Preparing for a Passover

[0:00] And last week we were in chapter 11. Last week we went back to look at the life of the man Moses, and we have already spent several weeks on Moses early on.

[0:14] And so we kind of went back and caught a look at how it's been going for him, being that God had spent 80 years making him, and then calling him, and commissioning him, and sending him back to Egypt.

[0:29] He was reluctant to obey God, but he did. He obeyed, and he went back. And so we kind of got a glimpse of him and saw that he's going back to Pharaoh in chapter 11, and he leaves in a great anger.

[0:42] And kind of caused us to really think about, what's up with this guy? Why is he so mad? And how has it actually been going for Moses as he was sent from God to be this leader, to be this deliverer, to work these miracles in the sight of Pharaoh?

[0:58] And he's just hot, and things aren't going so well for him. So what we learned a few things last week, briefly in review, is the reality of the ministry.

[1:10] For Moses, being in what we'll call the ministry, the calling and commissioning, and being this man of God, this leader and voice for God. But in reality, it's very much just the same in your Christian life.

[1:23] That the first thing we saw was that the experience does not match the expectation. And especially when you're saved, and you come out of sin and darkness, and to the wondrous light of the Lord Jesus Christ, and roses are redder, and the sky is bluer, and life is alive around you.

[1:41] You see God in everything, and you get this expectation. This is it. This is going to be wonderful. And then the experience is nothing like that. And you find out that things go wrong.

[1:52] You find out that you're still a sinner. You find out that people around you don't care if you got saved, and don't want the same salvation that you have, and they're not as excited as you are.

[2:03] And your bubble can get burst pretty quickly. When your expectations are one thing, the experience is another. We also saw that pressure comes with the position. And in the Christian life, there's pressure to conform to the world.

[2:17] It becomes a reality of work to stand for Jesus Christ and to do what's right. And to fight your flesh, it's a fight on your hands. Moses had people against him.

[2:28] He had people mad at him when he thought he was going to deliver them. Now they're all chiding against him, and it's only going to get worse going forward. And the third thing we noticed about the reality of the ministry for Moses was that people will provoke you.

[2:42] And if you've been a Christian for very long, you've probably run into some problems with people. And like I gave you that joke last week, that the worst part about the ministry is the people.

[2:53] And that's supposed to be the best part, but it's kind of funny to say that it's the worst. Sometimes it can be. But we're going to move on from that and get back to chapter, or move forward now to chapter 12. I want to read the first 13 verses with you this morning.

[3:05] So would you please follow along in your Bible. Exodus 12, 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.

[3:18] 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.

[3:31] 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.

[3:45] He shall take it out from the sheep or from the goats, and he shall keep it up 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 upon the two side posts, and on the upper door posts of the houses wherein they shall eat it.

[4:04] And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire and unleavened bread, and with bitter herbs shall they eat it. Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire, his head with his legs, and with the pertinence thereof.

[4:21] That's the internal parts, the organs. And verse 10, And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning, and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire.

[4:32] And thus ye shall 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 is the Lord's Passover.

[4:43] 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 will I execute judgment.

[4:55] I am the Lord. And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye 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.

[5:10] Now what we just read here is not perfectly chronological in the order of what we read last week. And I want you just to make this clear before we go any further. Look back at chapter 11 of the chapter we read and studied last week.

[5:24] Chapter 11 in verse number 4 and 5, Moses is in front of Pharaoh. 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.

[5:37] So about midnight of the very day that Moses is standing before Pharaoh. Now look back into chapter 12 and let's move ahead all the way to verse number 29.

[5:50] We've noticed last week that Moses departed from Pharaoh in a great anger, so he leaves Pharaoh's side. And now all the way in chapter 12, verse 29, And it came to pass that at midnight the Lord smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt.

[6:04] So what's taking place here and what we read about this taking the lamb and setting it aside on the 10th day until the 14th day at even, you're going to kill it.

[6:16] So this took place a few days before the meeting with Pharaoh. You understand that. We're kind of backtracking to fill in so that we understand what the nation of Israel has been up to these last couple days in their anticipation of this moment.

