you All right, good evening. Welcome to our service tonight. It's good to have each one of you with us for this Thursday evening service. We're gonna begin with hymn 129 in the Blue Hymnals. 129 in the Blue Hymnals. Alas, and did my Savior bleed, and did my Sovereign die at the cross, at the cross where I first saw the light, and the burden of my heart rolled away. Hymn 129. We're on the second stanza, hymn 129. And the cross, and the cross, where I first saw the light, the Word of my heart told the way. It was there I prayed, I received my sight, and now I Let's stand please. We'll sing that third stanza. We'll skip the chorus and then go right into the fourth. On the third stanza 129. I give myself. All right, we will have some prayer. Then after our prayer, we'll be able to hear the children's choir sing tonight. And Paul, could you please open us up in prayer? think upon the crucifixion of Christ and His way to satisfaction because of our sins. We rejoice in that and are filled with gratitude this evening for what you have done for us. And may our hearts be stirred to love you and serve you in a greater way this evening. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you. May we be seated. ♪ He has conquered dust and prison ♪ He has ended sin's dark night ♪ He has lifted us to heaven ♪ Through his hand and endless light ♪ Ring the Easter bells victorious ♪ Christ is risen, he is alive ♪ Ring the Easter bells together ♪ ♪ Of the Lord who made the flowers ♪ ♪ Ring the bells of Bethlehem's supper ♪ ♪ For the Lord hath given Christ ♪ ♪ He who has the boughs of joy ♪ ♪ At our fancy's at our yoke ♪ ♪ O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming ♪ ♪ And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air ♪ ♪ Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there ♪ ♪ The Easter bountifulness ♪ ♪ Let that ring throughout the land ♪ ♪ Let us put away our sadness ♪ ♪ Christ is risen and returns ♪ ♪ Alleluia to the Savior ♪ ♪ King of kings and Lord of lords ♪ ♪ Born became the Father ♪ is is All right, thank you, children, for that. A lot of work went into putting all that together. Hymn 113, on a hill far away stood an old rugged cross, the emblem of suffering and shame. Hymn 113, after this hymn, then we will have the offering. ♪ Of suffering and shame ♪ ♪ And I hope that, O brothers, where the dear is left best ♪ ♪ For the world of us, it ends the same ♪ ♪ So cherish me, O God, in Christ ♪ at last I lay down. I will cling to the old rugged cross, and exchange it someday for a crown. ♪ O how dear have I God, and the glory of God ♪ ♪ To where it's new dark now appalling ♪ ♪ So I'll cherish thee, O God, in prost ♪ ♪ Till my troth is at last highly found ♪ God and God, let us sing to some day, Lord of God. Let's stand please we'll sing that third stanza acapella without the instruments and then we'll skip the chorus on that third stanza and then the instruments can join us once again on the fourth and may it truly be the testimony of your life on that four stanza to the old rugged cross I will ever be true it's shame and reproach gladly bear on that third stanza In the old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine, of wondrous beauty I see. Lord was on that old cross, Jesus suffered and died, to pardon and sanctify me. where his glory forever I'll share. So I'll cherish thee all the day long. Oh All right, some of you might be wondering where Pastor is. Well, you can pray for him if you think of it. He isn't feeling well today, so wasn't able to make it tonight. Just a reminder again that the offering is for the special Easter offering for the building fund. So you give as the Lord lays on your heart. Mr. Eka, please lead us in prayer. And Father, Lord, we thank you again for the opportunity to be here tonight. Thank you for the opportunity to give. Lord, we just look forward to what you would have us to hear tonight. Lord, we do ask that your hand would be upon our pastor and heal him, Lord, so he's able to join us tomorrow. Father, please bless this offering. We ask this of Jesus. It's a great blessing tonight to be able to have Pastor Curtis McMiller and his wife, Ruby, with us tonight. He's the pastor of Heritage Baptist Church over in Kenosha. And Paul spoke for them one time, and that's kind of where the initial connection was made. And then he spoke at our Valentine's, the Sweethearts Banquet in February. and we're so glad that he could be back with us tonight. And we're going to have the choir come up and sing now, and then right after the choir sings for the special, then Pastor McMiller, you can come and bring forth the Word of God. so I hear the Savior say, Thy strength indeed is nigh. ♪ Let our feet, let our feet touch the ground ♪ ♪ Let our feet, let our feet touch the ground ♪ ♪ Let our feet, let our feet touch the ground ♪ ♪ Let our feet, let our feet touch the ground ♪ ♪ Let our feet, let our feet touch the ground ♪ ♪ He had left our prisons in ♪ ♪ He watched their pointless growth ♪ ♪♪ For nothing good have I whereby thy grace to claim. I'll wash my garments white in the blood of Calvary's Lamb. So, And when before the throne I stand incomplete, Jesus died my soul to save, my life shall still be. Jesus made it. Oh, to him I owe. To him I owe. And left a crimson stain. And left a crimson stain. And left a crimson stain. And left a crimson stain. And left a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow. He washed it white as snow. Amen. Amen. Good singing, good singing. That's what I usually tell my folks at about this time, amen? Wherever I go and if I hear some good singing, I will let people know you did a fabulous job. And I wish I could. drag all of our folks up here so they can learn from the very best, all right? And first of all, I want to say thank you so much for allowing my wife and I to attend your services tonight. And I am so excited about this special time of the year, as well as I'm sure many of you are. And I honestly don't know why it is your pastor asked me to come, I had the privilege, obviously, of speaking at the Valentine's banquet, and I was kind of hard on myself. I thought for sure I put everybody to sleep, amen? But evidently your pastor stayed awake long enough to give me a call to come. And so I thank the Lord for him. My wife and I will be praying for your pastor. I just got the word earlier that he was under the weather. And I too, I'm a little horse. And so please bear with me as well. I do want to say, I don't know what your normal Wednesday night crowd is, but from what I see, this is a pretty good amount of people to come out on a Wednesday night. And I do thank you so much for taking the time to be a blessing to my wife and I. It's always nice to have