[0:00] This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfred, Georgia. It is our prayer that you will be blessed by the preaching of God's Word. Well, let's look at Exodus 12 together. Let's get down to verse 13. Sergei read 1-12 for us.
[0:11] Verse 13, 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 spite the land of Egypt.
[0:25] These 13 verses are pretty straightforward. The benefit of God's passing over judgment because a substitute had been provided. And we see that here at the first Passover.
[0:37] And then Jesus will transition that to something far greater at the Lord's Supper there. So it's a real simple truth. In 1 Corinthians 5-7, For even Christ, our Passover is sacrificed for us.
[0:50] So sometimes, especially in the Old Testament, we see different types going on. And we're not exactly sure what we're seeing. It's very clear what's being taught to us here and what it's teaching us to learn.
[1:02] As a kind of a way of review, it's been a couple weeks now since we're in chapter number 11. I've had the privilege of sharing that text with you on a Thursday night. But the plagues were ending.
[1:13] And we come to this last plague. And he tells Pharaoh that the oldest, all the sons are going to die. And the institute, the Passover is for the Hebrew people, those people of faith.
[1:25] And if they would sacrifice the lamb, if they would put the blood on the doorpost, then he would pass over. He would come in the night. And that would happen. And so chapter 11 was that time where Moses has to come and stand before Pharaoh and say that.
[1:40] And how difficult a thing that was. He goes to God. He gets the message. It's real clear. And now he has a job of standing at the place that God told him to stand and delivering the message that God told him to deliver.
[1:51] Then we also saw how the children of Israel responded. They heard the instructions that were given to them. And then they go about doing it. You can imagine how excited they must be.
[2:01] All these years of bondage. And finally God's taking the measures in which to get them out of bondage. I've never been in slavery bondage. But I have been doing nothing for the last three days.
[2:12] And I wanted out of my house. I was tired of doing nothing. So I anticipated getting out and doing something. Well, these people are under hard bondage. And now they're going to get out of that.
[2:24] And the excitement that must be in the air for them. And 12.28 says, And the children of Israel went away and did as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron. So did they.
[2:35] Verse 50 just says that again. And so they had a responsibility. These parents, they're going to observe the Passover. And it's going to continue to be observed all the way to the time of Jesus.
[2:47] So they have a very important thing that's going to happen. This picture of Christ that's going to be before them there. Not long ago I read about how a man was at Disney World. And he looked up in the sky.
[2:59] And a person had paid an airplane to say, trust Jesus. I don't know how much money they had to pay. But they wrote, trust Jesus in the sky above Disney World. And he observed that all these dads had kids coming up to him.
[3:12] And they said, what does it mean to trust Jesus? He said some people were nearby. And the parents were Christians. And they seemed to give a reasonable explanation. And then there's other people that just had no idea what was going on.
[3:24] I couldn't imagine what that's like. You know, we could read about it. And you could have conversations. But see a whole group of people trying to figure out what it means to trust Jesus. And then I think about the responsibility of that dad at Disney World.
[3:37] That had a little kid that would come up to him and say, what does that mean? What does trust Jesus mean? You know, how do we trust Jesus? Being that they're kids in Florida that probably knew who Jesus was.
[3:48] But maybe they didn't understand what that phrase meant. And maybe their dads couldn't tell them. What a horrible place to be. Because the father is entrusted with showing his children who Jesus is.
[4:00] How to get forgiveness of sin. What redemption is. What atonement. All the most important truths of life. And so here these dads and these families are getting the Passover to observe and to follow.
[4:10] And then they're going to teach their kids in such a way that their kids are going to continue to do it. And they're going to understand that we owed a debt. And there was a substitute made. And that's an important lesson that they need to learn as our kids do as well.
[4:26] So we get here to chapter number 12. And it's kind of in three parts. In the first couple verses is an introduction. And it really shows us how significant this is.
[4:37] And then running verse 3 down to 11 we see some instructions. And then in those instructions there's 16 different specific things that they're told. What to sacrifice. When to do it.
[4:48] We won't look at all of those tonight. And then we see in the last two verses 12 and 13 an explanation of the feast. And what it commemorates. So we look at these three parts of the passage.
[4:59] The introduction verses 1 and 2. The instruction. And then the explanation. So let's look again at verses 1 and 2. And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt saying. This month shall be unto you the beginning of months.