[6:31] And you might say in preparation for their departure. So that's what we're kind of doing here in chapter 12. This passage has already taken place from what we read last week in chapter 11. It's probably the 10th day of the month.

[6:44] It's probably the 13th day that Moses is standing before Pharaoh because their next day starts at even. And he said it, the 14th day at even. And so likely it's the 13th day that he's standing in front of Pharaoh and saying at midnight he's coming.

[6:59] And it was at 6 p.m. The evening and the morning were the first day in Genesis 1. And that's the same outlook the Jews had upon their calendar and their days. And so therefore at 6 p.m. began the 14th day to them.

[7:12] And you can understand that's still a common thing with the Sabbath starting at 6. So there it was. It turned into the 14th day when they killed that Passover lamb. So the portion we read, we're backtracking, we're filling in on this time of the Jews preparing.

[7:29] And God gives them these instructions about this Passover lamb. Next week we'll look at some instructions he gave. Likely we'll do that regarding this feast that they're to have and this unleavened bread and the thing that was going to be instituted for the future for them to remember this time.

[7:43] But for now he's looking at this lamb and he's telling them to get a lamb, slay the lamb, eat the lamb, and put the blood on the doorpost and the lentil. And then I'm coming.

[7:55] And I'm going to pass through the land. Now this is an exciting time for the nation of Israel. As they're understanding this is it. They've been hearing that God has visited his people, that he's heard our cry, and he's seen the oppression and the affliction of this Pharaoh.

[8:11] And now he's finally come to deliver us. And we haven't seen him deliver us by the hand of Moses, but it's been just dragging out plague after plague, nine different things he did. And now finally he said it's time.

[8:24] And it's time for a new beginning. In the beginning of this chapter we read this is going to be a new month. This is going to be the first month to you. It doesn't matter what calendar Pharaoh has or the rest of the world has, but to you Israel this is going to be the first month for you.

[8:38] Right here is the beginning of months in verse number two. It shall be the first month of the year to you. And so this is going to be a new start for them. It's the inception of them as a nation, as a declared nation, as they are taken out of Egypt and taken under the hand and wing of God and led out.

[8:58] And it's a beginning, a new beginning. It's an exciting time because they're eating this meal, as we read in verse number 11, with their loins girded, their shoes on their feet, their staff in their hand. They are prepared and ready to depart.

[9:10] And they are excited about that. And so God makes a few statements in verse number 12 and 13 that I want to focus in on this morning.

[9:21] I think in these two verses he summarizes or he condenses everything that he's planning to do that night. And so I want to look at those things and dig into those statements and realize that there's some important details, really some truths, that we can learn about the Lord and we can apply to us even today as well as back then.

[9:42] So in verses 12 and 13, that's where we're going to spend our time this morning. But before we get into the first truth, then let's pray and ask the Lord to help us out here. Father, we bow our heads before thy throne and we come humbly, we come needy, we come insignificantly and unworthily.

[10:02] But Lord, we come because we beseech you to help us and to speak to us and to move in this place. Father, please take the word of God in this passage and these thoughts and impart truth to us this morning.

[10:19] I've spent some time over this passage. I've prayed. I've put some thoughts down. I'm attending to say these words. But Lord, you have to take and minister them. I can't do that.

[10:30] And nobody came here to hear from me. They came to hear from you. And it's my prayer that you'll minister and that you'll speak and that you'll teach and that hearts would be open to your word and that they would know it's you dealing with their heart and speaking this truth.

[10:44] Lord, help it to come across clear. And if it's murky on my end in any way, then I pray that you'll clarify it and that you'll be glorified and this time we spend in your word.

[10:55] We thank you for Jesus and it's in his name we ask these things. Amen. All right. Truth number one. Look at verse 12. We see a couple I will statements in this and this kind of is what distinguishes what God intends to do.

[11:10] But in verse 12, he says, For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night. And so truth number one is that the Lord is coming.

[11:22] The Lord is coming. I will pass through the land of Egypt this night. The people, these people, they haven't known the Lord. They haven't seen the Lord. They've never experienced his presence among them.

