the Lord of hosts defend Jerusalem. Defending also He
will deliver it. And passing over, He will preserve
it. He redeemed you, He delivered
you, He passes over you, He'll preserve you. That's the blood,
protecting blood. How shall we enter into glory? By what right, by what merit,
shall God receive us at last? By what right, by what merit,
shall we stand before the throne of judgment? By the right of
blood atonement. That's all. And the blood was
delivering blood. Effectual blood. I've already
said this about as many ways as I know how to say it, but
I'm going to keep on saying it. It was the blood that saved. The Lord God said, I gave Egypt
for thy ransom. There is death for Egypt, but
life for Israel. Pardoned and set free, Israel
turns its back on the land of bondage and never went back to
bondage. The blood was the opening of
the prison doors. It's still the blood that sets
us free. Freedom by the blood! Freedom
by the blood! Freedom by the blood! That's
the message we preach. Justice called and mercy answered. Jesus' blood has satisfied. Yes, the blood, our guilt has
canceled. God the just has justified. Here's the third thing, required, essential to this Passover
feast, faith, faith. Back in Exodus 12 again, verse
8, the lamb had to be eaten. They
shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire and unleavened
bread, with bitter herbs they shall eat. Eat not of it raw,
nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire his head
with his legs, and with all the pertinence thereof, and you shall
let nothing of it remain until the morning. Thus shall you eat
it." There is no deliverance for your soul. There is no deliverance for your
conscience from the curse of God's law. No deliverance from
the bondage of that curse. No deliverance from the terror
of death, except you eat the lamb. Christ redeemed us at Calvary
and redemptions accomplished at Calvary and salvations of
the Lord and still say man must eat the lamb. I didn't say that,
our Lord did. I'll show you where. John chapter
6. John chapter 6, verse 53. Some of the early believers first
and second century, after the death of the apostles, were accused. Now listen to me. They were accused
by folks in high reputation. They were accused by brilliant
men and women. They were accused by people who
claimed to be the followers of Christ, of being cannibals. They really were. They said they
get together when they have the Lord's Supper and they eat flesh
and drink blood. Accused not because anybody believed
it. Accused because nobody understood what faith in Christ is. Accused
not because anybody really believed they were such barbarians, but
falsely accused because the only way to deride the gospel is to
make fun of the gospel, and the only way to keep folks from paying
any attention to it is to put a black slur on it. Now listen
to me. Our Lord said, you've got to
eat my flesh and drink my blood. But He wasn't talking about something
literal. Bobby's talking about faith. Faith. Verse 53, John
chapter 6. Then Jesus said unto them, Verily,
verily, I say unto you, Except you eat the flesh of the Son
of Man, and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whosoever
eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life,
and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat
indeed, and my blood drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and
drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. What on earth is that talking
about? Well, it ought to be simple as it can be. But let me see
if I can state it clearly. We went down to the Petersons
last night. Celeste had a feast. And she had good stuff. She had some macaroni and cheese,
two big pans of it. I brought one home. But you know
how pretty that macaroni and cheese is to look at? Wonderful
as it is to smell. Solid as it is to hold in your
hand. If all I did was look at it,
and smell it, and talk about it, and hold it, and even water
it around in my mouth, I'd be standing here skinny as a rail
starving to death. How do you get any good from
it? You eat it. Eat it. Stick a fork in there. Put it in your mouth. And now everything of any value
to that macaroni and cheese is mine forever. You can't get it
out of this body. It's mine forever. That's what faith is. James,
you take His flesh, His perfect righteous obedience. It's mine forever. All the merit of it, all the
good of it, all the worth of it is mine forever. We will have
another taste. It's mine. He didn't say, just
eat. He said, eat it. We continually
feed on Him. His blood. The blood which is
the life of the sacrifice. His blood. The blood of the incarnate
God. His blood. The blood of the God-man,
our Savior. His blood. The blood of God's
darling Son. His blood. The blood of infinite
marriage. It's mine. It's mine forever. And while God and I shall last,
I am His and He is mine. Did you get it? That's what faith
is. How do you eat the Son of God? With bitter herbs. With a broken heart. of repentance
without mixture. He said, don't you put any water
with it. No mixture. Don't water this thing down.
Take it just like it is. Entirely. All at once. And this will just
be almost too much to get. Unexpected hope. He said, he said, whosoever believeth
on me hath everlasting life. He said it. Put your shoes on
your feet, your coat on your back, your staff in your hand,
but I'm fixing to leave hell. He said it. I believe him. Here's the fourth thing. You've
got to have a sacrifice. Slaughtered victim. You've got
to have sprinkling of blood. You've got to have faith. Eating
of the sacrifice. And this dead sure is going to
come to pass. Deliverance. Come back to Exodus
chapter 12 one more time. Verse 40. You remember when Moses came
before Pharaoh. Pharaoh kept trying to drive
bargains with God. And he told Moses on one occasion,
he said, tell you what, buddy, you and the men, y'all go on
out and worship. And Moses said, no, sir, we're
all going out. And Pharaoh called him in again. He said, tell you
what, you and your men and your women and your children, y'all
go out and worship, but you leave the cattle back here. And Moses
said, Pharaoh, he said, Lucifer, He said, justice. He said, hell. He said, when we leave this place,
there ain't going to be one hoof of one calf left in Egypt. We're all going out. We're all
going out. We're all going out. And you're
going to deliver us. You're going to push us out.
You're going to push us out. Wonder what happened. Chapter
12, verse 40. Now the sojourning of the children
of Israel who dwelt in Egypt was 430 years. And it came to
pass at the end of the 430 years, even the selfsame day, which
day? The time of love, the day God
appointed. It came to pass that all the
host of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt. Who went out? All of them. All of them. Every Israelite,
everyone for whom blood was shed, all upon whom the blood was sprinkled,
every single one who ate the lamb, all went out upon the same
ground for the same reason at the same time. All of them did. And they didn't just go out.
Buddy, when they went out, they took all the good of Egypt with
them. All the riches of Egypt. The
Egyptians said, what do you need to leave here? We need your pots.
Oh, OK. We need your gold. Here it is.
We need your silver. There it is. We need your needing
troughs. Now take them! Take everything!
Just get out of here! And I'm telling you, when this
work is done and all Israel shall be saved, because the Deliverer
has come out of Zion, and we stand before God in the perfection
of heaven's glory. The nations of the earth, from
the beginning of time to the end of time, and all the kings
and peoples of the earth, from the beginning of time to the
end of time, And all the demons of hell and Satan himself shall
have lost everything, and we shall bring with us into heaven's
everlasting glory of deliverance all the good things of all time
forever, because the Lord God has delivered us. And then, then
we're going to keep a feast. A feast of fat things forever. Amen.