Exodus (Quality: Average)

[0:00] If the Lord will help me, I will speak his word this morning from the book of Exodus, chapter 12 and verse 13.

[0:18] 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.

[0:43] The book of Exodus, the 12th chapter, the 13th verse. And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are.

[0:59] 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.

[1:12] I want to commence this morning with a word, the truth of it, that came to me with some feeling on my heart this morning.

[1:30] And I wish I could so express it that it might come to you in the same way. This is enough.

[1:42] All the teaching in the Bible, from the beginning to the end, centres in two common essential things.

[1:54] And that is first, redemption and justification by the precious blood of Jesus Christ, and regeneration and sanctification by the inward work of God, the Holy Ghost in the heart.

[2:16] Now, you might think that's enough to think about this morning. Well, so it is.

[2:28] And I'd like to start with something that will engage our hearts in this way. Now, all through the Bible, in type, in prophecy, and in the expressions of the faith of the Old Testament believers in God, in the more clear teachings of the New Testament, especially of the Apostles, and in the consummation of it all, in the book of the Revelation, you may see that's true.

[3:04] All centres in those two essentials. Redemption by the blood of Jesus, and regeneration and sanctification by the Holy Spirit.

[3:22] Now, my friends, the very best that can happen to us in this way is that we shall be concerned as to whether we are the subject of such design as tensions in our own hearts.

[3:40] Because, listening to these things from the pulpit, however, well, and I wish they could be better, set before you, will benefit no one at all.

[3:53] unless that precious blood of Jesus Christ is made redeeming blood to them, and that sanctifying work of the Holy Ghost is made an experience in their own hearts.

[4:11] A thought just occurs to me. I know, and I'm very thankful, that there are young people and children in the congregation here from Sabbath to Sabbath.

[4:24] It may be, you have to understand what I mean by these terms. Redemption, and justification, and sanctification.

[4:37] But I would like to say this, if you listen, as you do listen, thoughtfully to me, you'll come to understand these matters.

[4:48] Especially, if the Holy Spirit give you that understanding in your mind that is so needful. If the Holy Spirit give you that understanding, you'll understand these things far more than the most wise and prudent men in this world can do.

[5:09] Because it is a feature of these mysterious things that the Lord has sold, willed it, that they shall for the most part be hidden from the wise and prudent.

[5:23] They cannot understand them, but revealed to babes. That doesn't mean it's of course babes in arms, that people in comparison with wise, the wise and prudent of this world are like babes in comparison to men.

[5:38] my young people, the Lord can give you an understanding in these spiritual things if your mind and your heart is receptive of it, that you will know far more than all the wise philosophers and far more than all the wise men in religion today in the sex before you.

[6:03] That's not about that. Now, I was saying then as I began that the centre of all biblical truth and teaching is redemption by the blood of Jesus and regeneration and the consequences of it by the Holy Spirit.

[6:29] Now, these two so vital and so essential things, although we may consider them separately, but they are really inseparable.

[6:43] They're inseparable. You cannot simply divide them. You must, as you may be helped, receive them as united truths in the gospel.

[6:59] You may say, well, what has led to these rather, perhaps extra weightier remarks this morning? Well, just this.

[7:11] It is the key to my text this morning. Although the emphasis is on the blood, but the blood is sanctifying blood and we read that the blood shall be to you, that is, to the Israelites, for a token upon the houses where ye dwell.

[7:39] Perhaps I might say this, that some weeks past, it has been much on my mind by way of a variety of expressing the same truth to set before you the spiritual significance of some of those outstanding events in the history of the children of Israel from their deliverance from Egyptian bondage to their entrance into the promised land of Canaan.

[8:08] If that should be a direction, I hope it will enable me to say truth to you that you know I've been preaching here so many, many years in a somewhat different light.

[8:25] And it is in my mind only to speak of those occasions in that history that have a spiritual meaning put to them in the New Testament because I'm very much averse through the practice of spiritualizing anything and everything in the historical parts of the Bible.

[8:49] But if I take those instances that are specifically referred to in the New Testament I'm sure that I shall be on sound lines of exposition.