[11:34] They've heard story of Abraham. They've heard story of Abraham meeting with God and God covenanting with him. They've heard story of Jacob, their father, wrestling with him.

[11:46] They've heard story of Moses claiming that he met with him and that the Lord spoke to him out of the bush burning wood. But these people have never met and never experienced the Lord.

[11:58] And that's about to change. The Lord's coming tonight. He's going to deliver them tonight. They're preparing for this. They're excited for this. But at the same time, there's very much to be afraid of.

[12:14] There's very much to be aware of. There's very much to fear. He's coming to execute judgment. It's said at the end of verse 12, I will execute judgment.

[12:25] That's why he's coming. And most people in the land of Egypt are not going to see this great God as a deliverer at all. But they're going to see him as a destroyer.

[12:35] And that's the very word that's used a little later in this chapter at the end of verse 23, where it says at the beginning, the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians. When he seeth the blood upon the lintel and on the two side posts, the Lord will pass over that door and will not suffer the destroyer to come in under your houses to smite you.

[12:54] The reality is, while the deliverance is going to happen this night, so is the destruction. And more so, the destruction. People are going to die because the Lord's coming.

[13:07] Now this thought still holds very true today. We the people of God, saved by his grace, through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and the work that he accomplished on Calvary, we that have been born again are looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ.

[13:29] He's the deliverer, our Savior. We're looking for that day. We're looking for his coming. But when he comes to this earth the second time, it'll be a day of vengeance.

[13:42] And it's described as a day of darkness and a day of gloominess and a day of destruction and death. Now keep your place here, but I want to put some Bible on this thought.

[13:54] Look at, I want to take you to 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 and then right beside that, 2 Thessalonians chapter 1. So find those, if you get into the New Testament and you see any books that start with T, then you're close.

[14:09] They're all five books together that start with T. And so you've got 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Timothy, then Titus.

[14:23] 1 Thessalonians chapter 5. And I want to point out first of all that the Lord is coming to rescue, to save or deliver his children from the destruction.

[14:41] In 1 Thessalonians 5, you can look down in verse number 9. And the context describes the Lord coming. But in verse number 9, it says, For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us.

[15:00] That whether we wake or sleep, that means be dead or alive, we should live together with Him. And now we can easily couple this with some other passages and teach the doctrine of all of it, but that's not where I'm going.

[15:11] But the word salvation in verse number 9 is a reference to deliverance. It's to be taken out of here, to be delivered, not to taste the wrath of God. That's for others.

[15:22] But for us, we're getting delivered. We're getting saved, taken away. We'll obtain salvation. Now that's something good for the people of God. But look at 2 Thessalonians, the next book in chapter 1.

[15:35] That's not going to be what's for the others that remain. In 2 Thessalonians 1, I'll start reading in verse 5. The Bible says, which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God for which ye also suffer.

[15:53] For it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you. So He's going to give it to them because they've been troubling these children of God.

[16:05] But then He says in verse 7, and to you who are troubled, rest with us. Meaning He'll recompense rest. Trouble to them, but rest to us that are troubled. When the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels.

[16:19] Notice verse 8. With flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power.

[16:36] Turn over to chapter 2. Well, look at verse 1. We beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. And so we're talking about the Lord is coming. And on one hand, there's going to be a wonderful deliverance.

[16:49] On the other hand, and I understand the doctrine and the separation, but there's going to be a devastating destruction. Take your look down here at verse number 8.

[16:59] In 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 now, and verse 8, it says, And then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming.

[17:12] Because the Lord is coming. And that wicked is that man of sin. He's the one that pretends that he's Christ, and he's not. We call him the Antichrist. He's another Christ, a false Christ.

[17:23] And verse 9 says, Even him whose coming is after the working of Satan, with all power and signs and lying wonders and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish. Because they received not the love of the truth that they might be saved.

[17:39] And for this cause, God shall send them strong delusion that they should believe a lie, that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

[17:51] And so it holds true today that God's coming to destroy and to damn. Why? Because they believed not the truth. They had pleasure in unrighteousness.