[5:12] And I shall be the first month to you. So if you're reading the Bible for the first time. Which many of you probably was a long time ago since you read through it for the first time.
[5:23] But you come to a verse. And you say what's about to happen. They change their calendar based on it. This must be a pretty heavy thing going on. That they're going to alter the way they measure their seasons and time.
[5:36] Based on this festival that's going on. This is what he's about. The institute. Last year for Tinsley's birthday. We went to the circus. It was just taking her to the birthday.
[5:47] For her birthday to the circus. But a clown noticed that it was her birthday. And so on the PA system with all these people around. He said well glad you're all here. It's Tinsley's birthday.
[5:57] And we want to wish her a happy birthday. And ever since then she thought her dad put on a circus for her. So every birthday after that is all is way downhill. When she saw other pictures of the circus she thought.
[6:10] Man that is for me. She's like this must be a big deal. And she felt so special that was going on. And so we can measure here in the Passover. This is a big deal going on. He says that the month shall be in you.
[6:22] The beginning and I shall be the first month to you. This is the time that itself will be wrapped around the historical event of God's redemption of Israel. And a place of time and remembrance in their calendar.
[6:35] And this is in Egypt not on Mount Sinai. That Moses is going to receive this law for them to observe. So he receives a teaching that he is going to give unto them. He's going to institute the Passover here.
[6:47] So here's the specifics in verses 4 and 5 about the lamb. 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.
[6:58] Every man according to his eating shall make you count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish. A male of the first year you should take it out from the sheep or from the goats. So the very specifics I said 16 different things.
[7:10] And they were instructed to take enough for all of them. But not too much so that none of it would be wasted. And we don't find here exactly how many that was. Some people would say maybe it took 10 people that would come in the house.
[7:23] If a house was too small they'd eat a whole lamb. They would get connected there with their neighbors. And they would all partake of it. And it wasn't put into a stew. It wasn't prepared any other way. It was prepared whole for them to see.
[7:34] And as they ate it they were told to come ready to the part. And as I said 16 different things. Very specific. And what's going on for them. But the main lesson that they're going to be reminded.
[7:46] Is that this lamb that is on the table is a substitute. And it provided the blood that is on the door. So this act of sacrifice. And that the lamb had to be perfect.
[7:58] And then we learn in 1 Peter chapter number 1. That Jesus Christ lived that perfect life. He came. He lived as a human. As Matt said. He came down here and he showed us. The way to live obediently unto God.
[8:10] And he was that perfect lamb. Then verses 6 through 10. We get through the act or the sacrifice. The lamb is to be killed at twilight. The blood symbolizes life. The blood is to be placed on the doorpost.
[8:21] Covering those within. Whose blood deserves to be shed. Acts 20.28 says that we were purchased by his blood. And so the blood is a necessary thing.
[8:32] So first of all that we're going to see that. The ritual in which it happens. It's a bloody thing. That they want to take the blood out of killing the lamb. And they're going to do something with it.
[8:43] I want to make sure I go over this. Because in here there's some of you that know 10 times more about this story than me. And then maybe some of you that aren't completely sure about what's going on. But I really want you to picture what's going on here.
[8:54] At this table. And this bloody thing that's going on. People are kind of repulsed by blood. And it kind of seems like it's just an old thing that would go on. A primitive thing.
[9:05] That blood would be involved in the forgiveness of sin. And you would think that's something we graduated from. Let me give you an example here. In the book of Exodus 4.23. Robert and I a couple weeks ago heard a message on this.
[9:18] And it was a passage. Pastor went over but I didn't pay close attention. It was the 4.23-26. So as Moses is going there and he's telling the plagues and the Pharaoh. Verse 23.
[9:28] And it says. And I say unto thee let my son go that he may serve me. And if thou refuse to let him go behold I will slay thy son even thy firstborn. And it came to pass by the way in the inn that the Lord met him and sought to kill him.
[9:44] Then Zipporah took a sharp stone and cut off the foreskin of her son and cast it at his feet. And said surely a bloody husband art thou to me. So he let him go. Then she said a bloody husband thou art because of the circumcision.
[9:57] So Moses not obeying to do the circumcision of one of his sons. It says that God meets him and is going to bring him to death. Isn't that crazy that Moses has an encounter with God.
