In this sermon, the speaker discusses the journeys of the people of Israel from Egypt to Canaan, dividing it into four sections. The first section is from the Red Sea to Sinai, where the people were under sovereign grace. The speaker then mentions a message delivered to He-Man's house, emphasizing the importance of ending with praise and a note of Hallelujah, as the grave is not the end. The sermon also touches on the suffering of Christ on the cross and the importance of accepting Him as our life for salvation.

I wish to say I'm excited and honoured and excited because of your coming trip to Egypt, Israel and Jordan. It is wonderful to see these places which make the Bible live to you. I know it's alive to you, but it certainly will be more alive to you as you see these places. And also I wanted to see what is happening today in the Middle East, especially in the land of Egypt, where a mighty spiritual revival has started some time ago. And there are today about 400 assemblies in Egypt. In Cairo alone there are about 26 or 27 assemblies, chapels. And these are very aggressive evangelistic groups in Egypt. I have already written to one of the brethren there to notify him of our coming. And I have received the answer. They are waiting for us. And I hope those of us who can possibly come on this trip will avail themselves of this opportunity. Then I'm privileged to be speaking to you at this joyful occasion. 25 years, the 25th anniversary of Mid-South Conference. A few days ago, or a day or two ago, I read to you some excerpts from one or two letters. May I take just two or three minutes to read one or two more excerpts from the thousands, literally thousands, of letters that we receive from our listeners in answer to the broadcast, particularly from the island of Cyprus. That broadcast, which is on the medium wave, that's the standard AIM band, were transmitted of 600,000 watts. That is 12 times more powerful than the most powerful station allowed by law on the standard AIM band in the USA. This is a letter from Abadan, Iran. Have you heard of Iran? All right. This man says, In the name of the Father, mind you this was a Muslim. In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, I write you to express my deepest gratitude for your broadcast which led me to faith in Christ my Savior. I am now enjoying the joy which cannot be described, for I have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ by faith. Every day I read my Bible, and in it I have found the true word of life. My life has been completely changed. I praise the Lord that my faith in my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is growing day by day. I have been a Muslim before I accepted Christ as my Savior. Please send me any Christian literature that you may have that would be of spiritual help to me. This is a listener in Syria. I am a university student, 21 years old, and I live at home with my family. I have been searching for a spiritual truth for a long time through radio broadcasts, TV programs, newspapers, books and magazines. But my long search has not been rewarded. I must tell you that I am not of the Christian faith, but I admit that I do not know much about my own religion. One day I was turning the knob of my radio set, and suddenly I heard your Arabic broadcast. It was speaking about science and scripture. Before God I tell you that for the first time in my life I found a measure of rest. For the first time in my life I found the spiritual truth after which I have been searching. To be frank with you, I must say that I know nothing about the Bible of which you spoke. Thus I most solemnly ask you to show me the way of salvation. I do not wish to perish. Please answer my letters. Please, for God's sake, write and tell me what I must do. I do now open my heart to the Lord Jesus Christ. I wish to know more about Him. Please send me a Bible. Please also send me any Christian literature and publication that you may have. Help me. I need your spiritual help. I also know that there are many such people as I who need your spiritual help. This is a little older. This is from Egypt. In the name of the Lord Jesus of whom I hear, I write this letter after I have lost all who love me and have lost even my own soul. For I know that I have become a slave to Satan. I have really become a child of the devil and a friend of his children and agents in many places. But my reason for writing to you now is to tell you that on the night of January the 11th, I heard your voice speaking about the signs of Christ's second coming and the end times. My friends and I were drinking and sinking deep in sin, and I wanted to turn you off, but I couldn't. My hands would not obey me. I also felt a strong urge within me to listen to you till the very end, although to be frank with you, I did not believe in what you were saying. All the men and women who were drinking with me shouted to me to turn you off, but I did not. When your message was over, I wanted to drown your voice and my conscience, but a strong sensation got hold of me. For the first time, I asked myself, could the speaker on this broadcast be right? Could I be changed? What then? What will