In this sermon, the preacher discusses the story of Joseph and Moses in Egypt as a way to illustrate how God prepares for his people. He emphasizes that everything in the world belongs to God and is meant for his people to enjoy. However, he also warns that worldly fulfillment can ultimately lead to disappointment and emptiness. The sermon concludes by highlighting the importance of approaching the truth of God in our own lives, using the example of Moses and his encounter with God in chapter 4 of the Bible.

All the well-taught in the Bible will know at once that this is the great chapter of the Passover. I will not read all the chapter, but quite a bit of it in selection. We will note the verses as we go through. Exodus 12 and verse 1. And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, This month shall be unto you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year to you. Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house. And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls, every man according to his eating shall make your account for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. Ye shall take it out from the sheep or from the goats, and ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month. And the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. And they shall take of the blood and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire and unleavened bread, and with bitter herbs shall they eat it. Thus shall ye eat it, with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And ye shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord's Passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt. Both man and beast, and against all the gods of Egypt, I will execute judgment. I am the Lord, and the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you when I smite the land of Egypt. And this day shall be unto you for a memorial, and ye shall keep it a feast to the Lord throughout your generations. Ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever. 21 Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out, and take your lamb according to your families, and kill the Passover. And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the basin. And none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning. For the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians, and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel and on the two side posts, the Lord will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you. And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee, and to thy sons for ever. 28 And the children of Israel went away, and did as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they. 29 And it came to pass that at midnight the Lord smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne, unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon. 30 And all the firstborn of cattle and Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and all his servants, and all the Egyptians. And there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead. 40 Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, whom dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years. And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the same day, it came to pass that all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt. It is a night to be much observed unto the Lord for bringing them out from the land of Egypt. This is that night of the Lord to be observed for all the children of Israel in their generation. Amen. There is much more in the chapter, and it will repay a close reader. What a wonderful book. This very incident that we have read, if we understand exactly what it's talking about, will show us how we, in our own lives, ought to approach the truth of God. What I mean is this, that if you turn with me to an earlier chapter, say chapter four, you will find this. In this great fourth chapter, God had appeared to Moses, and he had said some great things to him. But this was one of the things he said. Verse twenty-two. Thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord, Israel is my son, even my firstborn. 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. Now then, we read the night. And yet, you see, there are several chapters intervening. Days came and went. How long it just all took to work out, I don't know. But in the end, God's word came to pass. And it stands now as a matter of history. And so, beloved, you will see that though when Moses went to Pharaoh and said, Now God said to me, Israel is my firstborn, let my son go. If you don't let my son go, I'll slay your firstborn. Well, he refused to let him go. And God didn't slay his firstborn straight away. He didn't do that. And he had to wait and wait and wait. And one event came and passed and another event. And so it dragged through six, seven, eight, nine of these great events. And it was the tenth where the Lord moved in and did what he said. And so you will understand that this is just sort of a preliminary comfort to all our hearts. Those of us who don't quite understand, you've got to wait until an event is completed, before an epoch is over. God always keeps his word. You can see it when you look back. You can't see it when you look forward. That's the nature of a promise. You can't see it when you look forward. You can only see it in retrospect as you look back, when it's