BEHOLD THE LAMB (2)
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Behold The Lamb Series - Sermon #2
The Preparation
Intro:
As we draw near the day that we celebrate as the day of the birth of our Lord and Savior, we are reminded that His birth was something that had been promised thousands of years earlier in Gen.3. We saw this last week.
We saw the promised Lambs personality, his power and his portrait.
We saw the reason God was going to send His Lamb and What that Lamb would fulfil when he did come.
But what I would like to focus on today as we behold the Lamb of God, is the preparation that took place for that promise to be fulfilled. Not just the preparation from the heavenly side but also the preparation that had to take place here on earth.
I want to preach on this thought: Behold The Lamb: The Preparation.
I will be taking a little different approach to the message then I usually do. I don’t really have one specific text this morning, we will be looking at two text in particular this morning, but we will looking at a few others to help us get to where I want to be today.
For the sake of time I will just read the text as we get to them. I will have you turning alot this morning.
Ex.12:1-5; Luke 1:26-38
So, with that said, I want you to keep this thought in your mind as we work our way through this message.
Question: If Jesus was to come back this very day, are you prepared for His soon coming arrival?
These first two main points are really an introduction to where I really want to get to.
The first thing I want us to see is...
I. The Selection of the Lamb in Preparation for His Arrival
I. The Selection of the Lamb in Preparation for His Arrival
Lets turn to Ex.12:1-5
A. The Lamb had to be Sufficient
A. The Lamb had to be Sufficient
Ex.12:1-4
In Ex.12 we see that God told Moses that the lamb they chose was to be sufficient enough for all that were in the house.
When God selected His Son to be the the Lamb that would take away the sin of the world, He selected the Lamb that would be enough for all those that would come to Him.
If we look at how God provided a lamb we can see a steady progression with the lamb serving as a representative for larger and larger groups of people.
At first God provided one lamb for one person.
Thus Abraham offered a ram in place of his son Isaac.
Next God provided one lamb for one household.
This happened at the first Passover, when every family in the covenant community offered its own lamb to God.
Then God provided one sacrifice for the whole nation.
On the Day of Atonement, a single animal atoned for the sins of all Israel.
Finally the day came when John the Baptist “saw Jesus coming toward him and said, Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. (John 1:29)
God was planning this all along: one Lamb to die for one world. By his grace he has provided a lamb—
B. The Lamb had to be Spotless
B. The Lamb had to be Spotless
Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats:
They could not chose just any Lamb that would be big enough for the household, They had to select a lamb that was perfect.
God gave specific commands regarding the lamb.
It had to be sufficient
It had to be spotless
Then they would kill it and they had to apply its blood exactly where God said.
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.
The consistent message of the Bible is that anyone who wants to meet God must come on the basis of the lamb.
Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
There is no other way!
So we see the selection of the Lamb in preparation for His Arrival. Now we come to the...
II. The Location of the Lamb in Preparation for His Arrival
II. The Location of the Lamb in Preparation for His Arrival
hold your place there in Ex.12, and turn now to 1 Peter 1,
1Peter 1:20, Isa. 7:14.
If for just a moment we look back at Ex.12 we see that Once the Lamb was selected, He was taken into the house to be prepared.
There was a Location for the Lamb to be prepared, just like there was a place that the Lamb of God was to be prepared.
We see two locations this preparation took place.
The first location of the lamb for the preparation is back in the first epistle of Peter chapter 1 and verse 20..We see..
A. The Foundation of the World
A. The Foundation of the World
Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,
God had already began preparation for sending His Son way back before He created anything. You may ask why? because God is all knowing and therefore He already knew what Adam would do and He already knew what man would need.
In many other places we find the phrase, “before the foundation of the world” or some form of those words.
We know that we were chosen before the foundation of the world. Eph. 1:4
According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
we know that the works of God were finished from the foundations of the world. Heb.4:3
For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.
We know that it was since the foundations of the world that Christ must suffer Heb. 9:26
For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
we know that Jesus was loved of His Father before the foundations of the world John 17:24
Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.
and
We know that Jesus was foreordained before the foundations of the world to be a Lamb without blemish or spot. 1Pet.1:19-20
But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,
God had already had the Lamb at the right location and was even preparing the Lamb before the foundations of the World.
The first location of the lamb, was before the foundations of the World
The second location of the lamb for the preparation to come into the world to take away the sin of the world is found in the seventh chapter of Isaiah down in verse 14.
B. The Female Womb
B. The Female Womb
Isaiah 7:14 (KJV 1900)
Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, And shall call his name Immanuel.
Isaiah told it hundreds of years earlier, that the location of the lamb in preparation of His entrance into the world would be the virgin womb.
The Lamb was not to come by some magical show
The Lamb was not to come by some science experiment
The Lamb was to come via a virgin female womb .
Pure and innocent, Not innocent from sin but innocent from having been defiled.
A pure lady is not praised like she once was. A pure woman use to hold a place of respect and honor in society.
Now a days they are ridiculed and in movies they are depicted as someone that no one wants to be with.
Can I tell you, a pure lady is just as precious to God today as it was in Luke 1.
Young ladies, never allow anyone to tell you are any thing less then a gift from God. Remain pure and just watch what God will do with you.