somebody to preach to. Amen? And so I appreciate that a great deal. I too want to say that some of you probably have heard me on WVCY have the opportunity to have a program, Answer the Call. And I usually pick on people that'll come up to me and say, hey, you're that guy on the radio. And I say, yeah, you heard me. And they say, yeah. And I say, well, when you heard me, did you bring your pillow? And so I can give you that pillow talk. And then they understand that I'm usually joking. But I'll try my best to kind of keep you awake tonight. You know, this is a beautiful location, beautiful building, and I am looking forward to just, I'm supposed to get a tour at the end, and I'm gonna be looking forward to that. So let's get at it. If you have your Bible handy, we're gonna be turning to Acts chapter number eight. Acts chapter number eight. Now understand that your pastor has already started somewhat of a commemoration concerning the death the burial, the resurrection of Christ. I understand that this is not the first night of this particular program that you guys started. And I get the opportunity to preach on one of those particular events involving our Lord and those things. If you have your Bible, turn to Acts chapter eight. We're gonna have you stand. We're gonna be reading verse number 26 through verse number 35. Now in our place, I usually tell our folks, amens are welcomed. And I don't think I'll have that problem around here, amen? And so we get carried away that way sometime. Here in Acts chapter number eight, this obviously is a familiar event involving Philip and a gentleman that Philip was able to approach and proclaim the gospel. But note with me starting there with verse number 26, the Bible said, and the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip saying, arise and go towards the south. unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. And he arose and went, and behold, a man of Ethiopia, and eunuch of great authority, under Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, was returning and setting in his chariot read, Isaiah is the prophet. Then the spirit said unto Philip, go near and join thyself to this chariot. Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. And the place of the scriptures which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and like a lamb dumb before his shears, so opened he not his mouth. In his humiliation, his judgment was taken away. And who shall declare his generation? For his life is taken from the earth. And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee of whom speakest the prophet this, of himself or of some other man. Then Philip opened his mouth and began at the same scripture and preached unto him, Jesus. What a phenomenal text. Let's go to the Lord in prayer. By the way, do you have any water? bottle of water anywhere I'll take a water hose that'll work too but you might have something I'm a little I'm get a little horse here and I don't want to preach like that amen or as we'll have an early service now some of you may not have a problem with that but thank you very much appreciate that Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Father, we thank you so much, Lord, for the privilege that we have to be in this tremendous place. And God, thank you, Lord, for the for the work of of the pastor here, Lord, so many years, God, that he has been at the helm in this tremendous place. And God, thank you for God, the fellowship, the tender spirit of those who've decided to jump on board and become a part of this great church. Now, Lord, this is a special time of the year for all of us. God, this is the year or the day leading up to the resurrection of our wonderful Savior. And God, we thank you, Lord, that we can just be mindful of the events that transpired prior. to our Lord's departure from the land of the living. God, give us ears to hear tonight, God, what you would have for us to hear. And God, I trust, Lord, in the midst of this particular crowd, and oh, Lord, it's a tremendous crowd out tonight, don't know what they had last night, but God, I thank you for those that came out tonight. And God, but even in the midst of this crowd, God, surely there's one or maybe two Maybe even three tonight, God, who's wondering what this thing of resurrection or Easter is all about. God, I pray tonight, Lord, that something might happen in their heart and, Lord, that they might come to know who the Savior really is and walk out of this place a brand new creature in Christ, like so many others have done here in this place leading up to tonight. And, Lord, we'll be sure to give you the praise, the glory, and the honor for what's accomplished tonight. We love you, Lord. I love you, Lord. And I thank you, Lord, for this tremendous opportunity, God, to be a blessing to the people here at this wonderful, wonderful church. We ask these things in Jesus precious and holy name. Amen. Amen. You may be seated. OK. It is said. that Cyrus, the founder of the Persian Empire, was once or had once captured a prince and his family. And as the monarch himself brought before him or had bring someone, bring before him this prince and his family, Cyrus said to the prince, if I were to let you go What would you give me? Cyrus, or the prince said, I would give you half of my kingdom. Cyrus was somewhat surprised. Then he said, if I were to let your children go, what would you give me? The prince said that I would give you all that I own. And then Cyrus said, if I were to let your wife go, what would you give me? And the prince looked at Cyrus and said, that I would give you myself. I would give you myself. Of course, Cyrus being the great emperor that he was, he decided that he was captivated by that prince's answer. He decided to let the prince, his wife, and his children go free. And as that prince was on his way back to his destination, he looked at his wife and he said to his wife, he said, you know, that Cyrus was a handsome looking man. and his wife looked over at him, and she said to her prince, she said, you know, I really didn't notice that. All I knew is what you said and how you felt about me. And can I say this to you tonight, that the way that that wife felt towards her husband is the way we ought to feel towards the Lord Jesus Christ. After all, Jesus himself, was willing to give himself for you and for me. And friend, can I say this to you? That is a marvelous, marvelous thing to know. This evening, I want to talk to you about what I consider to be the greatest sacrifice that anyone could have ever made in the history of mankind. According to our text tonight, as we read here in God's Word, or in Acts chapter number 8, the Bible tells us that Philip was put in a