fulfilled. You believe it. And then all time goes on and it doesn't work out just as you think, Why hasn't God slain the firstborn? He said he was going to slay the firstborn. Why didn't he keep his promise? Well, of course, he holds back the keeping of his promises, beloved, until everything is worked out unto complete perfection. That's right. The fulfillment of his promises. It's a wonderful process of grace. Alright, having said that, let's pass on to look at this great occasion when God did keep his great and wonderful word. Now you will know that this is a great, great picture of the Lord Jesus Christ, of God in his great and wonderful redeeming ways towards me. But I want you to look at your Bible and see with me something of the wonders and the glories of it all. Precious, precious book that it is. I want you to see, first of all, in this great twelfth chapter, that the Lord spoke unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt. Now, in case you may not know this, though I think perhaps you all may, Egypt, when it is used in the Scripture, is a type, a picture of the world. You see? It's a picture of the world, Egypt. You will find this as you go on and study your Bibles. And, of course, it was in the world where God spoke to Moses and Aaron because he was going to do something in the world. He was going to work in this great background of Egypt. Of course, now, when these people went down into Egypt, it was a marvelous place. Oh, it was wonderful. Don't you remember? There had been a famine in the land where they'd been living. And God had prepared ahead, and he'd sent a man named Joseph into Egypt. And he was laying up in store for his people. And I suppose you know the story, really. I just want to touch on it. And Moses had laid up great granaries full of grain, and Egypt and Pharaoh thought, that's all for us. But you see, what God was really doing was preparing for his people. That's the wonderful part about it. You must never hesitate to have what God has put in this world as long as you have it properly because the world's allowed to share it, but it's really here for his people. You understand that? God has stored it up for his people. But they must learn to handle it properly, too. Do I understand that? All right. The world thinks it's theirs, but it's all ours. God says, it's all mine. The earth is the Lord, and the fullness thereof. You might have thought we were singing a Harvest Festival hymn tonight when we were saying, can you thank the people? Can't you? To that hymn of Wesley's. But this is the great thing. And God had prepared. And when they went down into Egypt, my, if you should read about it in the Bible, comes down Israel, that is Jacob, now his name's Israel, with all the tribes, or the beginnings of the tribes, the families, the households, down they all come, and they want somewhere to live. And so, Joseph has a good look round, he says, I know a wonderful place for you to live. It's a place called Goshen. Oh, it's marvellous. It's just like the Garden of Eden. You can read this in the Bible, it tells you that. Just like, so it was the Garden, just like Paradise. It all went down, marvellous place to live in, just like Paradise in the world. Glorious. You can have this, you can have that. Wall of green grass, everything your heart can think of is in the world. See, that's where they all dwell. And then, you know, this often happens. Oh dear, oh dear. What seemed so wonderful at first, turns out to be the exact opposite. The exact opposite. It looks so great, you can have your fling, you can wander all over the place. This is a wonderful place. I know plenty of young people who go this way. When they're young and they think, oh, it's marvellous out here. You can satisfy all your bodily desires and physical lusts and all that your soul lusts after too. It seems so wonderful. What with the arts and the crafts and the sports and the business and the money and the fame and I don't know what. You see, it all seems so great. You can be fulfilled here. And then there comes a time, and this is one of the verses I love in it. That's him that I sang to a little earlier. You get to a place where these people were just like this. I'm tired of sin, foot sore and weary, the darksome path of dreary groan. Yeah, that's right. And that's how it came to these people. What was so wonderful looked to have had all the fulfilment of all. Just like the promised land. Better than the promised land. It's Canaan. It's what I was born for. To fulfil it all. You see? What I had brains for. What I had tastes for. Do you see? I'm here to be fulfilled. And there, it's ashes. And where you thought it was light, it's darkness. Where you thought it was pleasure and took pleasure, now it's a grime. I was talking with a lady the other day. I won't tell you where. And she, Mr. North, she drew me on one side. She said, you know, sir, sir, talking about her son, fine Christian. She said, well, he just saved him. He was nearly hooked. Started with reefers, son. But he said, you couldn't. You couldn't smoke a reefer and not smoke anymore. And he took it on. Took the bed on. And he found he liked it. Sort of got it. And then he got on to LSD. And he just started on heroin. And they caught him. And died. Yes, he moved away from home. He'd gone off to London. He was studying. He was in college up there. Great prospects. Just got it. Oh, the terrors of