It is in his name that we meet
together, especially at this particular time. It is his perfect
life and his precious blood which we extol and which we magnify
and which we revere and which we remember. Isaiah said he was
wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities.
By his stripes we're healed. And the second reason that we
assemble here tonight and observe this large table, we do this
in remembrance of our Lord, but secondly, he said as often as
you eat this bread and drink this cup, you show something. You show my death until I come. So that's the twofold purpose
in assembling about the table of the Lord for believers. They
do it in remembrance of Christ. If they cannot do it for that
reason, they must not do it in remembrance of Him. And secondly,
we show our Lord's death until He comes. And when He comes,
there'll be no more need to observe this table. We show it to whom? First of all, we preach the gospel
to ourselves again. This is a reminder to me of Him
by whom I'm redeemed. This is to me and for me. We're so prone to forget. We're
so prone to be taken up with other things and forget the most
important things. And we preach the gospel to ourselves
again and again and again by this table. And then secondly,
we show before God our hope and our faith. It's a new confession. We confess before Him that Christ
is our hope. Christ is our confidence. Christ
is our salvation. Christ is the object of our faith.
And then thirdly, we show to our children and our friends
and our neighbors and whomever may be present when we observe
this table. We try to show them that this
is our confidence. It's Christ, it's not ourselves.
I read a statement by Dr. Martin Lord Jones just a few
minutes ago. He said, as we grow in grace
and in the knowledge of Christ, we come to to certain conclusions,
and that is that all of our confidence is in Christ and Christ alone.
Secondly, we have no confidence in ourselves. And so we gather
here tonight to do this in remembrance of him, this do in remembrance
of me. And secondly, to show our Lord's
death until he comes, to show it again to ourselves. and before our God, and before
others, our neighbors and our friends and our family. And in
preparation for this occasion, I'd like for you to open your
Bibles to the record of the first Passover, Exodus chapter 11,
the record of the first Passover. I've made this presentation as
simple as I possibly can. with seven, there's seven things
to remember about this first Passover. This is the first Passover
found in Exodus 11 and 12. And there's seven things about
this first Passover to remember and to apply to what we do tonight. Brother Eccles read from Luke
22 and the Lord had met with his disciples to observe the
Passover. They were observing the last
Passover. The very last Passover. That's
the last one. He said, I have met with you
to observe this Passover before I suffer. When he suffered, he
suffered as our Passover. As the Passover of spiritual
Israel. So he's our Passover. Christ,
our Passover, sacrificed for us. And there is no Passover
now. Not a lamb. The Lamb of God has
died. And now we observe the Lord's
table. On the night that he observed the last Passover with his disciples,
he instituted this, the Lord's table. He is our Passover. So, but it all was born of this
Passover. It's the law of first mention
in the Bible. For example, the word grace is
first mentioned Genesis where it said Noah found grace in the
eyes of the Lord. The whole world perished under
judgment, under the wrath of God, but the whole world was
under condemnation, but the whole world got what it deserved, but
Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Mercy, free grace,
sovereign grace, particular grace, effectual grace, delivering grace,
sovereign grace, And that's what it means all the way through.
And when you take the first Passover, and pick out the seven characteristics
of this Passover, and apply it to what we're doing tonight,
you find out whether we're doing what we ought to do tonight.
And whether it means to us what it ought to mean. And whether
it's what our Lord commanded us to do. So here are the seven
things, and you jot them down, and then we'll apply them to
this Passover. Exodus 11 verse 4 through 6. And Moses said,
thus saith the Lord, about midnight will 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 sits upon his throne, even
unto the firstborn of the maidservant that's behind the mill, and the
firstborn of the beast, 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. The Egyptians had enslaved Israel. The first thing is this, there
was a problem, a severe problem. The Egyptians had enslaved the
Israelites and God was angry. God was angry. And God determined
to visit this world in wrath and judgment. That's the problem. God says I'm going I'm going
through the land of Egypt at midnight and in every home there'll
be death and There'll be a cry go up from the land of Egypt
likes never been heard before And I'll never be heard like
it again. What a terrible judgment That's
the part judgments coming. All right, secondly There was
a difference made look at verse 7 But against any of the children
of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue against man or beast,
that you may know how that the Lord doth put a difference between
the Egyptians and Israel. God chose Israel. God passed
by the Egyptians. God showed mercy to Israel, and
God sent his wrath upon Egypt. God chose to deliver Israel from
all condemnation, all judgment, and all death. And he chose to
deliver his wrath upon the people of Egypt. All right, thirdly,
now chapter 12, there was a lamb slain. In the first Passover,
there was a problem. There was a difference made by
God. And thirdly, there was a lamb slain. The way God makes the
difference is according to his righteousness and his justice.