[18:03] They didn't receive the love of the truth that they might be saved. It was available. Salvation was available. God didn't appoint all the wrath, but those who received not the love of the truth, who rejected the Lord Jesus Christ, well, fine then.

[18:18] You're going to get the error of your way. You'll eat the fruit of your own doings. Now, truth number one is that the Lord is coming. As it was true in Moses' day, that night, the Lord was coming to execute judgment.

[18:31] Even so today, the Lord is coming. Today, much of the land, much of our land is worried and debating and laughing and teasing about two old men that were arguing about who could hit the golf ball the farthest and calling each other a liar just the other night, Thursday night.

[18:48] And all of our land is just consumed with these two men and what's going to take place over the next few months. But something that we ought to be consumed with is not those two men but rather that the Lord Jesus Christ is coming.

[19:00] The truth of God today still is that the Lord's coming. Don't get distracted by the men, by the world, by the companies, by the programming, by the information.

[19:16] Don't get distracted by the entertainment. Get your focus back on what it should be on. This night, I guarantee you the Hebrews didn't want their kids running around playing with the Egyptian kids.

[19:28] They weren't concerned with, well, who's making a play for Pharaoh's throne right now because he looks awful weak and they should be thinking about the future. They didn't care about any of that. What they cared about was the Lord's coming.

[19:40] The Lord's coming to get us out of here tonight and we better get the blood on the door. The Lord is coming. Truth number one, we need to be thinking about that and we need to be realizing that just like back there in Egypt, the world isn't ready.

[19:56] The world's not paying attention. The world's not even into the conversation that the Lord is coming. So maybe we should tell them the Lord's coming. Number two, in verse number 12, we read that I'll pass through the land of Egypt this night, back in Exodus again.

[20:13] And he said, I will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast.

[20:24] And against all the gods of Egypt, I will execute judgment. I am the Lord. It doesn't matter who you are.

[20:36] I am the Lord. And truth number two is that the Lord is no respecter of persons. I will smite all the firstborn of man and beast. I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt.

[20:49] Look at verse number 29 of this chapter. It came to pass that at midnight the Lord smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt. Notice carefully. From the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon.

[21:07] As high as the throne of Egypt, as low as somebody underground held in chains, it didn't matter who they were. The Lord's executing judgment this night and he is no respecter of persons.

[21:19] Look back at chapter 11 and verse 5. It says it again in a different way. 11.5 says, All the firstborn of the land of Egypt shall die from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill, and all the firstborn of beasts.

[21:41] The Lord is no respecter of persons from the king to the captives, from the rulers to the servants, the highest to the lowest. When God arrives to execute judgment and he's coming, nobody will escape.

[21:59] It doesn't matter who you are. Now this is in context of judgment. Okay? Let's keep that clear. There is no respecter of persons. The Bible says in Deuteronomy 1 verse 17, Ye shall not respect persons in judgment.

[22:15] In Deuteronomy 16 verse 19, Thou shalt not rest judgment. Thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift. Proverbs 24, 23, It is not good to have respect of persons in judgment.

[22:30] One more. 1 Peter chapter 1 verse 17, The Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work. So you see, this is a biblical principle and it's very much applied in this very context that when God comes to execute judgment, He is no respecter of persons.

[22:52] It doesn't matter how many votes you got. It doesn't matter how many likes you got. It doesn't matter how many kids you got. It doesn't matter how much money you got. He's no respect. That means nothing to Him.

[23:04] We saw that in Isaiah's, earlier we read that in Sunday school where the prophecy was every high mountain shall be brought low and every valley shall be brought. It's all going to come down to one level playing field when God comes to execute judgment.

[23:19] It doesn't matter who you are. It doesn't matter what nationality you are. It doesn't matter what religion you are, what region of this world you were raised in or brought up in and who taught you what.

[23:31] When God shows up, He's no respecter of persons. We studied so much of this Exodus passage of these chapters already. We saw that in a lot of the plagues up to this date, a lot of the plagues God showed a clear division between His people and the people of Egypt.

[23:51] For instance, there was no swarm of flies in the land of Goshen. There was no disease upon the cattle of the children of Israel. There was no hail in Goshen.