it. Oh, the pains of it. Oh, the harms of it. That's how it was like. And so it went on and on and on. And oh, it had gone on so long. When God gets hold of a man called Moses. And he starts to talk to Moses. Moses had run away from it, he says. Now, Moses, go on, write down there. Where it is. Go on. Where the trouble is. Rather like Jesus a bit. Jesus came right down here into the world. The mediator of the new covenant. Moses was the mediator of the old. And he came right down in the world. And there God talked to him. God talked to him all his life. He talked to Moses beforehand. Moses had had a special birth. You know all about it in the bulrushes. You know all about it. God talked to Moses. Moses was a young prince. Just like Jesus was. Only Jesus was the prince of glory. Moses was nearly born in the rushes by the river Nile. Jesus was quite born in a stable. You see? You can see it all working out. And he runs right out there. Moses runs away. God says, no, you come back here. And he gets him right down in the world. And he says, now then, Moses. And that's, you see, God talked to Jesus. His father talked to Jesus. And there came a time when Jesus moved on to what God wanted to be done. For the salvation and the redemption of the whole race. Now let's read it, shall we? And this is what he said. This month. Oh dear, if I don't hurry, we should be here at 10 o'clock. I've only got to the first verse. Look all the lot I read. And I want to turn you all over the Bible, if I can. And in the second verse he says, Now this month shall be unto you a beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year to you. God was going to do something new. You know, the old years have been going on. Old sinning. Old grinding. Old groaning. Old going round, you see. And now God says, newness. It's going to be a new beginning. He's going to make a new start. Now, praise the Lord. This is what God has intended for every one of us. A great new start. A sort of a BC and an AD. Yes. That's right. Glory. You know that time just ran its course until this great Jesus of ours, this wonderful Savior, came down into this world and all the events about Calvary and so on, how that it divided time. And does to this day. There is no other time division but this. Extant in the universe. This is it. BC. AD. Hallelujah. And he talks to Moses. He said, now this is going to be a new beginning. God was going to raise up a new company of people. He was going to make a great big start for these people. Slaves as they were. Of this devilish intention of Pharaoh. And this is what he says. Now speak you unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, in the tenth day of this month, they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for a house. I want you to notice this. In this verse it is a lamb. In the next verse, if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls. Every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. A lamb. The lamb. It was just a lamb running about amongst the flock. Nobody knew who he was. Let's turn into Genesis. I said I wanted to turn you through your Bibles. Chapter 22. You know the story in Genesis chapter 22, don't you? It's the story of how Abraham took his son Isaac up Mount Moriah. And how he built an altar. But whilst they were on the way, Isaac is walking along. He's carrying the wood for the sacrifice. You see, it's laid on him in verse 6. It says, The wood of the burnt offering, just like the wood of the cross was laid on Jesus, so the wood of the burnt offering was laid on Isaac. And there they go. Jesus bearing his cross, you will remember. And he laid it upon Isaac, his son. He took the fire in his hand and the knife. You see, father had the fire. Jesus bore the wood of the cross. Father kept the knife in his hand. Praise God. And here's the great trim, truth. And they went, both of them together. And Isaac spoke unto Abraham, his father, and said, My father. And he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood. But where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb. Now Abraham didn't know then that it was going to be Jesus. He didn't know it was going to be Jesus. It was just a lamb then. It was Isaac who talked about the lamb. The son that talked about the lamb. And all they knew was that God was going to provide a lamb. And nobody knew who he was. Until one day there came unto this earth a man named John Baptist. God sent him. John chapter 1. Let's read, shall we? And in the first chapter of John, John is baptizing in the river Jordan. And oh, they're ever so worried. They're all worked up about who he was and who he wasn't. And we read this great and glorious truth. John's speaking, and he's speaking of Jesus, and he says this, look, in verse 26. He says, I baptize with water, but there standeth one among you whom you know not. You see, nobody knew him. You don't know. Abraham didn't know. He it is who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoes let it, I am not worthy to unloose. These things were done in Bethabara, beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing the next day. John seeth Jesus coming unto him and said, Behold, the Lamb of God. There he is. Behold, the Lamb. Praise God. And then I want you to turn with me to Luke's Gospel. And in Luke's Gospel, this glorious story that we all know about. In verse 28, Jesus takes Peter. Oh, chapter 9, sorry. I showed you how