All right, Exodus 12, and the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron
in the land of Egypt. This month shall be unto you
the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of
the year to you. Speak ye unto 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 a 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 soul. Every man, according
to his eating, shall make your count for the lamb. All right? Your lamb shall be without blemish.
A male of the first year. You shall take it from the sheep
or from the goats. You keep it up until the 14th
day of the same month, and the whole congregation, the whole
assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the
evening. There's a lamb chosen. There's
a lamb appointed, set apart. There's a lamb slain, his blood
shed. All right, then fourthly, there was a problem. God's wrath
is coming. There's a difference made. God's
going to deliver some people from his wrath. There was a lamb
slain, but it's going to be by the blood of the lamb. It's going
to be in a way that his justice will be satisfied and his righteousness
honored. as an act of faith. All right,
Exodus 12, verse 7. And they shall take of the blood,
all of the Israelites, slay the lamb, then take the blood, and
strike it on the two side posts, on the upper door post of the
houses, wherein they shall eat it. They shall eat the flesh
in that night, roast it with fire, and unleavened bread, with
bitter herbs they shall eat it. Eat not of it raw, nor sodden
with water. Don't mix the lamb with anything,
gravy, water, anything. Roast it with fire, his head
with his legs, and with the pertinence thereof, all of him, not part
of him, all of the lambs. And let nothing of it remain
unto the morning. That which remaineth of it, until the morning
you shall burn with fire. And thus shall ye eat it, with
your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, your staff in your
hand. Eat it in haste. The Lord's Passover. Eat it!
There's a lamb slain, and then there's an act of faith. Everyone
who believed that there was a problem, and believed that God had shown
them the light and made a difference, they slew a lamb, and they took
that blood and put it on the houses wherein they dwelt. And
they ate that lamb. They went in the house and sat
down and waited on the Lord. All right, fifthly, there was
a certain deliverance. Exodus 12, let's look at verse
12. And I will pass through the land
of Egypt this night, and I will smite all the firstborn in the
land of Egypt, both man and beast. And against all the, this is
not deities, this is princes and leaders, against the gods,
the princes, the leaders of Egypt. I'll execute judgment on the
Lord. And the blood shall be you for a token upon the houses.
This blood is not going to deliver you. It's a token of blood that
will deliver you. This animal blood is not going
to save anybody, but it sure is a picture of the blood that
will save everybody who believes. It'll be a token. It'll be a
token upon the houses where you are. And when I see the blood,
I will. Pass over you. The very one who says, I will
smite Egypt, says, I will pass over you. You believe in the
certainty of judgment, you believe also in the certainty of deliverance.
There is a certain deliverance. There's a certain judgment. God
will punish sin, but God will deliver his own. This is as certain
as that, and that's as certain as this. There's no mixture.
He will smite the rebel. He will smite it. He will deliver
the belief. I will pass over you. 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,
all right, here's the fifth, the sixth thing. All right, that's
fine. Now here's the sixth thing. There's a problem. There's a
difference made. There's a lamb slain. There's
an act of faith. There's a certain deliverance.
Now there's an unchanging sacrifice. Unchanging. For every generation. Listen. And this day shall be
unto you for a memorial. That's why we're here. Memorial. Remember. Remember. This do in remembrance. And this shall be for a memorial.