[10:09] And that God is going to kill Moses and he's in the middle of all these things. And one of his wives here takes and circumcises the child. And throws the blood in front of God there.
[10:21] In front of here this angel of the Lord that had come. And said the blood is here. And it's just a few verses. But we're reminded of this obedience. And the blood that is necessary there.
[10:32] And if not the wrath of God that is going to come. And then we don't know in the Bible exactly why it wasn't that this child had been circumcised as a son. But maybe it was that his wife seemed to be repulsed by this blood.
[10:45] She called her husband a bloody husband. And it was something that just seemed to be grotesque. It was something she knew exactly what needed to be done when the angel of the Lord had come there to him.
[10:57] And so the blood is a necessary thing in this. There's no Passover story where you remove the blood. There's no Jesus story where you remove the blood. There's no forgiveness of sins where you remove the blood.
[11:08] The blood chills up time and time again throughout the Bible. Then we have these bitter herbs that remind them of slavery in Egypt. This is contrasted here by the sweetness of the land.
[11:21] And then we're told here that there should be no leaven, no yeast to be put in there. And then we're told, we learn in 1 Corinthians chapter number 5. That this yeast, this leaven that's being spoken about here represents sin in the lives.
[11:33] That there should be no mixing of that. Purge out therefore the old leaven. That you may be a new lump as you are unleavened. For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness.
[11:48] But with unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. And then we're told one of the details is that the lamb should be roasted. Don't eat it raw. Don't prepare it a certain way.
[11:58] Perhaps this is to make sure it's different from the pagan sacrifices that are going on. And then as I've already told you, the whole lamb was to be prepared. We won't get into all of those.
[12:09] One, because I don't know what's more to say about them. But two, there's just these details. And he said, I have a way in which I want this to be done. And I want it to be done in remembrance. Because he's training their hearts to look for the lamb of God that will come.
[12:23] Then we get to verse number 11. And thus you shall eat with your loins girded and your shoes on your feet and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord's Passover.
[12:34] When you came in here the night, I said, when we get done, I'm going to suggest that we get out of here. So you get prepared and go in place. The temperature begins to go down. And so they eat this meal here in a way that they're supposed to be prepared to leave.
[12:49] And in verse 11, you see the phrase where it says, and the Lord's Passover. That this belongs to God. God had been calling Pharaoh to let his people go.
[13:01] I was going to ask Wayne to sing that song by the Bengals up here because he would recognize it. Pharaoh, Pharaoh, let my people go. Next line? Okay, I didn't think so. Alright, so we have let my people go.
[13:11] And so this is what God is doing in removing the people from there. The series of plagues. Then the final act. And it's a time of separation. And this night, it's going to separate not the good guys from the bad guys.
[13:24] But it's going to separate the people of faith from the people without faith. Because we're not the good guys. We're not the bad guys. We are forgiven people. And it's offered there to them.
[13:36] So it wasn't, he didn't just say all the children of Israel are going to be spared. And all these Egyptians are going to die. He said the people of faith. Those that will do this expression that I have asked of them to do.
[13:47] In verse number 13. And the blood shall be to you 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 on you to destroy you. That the destroyer is coming.
[14:00] That God is coming down here. And there's going to be destruction. And Isaiah 19.1 is kind of a commentary on what the Egyptians are thinking.
[14:11] And it says that their hearts melt on that night. That this is going to be a very intense moment in human history. When you violate God's design, you unleash these forces of chaos.
[14:23] And there's only one way to face the wrath. The ultimate force in the universe. It's not just a plague that's coming against them. Not just a problem like the river would be turning.
[14:34] And the blood. Or the frogs are coming. It is that God is saying, I am coming down there. The destroyer is coming. And the wrath of God is coming upon the households. That do not have an atonement for their sins.
[14:49] And what is offered in opposition to the destroyer that's going to come? A lamb. A cute, a fluffy lamb. Isn't it unbelievable? That the destroyer is coming.
[15:01] And then there is a lamb that is offered. This great and powerful is met with a lamb here. This is a central event of history before the coming of Christ. Christ. So sin in here equals man substituting himself for God.
[15:16] Real simple. In any way that we pretend to be God, we act like God. We have an opinion of something that would be different than God's. We act in a way that would be different than God's. That we act in an ungodly manner.