much I think you're with me in my mind and heart. I don't even have to tell you where to look. All right. Verse 28. And it came to pass about eight days after these things, he took Peter and John and James, went up into a mountain to pray. As he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered. His raiment was white and blistering. And behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses. There you are. Talking with the Lamb now. Praise God. Here's Moses and Elijah. They appeared in glory and they spoke of his exodus. That's your word deceased. Translated deceased. It's the Greek word exodus. And spoke of Jesus' exodus, which he should accomplish at Jerusalem. Now you see, we're right back on the scriptural ground, aren't we? We're right here. We know which way we're going. We're understanding what God is talking about. Now back to Exodus chapter 12. On the tenth day of the month, he said, Every man shall take a lamb. Verse 3. According to the house of their fathers. A lamb for a house. Running around in the flock. And then the household be too little for the lamb. It had to be selected. And when they'd chosen the lamb, there he stood. Now I want you to notice something wonderful about this lamb. In verse 5, he becomes your lamb. A lamb. The lamb. Your lamb. Now, do you see this? This is the trouble with so many people. God provides a lamb. Jesus is the lamb. But there are so many people, he's not their lamb. Can't say he's my lamb. I wonder if you can. Your lamb. Your lamb. Can you say that? Now notice something about this wonderful lamb. Do you see what he's the lamb for? It's verse 4. Right in the middle of the verse. He's God's lamb for souls. Do you see that? He's God's lamb for souls. Wonderful. He is my soul lamb. Glory. Glory. The lamb for my soul is equal. God's lamb. The lamb. The only lamb. My soul's lamb. Now I want you to see something else that you've got to see very, very clearly. This lamb. He's a lamb for a house. Do you see this? And in verse 4, I want you to see this. If the household be too little for the lamb. Now I want to tell you this. It's a wonderful thing for me to be able to stand here tonight and say that rather like Joshua, as for me and my house, we're all serving the Lord. That's right. I've got three daughters. I've got a wife. I've got three sons or one of them would be sons-in-law. And I want to tell you our house is satisfied. All of us. Glory. They're all God's. But my house is too little for the lamb. How about you? Our house is too little for this lamb. What, just six, eight of us? Just eight of us? For Jesus? I go preaching throughout this country because our house is too small for the lamb. It isn't just for me. And for my wife. It isn't just for my daughters. Or for my sons-in-law. Glory. How about you if I start with all you heads of houses here. How about you, Malcolm Ford? And your wife and your children. And you and your wife. And you, John Williams. And you, William Ward. And I could go around you all. Where are you? You, Derek Gibson. You, Brother Rowley. You, Brother Love. Too small. Glory. Too small. Hallelujah. This is what made Wesley cry. Oh, for a trumpet voice on all the world to call. And bid their hearts rejoice in Him who died for all. This Jesus is too great for my household. Too great. I've got my eye off little households. I've got it on God's. But I want to tell you the lamb's only for the house. For God's household. Praise God. This is the wonder of it. He sees down through the ages. He knows. We preach a worldwide gospel. But God alone knows who's going to be in His family at the end. I don't know. I look at you all. You in this great family of God. You in God's household. How many households there were in Egypt at that time. I know not. But this I know. That there must have been hundreds. Perhaps thousands of lambs. Chosen out. And yet look. Look at verse 6. Ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month. And the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it. It. Just one singular. You see this is how God looked at it. One congregation. One lamb. Hallelujah. This is the great thing. Hundreds. Thousands of lambs. I don't know. I don't want to be stupid in my reckoning. But this I know. It must have been hundreds. There were over a million people came out of Egypt. Over a million. Some of them were a mixed multitude. But never mind. Over a million came out. How many lambs were slain? And yet it was just it. Because it was for the whole race. The whole company. Now I want to say this to you. My beloved young friends. There's only one lamb. Only one. And God slew him. That long ago. In verse 42. When he says. It is a night. Much to be remembered and observed unto the Lord. For bringing them out of the land of Egypt. This is that night of the Lord. To be observed. And you know the glorious story. I won't take up time flicking over the pages. Of how God pulled down that great dark blanket at midnight. Over all the earth. And slew his son. There. This great night. To be remembered. Glory. When there was darkness. From the. From the. Those hours over the whole country. Over the whole wide world. A night to be remembered. When God slew his son. We talk about it as good Friday. Good because of the wonderful act. Of God's kindness. What he did to us. Bad and vile. For what men did. Unto Jesus. The glorious lamb of God. Now you see beloved. This is the great truth. That