Thank you, Brother Ronnie. Gospel of John chapter number one. John chapter one. It's my privilege and honor to be in the service this morning. I look across over the congregation and all these preachers that are here and kind of wonder why I'm up here. But I'm grateful for the privilege and the opportunity to be here and desire your prayers this morning. If the Lord would help us, I realize more every day how much we need Him. There's never been a time that we needed Him any more than we ever have. We've always needed Him. But in these days, our need of him's becoming more apparent, at least to me, in all the things that are going on. And so I need his help this morning. We all need his help. John chapter one, I begin reading in verse 19. This is the record of John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, who art thou? He confessed and denied not, but confessed, I am not the Christ. And they asked him, what then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, no. Then said they unto him, who art thou? That we may give an answer to them that sin us. What sayest thou of thyself? He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness. Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias. They which were sent were of the Pharisees. And they asked him and said unto him, why baptizest thou then? If thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet. John answered them saying, I baptize with water. But there standeth one among you whom you know not. He it is who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoes latch it I am not worthy to unloose. These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan where John was baptizing. The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. This is he of whom I said, After me cometh the man which is preferred before me, For he was before me, and I knew him not, but that he should be made manifest to Israel. Therefore am I come baptizing with water. John Bear Records saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. And I knew him not, but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. And I saw and bear record that this is the Son of God. Again, the next day after John stood and two of his disciples, and looking upon Jesus as he walked, he said, behold, the Lamb of God. Thank you for standing, you can be seated. I'd like to preach this morning for just a few minutes, if the Lord would help me, on behold, the Lamb of God. In this scripture that we read into your hearing and in the verses preceding, we're introduced to this man by the name of John the Baptist. And he is questioning here from the religious leaders of his day about who he was. And they wanted to know, are you the Christ? And he said, no. And he said, not only am I not him, he said, I'm not even worthy to stoop down and unloose his shoes. And the next day, the Bible said, John, seeth Jesus coming, and he saith, behold, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. Now John's using language that they've never heard before. There's never been talk about sins being taken away. In the Old Testament, you don't need me to remind you, but the sacrifices did not take away their sin. It simply rolled them back or appeased the wrath of God for a period of time. But the next year, there was sacrifice that had to be made again. But John says, behold, of the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. John used the word behold. It was mentioned in the service last night. It means to direct your attention to. It means to not have any other distractions. Don't let anything else be on your mind. Don't let anything else captivate your attention. Don't spend any of your time, don't let your focus drift away, but pay very close attention to the Lamb of God. And I think in this day that we need, as the people of God, to once again turn our attention to him. We have got so distracted and so pulled aside. by all the things that are going on in this day today. We're distracted by Washington and we're distracted by our leaders. We're distracted by wickedness. We're distracted by our stuff. We're distracted by hobbies. We're distracted by a lot of things. But we ought to lose sight of all of that and turn our eyes, as the writer said, on Jesus. I'm glad this morning that he is the Lamb of God. This book is all about him. From the beginning, through the middle, and to the end. It's all about Him. I'm amazed that John could have used many titles to introduce Christ on this day. While this crowd, matter of fact, if you read the scripture, that crowd must have still been there the next day. For when John said, behold, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world, he said, this is he of whom I said. In other words, John said, this is the one. Yesterday when you questioned me whether or not I was he, and he said, I'm not him, he said, but this is him. Out of all the titles that John could have used to describe, to identify, or to introduce Christ, he used the Lamb of God. And the Lord began to deal with my heart about the Lamb of God. And throughout the scriptures, from beginning to end, we see the Lamb, and it's always a type and a picture of Jesus Christ. And I began to think, one writer said, about the Lord, about the Lamb, the fact that it's throughout all of the Word of God. He said the Lamb is prophesied. He said the Lamb's typified. The Lamb's personified. The Lamb's