My dear friends, we are a wonderfully varied
conglomeration here at Tiley.
There are some of us quite young, a
good sprinkling of us seem to be middle
-aged, and there are others who are undisguisably
elderly.
There are some of us here who are
new converts, others of us have been on
the way to the celestial Zion for a
good number of years, and some of us
are aged believers.
Some of us are well taught in the
Bible and in the deeper truths of the
Christian life.
Some of us are in a moderate degree
of development spiritually, and others of us are
eager novices.
What a problem you are.
Now just sympathetically put yourself in my position.
Which class am I to address?
You see, if I can, I want to
stir up in some of you young people
a fascination for Bible study which I came
into when I was about 17 or 18.
And I mustn't be too abstruse or profound
or complicated or deep for you, or else
you'll say, what a dry old stick he
is.
But there are others of you, and if
I just bring something light or oversimple, you'll
say, well, I haven't got much out of
that.
So I'll tell you what I have proposed,
after much prayer, to say to you.
For the first three mornings, I really must
indulge myself, and I hope at the same
time bring blessing to you, by bringing a
thoroughgoing Bible study.
If by Wednesday I think perhaps it's a
little too concentrated, then with humanitarian compassion I'll
make a change.
But first of all, dear friends, I want
to draw your attention to a great Bible
theme.
I think if I were giving a title
to these three mornings, or to the whole
week if we continue on this subject right
through, I would call it, The Bible Doctrine
of the Lamb.
The Bible Doctrine of the Lamb.
To my own mind, the most satisfying proofs
that the Bible is divinely inspired are not
those which we read up in copious volumes
of religious evidences or Christian apologetics.
No, the most satisfying proof that our dear
old Bible is inspired of God are those
which you and I discover for our own
selves in our own private reading or study
of the Bible.
To those who explore its pages prayerfully and
carefully, the Bible has its own way of
revealing its internal credentials.
Now, one fascinating study trail which always repays
further exploration and always confirms our faith in
the divine origin of the Bible is what
we call Progress of Doctrine in the Bible.
Now, preliminarily get hold of that expression, Progress
of Doctrine in the Bible.
Let me explain what we mean by that
as lucidly as possible.
When we evangelicals talk about Progress of Doctrine
in the Bible, we do not mean, as
certain others do, a kind of groping development
from primitive error to later discovery.
No, we don't mean that.
To us evangelicals, the whole Bible is the
supernaturally produced work of the divine spirit.
But we do recognize that the biblical revelation
is a developing revelation.
There's progress in it.
It is the same divine light which shines
through all the pages, but the degree of
the light increases as the revelation unfolds.
More particularly, I may add, more particularly by
this Progress of Doctrine, we mean that truths
or teachings which first occur in Genesis or
other early parts of the Old Testament are
found to have a recurring mention, a developing
build-up right through the Bible, book after
book, stage after stage, century after century, until
usually some New Testament passage is reached in
which there is either a classic summary or
a completive culmination.
Now, in this Progress of Doctrine, seldom does
the first mention of a subject seem like
being the first link in a catena or
chain of teaching.
And the human agents who figure in the
developing revelation never suspect that in what they
say or do, they are contributing to this
development of truth along a certain line.
That, however, only makes it all the more
obviously supernatural and endlessly fascinating.
Now, one great instance of this Progress of
Doctrine in the Bible is what I have
presumed to call the Bible Doctrine of the
Lamb.
And as a vestigial to our studies, I
want you now to turn with me to
the first epistle of Peter, chapter 1.
The first epistle of Peter, chapter 1, and
I'll read the paragraph beginning at verse 18
and ending at verse 21.
First epistle of Peter, chapter 1, at the
18th verse.
Are you ready?
I'll read it.
For as much as ye know that ye
were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver
and gold from your vain manner of life
received by tradition from your fathers, but with
the precious blood of Christ as of a
lamb, a lamb without blemish and without spot,
who indeed was foreprovided or foreordained before the
foundation of the world, but has been manifested
in these last times for you who by
him do believe in God, God who raised
him up from the dead and gave him
glory, that your faith and hope might be
in God.
You will see a little later why I
have read that paragraph at the outset.
And now right into our subject, dear fellow
students of the word.
In the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, there
are ten notable passages where the lamb is
conspicuously presented.
These are the ten.
One, in Genesis chapter 4, we have the
account of Abel and the lamb which he
offered.
Two, in Genesis 22, we have the incident
of Abraham and the lamb which he offered
in the place of Isaac.