God has for us. In this wonderful book. Beloved. It was just as though it was one lamb. They all had to kill it. For this is what we are told. In the scriptures. In this great twelfth chapter. Where we read. In verse six. They had to kill it. They had to kill it. Listen. Jesus had to be killed. He had to be killed. Before he could be. Our great redeeming lamb. Now you know the church has had to go through. Some very terrible phases in its history. And not least. One of the worst of the phases. Is the phase through which we come. Called. The phase of modernism. And speculative theology. You might have thought it was. The Spanish Inquisition. And all that happened then. No. This is far far worse than that. For as for me. I think if I could have gained grace for dying. I would far rather lay down my life. And die. Than ever be forced to take up and preach. What's called modernism. In my young days. They used to talk of very mockingly. And say they didn't want. This gospel of the shambles. You see that spoke of the death. And of the blood of the Lord Jesus. There aren't phrases that are used now. We talk about existentialism. And I don't know what now. It's just as rotten. But never mind. You see. And so we have to fight for the power of the blood. Please don't. If I say some different things about the blood. That you might have thought were in this chapter tonight. Don't cross me off. Will you? Or if you do. Well. Come and talk to me kindly after. For much of this talk about the blood. Is based upon. Sentimentalism. What's the most important thing in this chapter. If I asked you. What is the most important thing? Eh? What's the most important thing in this chapter? The blood of the lamb. The lamb. Not the blood. You see there. The most important thing in this chapter is the lamb. Not the blood. They were given strict instructions. About what they were to do with the blood. But if you read. You'll find there's far more talk about the lamb. Than about the blood. The gospel preachers. Talk far more about the blood. Than they do the lamb. Usually. That's true. The lamb is the important one in this chapter. Why? We've already taken a good look at it. And when God started to talk about the blood. Now this is what you and I have got to understand. He says. There's no talk about the blood in the first chapter. The first verse is talking about it. And when you get to verse seven. We're told. Now you ought to take up the blood. You ought to strike it on the two side posts. And on the upper door posts of the houses. So that you don't go to hell. Is that what it says? No. Wherein you shall eat the lamb. There you are. And they shall eat the lamb. Again. I know it just says flesh. And it. But it's the lamb. That's being talked about. The lamb. Again. Verse nine. Eat it. Tells them how they're to eat it. Verse ten. You're to eat it. Don't let anything of it. The lamb. Remain. You see. And verse eleven. Eat it. The lamb. It's again. Tells you how you're to eat it. And then. So you go on. For he says. I will pass through in verse twelve. I'll pass through the land of Egypt this night. And will smite all the first born. In the land of Egypt. And both man and beast. And against all the gods of Egypt. I will execute judgment. I am the Lord. Now listen to what he says about the blood. And the blood. Should be to you for a token. That's all the blood was. A token. The blood should be for a token. What pray does it mean? They were to catch the blood. In this basin. Told about it. In verse twenty two. A bunch of hyssop. Dip it in the blood that's in the basin. Stripe the lintel. And the two side posts with the blood that's in the basin. And none of you shall go out at the door of his house. Until the morning. You see. And the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians. When he seeth the blood. Upon the lintel. And on the two side posts. The Lord will pass over the door. Will not suffer the destroyer to come into your houses. To smite you. And you shall observe this thing for an ordinance. To thee and to thy sons. For ever. That's what they were to do with the blood. They were to catch it in a basin. They were to dip hyssop into it. They were to strike it onto the two side posts. And onto the lintel above the door. But it was only a token. And what was it a token about? It was a token to God. That they were inside eating the lamb. It was a token to God. That they were keeping faith with him. This is what they said. Now listen. The important thing. Is not that you put the blood on the door post so much. But that you're inside eating the lamb. You mustn't put the blood on the door post. And then go out and not eat the lamb. You ought to stop in there. And eat that lamb. Now this I say to you. Every one of you. We must never pass over the importance of the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's so much more vitally important than the blood of ten million lambs. For they had no power to redeem. But I want to say to you. That nobody must think of using the blood of Jesus as a way to escape the wrath of God. You've got to see that it is a Christ between your heart and God. That you want Jesus. Not that you want to escape going to hell. Any man unless he's demented wants to do that. This is the great truth. God came looking for the blood. He says when I see the blood. I'll pass over you. Praise his name. That's absolutely true. But I want you all and