position where God through his angel had told this man to go to a certain destination. And the Bible tells us that when Philip got to this certain destination, that he would encounter a certain person. Now of course the Bible doesn't tell us the man's name, but the Bible does tell us a little bit about the fella that Philip would encounter. In fact, I want to mention four things real quickly as we think about this man that Philip would encounter. And of course, maybe we might learn something involving this man. First of all, I noticed that this man who the Bible tells us that was in a chariot, the Bible makes it clear that he was obviously a man given to not only authority, but a man given to royalty. And you'll notice, look at verse number 27. The Bible says this, and he arose, that is Philip arose, and went and behold a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. So I realized that this man in this chariot, the Bible tells us that he was a man of royalty, a man of authority. But not only was he a man of royalty and a man of authority, the Bible also tells us that this person was a reader. And you'll notice in verse 28, the Bible says that this man was sitting in his chariot, and the Bible says that he was reading an Old Testament scroll. The Bible tells us that it is the book of Isaiah that he was reading. So this man was not only one given to royalty, but this man also was a man that understood the need to read. But the Bible also tells us thirdly that this man was a person who was receptive. He was willing to receive the information that he read. You'll notice in verse 30 and 31, the Bible says, and Philip ran thither to him and heard him read the prophet Isaiah's and said, understandest thou what thou readest? And notice this man of royalty, this man of position, notice his response. The Bible said, and he said, how can I except some man should guide me? Evidently, this man wanted to know what this whole scroll was all about. He was concerned about it. And then lastly, we understand that this man was a person who was ready. He was ready for something to happen in his life. Look at it here in verse 34 and verse 35. The Bible says, and the eunuch answered Philip and said, I pray thee, of whom speakest the prophet this, of himself or of some other man? And then the Bible tells us that Philip opened his mouth towards this man, and the Bible says, and he began at the same scripture and preached unto him Jesus. Jesus. Isn't this a wonderful thing? The Bible tells us that this man was concerned about his spiritual condition and praised God that there was a Philip there who was able to show him how he could be saved. But while we think in those terms as we understand this Ethiopian man's salvation, I don't really want us to key in on that as much as I want us to key in on two passages or three passages here, actually two. I want you to look at in verse number 32 and verse 33. The Bible says in the place of the Scripture which he read was this. He was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and like a lamb dumb before her shears, so open he not his mouth. In his humiliation, his judgment was taken away, and who shall declare his generation? For his life is taken from the earth. This of course is a picture or it brings to our attention that chapter in Isaiah 53. And if you have your Bible open, I'd like for you to turn there with me to Isaiah chapter 53. I wanna talk to you on this subject that I call the admirable death of the Lord Jesus Christ. The admirable death of the Lord Jesus Christ. And I want to just kind of picture a little bit of what our Lord went through concerning his death. I don't ever want to count the death of my Savior as a light thing. I don't ever want to look at the shed blood of Jesus Christ as something trivia. I don't ever want to picture Jesus as going all the way to Calvary's cross, just a waste of time. Wait a minute, no. When I think of what Christ has done to purchase me, It does something to me. It stirs me up. It reminds me of how much God, the heavenly father, loved me that he was willing to send his son, the lamb of glory, the rose of Sharon, he who knew no sin to die in the place of a wicked sinner such as I. And I want to talk about that. As we read here in Isaiah chapter number 53, I want you to note with me verse number six, seven, and eight. The Bible says this in verse number six, and we're trying to kind of reflect as what was brought to our attention in Acts chapter 8 concerning the passage in which the eunuch was reading and bringing it to life here in the book of Isaiah from which it was taken. Note with me verse 6, the Bible said, and we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and he was afflicted. and yet he opened not his mouth. He was brought as a lamb to the slaughter and as a sheep before her shears. His dumb soul opened not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment. And who shall declare his generation? For he was cut out of, or cut off out of the land of the living. for the transgressions of my people was he stricken. Ladies and gentlemen, can I just remind you tonight that as we think in terms of the admirability of the death of the Lord Jesus Christ, there are three things that I want us to see this evening before we go home concerning the death of Christ. And I said that it is a admirable death. Number one, I say that the death of Jesus Christ is admirable because of his substitution. because of his substitution. Now you'll notice with me, look at verse number six. The Bible says, all we like sheep have gone astray and have turned everyone to his own way. But then notice the rest of the text. The Bible said, and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. This teaches us what has been defined as the substitutionary atonement. What is the substitutionary atonement? Well, the Bible tells us that this was first introduced when Adam and Eve sinned in the garden. And the Bible tells us that because of Adam and Eve's sin, that God had to provide something that would cover their sin. And we understand that God would have to slaughter an animal of which the coats of that animal's skin would be used as a covering, but that blood had to be shed as a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. We understand there in Genesis it was first introduced when God provided the coats of skin but then we understand it was also instructed when God would speak to a man by the name of Abraham and God would call Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac and we understand that God was making or showing us a picture of the substitutionary atonement in which had Abraham gone through and taken the life of his son Isaac, that blood would have