[24:01] There was no darkness in Goshen. But this time's different. There's something different about this time. If you want to avoid the judgment and if you want to avoid the death, then you're going to have to do something about it.

[24:15] God was not giving anybody a pass. Now, you can hold your place and I want you to turn back to another spot in the New Testament to Romans and find the book of Romans chapter 3.

[24:28] Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans. It's the sixth book in the New Testament. And chapter number 3. When God executes judgment, He is not a respecter of persons.

[24:49] In Romans chapter 3, I want to start in verse number 9. And Paul is making a, he knows there's a distinction between Jews and Gentiles, or he calls them Greeks in some cases.

[25:06] But he's trying to indicate there's no difference. God is not making a difference between the Hebrews and the non-Hebrews. In verse number 9, what then? Are we better than they?

[25:17] I mean, Jews better than Gentiles? No. In no wise. For we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles that they are all under sin.

[25:31] Now, when it comes to God's promises and covenants, some things were specifically made to Jews and He will honor them and will not repent. He's not a man that He should, so that's one area where God elevates or gives His eye and attention toward the Jew.

[25:47] But when it comes to sin, when it comes to Him judging sin, He is not a respecter of persons. And this is Paul's statement. We are not better than them because we proved it.

[25:58] We're all under sin. And verse number 10 says, As it is written, there is none righteous. No, not one Jew, Gentile, anybody. There is none that understand.

[26:10] If there's none that seeketh after God, they are all gone out of the way. They are together become unprofitable. There's none that do with good. No, not one.

[26:23] God is not a respecter of persons. He sees all as guilty. In verse 23, all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. It was back in chapter 2, verse 11, where Paul writes that there is no respect of persons with God.

[26:41] And you see the next verse, people sinning. Gentiles or Jews, sins and judgment. There's no big sinners or little sinners.

[26:53] We're all sinners. All have sinned. The Bible says, All we like sheep have gone astray. They are all together become filthy. Over, let me see that, over six times in the Bible, the authors describe God as not being a respecter of persons.

[27:16] Six times in this book. You'd get that pretty clear, reading God's word. Now back in Exodus, in this night, this night, about midnight, it didn't matter if you were a Hebrew.

[27:31] It didn't matter if you were a Pharaoh. It didn't matter if you were Moses. It didn't matter if you were a descendant of Abraham's race. And if you had entered into that Abrahamic covenant by the token of circumcision, it didn't matter if you were the son of the king.

[27:47] It didn't matter if you were a son of a priest. If you were one of Pharaoh's wise men, magicians, when the Lord shows up to execute judgment, he's not looking at your rank.

[27:58] He's not looking at your title. He's not looking at your race. He's not looking at your religion. There's only one thing he's looking for because all of that stuff is nothing to him.

[28:09] And still today, God doesn't look for church membership. He doesn't look to see who gives the most to charities or puts the most in the offering plate. He doesn't care who donates most of their time to good causes and to helping others and to good deeds and to saving the trees and healing the planets and studying to save lives in Africa.

[28:30] God's not checking your baptisms or your catechisms. He's not interested in... He is not interested one bit in any of your accomplishments because what He sees when He sees you, His holy eyes see sin.

[28:48] Sin. You've come short. You've come short. You've come short of the glory of God. The Lord's not a respecter of persons.

[29:00] Now from the king to the captive, the firstborn is going to die. He's coming to kill them. And He doesn't care who you are. Now with that said, it is God's intention to deliver His people from Egypt.

[29:16] That is His will to deliver His people that have been oppressed and have been afflicted. He wants to get them out. He's not interested in killing them off. So, verse 13, back in Exodus chapter 12, it says in verse 13, the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses wherever ye are.

[29:39] A token. Take the lamb, slay the lamb, collect the blood, strike the blood upon the two side posts of the door and upon the lintel above.

[29:51] And that blood will be a token for you. A token, what is that? It's a visible sign. It's something that signifies a condition or a covenant in some cases.

[30:02] Circumcision was to Abraham a token of the covenant that he entered into with God. And all the males were to be circumcised. And by doing that, they entered into that covenant with God.