And you shall keep it. At peace. To the Lord. throughout your generations,
and you shall keep it, a feast by an ordinance, forever and
forever and forever and forever." This Passover was a picture of
that Passover, and that Passover is forever. Christ, our Passover. And I read about it at the beginning
of the service, about even in glory. 10,000 times 10,000 and
thousands and thousands. What was their song? The new
song. Thou hast redeemed us by thy
blood out of every kindred, nation, tongue, people. See, that's the
same passage. They're observing it there. Not
in elements, but in his presence. These people were singing the
praises of God who delivered them. We're singing the praises
of God who delivered us. In glory, we're going to sing
the same song. unto him who loved us and watched us from our sins.
So you keep it forever, forever. And then the seventh, the seventh
mark of this early Passover is an unchanging sacrifice and an
unchanging message. Now look at verse 25 of Exodus
12. And this shall come to pass when you be come to the land
which the Lord will give you According as he had promised,
he said, I will deliver you, I'll pass over you, and you're
coming into a land. You're coming into a land. Here
was Peter, God was about to slay everybody here, he's talking
about where they're going. They will surely be delivered. Now,
watch this, read on. According as he promised, that
you'll keep this service, and it'll come to pass when your
children shall say to you, What mean you by this service? What
are you doing and why are you doing it? Then you shall say,
it's the sacrifice of the Lord's Passover who passed over the
houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when he smote the Egyptians
and delivered our houses and the people bowed their head in
worship. That's the gospel you'll preach to your children. It's
an unchanging message unto him who loved us and washed us from
our sins. All right, let's Why don't you preach this message
along with me now? Let's take these seven things,
characteristic of this first Passover, and let's apply it
to what we're doing here. Number one, there's a problem.
There's a problem. God's angry. God's angry with
sin. He said, I will by no means clear
the guilty. The soul of the sinner shall
die. There's a judgment coming. It's
appointed unto me and wants to die, and after that the judgment.
And it'll be a judgment of God. God's judgment. There's a problem. But secondly, God's made a difference. Turn with me to Ephesians chapter
2. God's made a difference. You know, I talked about a while
ago, the first time that Grace is mentioned in the Bible as
the world was under the judgment and wrath of God, and then it
said, but God, but Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord,
but Noah found grace, but God. Look at Ephesians 2. God made
a difference. And you, you, the Ephesians,
hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses in sin? Were it
in times past, you walked according to the course of this world,
according to the prince of the pie of the air. the spirit that
now worketh in the children of disobedience, among whom also
we all had our behavior in time past in the lust of our flesh,
fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were
by nature children of wrath, under judgment, condemnation,
even as others, but God. God made a difference. He made
a difference down there in Egypt. He made a difference today. But
God, who is rich in mercy for his great love wherewith he loved
us, even when we were unlovely, when we were dead in sins, quickened
us together with Christ. By grace you're saved. God made
a difference. Another scripture I'd like for
you to read is 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. He talks in chapter
2 of 2 Thessalonians about people who are deceived, strong delusions,
believe a lie. 2 Thessalonians 2, 11, For this
cause God will send them strong delusions, that they should believe
a lie, that they all might be damned who believe not the truth,
but have pleasure in unrighteousness. But we are bound to give thanks
always to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because
God hath made a difference. God hath made a difference. God
hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification
of the spirit and belief of the truth wherein he calls you by
our gospel to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Oh, and thirdly, there was a lamb slain back then. It was a problem. God's wrath. There's a difference
made. God chose a people. But God provided a lamb. There's a lamb slain. And as
Israel was under the blood, when God passed through, we're under
the blood. And it's the blood of Christ
that keeps back the wrath of God. There's a Lamb slain. But then there's an act of faith.
Turn to Romans chapter 10. There's an act of faith. You see, it's not just hearing
this, about this Passover. It's not just being in agreement with this
Passover, it's believing this. It's acting upon the Word of
God. When the Lord told them to take
a lamb, they took a lamb. When he told them to put it up
and keep it for four days, they kept it for four days. When he
told them to slay the lamb, they slew it. When he told them to
roast it with fire, they roasted it. When he told them to eat
thereof, they ate thereof. When he told them to put the
blood on the door, they put the blood on the door. When he said,
go inside and sit down, they did it. They obeyed him. It's
an act of faith. And here in Romans chapter 10,
it says, that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus to be Lord,
and shalt believe in thine heart that God raised him from the
dead, thou shalt be saved. What is this confession? Well,
first it's in heart before the Lord. Believing God, believing
his word, believing the record he had given concerning his son
is believing God. I believe. Lord, I believe. It's
a confession before God. It's a receiving Christ, a submitting
to Christ, a believing Christ, and actually in my heart, believing
Him, confessing before God. But there's a confession before
men. The early church confessed Christ in baptism. The early
church identified with the people of God. The early church worshipped
God. The early church took the Lord,
they met together to break bread from house to house, daily. They
shared, they helped one another, they walked in God's commandments.