identified. The Lamb's then crucified. But thank God that he's magnified and that he's glorified. In other words, it's all about him. From beginning to end, it is the Lamb of God. And the Lord began to deal with my heart about the Lamb of God. And I began to think and he began to speak to me. I want to just preach a few minutes, home behold. Don't let anything else drag your attention away. Don't let anything else be on your mind. Don't let anything else occupy your thought. Just turn your eyes. Turn your attention. Behold the Lamb of God. In Genesis 22, He's the substitute Lamb. That morning the Bible said that it came to pass after these things that God did tempt Abraham. And he said unto him, Abraham, Abraham. And he said, behold, here am I. And God said, take now thy son, thy only son, Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah. and over him there for a burnt offering on one of the mountains I'll tell thee of. And so Abraham gets everything together. He gets the wood in order, he gets the fire. The Bible said he saddles the ice, gets two of his young men, and they head out toward that land. And the Bible said on the third day, Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place afar off. And he told the young men to abide here. I and the lad will go yonder to worship and we'll return again unto you. and they leave company there, and it's just Abraham and Isaac. And on the way up the mountain, the Bible said Abraham laid the wood on Isaac and took the fire and the knife. And as they're going up the mountainside, Isaac turns to his father, and he said, Father, behold the wood and the fire. but where is the lamb for the burnt offering? I don't know, Brother Roger, if Abraham really knew what he was saying when he said it, but he said, my son, God will provide himself. A lamb for a burnt offering. You say that was done a few verses later. No it wasn't. The scripture said Abraham turned and there's a ram caught in the thicket by his horns. But Abraham said God would provide a lamb. And he did on the same mountain chain. Several thousand years later where the lamb of God stood suspended between heaven and earth, and he became the substitute for you and I. I thought about the scripture that said, but God commended his love toward us, and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Isaiah said, and it was in the verses after the chapter that was preached last night so well, but the verses say he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. of the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed. Do you understand he died for you and me? He was our substitute. I understand that the types kind of shift back and forth. I understand that Isaac is a type of Christ. but I also see in Genesis 22 that Isaac is a type of the sinner and that the burden was laid on him and he should have been the one to die. The death sentence was passed on him. The knife was drawn back. It was almost over, but a substitute was found. I'm telling you this morning, you and I deserve hell. We would be there this morning had it not been that God provided. He didn't search to find one. It was already in the mind of God before the world ever began. The preacher said, Brother Milben said, before God ever said good morning to Adam in the Garden of Eden, in the mind of God, Christ was as good as dead for the sin of mankind. He was our substitute. You and I deserved the death. You and I deserve the punishment. You and I deserve the wrath of God. But the scripture said that he endured the wrath of God for us. He was our substitute. The Bible said that Christ loved the church and gave himself for it. That word that I mentioned a minute ago, that God commendeth his love toward us. That word commend means to demonstrate. It means to show outwardly an expression. And God had told them all down through the time that he loved them. And he had shown in days gone by that he loved them. But never before has the love of God ever been made so manifest as it was that blessed day on the cross at Calvary. And God loved us so much that He gave His only Son to be our substitute. But then in Exodus 12, He's the sacrificed Lamb. God didn't just give His Son, but He gave Him to die. I thought about there when the Scriptures came, the Word of God came to Moses, that all them other plagues had already, we all know the story, I'm not preaching anything that you've not thought of or preached on or heard before, but all them plagues had come and the last one was coming. But see, there was a major difference between the last one and all those others that had come before. All the others could be stopped. All the others could be reversed. All the others could be made well again. But this plague, the final one, was gonna be forever. There was no undoing. There was no going back. But God said the death angel is coming through tonight. And he said everywhere he's gonna enter in. From Pharaoh that sits on the throne to the captain that's in the dungeon. There'll not be a house where there's not one dead. And I'm telling you, that's how sin is. It is no respect to a person. And the penalty of sin is from the kings that sit on the throne to the ones that are in the prison house. But God said to Moses, you take a lamb and you shed its blood. catch it in a basin, strike it on the two side posts and the little of the door. And God said, when I pass through, he