[30:14] when you stand before a congregation and vow to pledge your love and life to another person, a spouse, you give them a token. You put a ring, a circular ring that's supposed to signify the endearing and forever unending eternal love that you have for that person and your pledge and honesty and all of that to them.

[30:35] It's a token. It's a visible, physical thing. And so the blood is a token. It signifies that a Hebrew lives within this house.

[30:47] And if it's not a Hebrew, well, it's one that's submitting to the God of the Hebrews and that fears the God of the Hebrews. But that blood is there to signify something. It's to declare who is here.

[30:59] And that brings us to the third point here and the third truth that we learn about the Lord is that the Lord requires blood. 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.

[31:18] When I see the blood, there's one thing that you better not get too busy with, with getting your meal together and getting your loins girded and the shoes on your feet and the staff in your hand.

[31:31] You better not forget the blood. I don't know if you've ever heard these songs, but there's been a few songs written about from the perspective of the firstborn. And it says that the boy in Egypt that night said, Dad, will you go look and see if the blood is still there?

[31:47] Because he was nervous. It wasn't his younger sister or younger brother that was going to be slain that night. The firstborn was going to be dead that night. And the song says, will you check and see if the blood is still there?

[31:58] And the father says, Son, now don't you worry. The blood's been applied. And so the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you.

[32:13] It wouldn't matter if you lived in a palace. It wouldn't matter if you lived in a temple or a lowly tent, God requires blood. He's looking. When I see the blood, He's looking for blood.

[32:25] Now that shouldn't confuse anybody. It might sound confusing because religions don't preach the blood of Christ. They don't preach the blood of a lamb. What do they preach? Good works.

[32:37] Be kind. Love others. Do your best. You're a good person. They don't preach this thing. And this is something that shouldn't be hard to find.

[32:49] It shouldn't be hard to figure out. It shouldn't confuse anybody. From the very beginning, when Adam and Eve sinned, something had to die. The Lord clothed them, not with their fig leaves, but He clothed them with skins of coats of an animal.

[33:07] Something had to die and blood had to be shed. In Genesis 4, when the two boys of Adam and Eve came to offer before the Lord, the one brought of the first thing of a flock, he brought an animal and he shed the blood and sacrificed it as an offering to God and the Lord had respect to that offering.

[33:26] But Cain didn't bring a blood sacrifice. He brought the fruit of his hands. He brought the work of his hands and what he had done and offered it to God and the Lord had not respect. It shouldn't be confusing.

[33:38] Right there at the very beginning, the Lord requires blood sacrifice. He doesn't accept your good works. He doesn't accept you or your works, the works of your hands.

[33:51] He requires blood. When Noah got off the ark, he immediately offered sacrifices. What did he offer? Well, he only took two of every... No, God said, the clean beast, you take seven of the clean beasts and the clean birds because you're going to offer them as a sacrifice to me because the Lord requires blood.

[34:10] There has to be blood on the altar. Now, this should not be confusing because the book starts with that concept and that principle and it carries through, meaning it's real easy to understand exactly what God's looking for today.

[34:29] Now, don't go to some... Don't go to a Catholic church and expect to hear this and don't go to a Mormon temple and expect to hear this. You won't hear it. But go to the Word of God. Just go to the Bible, okay?

[34:41] Forget the church house. Forget all of it. Just go to the Bible. Go to Walmart. Find you a King James Bible. Find you a... You could get one on Amazon for three bucks. Just get a Bible and read the book.

[34:54] And if you read this book, oh, it's a big book. You can read it. You can study it. And in the book, in English words, in black and white, God describes exactly what He requires.

[35:08] Exactly what He requires. And it's not hard to find. It's not hard to see. He does not anymore require the blood of bulls and goats or, in this case, the lamb of the first year.

[35:23] But Isaiah prophesied in chapter 53 of a Messiah that would come. And he prophesied that He would be smitten and afflicted and wounded and bruised and that He would be given stripes.

[35:35] And then he said He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter. A lamb to the slaughter is that Messiah. And he said all of this was for our transgressions and for our iniquities and for our sins.