They believed God. That's what these people did,
they put the blood on the door, outside! Somebody says, well, I believe,
God knows I believe it. I won't bother about putting
any blood out there, He knows I believe it. He said, put the
blood out there, on the outside. They believed it on the inside,
but they believed it on the outside, too. Put it on the door. Put
it on the door. That's what we're doing with
this supper. Same thing they did. They took the lamb, roasted
it with fire, and ate it. They took the blood, put it on
the door. We're coming here tonight, we're taking this bread publicly,
openly, before God and before men. We're eating it, drinking
that which represents his blood, confessing Christ. Two ordinances,
baptism in the Lord's table, confess Christ. A lot of other
ways we confess Christ, by obeying Christ. All right, fifthly, there
was a certain deliverance. John chapter 6, I'd like to read
that in reference to this deliverance of ours. God said, I will pass
over the land of Egypt and I will smite the firstborn. But he said,
when I see the blood, I will pass over you. And John 6 verse
37 says, all that my father giveth me shall come to me. And him
that cometh to me I'll in no wise cast out. For I came down
from heaven not to do my own will, but the will of him that
sent me. And this is the father's will which has sent me, that
of all which you've given me I'll lose nothing, nothing. Raise
it up at the last day. This is the will of him that
sent me that everyone with sea at the summit and believe it,
may have everlasting life. I'll raise him up at the last
day, no doubt about it. This is certainly his judgment,
is his mercy. And then there's an unchanging
sacrifice. He told them to observe this
forever. There's an unchanging sacrifice. There's an unchanging
way of grace. There's an unchanging way of
salvation. I keep reading. all of these
religious writers, the present-day current writers, and one of the things that seems
to just get in their craw and they can't get it out is the
narrowness of true Christianity. They just can't understand why
you and I and others who believe the word are uncharitable when
it comes to the way a man's saved. But the Bible, over here in the
Passover, there was one Passover. He couldn't change it. He wouldn't
let them change it. He killed everybody who tried
to change it. He told the priest to carry the ark, Uzzah. He said,
well, I'll help him. And God killed him. He told the
priest to offer a sacrifice, and Uzziah said, well, I'm the
king, I'll offer one. God killed him. The sons of Abram,
God told them to bring certain fire from the altar and burn
the incense. They put strange fire, and God
killed them. You see, it's no compromise. It's a lamb. It's roasted. It's eaten with
unleavened bread. And the blood's on the door,
no other way. And the gospel is Christ. the Lamb of God, His
righteousness, His blood, there's no other way. And we can call
it fanaticism or being uncharitable or call it anything you want
to, but Christ said, I am the way, the truth, and the life,
and no man comes to the Father but by me. There is none other name under
heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. Other foundation
can no man lay than that which is laid, Christ the Lord. And
I'm not at liberty to change that. I don't want to change
it. But any attempt to change it is always through the Bible
brought God's wrath and condemnation. And I have no plans to even try
to alter it. And I'm awfully sorry when somebody
says, well, I can't see that. Well, I'm sorry that you can't
see it. But there's a problem. God's
made a difference. There's a lamb. There's an act
of faith in the blood of that lamb. There's a certain deliverance
for those who believe that lamb whom he chose. And it's an unchanging
sacrifice. There's none other name unto
heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. That's just
it. And I know modern religion denies
that and you'll become the butt of their jokes and their hatred
and they'll separate you from themselves and they'll kill you
like Cain did his brother Abel. because God had respect to Abel's
sacrifice and refused Cain. And Cain was angry at God, but
he couldn't touch God. He killed his brother. This is one of the things that
has brought the disfavor of most of religion in this town upon
this church, because the gospel which we believe It's not the
way that we assemble, or the way that we worship, or the way
this, or the way... It's the gospel we believe. It's
the gospel of substitution and satisfaction. It's the gospel
of God. It's the gospel of a lamb slain. It's an effectual gospel. And
I'll tell you, that message is unchanging. That's the seventh
thing. He said, when your children ask you, what does this mean?