[15:28] But salvation is God substituting himself for man. So the Christian message is not to give you what we think we want or need. Christianity is not a means of just seeking the spirit of peace, order, hope, and good cheer.
[15:41] No, God came to meet a real need. And the real need was that the wrath of God was abiding on all the families of the world. And unless there was a substitute, then all of us would have no hope.
[15:54] Mark Tolson, he used to bring some kids to church here. Our missionary in China. And when bringing those kids to church, he had an opportunity to preach a funeral. And I will never forget the illustration that he gave.
[16:06] And he talked about the wrath of God being pulled back at full force on somebody. And that Jesus stepping in the way and receiving the full weight of the wrath of God upon them.
[16:19] And on that night, these people should recognize the wrath of God was heavy as he would be taking of all their families. We're going to look at that in a second. Why it was coming to all families. So J.L. Packer said, We have bartered the old gospel for a substitute product.
[16:35] This new gospel does not produce humility in worship. It is primarily concerned with bringing us peace, joy, etc. Where the concern of the true gospel is to give glory to the Lord.
[16:46] So this is the gospel message that we're seeing here in the Passover. That the wrath of God was coming upon all the families of the earth. And only of those that had forgiveness and only of those that had been found forgiveness of their sin by the sacrifice of the lamb would be forgiven.
[17:05] And it's got to be central to the gospel that we share with people. So what happens here if there's no substitute? Verse 12. And it passed through the land of Egypt this night. And I will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast.
[17:17] And against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment. I am the Lord. Judgment fell on all the Egyptians, not the Israelites. Not because the Israelites were better people. But God passed over the sin of Israel because they trusted in the sufficiency of the sacrifice prescribed by God.
[17:34] Pharaoh understood he was under God's judgment. In verse number 31 it says here. He says, And he called for Moses and Aaron by night and said, Rise up and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel.
[17:47] Go and serve the Lord as he had said. So Pharaoh was aware that the wrath was coming from their God towards them. And that is where Moses had been getting him to.
[18:00] He needed to know that the wrath of God was abiding on him, but there was a way of escape. God's grace means not getting what we deserve. And we are a community of the justly damned and graciously forgiven.
[18:12] Every one of us in here were justly damned to hell and we deserve that. As the Egyptians did. And that is a hard thing. And we are going to look at it here in a second. It is a hard thing to believe that you were born in that boat.
[18:24] It is a hard thing to believe that you deserve for the destroyer to come in the night. And the God of wrath. In his wrath would come and take the oldest in your family. Because it does not sound like a loving God.
[18:37] But where there is no wrath towards sin. Then there is no measure in which God can be loving. A loving God where you take out the wrath and penalty of sin. Then what is he? He is just a nice person.
[18:50] He is nothing. He is not God. And there is no real forgiveness there. But only to the extent that you understand how you deserve the wrath of God can you see how wonderful and loving he is.
[19:00] So we see what happens if you don't have a substitute. And then if you do you will be passed over. In verse number 33 it says, And the Egyptians were urging upon the people that they might send them all out of the land in haste.
[19:11] For they said, We will be all dead men. They understood what was coming. But he passes over them. Not only did that, But they were blessed with gifts from the Egyptians. And they were speedy on their way out of Egypt.
[19:24] God demonstrated his character, His power and His merciful plan. The exodus until Calvary was the greatest demonstration of God's power. He delivers all who trust in Him.
[19:36] And we should marvel at His grace. Until Jesus comes to the cross, The greatest demonstration of what God's plan of redemption for the world was, Was this Passover. And it's what they were teaching their children.
[19:49] So I say this, And taking a lot of detail in here, And making sure we understand it. Because we have the cross to tell. But it's a story that will help illustrate it to our kids up there, And to our teenagers, And understanding this.
[20:03] Romans 3, 24 and 25, By being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, Whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, To declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are passed through the forbearance of God.
[20:20] So a propitiation through faith in His blood. So the story is as simple as it can be. Those that have the blood on the door, He passes over. Those that don't have the blood, But He doesn't pass over.
[20:31] And that's as simple as John 3, 18. He that believeth is not condemned. But he that believeth not is condemned already. This is His basic teaching in Christianity. I was recently at a church, Great Missions Church, Great in Discipleship.