[35:53] Not only did Isaiah prophesy of that, but John the Baptist identified Jesus Christ and when he saw Him walking he called out Behold, look everybody, behold, the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world.

[36:10] Reading through that Bible you learn that a lamb was going to come to be smitten and slaughtered and it was for our sins. And then you would learn exactly who that lamb was, the Lord Jesus Christ and that He was the Lamb of God that was going to take away the sin of the world.

[36:28] So the apostles, they each testified of the Lamb and of His sanctifying blood. When the apostle Paul wrote of Christ Jesus he said that ye who are in Christ Jesus, ye who were sometimes far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ in whom we have redemption through His blood even the forgiveness of sins.

[36:52] Paul said Christ, our Passover is sacrificed for us. it's not hard to figure out who the Lamb of God is or what God requires.

[37:03] Peter said this in 1 Peter chapter 1 in verse 18 and 19 he says, you were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold. Redeemed means like bought, purchased.

[37:14] You were a slave and a master bought you and bought you back. and he says, you were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold so money didn't do it from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers but what were you redeemed with?

[37:32] But with the precious blood of Christ, listen, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. how could anybody miss the reference?

[37:45] How could anybody not see that that's exactly what God called for back in Exodus 12? A lamb without blemish. The Lord Jesus Christ was sacrificed as a lamb without blemish to redeem you by his precious blood.

[38:05] The Apostle John testified in one of his epistles that the blood of Jesus Christ, his son, cleanseth us from all sin. Now, this gets interesting to me.

[38:16] In the book of Revelation, everybody's all interested in that book. It's so intriguing and mysterious. In that book, 28 times, Jesus Christ is called the Lamb with a capital L.

[38:30] And it records this resounding song in heaven where they're crying out, worthy is the lamb that was slain. It references the slaying of the lamb.

[38:44] In Revelation, John noted the worth of the lamb. He noted the worship of the lamb. He noted in those chapters the wrath of the lamb and the book of life of the lamb and the followers of the lamb and the song of the lamb and the marriage of the lamb and the marriage supper of the lamb and the wife of the lamb and the twelve apostles of the lamb the light of the lamb to lighten that city and most importantly to our study the slaughter and the blood of the lamb.

[39:23] He says in Revelation 1 and verse 5 unto him that loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood. The Bible tells you exactly what God requires.

[39:39] Exactly clearly what God requires and how you can find forgiveness of sins and never does he point to your earnestness and to your sincerity or to your labor or to your upbringing or to your race or to your religion.

[39:59] He always points to the blood of his son the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what God requires. You want to find forgiveness of sins?

[40:11] You better get under the blood. You better get washed. That's the Bible word. He hath washed us from our sins in his own blood. Paul says that ye are washed ye are sanctified ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus.

[40:29] The word of God always points to the blood of Christ. He was sacrificed on a cross for our sins so that he might bring us to God that he could reconcile us unto God when we were enemies because of our sins.

[40:43] God reconciled us by the death of his son. So three truths this morning that we see in this Passover night. Number one the Lord is coming.

[40:54] Oh he's coming. And you don't want to be on the wrong side of his coming because he's coming to execute judgment and he's no respecter of persons.

[41:05] And so if you haven't been washed in the blood of Jesus Christ you're going to taste the wrath of the Lamb. You're going to be damned for your sins because you didn't believe on the name of the only begotten Son of God because you said well I was born into this religion and so I'm fine and I was told that all religions are the same.

[41:29] Who cares what religions say? What does the Bible say? Let God be true and every man a liar. Let's go to the book because he said I'm no respecter of persons when I come to judge.

[41:45] I require blood. Something has to die to pay for your sins. And so God decided that he himself would take that burden upon himself and he gave his only begotten son that we might believe in him might exercise faith in his gospel in his death for our sins and receive forgiveness of those sins and get under the blood.

[42:16] It's the only acceptable means of forgiveness. It's the only way God will overpass over you. Now let's be honest. Just you and God you are a sinner.

[42:29] You've sinned. Don't kid me. Don't kid your spouse your parents you're a sinner. You know inside your heart you've sinned.