I want my own heart. And I'm talking to my own heart now. You see. I want us all to see that so far as God is concerned. It's a matter of whether or not I want Jesus. That I've chosen the lamb. Look. Let's go back and carefully read what these opening verses say. It says this. If the household. Verse 4. Be too little for the lamb. Let him and his neighbor next unto his house. Take it according to the number of the souls. Here's the important thing. Every man according to his eating. Not whether or not he doesn't want to lose the firstborn in his family. But according to his eating. In other words. They all had to eat that lamb. Glory. This is the tremendousness of it. All glory. You see. This is why some people never get assurance of salvation. Though they believe all the texts about the blood. This is why it is. They're prevaricating. They're trying to get around it. God has never supplied blood to redeem our souls if we don't want Jesus. One Him. And only Him. If we don't want to begin a new life. That we read in the beginning. God said it's going to be a beginning of the year to you. It's going to be a new life. Oh listen beloved. I want to tell you that this has been upon my heart all this day. Most often I go into meetings. And I think I'm going to preach something and finish preaching something else. But this is on my heart from this morning. I knew I'd got to preach this tonight. This afternoon it just arose up. What came this morning the same. Last night the same. Came in the meeting. When brother John I think chose at him about let the testimony roll. That's when it all came. I got to preach on the testimony of God. Then I thought I was going to preach on something else. But not tonight. Because beloved I want to tell you something. And I remember the time when this first dawned on my heart. Why God should bring this back to me here. I don't know. I didn't come prepared to preach it. But beloved. Look at the end of verse four. And let's all get it into our hearts. And know that God's talking to it. Talking to it. He's talking to me. There are times when this comes on me with great power. And here's an occasion. I am to make the count for the Lamb. There's a count for the Lamb. I know that the Bible speaks of myriads and myriads. Tribes and nations and kindreds. But God knows the number of that name of the Lamb. Even as there's a number of the name of the man of sin. I want to tell you there's a number of the name of Jesus. For his name means that he saves his people. Whoever they are. I don't know who they are. I don't know the number. But I know that God knows the number. Amen. And I believe that in this room tonight. We've got to take account for the Lamb. And you shall nominate yourself. It's according to your eating. Not whether you want protection from God's wrath. Not whether you want to start singing hymns about the blood. Bless God. Perhaps we will sing a hymn about the blood. But this. Every man according to his eating. And if you've got no appetite for the Jesus life. If you've got no appetite to be pure as he's pure. If you've got no appetite to be righteous with the righteousness of God. If you've got no desire to be all that God wants you to be. If you don't want a transference of your life. So that you can have his. If you don't want a cessation of it all. So that you go out free and pure and clean. And live a new life. You can't be counted in with the Lamb. God in his grace. May yet give you a chance in the future. I don't know whether he will or whether he won't. That's not my business. To make the count for the Lamb. See this is why he said. This is why he said to them. Listen. You're going to eat it like this in verse 11. You're to eat it with your loins girded. Your shoes on your feet. And your staff in your hand. And you're not to. You're to eat it in haste. To glory. What's this all about? What's this mean? Staff in your hand. Loins girded. Shoes on your feet. This. That you're wanting to go. And start the pilgrim life. That you're wanting to go. The staff's on my hand Lord. Soon as we can open that door. When it's all over I'm gone. The world shall never share apart. What a wonderful Saviour. That's right. That's what he's talking about. All this chivvying. Weighing up. Balancing. Glory be to the name of the Lord. They had to eat it in haste. Lord I want to be gone. I don't want to stay another moment. I'm at the end of my tether. I'm finished with the world. It's rotten and filthy. And it's destroying me. Go. I want to go. That's right. That's how you're to eat it. You see that's how you're to put children under the blood. But that's not what he was talking about. That was a token. On God's own testimony. It was only a token. I want to tell you my beloved young friends. And I want to tell you when you take it from an old man. Perhaps to some of you. Take it from an elder brother. Are you going to eat Jesus or aren't you? Listen. John chapter 6. John chapter 6. Let's get the truth of God's word. And not specious doctrines about it. Let's see what God has to say. In John chapter 6. Look. Jesus was up a mountain. There was a great multitude in verse 2. He was up a mountain in verse 3. And verse 4 says that the Passover was nigh. John chapter 6. They were heading for the Passover. And this is what Jesus said. 53. I say unto you. Except you eat the flesh of the Son of Man. And drink his blood. You have no life in you. Why