Tell them what it means. There's a lamb slain. His body
was sacrificed and his blood was shed. And that lamb's Christ. And this is my body broken for
you. This is my blood shed for you. It's not your works. It's
not your baptism. It's not your doctrine. It's
not your mom and daddy saves you. It's the Lamb of God who
died for our sins. That's the message. And Paul
turned to Galatians 1 and listened to how Paul felt about it. And
they'll even, in denying that, say, well, Paul was this, that,
or the other. Paul was God's servant, an apostle,
a spokesman. And Paul said in Galatians 1,
verse 6, I marvel that you're so soon removed from him that
calls you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel. It's not
another. There is no other gospel. But
there'll be some that trouble you and would pervert, change,
twist. the gospel of Christ, but though
we are an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto
you than the gospel of Christ, which we have preached unto you.
Let him be accursed. As I said before, I'll say it
now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than
you have received, let him be accursed. Unchanging message. Unchanging message. But it's
a good message. It's a message of hope. It's
the only message of hope. It's good news. The gospel of
works is bad news. It's offering to sell me the
kingdom of God, and I've got nothing with which to buy. I
love that message that says, come ye without money or without
price. Buy wine and milk. Honey. It's free. Our Father, help us to remember
our Lord, to exalt and magnify our Redeemer as we take this
bread and this wine. Help us, O Lord, to show forth
to ourselves again to remember, and before your presence, Lord,
there is no other foundation than Christ, no other name than
Christ, no other redemption but Christ, no other lamb but Christ. This is our hope and this is
our plea. Christ, the Lord, died for me. And we show it before
all who assembled here tonight and pray that they too might
have a revelation from your Word, by your power, by your Spirit,
of him who loved us and gave himself for us. Help us now as
we wake before thee for Christ's sake. Amen. I thought while the men were
passing out the unleavened bread and the wine that someone sitting here tonight
may be asking the same question as the Ethiopian eunuch. What doth hinder me from taking
this bread and this wine? I did the same thing for you
tonight that Philip did for the eunuch. From the scriptures,
I preached unto you Jesus Christ and him crucified. And when they came to the body
of water, that's when the Ethiopian eunuch asked Philip, what doth
hinder me from being baptized? What doth hinder me from taking
the Lord's table? And Philip replied, nothing. if you believe that Jesus Christ
is the Son of God. And this man didn't hear a voice
except the voice of Philip. He didn't see a vision. He didn't
have some kind of special revelation except, yes he did, the Word
of God. But he responded to that Word and he said, I believe.
I believe. I believe that. I believe that
Jesus Christ is the Son of God. and Philip baptized him. And
I'll be happy to distribute, and so will these elders and
deacons at the Lord's table, to all who believe. If thou believest, thou mayest.
That's it. It's not due, it's not go back
to the old ceremonies, it's believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and
thou shalt be saved. With a heart man believeth unto
righteousness. Believe it. And you'll never
get one inch beyond that. I'll soon be 70 years old. And
I'm not one inch further away from that simple gospel, that
simple but profound gospel that I heard 46 years ago. I believe the same thing that
I believed then, that Jesus Christ died for my sins. That's what
I believe. That's whom I believe. And that's my hope and foundation.
Nothing else. So believe him. Come to this
pastor and say, what does hinder me in being baptized? I said,
not anything. Let's go. Let's confess Christ. Come on. Come on. And then meet here with
us and take the table. Don't let it go by another service.
Confess Christ. That's right. You're not going
to get one inch beyond where you are right now, if you believe.
Show me a sign. No better sign than the Word.
That's the best sign that you can have. It's His Word. I will pass over you. That's what it says. Just as
certain as Christ died on the cross, I'll pass over you. That's
our confidence. And that's a good foundation,
a good hope, the only one. All right, let's sing 128.