said, I'm not looking at whether you're an Israelite or whether you're an Egyptian. He said, I'm not interested in how much money you have or how much you don't have. I'm not interested in what your name is or what it ain't. But he said, when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and it was sacrificed so that you and I could go free. The innocent for the guilty, the perfect for the unholy, and it became our sacrifice. so that you and I could escape the wrath of judgment to come. I believe that's the message that Moses walked back into the congregation and preached that night, is that the judgment of God's coming, and there ain't but one way to escape, and that's through the blood. And I'm telling you this morning, the judgment and the wrath of God's coming, and there ain't but one way to escape, and that's through the blood. But can I say this morning that it's not enough that it was shed. Moses didn't say, now get your psalm in the basin, set it on the table, gather around at midnight and sing, there's fire in the blood. That wouldn't have done any good. The death angel would have still come in and took the firstborn. But Moses said when the blood shed, it must be applied. And I'm telling you this morning, it's not enough that he died. but for you to be saved, it must be applied to your heart. I don't know who wrote the song, and I know it ain't in the Bible, but I believe it's in there between the lines. And I don't know who wrote it, but I like it. About that one dark night in Egypt, a fearful time had come for one little Hebrew boy who was his father's firstborn son. with the angel of death passing by. It was hard to fall asleep, for one little lamb stood in his mind as he laid there counting sheep. He wondered why the young lamb had to die, why his blood was on the door. Through the wind and rain, would it still remain? He wanted to be sure. So he called out to his earthly father in a trembling voice so scared, saying, Father, would you please go look and see? if the blood is still there. And the father said, now son, don't you worry, for the blood's there to stay. Though the winds may blow and the rains may fall, it can't just wash away. The blood will stand the raging storm. It's been applied with love and care. Safe, secure, you can rest assured that the blood's still there. But that was way back then. But the next verse said, but looking over the damage, Satan's storms left behind thoughts and endless questions and doubts filled my mind. Have you ever been there? Have you ever worried? Have you ever wondered? But I'm glad for a heavenly Father. And what the real meaning of the song is this. The Father said I put it there myself. I know how it was applied. I know it'll last. I'm glad I got a Father. He knows how it was applied. He knows how it'll last. I'm glad. This morning the blood, it will last. Hey! Have you been saved for any length of time? We might as well take our self-righteousness off. We might as well quit trying to act like we are something we ain't. But we're all flesh and blood. We're all human, frail, and faulty. And there have been days you wondered if it was there. There have been days you wondered if he cared. There have been days you wondered if it'll last. But I'm glad for a father. I'm glad I didn't put it there, he did. And because of that, it will last. Alright. See, that's why when you come to the altar to get born again, it's not about a work between you and the preacher, because if the preacher puts it there, and he can't put it there anyway, but if he did, it wouldn't last. And if the church could put it there, it wouldn't last. And if a prayer could put it there, it wouldn't last. Don't fall out with me, you hear me? And if some tears could put it there, it wouldn't last. But you see, salvation's not a work that you and I muster up, but it's a supernatural work wrought from heaven inside of the heart of a sinner. You tell me how a man can translate you out of darkness and put you into light. No man can, but I have a Father that can do it. And if He ever does it, it will last. He was a sacrifice lamb. But then in Isaiah 53, and some of you other preachers will understand, I really wrestled with them about preaching this this morning. I thought, Lord, I don't want to say anything that they've already said. But then they got to singing this morning, and they said, tell me the story. Tell it again. I'm telling you, I'm not preaching something many preachers before me. I'm not smart enough to come up with anything. I just have to preach what's on my heart. What the Lord puts in there, that's all I know to do. But I'm telling you that story, you can preach it again after I'm done, and tonight, and the next day, and the next night, and the next, and the next, and the next. It never does get old! But in Isaiah 53, he's the silent lamb. Isaiah said he was brought as a lamb to the slaughters, and as a sheep before her shears his dung, so he opened not his mouth. What that means is there was no resistance. There was no hesitation. There was no trying to back out. There was no bargaining with God. He had already on the other side of the brook, yonder in the garden, bowed His knee. He told His disciples, My soul's exceeding sorrowful. Even unto death you stay here and pray. I'm going to go a little farther than you can go, and I'm going to pray. And He said, Father, if there be any way, except