my acquaintances say about me? Could you help me find the answers to these questions? Please help a poor sinner by praying for me and write me a letter which will show me the way. I need your help. Praise God for thousands, literally thousands of these letters, and I please ask you to pray for us for this broadcast. Turn with me, please, to God's word now. We have been considering incidents from the history of the people of Israel in their journeys in the wilderness and at other times too. And yesterday we said that the journeys of the people of Israel from the land of Egypt to the land of Canaan could be divided into four sections. First of all, from the banks of the Red Sea to Sinai. And this was a period of time when they were absolutely under sovereign grace. The law was not given yet. So the first section was from the banks of the Red Sea to Sinai. The second section was really short, 11 days only, because this was all the time they needed to go from the Red Sea into the land of Canaan, 11 days. The fact that they remained years and years in the wilderness was due to the fact that they needed to learn. And God wanted to teach them the lessons which they should have learned. So the second section was short, only 11 days, but it was full of dreadful failures and of lessons they had to learn. It ended at Kadesh Barnea, and after that they were told to go to another direction. The third section for 38 years of wandering and wandering until they came again to Kadesh Barnea. And then the fourth section lasted only for one year, after which they crossed the River Jordan and went to the land of Canaan. Now, yesterday I picked up one or two instances, and incidents which happened in their life, and we saw the application in our Christian life. When we were singing the last hymn, when peace like a river attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll, it reminded me of an experience that you and I pass through every day probably. There is not one single person here tonight in this place who has not had had this experience once, twice, three times, four times, more times, I don't know how many times. But you remember the people of Israel came to a place called Marah, and the water was bitter, and we referred to this yesterday. The water was bitter. They could not drink. Marah is bitter and a bitter experience. Who here, please put up your hand, who among us has not come to a bitter experience in his life or her life? Is there anyone here? We have all come to bitter experiences in our life. What could we do? And we have all prayed that we may be delivered from this situation, and sometimes some of us have been disappointed because the answer has not come speedily, or the answer has not come at all. I have prayed, you will say, you will say, tell me, I have prayed and prayed and prayed, and the answer didn't come. Why? Why is it that I'm still suffering, I'm still passing through difficult times, why is it still I'm passing through Marah? Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has God forgotten to answer prayer? Has God forgotten his promises? Please turn with me to the book of Zechariah, chapter 4. Last Sunday at Nashville, we had some meditations about this wonderful experience of a man by the name of Zerubbel. Zerubbel heard the call and the order given by Cyrus that those who wanted to go and build the temple of God and the city of Jerusalem might go. And he did go. And they started to build there. They started to build. And the building, the work was going on very well, until the enemy of the Lord came in, and because the enemy came in, the work was stopped. The work was stopped. He prayed, he prayed, he prayed, and for 14 years, had been praying 14 years, and the answer did not come yet. Has God forgotten his promise? Why is it? This is God's work, and this was going very well. Why is it that now, the enemy of the Lord has prospered, and the work has stopped for 14 years? God sent him the answer, and please remember, the Bible is an eastern book, written in an eastern setting. And with us in the Middle East, names are very important, and they have messages. As I told you before, when one name is given, there is an important message. When two names are given, there is a very important message. When four, three names are given, there is a very, very important message. Please turn with me to Zechariah, chapter one, please. Chapter one. One day, Zechariah came to Zerubbabel. And in the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the Lord unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Eddo, the prophet saying. Three names given, why? Now, Zechariah is an Arabic and a Hebrew word, made up of two syllables. Zechariah is the word we use today for remember. Remember. And the suffix means God. Zechariah means God will remember. God will remember. Berechiah is made up of two syllables again. Berechiah is again the word which we use today for blessing, or to bless. And the suffix means God. Zechariah, God will remember. Berechiah, God will bless. Eddo is the word we use again today to count or appoint a time. Eddo, in Arabic. In other words, God will remember and God will bless at the