Exodus chapter 12, let's begin
reading in verse 1. And the Lord spake unto Moses
and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, This month shall be unto
you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of
the year to you. Speak ye unto all the congregation
of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall
take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their
fathers, a lamb for an house. And if the household be too little
for the lamb, Let him and his neighbor next unto his house
take it according to the number of the souls. Every man according
to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb
shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You shall
take it out from the sheep or from the goats, and you shall
keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. and the
whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the
evening. And they shall take of the blood
and strike it on the two sideposts and on the upper doorposts of
the house, wherewith they shall eat it. And they shall eat the
flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleaven bread, and
with bitter herbs they shall eat it, eat not of it raw, nor
soften at all with water, roast with fire, his head with his
legs, and with the pertinence thereof, and ye shall let nothing
of it remain into the morning, and that which remaineth of it
into the morning ye shall burn with fire. And thus shall ye
eat it, with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and
your staff in your hand, and ye shall eat it in haste." It's
the Lord's Passover. For I will pass through the land
of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the
land of Egypt, both man and beast. And against all the gods of Egypt
I will execute judgment. I am the Lord. And the blood
shall be to you for a token upon the houses where you are. And
when I see the blood, I will pass over you. And the plague
shall not be upon you to destroy you when I smite the land of
Egypt. And this day shall be unto you
for a memorial, and you shall keep it a feast to the Lord throughout
your generation. You shall keep it a feast by
an ordinance forever. Seven days shall ye eat unleavened
bread. Even the first day you shall
put away leaven out of your houses. For whosoever eateth leavened
bread from the first day into the seventh day, that soul shall
be cut off from Israel. And in the first day there shall
be an holy convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be
an holy convocation to you, no manner of work." shall be done
in them. Say that which every man must
eat, that only may be done of you. And you shall observe the
feast of unleavened bread. For the selfsame day have I brought
your armies out of the land of Egypt. Therefore shall you observe
this day in your generation by an ordinance forever. In the
first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, you
shall eat unleavened bread until the one and twentieth day of
the month at even. Seven days shall there be no
leaven found in your houses, for whosoever eateth that which
is leavened, even that shall be cut off from the congregation
of Israel, whether he be a stranger or born in the land. You shall
eat nothing leavened in all your habitations, shall ye eat unleavened
bread." so One day when heaven was filled
with His praises, One day when sin was as black as could be,
Jesus came forth to be born of a virgin, dwelt among men, my
example is He. Living, He loved me. Dying, He saved me. Buried, He carried my sins far
away. Rising, He justified Freely forever,
one day He's coming, O glorious day! One day they led Him up
Calvary's mountain, One day they nailed Him to die on the tree. Suffering anguish, despised and
rejected, Bearing our sins, my Redeemer is He. Living, He loved
me. Dying, He saved me. Buried, He carried my sins far
away. Rising, He justified freely forever. One day He's coming. O glorious day! One day they left him alone in
the garden. One day he rested from suffering
free. Angels came down o'er his tomb
to keep vigil. Hope of the hopeless, my Savior
is He. Living, He loved me. Dying, He saved me. Buried, He carried my sins far
away. Rising, He justified freely forever. One day he's coming, O glorious
day One day the grave could conceal him no longer One day the stone
rolled away from the door Then He arose over death He had conquered,
Now is ascended my Lord evermore. Living, He loved me. Dying, He saved me. Buried, He carried my sins far
away. Rising, He justified freely forever. One day He's coming, O glorious
day. so One day the trumpet will sound
for His coming. One day the skies with His glories
will shine. Wonderful day, my beloved one's
bringing. Glorious Savior, this Jesus is
mine. Living He loved me, dying He
saved me. Buried He carried my sins far
away. Rising He justified. freely forever. One day He's coming, O glorious
day. That chorus summarizes the gospel
as well as any chorus I know of. Living, he loved me. Dying,
he saved me. Buried, he carried my sins far
away. Rising, he justified. Freely
forever, one day he's coming. Oh, glorious day. 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 to have you all with us.
And we're so pleased to have Paul and Mindy Mahan. Thank you
for that song, Matt, and that trumpet. I really did enjoy that. So scriptural,
isn't it? That song, 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, and I do not say politely,
that you're The 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, 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 11. verses four through seven. And Moses said, Thus saith the
Lord about midnight, when I go out into the midst of Egypt,
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 that 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 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. 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 doctrine. 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, singing,
wherein is the good way, the truth, and the light. 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. How blessed. 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. 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.
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, but 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 an 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 are 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.