Three, in Exodus 12, we have the Passover
lamb which was sacrificed on the night before
Israel vacated Egypt.
Four, the book of Leviticus, in which we
have the sin offering, the sin offering which
the Israelites offered on the tabernacle altar.
Five, in Isaiah 53, we have the vicarious
suffering lamb who was wounded for our transgressions
and bruised for our iniquities, led as a
lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep
before its shearers is done, so he openeth
not his mouth.
Six, in the first chapter of John's Gospel,
the paragraph running from verse 29 to verse
36, we have the lamb as announced by
John the baptizer.
Behold the lamb of God that beareth away
the sin of the world.
Seven, in the eighth chapter of the Act,
we have the lamb as preached by Evangelist
Philip to the Ethiopian dignitary, the Chancellor of
the Exchequer to Candace, Queen of the Ethiopians,
as he was on the Gaza road going
down from Jerusalem.
We read that beginning at the same scripture,
the scripture about the lamb being led to
the slaughter, beginning at the same scripture we
are told Philip preached unto him Jesus.
And now eight, in the Petrine passage, which
we read at the outset, there we have
the lamb set forth as the Redeemer of
all believers.
And then nine, Revelation chapter five, in which
we see the lamb enthroned in heaven.
Dear fellow students of the word, turn quickly
to Revelation five.
Hurry up, remember you're in the twentieth century.
Are you there?
Just two or three or four verses.
And I saw in the right hand of
him that sat on the throne a scroll
written inside and on the outside, sealed with
seven seals.
And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with
a loud voice, Who is worthy to open
the book and to loose the seals thereof?
And no man in heaven or in earth,
neither under the earth, was able to open
the book, neither to loop thereon.
And I wept much, because no man was
found worthy to open and to read the
book, neither to loop thereon.
But one of the elders said to me,
Weep not.
Behold, the lion of the tribe of Judah,
the root of David, hath overcome to open
the book and to loose the seals thereof.
And I beheld, and lo, in the midst
of the throne and of the four living
ones, and in the midst of the elders,
stood a lamb as it had been slain,
having seven horns and seven eyes, which are
the seven spirits of God sent forth into
all the earth.
And he came and took the book out
of the right hand of him that sat
upon the throne.
And when he had taken the book, the
four living ones and the four and twenty
elders fell down before the lamb, having every
one of them harps and golden vials full
of odours, which are the prayers of saints,
etc.
The lamb is now in the throne.
And package number ten is the book of
Revelation chapter twenty-one and twenty-two, where
we see the lamb, the glorious king of
the new Jerusalem, in the new heaven and
new earth which are yet to be.
Well now, dear fellow pilgrims to Zion, those
are the ten great lamb passages of the
Bible.
One, Abel.
Two, Abraham.
Three, the Exodus.
Four, Leviticus.
Five, Isaiah fifty-three.
Six, first chapter of John.
Seven, eighth chapter of Acts.
Eight, first Peter chapter one.
Nine, Revelation five.
And ten, Revelation twenty-one and twenty-two.
And now will you travel quickly with me
through these ten lamb passages and notice the
progress of emphasis successively in them.
First take the case of Abel and the
lamb which he offered.
Beyond any poor adventure, all the emphasis there
is upon the necessity of the lamb.
Abel's little lamb was an accepted offering by
Jehovah.
Cain's outwardly beautiful but bloodless offering was divinely
rejected.
Now God said to Cain, why is thy
countenance fallen?
There's a thin offering crouching at the tent
door which you can offer.
But Cain persisted in his disobedience to the
instructions which had evidently been given as we
gather from Hebrews eleven verse five.
And again Cain was rejected.
By double emphasis therefore, here we see the
indispensable necessity of the lamb.
We see it in the acceptance of Abel
and the rejection of Cain.
And friends let us never forget that's the
first biblical emphasis on the lamb.
The lamb is an indispensable necessity for we
are deep-dyed, deeply guilty, hell-deserving sinners.
Now I suppose most of us here this
morning are born-again Christian believers rejoicing in
sins forgiven, in guilt removed, in peace with
God and hope of heaven.
But if you were the lecturer this morning
you'd feel as I do.
I don't take a crowd like this for
granted.
There may be scattered among us unconverted people
and I want you to get hold of
this.
If you want to be a saved soul
and to be right with God and to
be ready for the eternity that lies on
the other side of the grave, your first
need is the lamb.
Yes it is.
And that's the first emphasis in our bible.