[42:40] There's things you've thought and said and done that nobody else on this world knows because you're a sinner. Just you and God just you and God you're a sinner.

[42:52] The Lord's not a respecter of persons. He'll judge you. You will be judged. You will be condemned. You will pay for those sins unless you have somebody that paid for them already.

[43:08] If you have the Lord Jesus Christ hallelujah you have a payment that he accepts. You need his blood. It was shed for you and it's the only way he'll pass over you.

[43:20] You don't want to face the wrath of God and the good news is this morning you don't have to because Christ already did. Let's bow our heads together just if you everybody bow their head nobody looking around I want to I want to present something to you I want to ask something of you this morning considering what we've studied considering these three truths that we saw the Lord's coming this life Bible says it's but a vapor it's going to be quick it's going to be over and you're going to face him in judgment because he's coming to execute judgment and you will stand before a holy God and be judged for your life and he is not going to respect who you are he doesn't care what you've done you cannot earn your way to his favor or earn forgiveness of your sins what you need is a sacrifice that he'll accept you need the blood of a lamb my question to you this morning is do you have the blood of Jesus

[44:33] Christ applied to your life has it been applied can you picture in your mind those blood the blood being struck and striked on the side and on the top can you picture the cross of Calvary the wounds that were given to the Lord Jesus Christ for your sins so how do I get this blood how do I get under the blood how do I get forgiven it's pretty simple you come to God as a sinner empty handed don't offer him anything don't tell him how good you are don't tell him what you meant to be and what you tried to be just show up and say God I'm a sinner I know it and you know it and I believe that you gave your son to die for my sins

[45:35] I believe that he paid for my sins will you receive me will you cover me with the blood will you pass over me when you come to judge would you by faith this morning receive the Lord Jesus Christ as your sacrifice for you not for anyone else for you because you need it you need it you don't want to be damned will you receive Christ is anybody here nobody's looking Christians are praying is anybody here would they slip their hand up quickly and say I want to receive that sacrifice today I want to know for sure that I'm saved it's a simple thing you call out by faith to the son of God who loved you and gave himself for you you don't join a church you don't write a check you offer

[46:47] God nothing you don't promise to be good because you'll fail he knows it you just take the gift the gift is eternal life through Jesus Christ if you want to receive that gift today you bow your head in prayer you call upon his name there's nothing magic about it fathers we deal with hearts this morning we're so grateful for what the Lord Jesus Christ has alone accomplished for our sins and for the bruising the suffering and the anguish on his soul to make a way for us to get to you

[47:47] Lord please give understanding strength to all this morning I pray no one be confused about the eternal state of their soul and the destiny that they'll be eternity is so long I pray that nobody here be playing games risking their soul in hell because they're afraid or they're nervous please give comfort and strength and courage and I pray that some soul would come to Calvary and be born again and have all sins forgiven and washed away under the blood forever Lord for us who know you as our savior and have understood everything clearly today help us to be more thankful and to acknowledge what Christ has accomplished and to have a burden for those who don't know those who those Egyptians around us who are going to suffer the execution father give us a burden for souls and Lord as we go out this day and hand out some tracks and some door hangers please use us to reach a soul that needs the blood applied you're not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance so God call us to be faithful servants and embolden us to tell somebody about what

[49:34] Jesus Christ has done we are eternally thankful and unworthy we pray your blessing upon this activity you follow and we pray this in Jesus name amen amen I'm gonna dismiss you now and if you're not sure about your salvation I'm available to talk to you there's other people in here that will be available to talk to you don't go home not sure don't go home not sure I'm not trying to scare you but God forbid that you don't even make it past foothill on your way out of here because of a tragedy and eternity in hell is what you have because you wouldn't get it taken care of today if you're not saved today's the day of salvation don't let it go all right so we'll be dismissed here if you need the bread thing Mark's already out there getting set up you know where that is otherwise follow brother Eric out there and get your streets and get out here paired up quickly and we'll try to get something done for Christ today thank you for being here

[50:39] God bless you all you are dismissed see you at five o'clock tonight who's