[20:45] And I met with the guy that was over Discipleship. And I said, Your churches are doing a lot for missions. I said, What do you find is one of your greatest struggles when it comes to Discipleship?
[20:57] Encouraging people to go out and share the gospel in their community. And then people being willing to go to the other side of the world. And I've asked this question before. And this guy had an answer just immediately.
[21:09] And I was surprised by the answer, David. I think maybe you will be as well. But it really seemed to make sense to me. He said that in their church, Where there's a lot of people very excited about foreign missions. And there's a lot of people involved in good news clubs.
[21:21] And sharing the gospel in their community. And they're really involved in children's church. And it was a really healthy church. He said that there's a group of people that in Discipleship, When we talk to them, And we tell them that there's no other way that you can come to God, Except through Jesus.
[21:38] They're kind of puzzled about that. And they say, But what about that group of people over in another country? Because what we like to do is say, Maybe there's a group of people over in another country. And we always say, Africa, Jason.
[21:49] They're the Moray people outside Burkina Faso. And the people that haven't been engaged much. And they've never heard about the gospel. Isn't there another plan for which those people hear the gospel?
[22:03] Because we like to go there logically. Because then the next thing is, Then there's another group of people around us. Family members and friends that we don't know if they know the gospel. But they've got to be okay.
[22:13] There must be another group of people. That maybe the blood is not over the door. But somehow he's going to look over. He may not pass over. But he's going to turn a blind eye to that door. Because that person has done so many wonderful things.
[22:26] And very few people in America as Christians. I won't say very few. But a small percentage of us ever meant that we've ever known anybody that died and went to hell. And is there any surprise that we're not desiring to share the gospel?
[22:40] Because we have a third option. We have a, there's a blood on the door. And then there's not blood on the door. And then there's just some other kind of option going on here. So it's real clear. They said we're dead men.
[22:51] If we don't do this, we've got to get out of here. It says here, the Egyptians, those that didn't sacrifice the lamb, there was no wavering in what he was going to do. People of faith were forgiven.
[23:01] People without faith were not. And so that's, so we look in the Bible. We look at the story of the lamb. So we start with Abraham. We can start all the way back with Abel. Well, let's look here with Abraham.
[23:14] Genesis chapter 22. And so Abraham takes his son Isaac up to be sacrificed there. And you know, in the Old Testament and around the world, that ancient people desired a success from their family.
[23:27] And the India Film Project, the guy that, he burns the bodies. And he says, I've been doing this in a happiness way for 20 generations now. I asked him what his son will do. He said, of course, my son will do the exact same thing that I'm doing.
[23:40] Because he's going to pass that on to his son. So we see Abraham not only taking his son, but he's taking that person who's supposed to be his successor. The person who's supposed to provide for the family up there, the sacrifice.
[23:54] We also know in a family that one man's shameful act goes on a whole family. Sometimes in the news, people try to talk about how a person made a decision, but it had nothing to do with his environment.
[24:07] It had nothing to do with playing video games 24 hours a day in his basement. It had nothing to do with his education. None of those things mattered. But when we get real honest and there's a mass shooting or something, the media is very quick to point the finger at the mother.
[24:21] Or they say, where was the mom at? Or something, because they know we're connected. They know there's a connection inside of the family. And so Abraham knew that as a family, he was guilty. And he knew there was a debt.
[24:34] And when he talked to God in his prayer and he said, you want me to take my son up and to sacrifice him? He doesn't call God a monster because he's aware of the fact that his family is a debtor.
[24:44] And that God deserves not only the oldest son, he deserves all of them. And that God is just in doing whatever he wants. So all their hopes are embodied in this firstborn. There is a debt over the family of all the earth.
[24:57] And God was calling in that debt. He didn't call God a monster here. How can you be a God of justice and a God who will deliver all that you sin? That's what Abraham had to be thinking in maybe different words as he went up the mountain.
[25:11] He said, God, you are just and we have a debt on us. Father, the wood, the fire, the knife, where is the lamb? And then Abraham tells his son that God will provide himself a lamb, which in your second reading through the Bible, that sentence gets real exciting for you.
[25:28] You read it the first time and you're like, okay, he's going to provide a lamb. And then you get to the New Testament and then you see that God is that lamb for us. And then you come through your reading again and that really will stand out to you.