But now travel to the account of Abraham
and the lamb which he offered for his
young handsome 22 year old Isaac.
Now here the emphasis is not upon the
necessity of the lamb but upon the provision
of the lamb.
When the aged patriarch and Isaac were going
up the mountainside, young Isaac could see that
his father was in a troubled reverie.
But at last he felt obliged to interrupt
and be said very respectfully, Dad, Dad, are
you forgetting something?
We've got the wood and the faggot.
But Dad, where's the lamb?
And the troubled patriarch speaking with a profundity
which he himself little suspected said, my son,
God himself will provide the lamb.
And you know how the lamb was provided?
Just as that blade flashed in the eastern
sun, there came the voice from heaven, Abraham,
Abraham, stay thine hand, lay not thine hand
on the lad, for now I know that
thou lovest me.
And in that identical moment, Abraham heard a
movement in a thicket just behind him and
there was the lamb for the offering.
And so impressed was Abraham himself that he
called the name of that place by a
name which clung to it ever afterwards, Jehovah
-Jireh, the Lord will provide.
And dear fellow believers and visiting friends, let's
rejoice in this, that if the lamb is
a prior necessity, thank heaven God himself has
provided the lamb for all of us.
And now we're passing to Exodus chapter 12,
we find now in the case of the
Passover lamb, the emphasis is neither on the
necessity of the lamb nor on the provision
of the lamb, but upon the slaying of
the lamb.
There must be one lamb selected for each
Hebrew family, it must be set apart on
the tenth day of the month until the
evening of the fourteenth, on which evening it
must be slain and the blood must be
applied to the lintels of the Hebrew dwelling.
Now however blemishless or however qualified in other
ways that little lamb might be, it had
no protective efficacy so long as it still
remained alive.
It must be slain and its blood must
be applied to the door posts of the
houses.
The word of Jehovah was, when I see
the blood, I will pass over you.
So there's no doubt about it, now the
emphasis is upon the slaying of the lamb.
And in this developing doctrine of the lamb
in the Bible, having seen the necessity of
it and the divine provision of it, we
are meant to understand that you and I
cannot be saved only by the blemishless life,
the immaculate character, or the original and wonderful
and profound teaching of the Lord Jesus.
It must be Christ and him crucified.
I don't know how you feel, older friends,
but the older Sidlow Baxter grows, the more
he feels the need for the precious blood.
Then you come to the book of Leviticus,
this is the fourth of these great lamb
passages, and now in Leviticus the emphasis is
upon the character of the lamb.
Twenty times we are told the lamb must
be, quote, without blemish.
And we find the whole thing expressed concentratedly
in chapter 22, verse 21, speaking of the
Lord's offering, it says, it shall be perfect
to be accepted.
And the fourth great truth in this developing
doctrine of the lamb, therefore, is the virtue
of the lamb by reason of its utter
blemishlessness, its perfection.
And that which makes Calvary our great sacrifice
of atonement and redemption is that conjoined with
the boundless Godhead of Christ there is his
sinless manhood.
In his sinless manhood and boundless Godhead, one
for all and one for all, with absolute
fullness and eternal finality, he exhausted the total
sin penalty of the human race.
And because he did it with absolute fullness
and eternal completeness, he made a foundation on
which our holy God can remain righteous and
yet pardon the penitent and believing sinner.
And now passage number five, Isaiah 53.
And here we take a big step forward
in the biblical doctrine of the lamb.
First the necessity of the lamb, then the
provision of the lamb, then the slaying of
the lamb, then the character of the lamb.
But here in Isaiah 53 we learn for
the first time that the lamb of God
providing is a person.
Hitherto it has been an animal, but now
it is a person.
He was wounded for our transgression.
He is led as a lamb to the
slaughter.
And then in the sixth passage, that's the
gospel according to John chapter one, we find
that the lamb is not only a person,
but through the pointing finger and thrilling tones
of John.
And then in the sixth passage, that's the
gospel according to John chapter one, we find
that the lamb is not only a person,
but through the pointing finger and thrilling tones
of John, the sign of your prophet, we
learn that the lamb is that person, Jesus
of Nazareth.
And then in the eighth of these lamb
passages, in the seventh of them, the eighth
chapter of the Acts, we find that the
lamb is not only a person and that
person, Jesus, but that the lamb and that
person, Jesus, are the promised Christ of Israel.
And Philip says, if thou believest, thou mayest
be baptized.
And the Ethiopian chancellor replies, I believe that
Jesus is the Christ.