that this cup pass from me, except I drink it. Nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done. And so in that night, you can preach it however you want to, however God puts it on your heart. But I know this, I raise sheep, and I've come to understand that if the sheep loves the shepherd enough, he will follow him to his death. And that's exactly what our lamb did for us. And the garden, I know it's already in the mind of God, but externally for us to see, he resigned his will under the will of his great shepherd, and he said, I'm the lamb. Father, you're my shepherd. If you lead me to die, that's where I'm gonna go. Not my will, but thine be done. They didn't have to push him down. They didn't have to hold him there. There wasn't enough Roman soldiers. They can say whatever they want to. There wasn't enough Roman soldiers to hold him there. The nails wasn't big enough or bad enough to hold him there. If death couldn't hold him, what makes you think that some man could? It wasn't nails that held him there. It wasn't Roman soldiers that kept him there. It was the fact that he was the Lamb of God that was dying in our place. and he loved us enough that he went silently, submissively. The Bible said he became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. But then in John, and I'm trying to hurry and not take up a lot of time, but in John chapter one, he's the single lamb. This ain't nothing fancy, but I'm telling you, John said, behold, the Lamb of God. He didn't say a lamb. He didn't say one of the lambs. There was no other lamb. But John said, quit looking at this one and that one. You focused on all these and they failed. But he said, I want you to look at the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. And the writer of the psalm said, there is no other way. just through the blood of Jesus. There is no other way to be washed while it's snow. And there is no other way to lay down that load you carry until the blood has been applied to your soul. I'm telling you, there is, and I know, we probably all agree without doubt this morning, but in case you've missed it, in case your eyes have got somewhere else, there is no other way. He is the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. But then in 1 Peter 1, He's the spotless Lamb. He said, we're not redeemed with corruptible things such as silver and gold that we receive from tradition from our fathers. But he said, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. Now I understand that Peter, the apostle Peter was a human penman, but the Holy Ghost was the author. And He didn't repeat Himself to take up space. The word blemish and the word spot are not the same thing. The word blemish means that He was free from moral stain. That He was perfect. Didn't the Scripture say that He was holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners? See, God demanded a perfect sacrifice. And there was no other sacrifice that could be made besides a lamb without blemish and without spot, and He was the spotless Lamb. And as was preached last night, He satisfied the wrath of God. I'm not preaching anything you've not heard before, but the Bible said, neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood. He entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. And now, after that work is done, He has sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high. You see, there was no seed in the Holy of Holies, for the high priest's work was never done. But in heaven, the holy place, the work is done. Forever settled. The writer said, the last blood that will ever be needed. And he did the work and sat down. Because he was the spotless Lamb. But then in Revelation 5, He's the slain Lamb. There's a difference between sacrificed and slain. Sacrifice denotes that there's a substitute that needs someone to take their place for a wrong that they've done. But I looked up that word slain, and there's other preachers here that can preach it much better than I. The word slain, and I don't mean this irreverently, but the word slain means literally to butcher for food. And that's exactly what God the Father did to the lamb. He slain Him so that you and I could have spiritual food, so that we could eat and live. Jesus said, take and eat. This is My body of the New Testament which is given for you. He said, take and drink. This is My blood which is shed for you. And because of Him, there's a hunger inside the soul of a man that cannot be satisfied by anything else but the Lamb. And He was slain to give us life. I'm glad the story doesn't stop there. John's there seeing all this stuff. He said, I saw in Isaac's book that had seven seals. And he said they searched in heaven and in earth and below. They searched all over. And there wasn't nobody found worthy to loose them seals. And John said, I wept. I bent down and stooped down and wept. And he said, the angel touched me and said, don't weep. He said, for the lion of the tribe of Judah had prevailed to open the book. And John stands and wipes his eyes, looking to see some fierce, ferocious lion there. That's what the angel said. But John said, I looked for the lion, but in the midst of the elders stood a lion as it had been slain. And he said he prevailed to open the book. And when it was opened, the Bible said they began to cry, worthy is the Lamb which was slain to receive glory and honor and majesty and