appointed time. At the appointed time. Zerubbabel, you may be disappointed. You may be disheartened. But God has not forgotten you. God has not forgotten His promise. He will remember. He will bless at the appointed time. Child of God, you may be tempted today. You may have a sore temptation. You may have a difficulty. And the difficulty sometimes comes from those who are nearest to you. And this is the worst kind of a difficulty that comes from those who are nearest to you. God has not forgotten you. Ye faithful saints, fresh courage take. The clouds ye so much dread are rich in mercy and will break in blessings on your head. Yes, so they came to Marah and God gave them the way. That bitter water became sweet. Then another experience that they passed through. In Numbers chapter 12 we read of an incident in the life of Moses and Miriam and Aaron. Miriam and Aaron complained against Moses because of the Ethiopian wife he had taken. When the children of Israel left Egypt we read that a mixed multitude went out with them. A mixed multitude from the Egyptians went out with them. And they went in the wilderness with them. One of the multitude that was with them was an Ethiopian. Please when you read Ethiopian in the Old Testament read it Kush. And Kush is Upper Egypt. Upper Egypt. Apparently he loved one girl of the mixed multitude. She must have been beautiful, she was Egyptian of course. And he married her. And now Miriam spoke against this. Why did Moses marry that girl? She spoke against her sister-in-law. And this is something which is not uncommon. Why did she speak against her sister? Have you ever come to a situation where people speak against each other in our assembly? In our assembly? What do you call this? I call it G-O-S-S-I-P. Right. And it happened. It happened. And friends this is an enemy. It has broken many friendships. It has broken many homes. It has broken many assemblies. It has marred many atmospheres. And remember it is a sin. It is a sin to speak against your brother. I know sometimes we are not kind to each other. But please remember when your brother is not kind you go to him and not to another brother. And tell him what you have against him. This is the Bible way. And when you do this you avoid many unpleasant, unhappy situations. And after all, after all, he may be right. You may be wrong. He may be right. You may be wrong. I know I just cannot find a replacement for a beautiful, wonderful, invigorating cup of coffee in the morning. I just love it. My wife doesn't. I know for the life of me I can't understand how she prefers that red water she calls tea. But she drinks tea. And I drink coffee. Bread may be the stuff of life but coffee is life itself. I like a cup of coffee. But you know she may be right. I may be wrong. I may be right. So I think so. And she may be wrong. In all problems we are all wrong. Both are wrong. But we have our differences. We have our differences. The only thing on which we all agree is the fact that we differ. That's right. There are individual differences. What happens when we find, when we come across these individual differences? Turn with me please to Philippians chapter four. The epistle to the Philippians chapter four. There were two ladies in the assembly at Philippi. One was called Euodia and the other one was called Syntyche. And I believe one of the reasons that the apostle wrote this epistle was because of the split that was going to happen in the assembly if something was not done. And he says I beseech Euodia and beseech Syntyche that they be of the same mind in the Lord. Which mind? How could they be of the same mind? If there are individual differences how could they be of the same mind? How can I be of the same mind as you? If I come, if we are not supposed to see eye to eye in everything. How could we be of the same mind? All right. This is explained in chapter three, in chapter two. Look please at chapter two. Verse five. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus. Who being in the form of God thought it not proper to be equal with God. But made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant. And was made in the likeness of man. And being found in fashion as a man he humbled himself and became obedient unto death. Even the death of the cross. Let this mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus. The humble mind. The humble mind. Let this mind be in you. The humble mind. Sometimes when you think of yourself and your accomplishments my head swells up. I remember very well when I, I'm not blowing my own trumpet here, when I succeeded in one examination and got a degree. I received a cable from Egypt saying, What size hat do you wear now? What size hat do you wear? I understood the meaning. Friends, think of the Lord Jesus. He being in the form of God thought it not proper to be equal with God. Yet he humbled himself. And took upon himself the form of a servant. And became obedient unto death. Even the death of the cross. Learn of me for I am me and lowly at heart. And one of the most difficult lessons to learn is humility. This is one of the most difficult lessons to learn. And we need to learn it. That sin of gossip