[25:39] So the story of the lamb in Exodus here. So in Abraham, he provides that. So Abraham knows that there's a debt on his family. It's built into him as it's built into us. Romans 2 says in our conscience, we're aware of the fact that we live with a debt.
[25:54] Looking in the Bible, we're told that we know there's a conscience telling us and accusing us. But just through experience, Jake in China said that when he went over there, he really thought he was going to have to get into creation, different apologetics to get people to understand that they were sinners because the Bible said it.
[26:09] But he said that in every sincere conversation, people said, yeah, we know we're guilty. We know that there is a debt. So now we get the Exodus. There's a substitute. And you can make some objections here that every family surely doesn't fail.
[26:23] Of all the Israel families and all the Egyptian families, some of them must be good. And that would be an objection you would make. I heard somebody illustrate it like this. Ed, if you were to take a recorder around your neck in your life, and the only thing it recorded was every time you put some type of expectation on somebody else.
[26:43] You saw somebody do something dumb. They cut you off in traffic. Or it's icy outside and they go flying past you at 80. And you say, that's such a dumb thing to do. You should not do this.
[26:54] That your own code of conduct that you would write for yourself would not even be passed. That you make laws for one another that we don't even meet all the time. That I'm constantly getting mad.
[27:06] Or not constantly getting mad. But often times I get mad at something that my child has done. It's something that I do repeatedly itself. So in every home there will be a dead son or a dead lamb.
[27:18] In every home there's a dead son or a dead lamb. And the lamb that got what the family deserved. And what a meal that must be. This principal substitution as they're there. As they're looking at the table.
[27:28] I can only imagine mom squeezing the oldest son and hugging her close. And looking at this lamb knowing if this lamb was not here. Then there would be a dead son. As incredible as it was that night.
[27:40] There was a deeper one. There was a bigger debt that would be paid. And we see that at the Lord's Supper. In Exodus 12 and 13. We learn there will be a presider over this Passover.
[27:50] Jose. The dad would stand there. And they would prepare the lamb in a certain way. And the children would be there. And he would stand and he would tell them what's going on. Because he was instructing them in the ways of the Lord.
[28:02] Teaching them about this substitutionary death. That was offered for them. Because it's such an important lesson. And he stands there. So here we got Jesus there at the time of Passover.
[28:14] Right before he dies. And he's standing there. And you know what's absent from the table? There's not a lamb. There's not a lamb there that is on the table. Tonight I am the lamb.
[28:25] That's what Jesus was teaching them. That all the history had been pointing to this event. That God says when I take my son up to the hill. There will be no other substitute for him. Because he's coming to be that substitute.
[28:38] John 9.23. He's a perfect lamb. Matthew 27.28. He dies at the same time that they are at twilight. And so a review. Abraham says there is a debt. We know that upon our family.
[28:49] Moses says. But there can be a substitute for that debt. That's what they're being taught there. And then when Jesus comes. He says. I am. That's substitute. Three simple truths.
[29:00] Taught through us all throughout the Bible. And a God of. That is more than. This God of wrath. That is so loving to us. So that's something those children had to know in that house. They had to know.
[29:10] There's a debt upon our family. There's either going to be a dead lamb. Or there's going to be a dead son. But there can be a substitute. And today. When we sit at the table. With Luther. And our kids.
[29:21] And different ones. We get to say. Hey. All the families of the earth. We deserve to be separated from God. Forever. And his wrath is injustice. But there is a substitute. And that substitute.
[29:32] Is Jesus. It's a wonderful truth. And I make no apology. At rehearsing it with you here. Tonight. In the most simple way possible. John 1.35 and 36.
[29:43] Again the next day. After John stood. And two of his disciples. And looking upon Jesus. As he walked. And he saith. Behold. The Lamb of God. Behold. And never stop wondering.
[29:55] And adoring. The angels are said. In Ephesians. That they stand in amazement. At what God had done. For fallen man. And there's no greater source. Of wonder. And awe.
[30:06] That it's also. Behold. Says a steady kind. Of looking. Should happen. So I encourage you here. Just to behold the Lamb. In this story. To look at this. Passover story. And know. What Jesus Christ.
[30:17] Had done. For us. Behold. The Lamb of God. That takes away the sins. We look at Abel. And he had an accepted sacrifice. He brought that Lamb. That was before God. And he offered it to him.