[9:03] Now in that chapter in the Corinthians you may remember it is written concerning all these things that happened to the children of Israel that there are examples or as we would say examples there are examples in two ways first in the way of instruction and secondly in a way of warning with regard to this text now those of you who are acquainted with what I've sometimes said about the way the Lord brought me into the knowledge and faith of the gospel will remember that I've sometimes said the first ray of gospel light that shone into the confusion and ignorance of my mind was through this very word when I see the blood

[10:05] I will pass over you some of you younger people haven't heard this I will indulge in just a very brief reminiscence my difficulty which wasn't just a mental difficulty was with regard to the holiness and justice of God and the sinfulness of my heart and nature it seemed to me that it was a great issue and that if God was the just and holy God that I came to believe he was and sin was the evil thing in his sight that I was convinced it was I couldn't see any way out of that but that it must be a case of condemnation but one day my mind was enlightened by this word when I see the blood

[11:06] I will pass over you and I saw that it was all through the precious blood of Jesus Christ that God could be just and pardoned sin that he could be holy and most merciful it was all through the blood of Jesus Christ I saw it and it was through this word so I'm bringing before you this morning a word that has meant a great deal to me it's centered my faith in the blood of Jesus Christ instead of looking this way and that way for some way in which my soul could be saved when this word enlightened my understanding it gathered up my scattered thoughts into one objective that objective was the blood of Jesus Christ my friends

[12:11] I want to gather your heart to that precious blood this morning exactly that exactly that and this text will afford me the opportunity now then we will come at once to its consideration now that was a wonderful night when the Lord brought the children of Israel out of their long 400 years captivity not all the time but more intense towards the end of it in which they were literally slaves in the land of Egypt but it was a terrible night for the Egyptians because that night the Lord would smite them with such a blow as would make them willing and eager for the children of Israel to depart out of the land but it was a night of danger for the children of Israel as well because the word was that the

[13:29] Lord would smite every first born in the land now you might say well why should the children of Israel be subject to such a dreadful stroke as that the reason was this although they were in bondage in the land of Egypt they were not the oppressors they were the oppressed but other scriptures make it very plain that they become very much involved in Egyptian idolatry they worshipped the gods of Egyptians as much as Egyptians did that is plain from two passages in the later scriptures and as we know they so lost all knowledge of the true God the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob that Moses said when he was commissioned to go back and deliver the word of the

[14:34] Lord to them he said but they won't know who the God of Israel is they were how should I tell them who the God of Israel is they were actually without knowledge of the true God and so in that sense that word applicable even to those that the Lord has appointed to salvation that they are by nature children of law even as others because they are all involved in the same sinful condition that is provocative of the wrath of God as much as the others now that was the condition of the children of Israel in Egypt they were subject to the wrath of God because of their idolatrous ways but it was the purpose of God to smite the Egyptians and save the

[15:35] Israelites by the way my scheme of thought was a very severe stroke to bring upon the Egyptians but you must remember two things one was they had ample warnings that the God of Israel was not a God to be trifled with they had ample warnings about that and another thing is what had they done that not doomed the firstborn of the children of Israel to destruction but every male child it was really no more than a just restribution upon the Egyptians for such cruelty as they practiced upon the Israelites to preserve the Israelites from the nationwide destruction of the firstborn God directed

[16:38] Moses to take this course to instruct the children of Israel to take a lamb and I won't now go into all the details concerning that though they have a spiritual meaning and to kill this lamb and to sprinkle the blood of the lamb upon the lintel and side posts not upon the door step mine for it not to be trodden on but on the lintel the two side posts and the lintel of the doors of their houses they were to gather themselves in that house behind the shelter of that blood sprinkled door and thus says the Lord that when I see the blood I will pass over you and the plague that is this destruction shall not be upon you to destroy you when I smite the land of

[17:38] Egypt now there's a spiritual interpretation of this in the New Testament but I'm going to take it for the moment just as it stands the blood shall be to you or a token that is first the blood must be shed and then secondly the blood must be sprinkled and then thirdly it is the life must keep themselves behind that sprinkled blood till the morning how applicable this is of the precious blood of Jesus Christ of that redeeming blood that blood of sprinkling for it is so spoken of as the blood of sprinkling that precious blood must be shed the Lord Jesus

[18:38] Christ saves no one otherwise than by the shedding of his precious blood no one when we speak of the shedding of his blood of course we don't confine the meaning literally to the blood of his body but it means his death the shedding of his blood means his death is a sacrifice to sin that is one reason why so much emphasis and all those Old Testament types is put on the blood they didn't just slay the sacrifice and let the blood run away there was a solemn purpose for the use of that blood because it implied the precious blood of Jesus Christ brethren that blood has been shed it has been shed once for all never again to be shed never needs again to be shed but it does need to be in that sense

[19:55] I'm going to say sprinkled so first you have the blood shed the blood of Jesus shed and then you have the blood of Jesus sprinkled and then you have the safety of all behind that sprinkled blood because if the word of God is true and I would say to anyone you venture on dangerous ground if you venture on to hope that the word of God isn't true you do in very deep if the word of God is true there's another day coming when another sword will smite through the land the sword of divine justice and judgment don't put that away from your mind what a wonderful thing it will be then to be sheltered in that day behind that precious blood the time to be sheltered behind that precious blood is not when the sword goes to the land but now as the