been shed. But oh, praise God that God had a substitute waiting in the thicket that would take the place of his special son, Abraham's son. What is this? This is a picture of the substitutionary atonement But then there is also how all of this is illustrated in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ when He went all the way to Calvary's cross and on Calvary the blood of God's Lamb of Glory was shed. This is a picture of the substitutionary atonement What is substitutionary atonement? It is the innocent going or taking the place or dying for the guilty. What is the substitution atonement? It is where the innocent meets the demands of the guilty. The apostle Peter talked about this when he was encouraging Christians that were about to suffer for the cause of Christ. The Bible tells us, note the text over there in 1 Peter, Chapter three, verse number 17 and 18, the Bible said, from the lips of Peter, for it is better if the will of God be so that she suffer for well-doing than for evil doing. Can I pause right there and say this? I thank God for the fellow who's suffering for doing good, but I won't give you the time of day for the Christian that's suffering for doing bad. Amen. I wouldn't give you the time of day. Sometimes I encounter some Christians and they'll say, oh, preacher, you need to pray for me and my job. And I say, why do I need to pray for you? Well, I'm having a tough time. Well, what is the tough time? I'm having a tough time because my boss want to let me go home early. Why is that? Well, it might be because I punch in a little later than I'm supposed to punch in. Can I say that I don't have time for Christians like that? Amen. Peter says here, Peter said that if you suffer for doing right, praise God. He says, but if you suffer for doing wrong, that ought not to be so. But then he says in verse number 18, for Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, But quickened by the Spirit. And then, oh, here's another passage of scripture that brings to my mind the substitutionary atonement of how Jesus Christ was willing to lay his life down to pay my sin debt. to pay your sin debt. The Bible says that these are the words of the Apostle Paul in his observation concerning the Savior's death. Over there in Romans chapter number five, verse number six through eight, some of you may have it memorized. There he says, for when we were yet without strength in due time, Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die. Yet peradventure for a good man would some even dare to die. But God commended his love towards us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Oh, my friend, I am so glad that Jesus Christ died for my sin. I am so glad that when I was lost, when I was held bound with a hammer down, I'm so glad that when no one knew anything about me, that there was a God in heaven who knew all about me and he was willing to send God the heavenly son to die in place of this undone unbroken sinner. Amen. What is this? This is a picture of the substitutionary atonement. There was a judge that was sitting in his courtroom and he had a criminal that stood before him. As he looked at the criminal, the criminal brought back to this judge memory years of growing up with this same guy that was in front of him. And so the judge, as he looked at this man that he knew, and the man looked at the judge, and the judge felt sorry for the criminal. And the judge wanted to show a picture or a type of what forgiveness was all about. But he didn't know how to handle this situation. As he opened his book, he saw the person, the criminal's crimes, and he knew that the guy was guilty. And because of the severity of the crime, the individual would have to spend 30 days in jail or he would have to pay a $500 fine. And so the judge is thinking about it, then it dawned on the judge. He came up with the answer. As he ran off all of the charges, and he asked the fellow, he said, how do you plead? The fellow said, I plead guilty, judge. And then the judge says, OK. He says, Bailiff, come here. And then the judge took out his wallet, opened it up, and he took out $500, and he paid the debt for the criminal that was in front of him. And by doing that, what did he do? He not only satisfied this thing called justice, but he was also able to show his friend of how much he cared for him. Can I say this to you tonight? There is a God in heaven who sent his son, the Lord Jesus Christ. And Jesus, every time I sin, every time I break God's commandment, it's nice to know that I can look out there and that God says that He looks at my record and He says forgiven because of my willingness to trust Jesus as my Savior and Jesus is that one that came to die in my place to pay my sin debt. Oh friend, can I say this is a picture of substitutionary atonement. Aren't you glad tonight? Jesus Christ is our substitute aren't you glad that tonight you don't have to suffer the penalty of hell if you are born again the price has been paid the blood has been shed and in heaven glory since the Lord Jesus Christ as he cried out on that day it is finished oh my My friend, that's the God that we serve tonight. You and I ought to be shouting from the hills of Gloria. We ought to be saying praise God as we get soon to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. I don't know how you feel about it. I don't know what you think about it. But there's going to be some shouting going on where I preach at. Oh, yes. Yes, sir. There's going to be some shouting going on. The Bible says greater love had no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friend. Can I remind you that Jesus Christ not only laid down his life for his friend, he laid down his life for his enemy. Amen. And all my friend, can I say what type of love is that? That's tremendous love. He who was the just one died in the place of the unjust one. He who was the innocent one died in the place of the devil. guilty one. He who was perfection put on display died in the place of imperfection put on display. He who was altogether lovely died for the unlovable man, the unlovable woman. He who was the sinless one died for every sinner. He who was the only one died for everyone. And can I say to you tonight, praise God that we have a substitute who died in our place. His name is Jesus. You see, Jesus Christ, in his death, he is admirable because of his substitution. Number two, he's also admirable or worthy or honored, if you will, because of his sacrifice. because of his sacrifice. Now, if you're still here in Isaiah, I want you to look at Isaiah 53, seven. And then I want you to look at the next verse. The Bible says he was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth. He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter and as a sheep before her shears is done. So he opened not his mouth and then I want you to look at the middle section of verse number eight. The Bible says for he was cut off out of the land of the living for the transgressions of my people was he stricken now catch this. Three things I want you to notice. First of all, let's go to Hebrews chapter 10. Hebrews chapter 10 brings this out a little bit better as we think about his sacrifice. We know that he is our substitute. but he's also our sacrifice. And beloved, that ought to stir you up. Amen. Knowing that Jesus died for you, you don't deserve to go to heaven, you deserve to burn in hell. Nobody, I said that to our people, I think it was last night, Sunday night. I said, none of you are good if there's anything good in you, it's all Jesus Christ. It's not about you, amen. And I don't know how you feel about it, but that's the truth. Amen. If we all got what we deserve, all of us would be in hell. But thank God that God saw us in our deprived state and said that I'm willing to give them a chance to be saved. And praise the Lord that many of you said, sir, here I am. I need that lifeline. And you trusted Jesus as your savior. You'll notice here, I want you to look at a few passages. Look at verse number one. The Bible said for the law having a shadow of good things to come and not of the very image of the things can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers there unto perfect. And then drop down there to verse 11 and verse number 12. The Bible says, and every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices which can never take away sins. But then notice verse 12. Oh, I love verse 12. In verse number 12, he says, But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sin, forever sat down on the right hand of God. Oh, I like that. What do we see here? In this portion of God's Word, we see three things as we think about the sacrifice or His sacrifice. Number one, we see a flawed system. Look at verse number one again. The Bible says, for the law having a shadow of good things to come and not the very image of the things can never with those sacrifices which they offer year by year continually make the comer there unto perfect. We see here that as those Old Testament Israelites, those Jewish people as they came to the temple to offer up their sacrifice to the tabernacle to offer up their sacrifices. They did that year after year after year and can I just say this to you, that type of system was implemented as a Or as a type of the thing that was to come which of course would be the Lord Jesus Christ But then the Bible tells us that they would do this year after year and while they offered up their lambs While they offered up their goats the people of course they could not cleanse their conscience from the guilt of sin Nor could they cleanse their heart from the offer from the sins that they had committed and all my friend Can I say that was a flawed system? Aren't you glad that you don't have to offer up a lamb or a goat or a pigeon or anything like that for your sins today? Aren't you glad that there is one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus? Aren't you excited about that? Hey man, we see that this system was flawed, the process was flawed. Number two, I see what I call the fragile servants. I see a flawed system, but I also see what I call fragile servants. Look at verse number 11. The Bible says, and every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifice, which can never take away sins. Could you imagine those priests? and how they have from day in and day out, they would receive the sacrifices and they would go and they would offer them up on the brazen altar and take them into the, the high priest would have to go into the Holy of Holies and pray and offer up the sacrifices and the sins for the tribe of Israel and all of that, knowing full well that it could not cleanse them of their sins. Oh, my friend, I was thinking about a Christian, brand new Christian. He had only been saved for about six weeks. And he was on a college campus. And he encountered a very highly educated atheist. And the atheist thought that he would make fun of this, quote unquote, what he thought was a flawed Christian. So the atheist said to this brand new Christian, he said, young man, he said, I don't believe your God exists. He said, I believe he's a joke. I believe that God is all of this stuff is made up. And he said, I tell you what, I'm going to give you 10 seconds. I'm going to prove to you in 10 seconds that your God is not real. And if your God is real, he needs to make himself known within 10 seconds. And so the Christian says, sir, I wouldn't tempt God like that. And he said, it doesn't matter, your God doesn't exist. And so that atheist started the count. He said, 10, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three. When he got to two, all of a sudden, The door opened and in comes this football player. And this football player, he comes and he knocks that old atheist down to the ground. And that atheist gets up and he says to that football player, he said, why did you do that? He said, God was busy so he sent me. God was busy so he sent me. Can I say this to you, friend? Even as we think about those priests and all the flawness that they had, at least they had some sort of resemblance toward representing God. And let me say this to you. We need some old priests in our day. We need some old preachers in our day. We need some old prophets in our day that's willing to stand up, though flawed we might be, but still stand up and preach. the whole oracles of God. We need to get back to the Word of God. We need to preach it straight. We need to preach it strong. We need to preach it solid. We just need to preach the Word of God again. That's what's wrong with our country. We spend too much time depending on politicians. We spend too much time depending on the conservative party and the Republican party. What we need to do is spend more time getting with God and getting our houses in order for God so that God can turn his nation around and turn people groups around again. Well, I said that there was a flawed system. I said that there was fragile servants. But then, oh, as I stated, I like that third one there. You see, while there was a flawed system and while there were fragile servants, there was a faithful sacrifice. A faithful sacrifice. Now, you'll notice it again. Look there in verse 12. The Bible says, Who is that one man? That one man is Jesus Christ. The Bible says, the old professor Luke said over there in Acts chapter 4 verse 12, neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name given under heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved. What name is that? That is the name of Jesus Christ. At the name of Jesus, kings tremble. At the name of Jesus, the devils crawl, flee. At the name of Jesus, Lives are changed and transformed by the grace of God. Oh my friend, I thank God for the Lord Jesus Christ. Somebody asked the question, why would Jesus sacrifice himself for sinners? Oh, it's only one answer, because he loves us. because he loves us. You know the song. Oh, I want to sing it, but my voice is blown up. Amen. I like that song. It goes something like this. Why did he go to Calvary? Why was his life's blood shed? For me, why did he suffer as no man had ever done? There's just one reason. I am the one. He loves me. He loves me. Jesus loves me. He loves me. He loves me. Oh, Jesus loves me. Can I say this? He loves you too. Oh yes he does. He loves you too. If he didn't love you, can I say this then, his trip here as he put on human flesh, dressed himself in human robe, can I say, if it wasn't true, he never would have left the kingdom of glory to suffer as he suffered. And no man has ever suffered the way he suffered. Oh, I'm so glad that he loved me. Well, let me wrap this up. I said we're looking at the admirability in the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. I said that there's the admirability that's seen in his sacrifice. There's the admirability that is seen in his substitution. But then there's this last one. And I thought about this one. I want you to go back to Isaiah real quickly. Isaiah chapter 53. Now in our place, it's about right here, I say, if you're with me, somebody say amen. Amen. I got a few. Amen. That's good. That'll work. All right. Okay. Isaiah chapter 53 again. And I thought this was interesting. Look at verse number seven. Again, the Bible says this, it says, and he was oppressed and he was afflicted yet. he opened not his mouth. And then we read further in this same verse, it says, and he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shears is dumb, so he opened not his mouth. Now, I had to thinking about that. And as we understand the amirability of our Lord is seen as a substitution, is seen in his sacrifice, but it's also seen in his silence. And the fact that he didn't say a word. He didn't speak anything. He took the brunt of it all. He was willing to endure the cross over there in Hebrew 12. Endure the cross, despise the shame, and now he sat down at the right hand of the Father. He endured all of that. He didn't open his mouth. Now folks, can I say this to you? If somebody says something out of character, you're ready to fight. Amen. Hey, if somebody rubs you, you go down to the grocery store and somebody hits you with a cart or something, you look at them and say, why did you do that? Amen. Hey, but Jesus, I mean, man, he was quiet. Hey, man, he didn't do anything. The Bible said, yet he opened not his mouth. The Bible, of course, reveals this to us over in the gospel over there. And let me just give you the reference real quick in Matthew chapter 26, verse 62. He's, of course, he's brought before the before Pilate. He didn't open his mouth. And then, of course, there in chapter 27, verse number 12 to 14, brought in front of another crowd. He didn't open his mouth again. The Bible, of course, it reminds us that he chose not to plead his case. He chose not to criticize his accusers. He chose not to back up, back down, or back out under pressure. Jesus went all the way. He went all the way for you, he went all the way for me, amen? Why did he do all of this? I have three reasons why he kept silent. Number one was because obviously his loyalty to the will of God. Over there, let me give the reference in John 6, verse 38. Jesus himself says, I came down from heaven not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. You know what that speaks of? That speaks of his purpose. Jesus had a purpose for coming to planet Earth, and his purpose was to obey the will of the heavenly father. Let me ask you tonight, are you obeying God's will for your life? If you're here tonight, and I don't mean to be brash, I don't mean to be cruel, I don't mean to be vindictive, I don't mean to be, but let me say this, let me say this to you. If you're still, if you claim that you have Jesus as your Savior, and you're still smoking and drinking after a year or two of service or of trusting Jesus, something is wrong with that. You're not following God's will for your life. Amen preacher Hey, man, now I can say that tonight. I don't know what your preacher would say, man He may not want to have me back. He said preach. How dare you tell the truth like that? Amen. I don't know Amen, but can I say this to you? The question is still on the table. Are you obeying God's will for your life? Jesus was willing to obey the will of the Heavenly Father by going all the way to Calvary's cross. This shows you and I his purpose. But number two, why did he keep silent? Not only because of his loyalty to the Father's will, but number two, it was because of his love for a dying world. His love for a dying world. You remember when Jesus hung on the cross over there in Matthew chapter 27 verse 42. The Bible says as they were criticizing him as the Savior of the world was suspended between heaven and hell. Oh, because of the sins of mankind. They looked at him and they said he saved others. Himself he cannot save. If he be the king of Israel, let him now come down from the cross and we will believe him. Can I say they ought to thank God he didn't come down. They ought to praise God that he didn't come down off of that cross because if Jesus came down from that cross, all of man, humanity, everything would be different and we may not, you and I might be would have been translated into heaven right away on that day. Amen. But aren't you glad he didn't come down? What is this a picture of? It shows us his love. What does it speak of? While, of course, him obeying his father's will is a picture of his purpose, but him showing his love is a picture of his passion. His passion. And then there's a third reason why he kept silent. He not only kept silent because of his obedience to the Father's will, he not only kept silent because of his love for you and I, but he kept silent so that for the life of the whosoever wills. Because he kept silent, he knew the day would come when you would have someone come to you and present the gospel message. And because of that, you received Jesus as your Savior. The Bible tells us over there in 1 John 1, verse 11 and 12, He came unto His own, and His own received Him not. But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. Can I say this to you? I am so glad that