[30:28] And tonight. Even though Jesus Christ. Died for the sins. Of the whole world. He personally. Is your sacrifice. Is your sacrifice. For that. And can you imagine. In this imagery here. That they're looking at it.
[30:39] And it was made for them. To know that this Lamb. Was the substitute. Everything going on. Is pointing them. To know. Either the Lamb. Or your son. They know. It's a substitute.
[30:51] And how would they look upon that Lamb. And what would their conversation be. Everything would change. They're told not to go outside. Of the house. It says. Maybe that was so. That the Egyptians. Will know.
[31:01] That it wasn't them. That killed them. Or maybe it was just. That they're just supposed to rest. And knowing. It's okay. You're in the house. Like God is doing this. You're not going back out there. And looking at it.
[31:12] So not just the whole world. But our family. Holy. And completely. By the Lamb. Let me leave you with Isaiah 26. 20. It says. In Isaiah 26.
[31:23] 20. If you're. If you mark in your Bible. I'd suggest you write this. There next. Verse 12. It says. Come my people. Enter thou into thy chambers. And shut thy doors about thee.
[31:34] Hide thyself. As if it were for a little moment. Until the ignation. Be overpassed. So in talking about this time. That was coming. And on that night.
[31:45] Of what was going on. They're in the home. Safe and secure. Because. The blood is on the door. And all around them. The wrath of God. Is being poured out. On these people.
[31:55] And he says. Come my people. Into the chambers. Shut the doors. Hide thyself. For a little moment. Until the ignation. Be overpassed. And so we're preparing. For that day.
[32:06] And we are as Pharaoh. Pleading with people. To. To. To. Believe in God. By faith. That he is the true God. And so. Knowing that the blood. Is sprinkled on the door.
[32:16] Should change everything. About us. It should change the way we eat. It should change the way we sleep. It should change the way. They prepare for future. It should change everything. That we value. So.
[32:27] If you're picturing a family. And I hope you are. In a house. With the Passover lamb there. And how that event. Changed everything for them. And how they were learning. Of the substitute. And the grateful hearts.
[32:37] That they were having. For the lamb. And their knowledge. That they were debtors. And there had to be a substitute. For them. How it would change their life. Then behold the lamb. In your own life. And know that now.
[32:47] We are hid. In that lamb. That we are now. In Christ. And so. When the wrath of God. Comes in this world. He will pass over us. When he sees the blood. Because we have been forgiven.
[32:59] And it's a simple message. And if you don't know it tonight. I'd love to share more. With you afterwards. But it's one that we have. To be sharing. It's one that. When it was taught. They changed the calendar. It's not important.
[33:10] Because it helps people understand. The perfect lamb. That was coming. So we can now sit down. With people and say. There's a debt upon. On us. But there's a substitute. And that substitute.
[33:21] Is Jesus. And if you can't be excited. About that. If I can't be excited. About that. If I can't stand. In awe. And wonder. And amazement. And that story. Then there's nothing. In this world. That will ever amaze us.
[33:33] As it should. Meaning that it takes. Our mind and heart. Off the things of this world. And places it. On the loving God. That we serve. So let's pray together. Heavenly Father. Ask that you be with us.
[33:43] I thank you. For my friends here. Lord. That are going to be taking. The message around the world. How our brother Wayne. Lord. Will be going to Columbia. And he'll be sharing this. He'll be sharing about. The wrath of God.
[33:54] That comes upon the sins. Of the Columbians. But how there is a substitute. And that substitute. Is found in the person. Of Jesus. I thank you. For their dedication. But Lord. Would you help us.
[34:05] Be also that type of person. And may our conversations. About the lamb. Come out of this. Time of worship. Where we just. Look at you. And we stand in amazement.
[34:15] What you've done. That you would provide yourself. A substitute. For our sins. I thank you. That you made a way. Of escape for us. I thank you. That you sent somebody to us.
[34:26] So that you could share that message. Lord. I thank you. That we are the people. That are now taking a message. To the world. And we're not those. That are waiting. On it. This message was recorded. At Vision Baptist Church.
[34:37] In Alfredo, Georgia. For more information. Log on to. www.visionbaptist.com Where you can find. Our service times. Location. Contact information.
[34:48] And more audio. And video recordings.