happened between Mary, or Mary and Robert and Aaron on one side and Moses on the other side. And the whole congregation of the children of Israel suffered for it. Right, we proceed on with our study of the history of the children of Israel. And I want to pick four types of the death of Christ in the life of the children of Israel and in their journey in the wilderness. First of all, there is the slaying of the lamb. Secondly, there is the passage through the Red Sea. Thirdly, there is the passage, the brazen serpent. And fourthly, the passage through Jordan. I don't think I can treat all these naively. But let us start with the slaying of the lamb. You know very well, I'm sure you have studied, you have heard in your assemblies and you have read in books all the figures and the types about the slaying of the lamb. But let me take one or two types that may not be understood without the context of the Middle East. The meat, the flesh of the lamb that was slain was to be eaten roasted, roasted with fire. And they were to eat it with their loins girded. What does it mean? What does it mean with their loins girded? I know the meaning that comes immediately to your mind in the West here is to have the belt around your waist. But we don't have belts in the Middle East. Oh yes, we have belts in the cities and the places that have been civilized or modernized or whatever you like. But way back in the countryside, way back in the countryside when most people are farmers, we have no belts and people are invariably dressed not in a suit with pants as I'm wearing now, but they are dressed in what we call a galabia. A galabia, which is a flowing robe. And around their waist there is some kind of material that does the work of a belt. But he can't run like this. The robe reaches to the ground, covers even his feet. How could he run with an outfit like this? Whenever he works or walks, or rather runs rather, whenever he runs and works, he lifts up this skirt or this galabia and tucks it up in the girdle that he has around his waist. This is to gird your loins. This is what we do. You tuck up the end of the flowing robe in your belt or in your girdle and this is what's meant. Actually, get ready. I shall never forget an experience and please pardon a personal experience. Way back when I did not know better, two brothers from our assembly and I agreed to go to the Great Pyramid and climb the Great Pyramid. I would. This is 145 meters high. That's about almost 500 feet. And to give you an idea of what the Pyramid is like, the Pyramid is like, it has about 4 million stones of an average weight of 2 tons each stone. And to climb the Pyramid you have to put your hands on the stone and stand on a narrow ledge and pray before you do it and make your calculations and I hope you have written your will before you do that because if you slip, all the king's horses and all the king's men will not be able to help you. Right. Well, we did it. We climbed to the top of the Pyramid. It took us 20 minutes to get to the top of the Pyramid. When we reached there, we found two German tourists and one guide, an Egyptian guide. He was dressed in the floral robe and he looked at him and said, What would you give me? We were all breathing gas. It was a terrific undertaking. He said, What would you give me if I go down and come up again in seven minutes? They said, It's impossible. He said, Well, I'll do it. I'll do it. You should give me one dollar. One dollar at that time went a long way. A long, long way. He said, I'll do it. So they agreed. He was dressed in floral robe and on his head was a turban. I don't know whether you understand what I mean by a turban. It's a kind of a hat, a cap and a long piece of material round and round and round. This is a turban. And he girded his loins, the way I told you, but did nothing about the turban. And he started to run, actually run down, but his turban began to play tricks on him. Unwind, unfurl, and then they play in the wind. So we shouted to him, Throw away the turban. Throw away the turban. He did. And he actually went down and came up in seven minutes only and won the wager. Won one dollar. What did this man do? He actually threw away the weight that was weighing upon him. He threw it away because it was going to make him lose the reward. And I and you and I, we are told in the word of God to let aside, set aside every weight. Have you been to a field day? In the school I was in, in Cairo, Egypt and Beirut, Lebanon, we used to have what we call the sports day every week, every year. You have it here to the field day. We had a number of events. The hundred yards, the 220, the 440, the 880, the one mile, putting the weight and so on and so forth. But what were the students dressed in? Heavy boots? Overcoats? From the mile? No. They had the slightest, the lightest kind of dress in order to be able to run. And so it is, set aside, let aside every weight and the sin which does so easily beset us and let us run with patience the race that is set before us. So have your loins girded. And secondly, it says that this month shall be the beginning of months to you. It was according to the calendar year, it was the tenth month. Christ our Lord, He is our life. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. If you have the Son, you have life. And you have not the Son of God, you have not life. Ask yourself tonight while you sit. The Paschal Lamb was slain for you. The Paschal Lamb was slain for you. And the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleansed us from all unrighteousness. I think many of you must have read this bit I'm going to read to you which was in one Christian magazine. I don't remember the name of the magazine, I'm sorry. But I had copied it from it, and let me read it for you. This was found beside the dead body of a young lady of twenty-two years old. King Harrowin is my shepherd. I shall always want. He maketh me to lie down in the gutter. He leadeth me beside the troubled waters. He destroyeth my soul. He leadeth me in the path of evil for his sake. I walk in the valley of death, and I feel all evil. For thou art with me. Thy syringe and thy needle, they torture me. Thou emptiest my table from groceries in the presence of everybody. Thou anointest my head with trouble and with shame. My cup runneth over with sorrow. Surely want and trouble shall follow me all the days of my life. And I shall dwell in hell forever. Heartbreaking, isn't it? Heartbreaking. Friend, friend, you are dead in sins and trespasses. And the only way to live is to accept Him who is our life. Jesus Christ, our Lord. Cried the jailer at Philippi, What must I do to be saved? What must I do to be saved? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. In the gospel hall in Cairo, Egypt, where I served the Lord for many years, the service started all at seven o'clock. I went one hour ahead, about six o'clock. The place was open, and I found a young lady sitting there. She was literally crying in tears. I came to her and said, young lady, can I help you? She said, are you the priest? I said, no, I'm not a priest. Are you the preacher? I said, I'm not a preacher. Who are you? You can't help me then. I said, well, I'm just one of the brethren here. I can help you, I think. What, why are you crying? She said, three days ago, my cousin, about my age, died suddenly of a heart attack. She was only in her early twenties. We got the doctor, but he came too late, and he said it was too late. She died from a heart attack. I knew, I know she was not to pass away, she said. I know where she went to, and I'm afraid the same thing would happen to me. I don't know, I can't eat, I can't preach. I did to a priest, he told me to say a prayer a number of times, I did, but I still am troubled. He told me to do another thing, I did, I still am troubled. I don't know. Have you anything to say to me? How can I get peace? How can I get rest? That was a genuine case. I opened God's word and preached the gospel of Christ to her. And I looked to her and said, what's your name? She said, Mary. I said, Mary, when somebody gives you a gift, what do you say? She said, I say thank you. She said, when you receive a gift from God, eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. She said, I would accept it. Would you like to say thank you to God? I don't know how to preach this. Don't you pray, just say thank you to the Lord. She and I knelt down, and she thanked the Lord for saving her, and for dying for her sins. And when she got up, really literally, her face was beaming with joy. She accepted Jesus Christ as her savior. What must I do to be saved? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. Yes, this is the Passover land. This is the Passover land. And your loins must be girded now. You must be ready, because we are pilgrims and sojourners. Let me say again to you, my friend. Today, you are one year younger than you were last year. You are one year near to eternity than you were last year. And someone has said, and I repeat this, I beg your pardon. Someone has said, eternity is so long you can't measure it. What is your life here? How long you are going to live here? Five years, ten years, twenty years, one hundred years. I say very very generously, if the Lord Jesus died, and you live one hundred years. After one hundred years, not one single person here, young or not so young, will be on earth living, right? Right. But how long is eternity? One hundred, one thousand, one million, one billion years. Someone has said, if every grain of sand in the desert of the world, and the seashores, if every grain of sand represented one billion years, if every drop of water in the seas, and the oceans, and the rivers, and waterways, and lakes, if every drop of water represented one billion years, if every green blade of grass in the whole wide world represented one billion years, if all these billions of years were taken away from eternity, eternity would not have lost anything. How long is eternity? Where will you spend eternity, young man? Where will you spend eternity, my unsaved friend here tonight? Christ died for you, shed his blood for you, that you might have life, and have life more abundantly. Is the blood shed on the doorpost of your heart, and the two posts? Are you safe in the blood of Jesus Christ, my Lord? Right. Now, Jesus Christ brought his redemption for us on the cross, and I would like to ask you, from what did Christ redeem us? I want to put before you a few things. Turn with me please to Galatians 3, verse 13. Galatians 3, verse 13. Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us, for it is written, Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law. And what is the curse of the law? Everyone that does not abide in the word of the law, and by the law, was cursed. And Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law. Please note, the law was not a bridge at the cross of Christ. Christ did not abolish the law. The law is good, and the commandment is just. But it could not save me. I could not keep it. Because what is the law? Thou shalt not kill? That's good everywhere, at all times. Thou shalt not commit adultery? That's all good, and good at all times, in every place. Don't take the name of the Lord, and your God in vain? That's good. The law was not a bridge. But what did Christ free me by his death upon the cross? He freed me, he redeemed me, he saved me from the accusing finger of the law. The law looked at me and said, Cursed! Cursed! You deserve death. And Christ, by his death on the cross, took away this curse away from me. He bore the curse for me. He who knew no sin, was made sin for us, that we might be made righteousness of God in him. This is the verse the Lord used, 51 years ago, to bring me to him. I opened that Arabic Bible. Nobody had preached Christ to me before. I had not heard the way of salvation at any church, or any way, from anybody. And one day, after about 3 or 4 months of unhappiness, misery. I was miserable, but I didn't know why I was miserable. I was just out of high school before I went to college. It was summer vacation. One day, in my own room, in my home, there was an Arabic Bible brought to my hometown by an American missionary. And I opened the Bible at random. It was Colossians chapter 2. And I read until I came to verse 14. Christ took away the handwriting which was against us, and nailed it to his cross. And I know many of you know the story. I don't want to go into detail. But I asked myself, what was the handwriting which was against me? Handwriting in Arabic means Haq. H-A-K. Which means Promised Holy Note. I took it literally. I was not in debt to anybody I know. What is the debt from which Christ paid me by his death upon the cross? At last, when I thought of it and thought, I said to myself, could it be that the debt from which Christ paid me by his death upon the cross was my sins, which I sinned against God, and Christ died to take those sins away? And literally, literally, I cried in tears. When I thought of it this way, Christ died for me to take away my sins. And this poor man cried, and the Lord heard him. And know beyond the shadow of a doubt, I was more than made a new creation in Christ Jesus. My unsaved friend here tonight, the same thing can happen to you. In your seat now, lift up your heart and accept Jesus Christ as your Savior. And you will be made a new creation also. Right. So Christ freed us from the curse of the law. Turn with me please to 1 Peter 1. 1 Peter 1. And verse 18. For as much as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold from your vain conversation, received by tradition from your father, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. Vain conversation. Christ redeemed us from our vain conversation, which we received by tradition from our father. What was this vain conversation? Vain and useless. This was the useless religious system that those people were following. That was a dead religion. It was a dead religion. They could not save, they could not save any man. I have no religion, my friend. But don't be scared. I have the reason Christ. There's a great deal of difference between religion and Christ. I had a religion before I was saved. But when I came to Christ, I lived. I accepted Him who is our life. The cross of Jesus Christ. The cross of Jesus Christ. This is the way of salvation. I referred yesterday or the day before yesterday to Psalm 22. And I told you what the words, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? This psalm speaks of the death of Christ. His death upon the cross. It is full of descriptions of death and sorrow and night and agony and pain. But let us just for a moment consider one or two thoughts of the psalm. The psalm says, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Why art thou so far helping me and from the words of mine roaring? And then he gives the answer. The answer is given in verse 3. But thou art holy. Thou art holy. Christ Jesus suffered on the cross. Christ suffered the forsaking of God. God forsook Him. Because God is holy and cannot look at sins. You were there on the cross. Christ was crucified. He was dead. How many crosses were there? You tell me three. I say no, four. Four. Who is the fourth? Well, Paul said, I am crucified with Christ. Will you say fifth? Five. Because I am also. Well, there was not a numberless number of crosses there at Calvary. Because we were crucified with Christ. Christ took our place at the cross of Calvary. And there He died