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? Len'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
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. 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 am 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. The 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? No? 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. Fact. Said, done. God said, I have spoken it, I'll
do it. When He said it, it's 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 for, no, he did predestinate. I will and you shall. The 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 to the 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. 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 God. 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 potency. 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 worked at 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. He is the potter, and we are
the clay. How different is our God than
their God? That's the difference. He's the
different. 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. There
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's said there in verse eight, 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 theirs, 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 it not? God with us. Call His name, Emmanuel. What's
that name? God with us. Call His name, the
Everlasting Father, the Mighty God. That's our God. They said
in Isaiah 25.9, 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
Siddqun, the Lord, our Righteousness. Jehovah Raya, the Lord, our Shepherd.
Isn't it? He is God. I am that I am. He said it. 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. Now, 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. 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, she
was speaking to her hairdresser about her God, and what her hairdresser
finally said to her was, 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? Scripture talks about those who
love God. All things, I quote it, work
together for good to them that love God. That means those who
have God, God has revealed Himself to them as God, and they love
Him to be so. Do you not love God being God,
Clarence? 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 12. Israel had
a lamb. Egypt did not. This is particular
redemption. Is it not? God, through 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, here is
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 this. They know
what their redemption is. They know what their peace with
God is. They know what their salvation is. There's no doubts.
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. All
Israel, 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, huh? And
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. 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 offering? 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. 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. it up, the whole thing,
carefully. And she was talking about peace,
peace, peace. And she quoted several verses
of Scripture, blessed are the peacemakers, 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 in 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 no one is. 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. 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 this blood, and death, and
so forth? The soul that sinneth must hear
it. What is all this talk? Do you hear that today? You do.
But in the world? It's kind of like Malachi. Where is the God of judgment?
Malachi said that. Where is 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. Huh? 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, Mother Clare, didn't they? You and I read,
we see it. What is it? Paul wrote in Romans
1, the wrath of God is clearly revealed from heaven 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. We're going to have
to pay the claim. a hurricane and weave it in and
out of the western Indies and the islands and so forth, and
shake 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 there say that God did that? The 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 play, but the Israelites
plainly did? God made the difference. God
blinded their mind. He hid this thing from the wise
and prudent, and revealed it unto His people. Proverbs 8 is the first that
says it's all plain to Him that understands. It's all right for
them to find knowledge. They clearly see this as the
hand of God, clearly see His eternal power in Godhead and
His wrath revealed from heaven. And that God, the pledge, this
is no cunningly devised fable, as Peter said. This is truth. This is no fairy tale, this story
of Israel. It's truth. 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 were 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 brand put 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 lovely, spotless,
sinless, like this lamb here, the righteous one, he who was
righteous and made sin for us, the innocent one who died for
the guilty. And the bloody death of the Lamb
of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, 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? 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 Tom? Did he? Wherever there was blood on a
doorpost in the little. 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. Blood. 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 this of the blood of the Lord
in his broken body. But look now at verse 7 in chapter
12. It says, They shall take of the
blood, and strike it on the two side posts on the upper doorposts
of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. Who did that? Who put
this blood on the doorpost? Did every single person put this
blood on the doorpost? No. As I said, there were weak
people in those houses. There were children in those
houses. Who did this? 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-sided pump. The elders put that blood
on the doorpost. And what this represents is the
value of God. He's the one that applies his
blood to his people. He's the one. 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. 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 God, 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 are
some who have the blood upon them. We can't see it, can we? Huh? But God looks on the heart. That
the heart may believe it. Understand that? 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, he says. 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. 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. Oh, my. 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. They said there was never a cry
like this. But Israel, there was not a house
with one dead. 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 crime. None
whatsoever. Why? Because God justified. Because Christ died. That's why. That makes a difference. He makes
a difference. The blood of the Lamb. We're
taking this table tonight. which is a blessed thing. Brother Rich kept praying in
the 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 shall 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, he said, you eat my flesh and drink my blood, you have
no part in it. What's that mean? 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. That's a debated 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? Eat it,
he said. flesh. Roast with fire, that's
a symbol of the Lord enduring a fiery wrath and judgment of
our God upon him. Hell fire against the unleavened
bread, that's his sinlessness. Bitter herbs, we eat it remembering
the bitterness of our own sin. Verse 9, eating out 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.
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 ye eat it with your loins girded. Girt
with the truth. Your loins girded. Your shoes
on your feet. Your shoes. 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?
Donna, 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? 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 forty years. I've never worn out. Forty years. There's some folks
in here that have been hearing the gospel probably that long.
Has this gospel worn out yet? Does it still fit you well? Like
an old pair of shoes. I 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 staff. This is a staff,
thy rod and thy staff. Comfort now. Staff's 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. Our nanny will be
50 years old this year, in case anyone didn't know. So will Len, so will Todd, so
will Mende. Fifty. She was seventeen yesterday
when I started dating her. It's like a vapor. What is your
life? A vapor. It really is, isn't it? It really
is. A vapor. Time to show her. 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. None. 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 and Him crucified. 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. and
them an Egyptian. They all, every one of them,
looked back, and they saw that God. 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 mantel. 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.