power. See, He is the substitute. He is the sacrifice. He is the silent Lamb. He was the single Lamb. He was the spotless Lamb. He was the slain Lamb. But may I remind you this morning that he is the sovereign lamb. Don't let that word scare you. It just means that he has all authority and all power. He answers to nobody. I'm glad he's higher than the highest. He's above all. And I'm glad this morning that he is the lamb of God. And all them elders worship. And all them creatures worship. And John just watches. And all the things that are going on. And I believe Brother Mullins preached it last night, and I can't preach it like he does. But in the next chapter, John said, I saw a number out of every kindred, nation, and tongue. He said, there's a number no man could number. and there's robed in linen, white and clean. And the elder asked John, said, who are these? And John said, thou knowest. And the elder said, these are those that have come through and they've been made worthy by the blood of the Lamb. And the scripture said, and I don't want to misquote it, I want you to hear it this morning. In Revelation chapter seven, the elder said, these are they which came out of great tribulation and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb. See, he's still the sovereign lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple. And he that sit on the throne, that's the lamb, shall dwell among them. and they shall hunger no more, and neither thirst any more, and neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat for the lamb which is in the midst of the throne, and shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters, and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. You say, Preacher, what are you saying? And I'm done. I'm saying the reason when that great day comes, and we sing that song in the Redback book, there's coming a day when no heartache shall come, no more clouds in the sky, no more tears to dim the eye, all is peace forevermore on that happy golden shore. What a day, glorious day that will be. Do you know why it'll be such a day? Do you understand why heaven will be heaven? Not because there's a street of gold, not because there are gates of pearl, not because there's foundations of precious stones, not because there are many mansions there, not necessarily because there's no more, but it'll be heaven because the Lamb shall be there. And because of Him and Him alone, that's why you and I get to go. Them old writers knew what they was doing. They knew who they was writing about when they penned them old songs. And I haven't never thought of it like this till just now. But Brother Ken, them verses in that song are wonderful. But I don't know how many verses, what a day that'll be, three or four, that's the normal number. But them verses only get sung one time. But the chorus gets sung every time. And that first verse, wonderful, there's no mores there, Brother Ronnie. I'm glad one preacher said that'll be a funeral that I'll be happy to attend the day when the former things are all passed away. But that chorus says, what a day that will be. When my Jesus I shall see, and I look upon His face, the One who saved me by His grace, when He takes me by the hand and leads me through the promised land, What a day, glorious day that will be. You say, what are you saying, preacher? I'm glad for all them other things. I'm glad there'll be no more sorrow. I'm glad there'll be no more sickness. I'm glad there'll be no more sin. I'm glad there'll be no more trouble. I'm glad for all the beauty of the Bible said, eyes not seen, neither ear heard, neither even enter in the heart of man. Other things God has prepared for them that love him. I'm glad for all of that. But above all that, I'm glad for the lamb. For if it was not for Him, none of these other things would be. If it was not for Him, there'd be no peace, no hope, no joy, no contentment, no satisfaction. In reality, what was said last night, I want to say this morning and mean it from the bottom of my heart. What I'm saying this morning is it really is all about Him. If you take Him out of the equation, there is no more. Behold. Turn your eyes to Him. Focus all your attention on Him. Don't be distracted. Don't be drawn away. But for a few moments this morning, could we, as the people of God, behold the Lamb of God. In this Scripture, and I'm closing, In this Scripture, John says it twice. And he says it to two different crowds. The first crowd he says it to, he said, this is He. I told you about Him, but you know Him not. And so to those, he said, behold, the Lamb of God. And if you're here this morning, and you know Him not, and you've never been saved, never been born again. To you He's just the Lamb and a Lamb, but He can be your Lamb. To you I say, behold, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." But then the next day, John's there and his disciples who know about this man. But John just says, out of reminder, boys, can I tell you again? Behold the Lamb of God. In case you've missed it, in case something's attracted you off, in case you've lost sight, I want to tell you again, behold the Lamb of God. And if you're here this morning and you're saved, and this world has got your attention, all the trouble has drifted your mind and your vision away, can I say to you, behold the Lamb of God. Thank God for the Lamb of God, Brother Ronnie.