did he say that? Because of the significance of the Passover. Not sprinkling it. No token stuff here. No trying to get out of being punished and going to hell. You want to drink the very life blood in my veins. Eat my flesh. Glory be to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. God's only got one way of giving eternal life. That's giving eternal food. That's right, isn't it? Glory. He doesn't wave a wand over you and say now you're clean and okay. Come here. You've got to mean it. Absolutely mean it. We're back in Exodus 12. This is the great and glorious truth. Verse 10. You shall let nothing of it remain until the morning. See? You've got to eat it instantly. As soon as you shed that blood and put it on that. If you say you've taken the protection of the blood. If you say you're shouting under the blood. If you're relying on me seeing the blood and passing over you. You've got to eat it now. Not say, oh I was saved 10 years ago. Now I'm learning to eat the flesh. Eat the lamb. What a lot of nonsense this is. What a lot of nonsense it is. They had to do it then and there. On the spot. Oh now the blood, the blood. We're all alright. We're all okay. No, no, no. Elijah, it must be wonderful. Must be wonderful. You're the first born there. Perhaps a fine lad there. My first born isn't here. Our last born's here. Our baby's here tonight. But think of it. They stood there and said, wonderful father, wonderful. I'm alive here to eat this wonderful feast with you dear. Jesus you've known all your life. I don't know. Don't you see that this is life eternal? Knowing Jesus. Not talking about the blood. Singing hymns about it. You understand? Will you understand? Will you take it in? Eating Jesus. Glory, glory. Oh glory. Make your count for the lamb. Make your count for the lamb. If I said stand up every one of you that's going to be numbered in with this lamb tonight, would you be on your feet? You can't be. Not hopefully. But committedly. You can't be. Jesus. Jesus only. We sang it in that hymn. If I had Jesus. Jesus only. Listen. I know that it's fashionable in evangelical circles to preach the blood, the blood, the blood. But while God gives me breath and grace, I'll preach the lamb, the lamb, the lamb that shed it. Glory, glory. Amen. That's what I'll do. I know God didn't say when I see the lamb I'll pass over you because he intended the lamb to be in their stomachs. That's why. The blood was the lasting testimony. If you'd have gone back to those miserable hovels years later wherein they dwelled, you'd have seen the old brown stains on the side posts and on the midposts. Just a token of your faithfulness, Lord. I drink it. You are in your blood. You are in your flesh. I don't want this old flesh that's lived in sin anymore. Change it, Lord. I don't want to be myself anymore, horrible and rotten that I've been. I just want to be Jesus. It's this glorious exchange of lives that's the thing that God is concerned about, my beloved, unless it will never be the beginning of a new day with you. Never. This is why people don't come to newness. They think they can take all the old under a verse about the blood, and I want to tell you you can't. You can't. He'll forgive you. He'll wash you. He'll cleanse you. Glory. Glory. Adore them. My land. Behold the Lamb of God. What does he do? Take away the sin of the world. Has he taken yours away yet? Has he taken your sin away? I'm not asking whether you believe he's atoned for it now. I'm talking about having it covered with the blood. John said, now listen to John. He says he takes it away. He doesn't leave it there saying, never mind, I'll put on my rose-tinted spectacles and look at you, because the rose tint and the blood color aren't a lot different. Now listen. Let's read what these people did. Did you know this was all in this chapter? The other night, I don't know where I was somewhere, and I said, we'll open to John chapter 3. So we went to John chapter 3, and I thought, oh, well, it's John 3, 16. But we spent about an hour and a half in chapter 3. I never knew John chapter 3 before. But it's all here, beloved. It's all here. It's blessed. And this is what it says. Verse 21. Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said unto them, Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families, and kill the Passover. Now I want you to understand it's the lamb that's the Passover, and not the blood. It's the lamb that's the Passover. This isn't shaking your evangelical ideas. It's the lamb. When I see the blood, it was only any good because it was the lamb that was God's Passover. Kill the Passover. It didn't say catch the Passover in a bowl. Kill it. And you shall take a bunch and so on. And it goes on all the way down. And this is what it says in 28. And the children of Israel went away and did as the Lord had commanded. So did they. That's right. They were obedient. Some young rapscallion say, Oh, Dad, I don't want to go to hell when I die. Put the blood on this foot. Out playing around in the world. Off with some harlot somewhere. Off with some worldly. Off on the TV tracks. No, no, no. Glory. You can't lie to God. Son, I counted you in on eating. Not on sheltering under the blood. I counted you in for your eating. See. They went and they did it. Daughter of mine, I counted you in for your eating. Glory. That's what you're counted in for. For your eating. God give you a ravenous appetite. My