Jesus stayed on that cross. I am so glad that when he cried out, it is finished. He was saying that I've done all that I'm supposed to do. I've opened the door. The veil has been rent. There is nothing separating now. Man and God, the price has been paid, everything is covered, now the whosoever wills may come. Aren't you glad that tonight throughout this auditorium there are many who are whosoever wills? I don't know all of your names, I don't know your backgrounds, but you've trusted Jesus as your Savior, and tonight you're in that class, a group of people who are considered to be the whosoever wills. Oh, thank God for that. I close with this. I thought this was interesting. There was a street preacher. Man, he's preaching away. He's telling these this crowd of people. Some of them are cussing at him. Some of them are spitting on him. And he says to them with his eyes closed. He says that if you don't get born again, you're going to bust hell wide open. He's a street preacher. And man, he's just letting her rip. And then all of a sudden, this guy opens up his cell phone and he calls the police. And the police pulls up. And that preacher, he sees the police. All of a sudden, he's quiet. He's standing like this. And the police, two police officers pull up. They say to that street preacher, they said, sir, we understand you're making a nuisance of yourself. And he didn't say a word. And then they said, one of the people said, yes, he's causing problems, he's doing this, he's doing, he's telling us we're going to hell, and you need to arrest him. And those police officers said, sir, we have no choice. There's been a public complaint against you, and we gotta haul you away. And that preacher looks at that crowd, and he says four words. This is what he says. He says, I will be back. So, they take the preacher, they put him in the police car, They hauled him away. He goes down to the police station, and he's in jail right now. I mean, man, he's preaching to the privilege. He's pulling a paw on everybody, right? He's preaching to the people in jail. And so then all of a sudden, the two guards, they come, they said, sir, they all frowned up, sir, we gotta let you go. And the preacher, he doesn't say a word. So he grabs his stuff. They take him out of the prison, out of the jail. They put him in the police car. And they said, where would you like us to take you at? And this is what he says. He says, I want you to take me where you picked me up at. They said, OK, we'll take you there. And so as they're pulling up in the police car, the crowd is still, another crowd is there. But some of the people that were there the days before they were there, I don't know, I think it was a busy intersection or whatever. And the preacher gets out of the car. He steps on the street corner, and he says four words, and this is what he said, as I was saying, as I was saying, if you don't get right with God, you're gonna bust hell wide open. Oh, friend, can I say this to you tonight? While we think about the death of Jesus Christ, and it is a horrible picture, it was a bloody mess, it was a bloodbath, Jesus was beat to a pulp, You couldn't understand or picture him as a human being as he hung there on that cross suspended between heaven and hell. He looked like an open slab of beef. He was unrecognizable as a human being. And that is a sad thing about it. But can I remind you of this? He also said, I will come again. And friend, can I say this to you? The day is going to come when Jesus is going to split the eastern sky. He's going to come and set his kingdom up. He's going to rule and reign for 1,000 years. That government establishment that we see in our society today, he's going to stand up and say, There's a new sheriff in town. You gotta bow down to me. Hey, that's the Savior that I know. I don't know what God you're serving, but my God is King of kings, Lord of lords. And when he comes, I'm coming back with him. Amen. You see, friend, I get a little bit excited about the Lord Jesus Christ. I usually get excited about preaching, period. But there's just something about the death of Jesus Christ. And man is admirable, is admirable in his sacrifice, is admirable in his substitution, and is admirable in his silence. Aren't you glad he didn't say anything, but his actions spoke louder than his words? Let's all stand to our feet at this time. Let's all bow our heads and close our eyes. Father, we, Lord, we love you tonight. God, I like to think that this church is probably, God, I'm not even gonna say probably. I like to think that this church, Lord, is the livest place in this city right now, in this town right now. God, this is a Thursday night. And how many other churches are holding these type of services in the prelude to the resurrection of Jesus Christ? And God, where else can we go tonight on a Wednesday night and have a church like this full of people like this who are so excited about knowing who Jesus is and making preparation to celebrate Resurrection Sunday. God, I like to think that I'm in the place where things are happening. Now, God, it would be a tragedy. God, it would just be flat disappointing to know, God, that there's somebody here tonight God who just been riding on the coattails of their parents salvation. Or maybe Lord, they've just been coming along to this church for a little bit, and they still haven't made their mind up about whether or not they want to have that assurance of going to heaven or not. God, as we see the days unfolding right before our eyes, and we see the rise of so much wicked stuff in our society today, And God, as we think about how people have, social engineers are pitting people against each other, Lord, whether it's because of color, whether it's because of sexual preference, whether it's because of global warming, all type of foolish stuff, God, it's just nice to know, God, that we have the answer right in front of us, and it's found in the Word of God. Now, Lord, if there's somebody here, God, I don't wanna pick on, God, I want them saved. Lord, I want them to, God, to have the opportunity to be able to say, when we get on the other side, there's that preacher, Mick Miller, that one that kinda blew up in the pulpit there. I remember that fella. God, I want them to be able to point to me and say, yeah, that was me, I had myself a time. But God, it would be such a tragedy, Lord, if they let a night like tonight go by and become just another midweek night which they heard preaching and God they just go home and and Lord they turn their TV on and and God they sit in their little lazy boy and and God like pass them by and then the day comes Lord when they somebody has to call the the funeral director or the preacher to do