So why did God use a virgin womb?
In Gen. 2 we are told that God “made” the woman from man.
If you were to study that word made you find that it means to build.
Why did God take to a special job and task in hand building the woman?
I will tell you why.
He had to construct the woman in such a way that when she gave birth to a child, the blood-stream of the child did not come from or be contaminated by the woman. The blood-stream owes its origin to the contribution of the male.
God constructed woman the way He did because He knew there was a day coming that there would need to be a Virgin Birth; there was a day when God was going to do a biological miracle, and a woman was going to bear a Son and she was not going to bear Him in a natural manner, but in a supernatural manner.
The Blood-stream owes its origin not to Mary but to the Holy Ghost. Conceived by the power of the Holy Ghost!
Every person in this auditorium has a blood-stream poisoned with the cancer of sin.
But, thank God, there is no sin in the Blood-stream of Jesus.
So, God had selected the Lamb for Preparation to send into the world, He prepared the selected Lamb before the foundations of the world and by way of a pure young woman. But how did God chose the womb that He would place His Lamb for preparation to come into the world?
I Think He chose her because of one simple thing, she was dedicated.
III. The Dedication to the Lamb in Preparation for His Arrival
III. The Dedication to the Lamb in Preparation for His Arrival
Luke 1:26-38
Mary was chosen as the vessel that would carry in her womb the Lord Jesus Christ.
In order to be ready for His arrival she had to be dedicated to the One that would come.
If we are going to be ready for His arrival , for His coming, I believe we must be dedicated like Mary was.
The Lamb of God is coming back very soon, you must be ready for His return.
We see three things that Mary did, that I believe we should be dedicated to as well if we are going to be ready when He comes.
A. Mary was Dedicated to Purity
A. Mary was Dedicated to Purity
v.27, 34
Yes by God’s grace Mary had remained pure for such a time as this, but I believe Mary had already purposed in her own heart that she would not willfully sin against God and lose that Purity.
Can God keep you from falling, absolutely.
But you must also purpose in your heart that you will not willfully commit sin.
Sins of Commission is any sin you willfully and knowingly commit. i.e drinking, cussing, deliberately choosing something worldly over corporate worship. These are sins that we can purpose in our hearts today, we will not do them!
Sins of Omission are those sins that we do not willfully commit. i.e not placing God first in everything, pride, selfishness. Some of our sins of omission are just results of our fallen nature.
If you are going to be ready for His soon arrival, We must be in preparation for His return and like mary that starts with being dedicated to purity.
Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
You all are familiar with the parable of the ten virgins, in Matt.25?
Well it tells us that ten went out and five were wise and five were foolish. The five wise took enough oil for their lambs. that word oil implies pure-olive oil. Pure. If we are going to keep our lamps burning in preparation for his arrival we must be dedicated to purity
B. Mary was Dedicated to Identity
B. Mary was Dedicated to Identity
v.28, 30
Mary was a Jew and she was most likely a devout Jew. She was dedicated to that identity. She probably looked like a Jew and held to all the Jewish customs.
The word blessed means praise or praised.
this tells me that Mary had a good reputation among those around her.
If we are going to be ready for His arrival, we must be dedicated to our identity.
We cant just say we are one of His we must live like we are.
Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
We must be dedicated to our identity
C. Mary was Dedicated to Humility
C. Mary was Dedicated to Humility
v.38
Mary was dedicated to just being a servant of the Lord.
Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;
She found Grace from God because of her humility
But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.
If we are going to be ready for His arrival we must be prepared for his arrival and that starts with our dedication to Him which brings about being dedicated to Purity, to our Identity and to out own humility.
Remember you have been bought with a price and if you are saved by His grace then you are His child.
Conclusion
Conclusion
as we close in on another Christmas and the end of another year, lets remember that we are another day, another week, another month and another year closer to His return.
Lets be ready for that return by getting prepared today.\
Maybe you are here this morning and do not know the Lamb of God as Your personal lamb.
You can change that today.
Just like the children of Isreal were to take a lamb that was sufficient for their house,
God has called you to take of His Lamb that he has prepared before the foundation of the world
the lamb that he sent by way of the miraculous conception so that He was unspotted by the world, just so you sinner friend can be saved by His blood that He would shed on calvary some 33 years later.
You might even be asking yourself, Why would God go to all that trouble?
Why would He send His Son into this world?
Why would He allow that Son to die for lost people?
There is only one answer and there is only one reason:
He loves you! The Bible declares His love, John 3:16
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
and the death of Christ on the cross at Calvary displays it for all to see, Rom. 5:8 .
But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
The blessed Lamb of God was sent to this world through the womb of the virgin Mary so that He might be born without sin, live a sinless life and die for you on the cross.
So, the question is not really why did God do this? The question is what have you done about it?
Have you trusted Jesus as your Savior?
Are you genuinely saved by grace?
Do you know the Lord?
God prepared the Lamb so you might be saved, and you can be if you will come to Him.
Maybe there is some saint here this morning that has a need that only God can meet, he will if you will come down here and meet him by faith. He is able to do exceeding abundantly above all we can ask or think. Wont you come this morning.