Israel was expecting and waiting for a king,
but before the lion, they needed the lamb,
and before the king, they needed the redeemer.
But the great emphasis there is that Jesus
is the promised Christ, and the Christ is
the promised lamb.
And then you come in the eighth place
to that passage in the first epistle of
Peter.
And now I'll tell you why I read
it at the commencement.
It's part of the genius which we find
again and again in the developing doctrines of
the Bible.
Don't you see that passage in Peter loops
both backwards and forwards?
It sums up all that has preceded it
in this developing doctrine, and then brings out
a wonderful new truth.
Let me explain.
What was the first emphasis in the Bible
concerning the lamb?
It was the necessity of the lamb.
All right, Peter says, ye were redeemed, but
not with silver, that's money, and not with
gold, that's the most precious of all metals.
It must be Jesus, the necessity of the
lamb.
What was the next emphasis?
It was the provision of the lamb.
All right, Peter says, a lamb slain before
the foundation of the world.
The lamb was in the heart of God
before man ever fell into sin.
What was the next emphasis in the Old
Testament?
It was on the slaying of the lamb,
the Exodus lamb.
And so Peter says, with the precious blood
of Christ.
And what was the next emphasis?
It was the Levitical emphasis on the blemishlessness
of the lamb.
So Peter says, as of a lamb without
blemish and without spot.
And what were the next emphases in the
Old Testament?
The lamb is a person, the lamb is
that person, that person is the Christ.
And so Peter brings all that in, and
he says, it's with the precious blood of
that person who is the Christ.
Do you see, Peter is summing it all
up, and with a very good reason, because
now he's going to bring out a new
truth about the lamb.
That is, the resurrection of the slain lamb.
Who by him do you believe in God
that raised him from the dead?
Now in the Old Testament we find many
prophecies, clear and explicit predictions on the calvary
sufferings of our Lord, and equally clear predictions
concerning his coming global kingdom.
But nowhere in the Old Testament do you
find any predictions concerning the bodily resurrection of
our Lord from the dead.
Now think carefully here, we know of course
as Christian believers, in the light of the
New Testament, that there are indeed many latent
anticipations of our Lord's bodily resurrection.
There are many latent anticipations of it in
the Old Testament, but nowhere is there any
direct prediction of our Lord's bodily resurrection.
But now Peter says, God who raised him
from the dead and gave him glory.
Now listen to the careful phraseology here, that
your faith, now faith looks back to all
that the lamb has done for us.
That your faith and hope.
As soon as Peter mentions the resurrection of
the slain lamb, now there's a new aspect,
hope.
And as soon as you know the lamb
is risen, and you have hope in the
resurrected lamb, you say, well where is he
now, and what's he doing, and what does
it hold for the future?
And so that hurries you on to the
ninth of those lamb passages, Revelation chapter 5.
And now you find that the lamb who
was slain, and the lamb who rose, is
the lamb who is enthroned in the seat
of universal authority.
And so you begin to say now, well
what's all that leading to?
And you come to the tenth of these
lamb passages, Revelation 21 and 22, and you
find that he is the predestined emperor of
all people, and that he's going to be
the everlasting king amid the glory of the
new heaven and the new earth.
Now don't you think that's pretty wonderful development?
Say yes, run through it quickly, 1.
The necessity of the lamb, 2.
The provision of the lamb, 3.
The slaying of the lamb, 4.
The character of the lamb, 5.
The personality of the lamb, 6.
The identity of the lamb, 7.
The Christhood of the lamb, 8.
The resurrection of the lamb, 9.
The heavenly enthronement of the lamb, and 10.
The eternal kingship of the lamb.
But now look back again over these ten,
and see the progress of theological doctrine here.
Oh does that sound a little bit heavy
for some of you young folks here?
Let me say it again just to tantalize
you.
I say look back now, and see the
progress of theological doctrine here.
1.
In the case of Abel, the emphasis is
on what we call propitiation.
That lamb was a propitiatory offering by a
rebellious sinful man to a holy god against
whom human sin is a monstrous outrage.
That lamb was a propitiation, and thank God
Christ is the propitiation for us hell-deserving
human sinners.
2.
In the case of Abraham and the lamb
he offered for Isaac, the emphasis is not
upon propitiation, it's upon substitution.
The lamb was there in the place of
another, and thank God when our Lord Jesus
languished on that never to be repeated cross
of Calvary, he was not even the most
glorious of all martyrs.
He was there for me.
He was there for you.