their funeral Lord may tonight be the the night Lord that that one person or two people or however many or maybe some kids here tonight Lord may tonight be the night that they they genuinely make the choice to receive Jesus as their Savior Do we have anybody like that tonight? If you're here tonight and you say preacher, Brother McMiller, if I were to die tonight, I'm not sure that I'd go to heaven. And I honestly, you know, I heard about Jesus. I know who he is, but I don't have him in my heart. And I wanna do something about that tonight. Anybody like that? If that's you, raise your hand. You're not sure that you would go to heaven. You're not sure that you'd go to heaven. Anyone? I see a bunch of little kids raising their hands, and, but that's, I'm sure the parents have already, you're not sure that you would go to heaven. You're not sure that you'd go to heaven. If you're a youngster and you're not sure, you check with your parents. You ask your parents, you say, Mom and Dad, I raised my hand tonight, but I'm not sure about heaven. How many of you say, preacher, if I were to die tonight, I am sure heaven is my home, Jesus is my king, he's my savior. If that's you, would you raise your hand so preacher can see? Amen, all over the auditorium, all over the auditorium. You know, in our effort to raise our hand, maybe you're struggling with something tonight. Maybe you've been battling with something, and there's only two people who know about it, you and the Lord Jesus Christ. you and God, but you know, tonight you can do something about that. You can make this thing, give it to the Lord and let him have it. Now, this is what we, at my place, we call this the invitation time. And I don't know if you guys have a piano player or somebody that can slip out and give it, we call it an altar call too. And I don't know. I don't know. I don't know where everybody stands tonight. But I will say this to you tonight. If you're here tonight and you do have Jesus as your savior, man, you ought to be excited about it. You ought to be excited about it. It ought to, man, it ought to put a pep in your step. It ought to put something in you. It ought to give you a backbone. It ought to cause you to say, you know what? I've settled the score with Jesus. He's my savior. I'm heaven bound with a hammer down. And you ought to have that attitude. But if you have this attitude, well, I'm saying, da, da, da, da, da. Can I say, is it any wonder why it's probably been a while since you've been able to see some people come to Christ? Oh, I pray that we have an old-fashioned swoop of soul winners that would do the job and get the job done so people can be saved. But if you're here tonight, During the altar call and maybe God has spoken to your heart about something as the piano is begins to play Would you be willing to slip out of your seat come forward and do business with God? Anybody like that anyone like that God has spoken to your heart. I Tell you you ought to thank God that Jesus Jesus died to pay your sin debt and friend That ought to cause you to say, man, I am so glad that he's placed me on the winning side. He's my king. He's my Lord. And I thank God that I'll be celebrating in the right frame of mind this Sunday as we bring in the resurrection of Christ. I understand you got another service tomorrow. I pray by the grace of God. that everyone that's here tonight will come back out and get another dose of what God has in store for you. Father, we thank you, Lord, for tonight. We thank you, dear God, for the message. God, thank you for Jesus and His sacrifice. Lord, He didn't have to come. Lord, He didn't have to die, but He did. And Lord, because of that, Many of us tonight have eternal life. Many of us are on our way to heaven. God, we know, Lord, that if there's going to be a resurrection, there has to be a death. And God, help us all, Lord, to die to the flesh, die to self, die to Satan. God, die to sin. Help us to trust Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. And Lord, we'll be sure to tell others about this amazing Savior that we serve. God, He's not just in the scriptures. And Lord, He's not just to be celebrated a couple of times out of the year. But Lord, He lives in our heart. And God, help us to tell others about it. For it's in Jesus' name we ask these things. Amen. Amen, brother. All right, thank you so much, Pastor Nick Miller, for that message. And hopefully tonight your heart was stirred. And, boy, I have greater thankfulness for all that Christ has done. And, you know, maybe there's still yet an area in your life, and hopefully tonight really gives that extra motivation to get that taken care of, whatever it might be, between you and the Lord. And as a believer tonight, Boy, as we walk out from here, the Bible talks about there in Hebrews that it is the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name, what is offered as a sacrifice, a praise to God continually. And may we just leave here with hearts just filled with thankfulness for that substitutionary death of the Lord Jesus Christ for us. Let's praise the Lord for that message tonight. May we be great witnesses for Christ, sharing with others what he has done for us. All right, we will close in a word of prayer tonight. Scott Kosters, can you please close in prayer? Heavenly Father, we come before you tonight in gratitude and thanksgiving for what your son Jesus Christ did. to leave heaven's glory, to come to this little speck in the solar system, in the universe, that you have placed your people. Lord, we thank you for coming, for dying on the cross, and raising again in victory over sin, in victory over the devil, And Lord, let us go forth and express our excitement about you. Not only what you did for us and saving our souls, but what you can do for those that you put in front of us for the mission field is wherever we are. And Lord, thank you for the message tonight. And may we consider how much Jesus Christ loved us. Thank you again. Bless all that are here. May we all go forth to spread the good news of Jesus Christ. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Alleluia! What a Savior! Man of sorrows, what a name for the Son of God who came, ruined sinners to reclaim. Alleluia! Lifted up was he to die, it is finished was his cry. Now in heaven exulted high, Alleluia! Jesus, what a friend for sinners, Jesus, lover of my soul. Lands may fail me, foes assail me, He, my Savior, makes me whole. What a Savior! Hallelujah! What a Friend! Saving, Helping, Keeping, Loving, He is with me to the end. O when He comes, our glorious King, All His ransomed home to bring, Then anew this song we'll sing, Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia, what a Savior!