for you and for me. But praise God, this is not the end. The psalm speaks of death. The psalm speaks of agony. Of suffering. But look at the words on top of the psalm. To the chief musician upon Ageles, Shaha. I told you what these two words mean. Ageles is an Arabic word and a Hebrew word, which is the singular for deer or gazelle. Deer or gazelle. And Shaha means morning. Another word, he says to the chief musician. This is a message sent with the psalm to the chief musician. Remember, put this while you listen to music, while you remember the psalm of the morning. Up till today, in our Arabic literature, we say, the gazelle rises in the east and the gazelle sits in the west. Meaning the sun. The gazelle or the deer rises in the east and sits in the west. So, when you set this psalm to music, think of the rising sun. Because there is victory there. Who was the chief musician? Let me give you an idea about who he was. 1 Chronicles chapter 25. 1 Chronicles chapter 25. Moreover, David and the captains of the host separated to the service of the sons of Asaph and Heman and Judson, who should prophesy with harp, with psalters and with cymbals. And the number of workmen according to their service was. And then we go on to verse 5. All these were the sons of Heman, the king seer, in the words of God, to lift up whores. And God gave Heman fourteen sons and three daughters. Now this was a wonderful family. Fourteen sons and three daughters. All these were under the hands of their father for sons in the house of the Lord with cymbals, psalterers and harps for the service of the house of God. Can you imagine now, when the messenger came to the house of Heman and delivered this psalm with this message. He said this to music. And think of the sun of the morning. Another word. Start with a minor key. But end it with a major key. End it with a note of hallelujah. End it with a note of praise. Because the end is not the grave. The grave is not the end. We serve a risen savior. My savior is alive today. My savior is not dead. A dead Christ cannot save me. I serve a risen savior. Therefore the dead, the vain religion cannot help me. Could not help anybody. But Christ lives today. And he is the risen savior. Well, let us go to another reference. Romans 8 verse 23. Romans chapter 8 verse 23. This is another aspect of the redemption that we have in Jesus Christ our Lord. And there is such a beautiful picture that you and I should have in front of our eyes all the time. Verse 20. Let me see. 23. That's right. I'm correct. And not only they, but ourselves also which have the first fruits of the Spirit. Even we ourselves grow within ourselves waiting for the adoption through which the redemption of our bodies. What is the redemption of our bodies? What is the adoption? Are we not children of God? Have we not been adopted in the family of God? Each one of us who has accepted Christ Jesus as his savior or her savior are his children, his child. As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God even to them that believed on his name. We are his children. But look. The apostle Paul is borrowing a scene of what used to happen at that time. In the forum of the city under the Roman Empire when a child reached the age of maturity his father used to take him to the forum of the city and would say this is my legal son, this is my son and he is now of age. And I in witness thereof take off the toga of the infant and dress him in the toga of the adult. And he was accepted then as an adult. This is exactly what is going to happen, a picture of what is going to happen at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. We shall be changed. We shall be like him. This is the redemption of our bodies. This is the adoption that you and I wait. Of course we are passing through difficult situations. Of course we have trials. Of course we have temptations. But look ahead my friend. It is not going to be long. We have seen the signs happening today. And we know his coming again cannot be far away. Praise God for the glorious hope. We have an anchor ahead of us. We have an altar in Christ. We have an advocate in Christ. We have an anchor ahead of us. This hope makes us look ahead and anticipate and expect the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Lift up your head child of God. The day is coming soon. It is happening soon when you see him as he is. And when we see him as he is we shall be like him. Shall we pray? Our loving Heavenly Father we bow in thy presence. We thank thee and glorify thy name for the hope we have in Christ. The hope that makes us not ashamed. We thank thee for the day when the light of Jesus Christ our Lord shone upon our hearts. And we saw him who was crucified for us. He who knew no sin was made sin for us. That we might be made the righteousness of God in him. Father in the quietness of this hour speak to anyone here tonight who does not know thee as Savior. Who does not know Jesus Christ as Savior. Father we pray that thou would speak to us in one. That tonight there may be a lasting work for eternity. Brought in parts and half. Father we pray for thy children tonight. That we may be encouraged day by day.