He was my substitutionary sin bearer.
Blessed be his name.
3.
The Exodus lamb is on protection by the
lamb.
When the angel of judgment and death saw
the mark of the blood on the dwelling,
he could not enter the door.
That blood was an absolutely safe covering from
judgment, and blessed be his name, so is
my dear savior.
God sees the marks of the blood upon
his people, and not all the powers of
hell can bring about our destruction if we
are under that precious blood.
4.
The emphasis in the book of Leviticus is
on absolution by the lamb.
That lamb satisfies all the obligations, covers all
the iniquities of the nation Israel for the
whole of the preceding year, both Godwards and
manwards.
It does away with guilt and it brings
absolution, a complete freedom from all guilt.
5.
Then when you come to Isaiah 53, the
emphasis is especially upon expiation.
Now expiation is the suffering out in your
own mind and body of some penalty that
is due for something that is wrong.
And in Isaiah 53, he is wounded.
He is thrashed.
He is bruised.
He is broken.
The chastising of our peace falls upon him.
It's all expiation in his own self.
Our blessed, glorious Jesus expiated our sin.
Then 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, passage number
6, the first chapter of John, here we
see the complete removal of guilt, all of
our sin with its ugly blackness and penalty.
The whole immense barrier between God and men
is once for all put out of the
way so that the glorious blood of God's
forgiveness may come to us through the Lamb.
7.
Now the emphasis is upon individual salvation through
the Lamb.
The Ethiopian eunuch believes and goes on his
way rejoicing what he has failed to find
in Jerusalem, what he has failed to find
in the temple, and what he has failed
to find in the Jewish ordinances and sacrifices
he has found in the Lamb.
He believes and he's saved and he knows
it and he goes on his way rejoicing
salvation through the Lamb.
And when you come to passage number 8,
that first chapter of Peter, now the emphasis
is upon redemption.
Ye were redeemed.
And to redeem is to buy back again,
to purchase.
And through the blood of the Lamb God
has paid the infinite price of Calvary and
has bought us back to be his peculiar
possession.
And passage number 9, Revelation chapter 5, now
you come to government by the Lamb.
The Lamb who hung on the cross now
reigns on the throne of universal administration.
And then when you come to Revelation chapter
20, 1 and chapter 22, you find the
eternal glory of the Lamb.
The millennium has passed away.
The story of Adamic humanity is wrapped up
and completed.
There's a new heaven and a new earth.
No more curse, no more sin, no more
suffering or sighing or dying.
But in that wonderful queen city of God's
new order, the center of everything forevermore is
the throne of God and of the Lamb.
And his servants serve him and they see
his face and his very name is written
on their forehead.
Oh, it is a sublime consummation.
It's the consummation to the whole of biblical
revelation.
And at the center of it all is
the King, the glorious Lamb forever.
Now let me ask you, don't you think
that's a pretty wonderful development?
One, propitiation.
Two, substitution.
Three, protection.
Four, absolution.
Five, expiation.
Six, complete removal.
Seven, individual salvation.
Eight, redemption.
Nine, government.
And ten, eternal glory all through the Lamb.
Isn't that pretty wonderful?
Are you getting tired?
Say no.
And listen quickly, I've still got just a
few minutes.
Go back through these ten again.
Are you listening?
In the case of Abel, it's the Lamb
for sin.
We are not even told it was for
a person, it was for sin.
In the case of Abraham and Isaac, it
was the Lamb for one person.
In the case of the Passover Lamb, it
was the Lamb for one family.
In Leviticus, it's the Lamb for one nation,
the nation Israel.
In Isaiah 53, it's the Lamb for all
the elect, for it says he shall sprinkle
many nations.
In John chapter 1, it's the Lamb for
the whole world, the Lamb of God that
beareth away the sin of the world.
And in Acts chapter 8, it's the Lamb
for the individual, for whosoever.
Not only for the Jew, not only for
the white man, but for that brown Ethiopian.
The Lamb for whosoever.
In the first chapter of Peter, it's the
Lamb for all history, provided before the foundation
of the world.
In Revelation chapter 5, it's the Lamb for
the whole universe.
He's on the throne of universal sway.
And in Revelation 21 and 22, it's the
Lamb unto the ages of the ages.
Think of it, the Lamb for sin, the
Lamb for one person, the Lamb for one
family, the Lamb for one nation, the Lamb
for all the elect, the Lamb for whosoever,
the Lamb for the whole world, the Lamb
for all history, the Lamb for the universe,
and the Lamb forever.