wife has declared that she's been eating like a horse or something like that. Now she said it. This is the tremendous truth. God gave his great directions about this. And he said, No work being done here. Holy convocation. Only that a man must eat. Verse 16. This is for its observation. A man must eat. Glory. These are all tremendous things. I love it. I love this Bible. That's why I love this Bible you see. If you go on people's theories you won't get very far. And when you come to compare them with the Bible you find the Bible is a lot better. Amen. Now listen. You must eat. Do you understand? And this went on years and years. Hundreds of years afterwards. It was the same thing. A man must eat. Oh but can't we just now. I mean it's a long time ago. Just sprinkle the blood. You know. Happy. We all get together and talk about sprinkling the blood everywhere. Now listen to me my young people. You must eat. What I'm saying to you is you must eat enough too. And don't you rest in a false salvation. Or a false idea of what it is. You don't want to wake up on the wrong side. When it's too late. God counts you as his firstborn. As the firstborn in every family. See how God works this. You're his firstborn. Now you know very well that Jesus was the firstborn. Of every creature. And he's looking upon you as Jesus. And if you don't want his Jesus. What can be done for you? If you don't want to eat his Jesus. Satan you're my landlord. You're my landlord. If God will forgive me this. And I believe he will. I don't think I need forgiving. But I want him all. I don't want to share him with anybody. Yes I do. I want to share him with everybody. But you see what I mean. I want him all. I want to eat Jesus. All of him. All for myself. Let me be greedy here. I have never found that the flesh of the land gave me indigestion. That's true. I'm telling you this solemnly. I've never found his blood ever did anything violent to my tummy. I found it to be pure. Glory to the lamb. But this I do say. There is a measure of wrath gone out against the world. And Jesus did drink the grape that you should have drank. At least we all should have drank. Listen beloved. God wants to share all the fullness of this wonderful life with you. Isn't it a tragedy that God bends over us all and over all this world. And just wants to give them all his glory and all his loveliness. And restore his inward sweetness. People don't want it. Do you? Now I believe we should take account of the lamb. I believe we should. So is he one of these head counts of stars? What's the use of that? But I guarantee if you'd have been in Egypt. Those years ago. And I had a failing memory. Being one of the old grand dads of the community. Now I'm not being humorous. This happened. Patriarchal. I would have come around and said. Now look son. How many have we got in the family? I can't remember. You said dad, dad. Come in. You wouldn't have wanted winkling out of a shell. You'd have been there. Me. I'm one. I'm one. You wouldn't have hesitated. You wouldn't have wanted some expert evangelist to get you out the front. Or put your hand up. And that I am not. An expert evangelist. But what I am is this. A man who knows that my household is too little for the lamb. A man who believes God. That you've got to count with God. He's got to be able to say. This one's mine. That one's mine. I wonder if he ever goes to war. Eating. Eating. Jesus. Not my own ideas. Not the bible. Jesus. Oh lord. Everything else gone. Eat it. That's right. Glory. Shoes on your feet. Your loins girded. Everything packed up on your shoulders. You'll bear the burden in the way. You'll go lord. Pilgrim. Here I am lord. It came to pass that selfsame night. God brought the children of Israel out of Egypt. By their armies. Look at them. Armies of them. And shall it be that in a place like this. A man shall have to plead for hours for one. Armies of them. Armies of them. This is that great night to be remembered. Glory. God brought them out. Looked upon my first born. My Israel. My people. Am I. Am I. Glory. Alright let's pray. Are you counting? Could I count you? If I was counting for God. Could I count you my brother my sister? Hallelujah. Glory. And if you know in your heart. That I couldn't. Really. And I said to you tonight but. Boy I love you. Girlie love you. Will you count? Tonight say Lord count me in. I am finished. Sin. World. Self. Willfulness. Waywardness. Wantonness. Worldness. Wickedness. Gone Lord. I've thrown my heart to you Lord. Jesus. Jesus only. Would you count? Supposing I said to all you fathers of families in this room. Could you count them in? All of you and some of you girlies and boys and you perhaps your mothers and fathers. Aren't keen about these things. Know this. I'll count you in for God if I may be allowed that privilege. It's his land. Not mine. It doesn't belong to the north family. Or the south. Or the east. Or the west. Belongs to God. It's his household. Amen. You can all come and feast here. Glory. Gird your loins now. You're not going back to Egypt anymore. Glory. Gird your loins and put your shoes on. You're not having anything more to do with. Glory. I bring out my people saith the Lord. That's right. Glory. Bind everything up that's worth anything. And all they did was put their needing troughs and their bunk of clothes on their bellies. That's all they went for. All you need is on your back. Knock on. Glory.