[21:14] Lord may help you may I walk as well for a few moments on this expression the blood shall be to you for a token now the blood upon the lintel and side posts of those houses was a token it was a token of certain things exactly as the blood of Jesus Christ sprinkle is a token of certain things of which the old Passover was a tithe now first of all the blood on the side posts and lintels was a token of their nationality it said in so many words there is life in this house blood was a token of it if there were houses to the land of Egypt and there was where there was no blood on the lintel and side posts it said there are

[22:16] Egyptians in this house there are Egyptians in this house and the sword smite now my friends it might be thought that there would have been sufficient indication in that land of Egypt as to who were Egyptians and who were Israelites it is not to be supposed that the humble dwellings of those enslaved people amounted to the same luxuriant appearance appearance as the dwellings of the wealthy Egyptians it might be said but there's no need of any token anyone could see the angel could see which were the houses of the Israelites and which were the houses of the Egyptians but that was not God's way then my friends there should be sufficient evidence to make it clear who are the spiritual

[23:19] Israel of God in this generation and who are not there should be sufficient evidence if there is no difference in the life practice and conduct of those who profess Jesus Christ and those who do not it's a very poor thing don't you feel but though a true Israelite one of the true Israel of God manifested every appearance every evidence of being a child of God that would not save them the blood must be upon them that was a token as I'm saying there must have been a bendered token but no the blood shall be to you for a token remember my friends it is so to this day we live in a very mixed sort of day especially where religion is concerned and even where what may go under the name of

[24:32] Christianity is concerned all sorts of doctrines and all sorts of things about Jesus Christ are preached and always have been preached but it's an out of a mask of all who are the true Israel of God that their faith centred in the blood of Jesus Christ now there are many differences of view and feeling we might wish that there were not that all who are truly children of God saw everything in the same way believe everything in the same way but that there are differences in many matters amongst the spiritual Israel of God is very apparent but I will say this if a man by faith as I must come to show as the precious blood of Jesus Christ upon him in his faith if he believes in that if that is precious to him if he depends entirely upon it for his redemption that man is a true

[25:48] Israel we belong to the same spiritual Israel but if a man despises the blood of Jesus Christ speaks disparagingly of it as just that old blood religion and the like that man and me have got no affinity whatever not this mightest affinity we're as much divided as Israel were from Egyptians that night we can have no affinity with any who despised the precious blood of Jesus Christ the token isn't on them the token isn't on them then again there was not only a token of nationality which it was but it was a token of substitution taking the great principle of substitution which to me is the heart of the gospel and the only explanation of the mystery of

[27:08] Calvary is substitution simply put Jesus in the sinner's place it is a wonderful thing my friends that this can be now it is the gospel answer to the law's condemnation now this is the voice of the law and justice speaking in it the soul that sin if it should die but the gospel puts a saving clause in that condemnatory sentence but another may die instead haven't received that but another may die instead the gospel doesn't make void the law whatever the gospel doesn't say no the soul that sin if it must die but the gospel says Jesus Christ has died in the stead of that sinful soul if I may say it's a saving clause for us in the law's condemnation sentence the word has gone forth the soul that sin if it shall die the gospel provides the blood of a substitute the blood on the lintel and side posts of those houses that night was the blood of a substituted lamb that sin it was the blood of a substituted lamb a lamb died in that house that night there'd been a death there the death hadn't smitten the firstborn it had smitten the lamb instead and the blood of that smitten lamb was a token death had already taken place in that house that the substitute had been accepted now you who believe this truth and I hear all of you do that substitution is a divine and wonderful means of the salvation of sinners consistent with the justice of God as well as revealing his love or I must say this love devised this plan of salvation love provided that lamb love oh how mysterious love slaughtered that lamb can human hands did their wicked work but there was love behind it it was the blood of a substance how that beautiful word in the revelation comes in just now and I think I've said enough weighty things this morning unto him that has loved us love first and washed us from our sins in his own blood shed blood next first love then love now it's a question of some of course who cannot take things just simply for granted whether or not the

[30:52] Lord Jesus Christ was indeed a substitute for them such as I are really concerned about this matter and quite conscious that it's a matter of life and death to them they say I don't doubt that Jesus Christ died for sinners and I don't doubt that his death was a substitutionary sacrifice for sinners my doubt is whether he stood for me in my place instead and bore my sins in his own body on the tree there's one answer to that question the blood is the token of him blood is the token of him that we are in the position of those Israelites that sprinkled that blood and shouted behind it the blood shall be to us for a token there's been a death in their stead already the blood's the token of him now I leave these solid considerations there's very much more of course to be said that I won't overload your minds this morning and the blood shall be to you for a token

[32:18] I won't say upon the houses where you dwell the blood should be to you for a token upon your hearts in the sight of God and when I see the blood I will pass over you yes I'm secure beneath the blood and all my hopes shall lose their aim oh glimmer to my dying God and my best honor to his name amen