Did somebody say hallelujah?
That's wonderful in shivering Britain.
Well now let me ask you as I
close.
Is all this progressive presentation of the Lamb
a product of blind chance or fortuitous coincidence?
According to some moderns, I may be old
-fashioned and naive, but to me this Bible
doctrine of the Lamb is another internal evidence
of supernatural inspiration.
It confirms to me that the whole Bible
is a developing unfolding of divine revelation, and
that the whole of the Bible is the
written word of God.
If that is being old-fashioned, then let
me stay old-fashioned, for I believe that
this good old-fashioned will still be new
and true when many of the new fashions
of the present hour have become dead and
buried with very few mourners at the funeral.
I recommend to one and all let such
biblical phenomena as this progressive doctrine of the
Lamb be a reassurance that these 66 documents
which comprise our Bibles are indeed the living
oracles of the Almighty.
And to that I would add this, let
this Bible doctrine of the Lamb show to
us what God thinks about the Lamb.
In one way or another right through the
Bible it is Jesus of the Lamb who
has the preeminence.
All other disclosures, whether through Pentateuchal law or
Israelitist history, whether psalmodic or philosophic, whether prophetic
or doctrinal, whether visual or didactic, all are
subservient to this onward moving unveiling of truth
concerning the Lamb.
Supremely friends, our Bible is God's testimony to
the Lamb.
Should not our own testimony be in line
with God?
Should not the Lamb be the outshining center
and dominating accent of all our Christian preaching
and evangelism and witness-bearing?
Think back again over the tenfold progress, the
necessity of the Lamb, the divine provision of
the Lamb, the slaying of the Lamb, right
on to the heavenly enthronement and the eternal
sovereignty of the Lamb.
Are not all these needing new enunciation in
the pulpit ministry and public evangelism of our
time?
Glance back over some of those ten doctrinal
emphases here, by the Lamb propitiation, substitution, absolution,
expiation, redemption.
All these, and indeed, alas, all ten are
being denied or blot away or disdained today
by ecclesiastical scholars at the one extreme and
in the hazy sophisms of crude hippies at
the other extreme.
One of our easiest dangers today is to
give way either to the pressure of humanistic
theologians or to the loud rebellions of misguided
teenagers.
Already we are seeing everywhere around us today
the sorry repercussions of the new and popular
false gospels.
You only have to turn on your television
or scan your newspaper to see that the
part of British society which gets most publicity
at present is wallowing in the mire.
Instead of accommodating our message to changing theological
predilections or to carnalize social standards, we should
preach with more concentrated resolve and prayer than
ever our central glorious gospel of the Lamb,
the Lamb of Calvary, the Lamb of resurrection
glory, the Lamb of all transcendent enthronement, the
one and only true saviour and the predestined
administrator of a soon coming new age.
Oh friends, we should be proud of the
Lamb, shouldn't we?
See that stately oak tree proudly reigning on
yonder hillside.
How did it become the noble mighty giant
that it now is?
Was it by bowing and cringing to hostile
winds or sudden tempest?
No, it was by holding on and standing
firm.
The more the storm tore in among the
branches and ripped off the leaves, the deeper
went the root and the stronger grew the
trunk and the sturdier became the branches.
Even so, this is no time for you
and me to be apologizing for our evangelical
message.
Other messages are failing wretchedly and utterly.
This is the message for the hour.
We may say of it as it was
said of Goliath's sword, there is none like
it.
I believe that if we hold our ground
and refuse any pandering to the whims of
a sick society and preach more prayerfully than
ever through redemption through the Lamb, we shall
yet win through to new triumph.
Indeed, my precious wife and I during the
last two years have seen a wonderful change
in America.
There's a wonderful change in the young people
of America.
They are wanting the Bible.
They are wanting the gospel and I believe
that we might be on the eve of
a wonderful world movement of the Holy Spirit.
As we remember again how we ourselves have
become saved through the Lamb, let us exult
yet more gratefully that the precious blood shed
on Calvary still cleanses from all sin and
brings eternal salvation.
And oh, Mr. Chairman and friends, I'd like
to think that in file in 1973, I'd
like to think we would all start saying
with new meaning, William Cowper's lines, I know
this is where I am.
E'er since thy faith I saw the
stream, thy flowing wounds supply.
Redeeming love has been my theme and shall
be till I die.
Then in a nobler, sweeter song, I'll sing
thy power to save with sinless heart and
raptured tongue in triumph for the day.
Amen.