Last message here, which was last week, we looked at the first nine plagues. They were given to us in groups of three. In fact, you can study them that way. And each group of judgments, that is every set of three, seemed to become even more severe as we moved along. But today we saved the final judgment for last, and we saved it by itself because of the spiritual significance that it has. It is an event that is spoken of and celebrated throughout Scripture, and it's an event that, if rightly understood, could mean all the difference for you today. And before I get into the specifics of this final judgment and talk about this Passover, I think it's important for me to make a couple of comments here. There's some things that in these chapters right around here that I really cannot get into because of time. But maybe if you have a little pen or pencil, you might mark on your bulletin some of these things that you could look at later to study. I think it is vital for every one of us to note the hardening of Pharaoh's heart. It's amazing to me how many people have a heart that is hardened against God. And yet they want to blame God that God's not there for them, that God really is not showing Himself to them. But I want to tell you, for some 6,000 years, God's mercy and His grace have been evident. It is man who is hardening his heart against God. And when you study Pharaoh, you are studying a picture of what mankind is like, hardening his heart to God. But I think it would also be noted to be able to study here the various compromises that Pharaoh is trying to make with God through Moses. In fact, if you study these chapters from chapter 7 all the way through chapter number 12, there are four instances where Pharaoh tries to compromise with God. Can I say something to you that if God's trying to get a hold of you, God's not looking to make a deal with you. God's not trying to compromise with you because God knows what is best for you. But Pharaoh came back and said, look, look, look, don't go out into the wilderness. Why don't you just worship God here? No, it was prescribed that they go out to the wilderness. God says, all right, all right. Pharaoh says, all right, you can go ahead and go, but keep your little ones here and your wives here. Just let the men go. Four times there were compromises. And what an interesting study that would make. But I think it also would be interesting to note, and this is a very, very surprising thing to me, is that when the Israelites finally did leave Egypt, you ever remember reading about the fact that they went to the Egyptians and they asked for their silver and gold and jewelry, and the Egyptians gave it so freely? It's pretty amazing. After all these plagues that had gone on, and yet the Egyptians show such favor to them, What a power to note some of these things here. But let's get into this final plague of Egypt and the way that God provided a way for Israel to be saved and to be delivered from the slavery that they had in Egypt. And let's note the spiritual significance at that place for us even today. Just as Moses warned Pharaoh that the penalty, if he refused to let Israel go, would be the death of the firstborn, So God has warned us in his word, Romans 6, 23, that the wages of sin is death. Just as God gave Pharaoh nine plagues to warn him of his power and that he would do just as he had warned, so God has warned sinners today of the impending judgment if they refuse to obey him. Now we see today All people die. The Bible says it is appointed unto man once to die. All of us realize how frail we are, even though we may be young and healthy. Some of you. Death is a daily possibility around our world. And how are we saved from that death? Not necessarily physical death. Most of us will probably, if not all of us, will die someday if the Lord tarries. But I'm here to tell you the way to avoid a spiritual and an eternal death is to recognize that there's a Savior who came to rescue you from that. Just as God in the book of Exodus provided a Passover lamb, so He sent His own dear Son, Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, to take away the sin of the whole world. John the Baptist, when he was ministering, saw Jesus coming down and he looked and he got all the people and he pointed to Jesus and he said, behold, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. 1 Corinthians 5, 7 says that even Christ, our Passover, is sacrificed for our sins. So God's means of saving or rescuing people is the blood of an acceptable sacrifice made possible by obedient faith. So let's kind of work through these passages here and talk about a few things that will help us today. Number one, I want you to notice the problem. The problem. God announced that there would be a rescue plan. God back in Exodus chapter three and Exodus chapter four, when he had called Moses said, all right, I've heard the groanings of my people. I have heard their cry unto me. And now I am ready, Moses, to use you to rescue my people out of Egypt. Why did the Israelites need to be rescued? Because there was an obvious fact reading through the book of Exodus, each one of the Israelites were slaves to the Egyptians. Go back if you will. Let's just walk through some scriptures. Go back to the first chapter of the book of Exodus and let's note some things here. Exodus chapter number one. And notice in verse number eight, the Bible says here, there arose a new king over Egypt which knew not Joseph. He said unto his people, behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we. come on let us deal wisely with them lest they multiply to come to pass it when their fall without any war they join also under enemies and fight against us therefore verse 11 they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens And they built for them, for Pharaoh, treasure cities, Python and Ramses. But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied. And verse 13, the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigor. So as long as the parents and grandparents of all these people in Israel, as long as they had known, their nation had been slaves to the Egyptians. Go to verse number 15 of chapter number 1. During the time of Moses' birth, Pharaoh had given orders to kill all of the Israelite baby boys. Look at verse 15. The king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, of which the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other, Puah. Then he said, When you do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see upon the stools, if it be a son, then ye shall kill him. Wow. Pretty amazing here. So now in Exodus chapter 2, Moses at the age of 40 goes down to see his brethren, the Israelites, and he noted, Exodus 2 verse 11, their burden. What are we trying to drive through here? Is that these people are noted as slaves. Israel recognized their deep burden when they cried out unto God, and God, the Bible says, heard them. Then we go to Exodus chapter number five, when Moses finally goes to the Israelites and he goes to Pharaoh and he pleads with Pharaoh to let the children of Israel go. And what does Pharaoh do? First of all, Pharaoh doesn't even recognize that there's a God. What God are you talking about, Moses? And then he increases the burden of the Israelites. So again, what am I driving at here in all this is I want you to understand, and the Israelites knew it well, that they had a miserable condition and they were slaves to the people of Egypt and they needed deliverance. Now Israel's condition as slaves is a picture of the universal condition that we have as human beings. All of us, the Bible tells us, are born into slavery of sin. We are captive to Satan's domain of darkness. John chapter 8, verse number 34, Jesus answered them, verily, verily, I say unto you, whosoever committeth sin is a servant of sin. Paul describes our condition outside of Christ. In Romans chapter 6, he says that we are slaves of sin. But I want to tell you something. It's not the fact that people don't understand that they're sinners. It's the fact that people don't think that they're enslaved to sin. You see, unlike the Israelites, we're not walking around metaphorically with a ball and chain, if you will. We're not chained up. We're not getting lashes, if you will. But I want to remind you of something, that if you're here today without Jesus Christ, you are a slave to sin. And that slavery, whether you recognize it or not, is something that is binding you. Most people in the world today who are without Jesus Christ think to themselves, well, I'm fine. I mean, look at what I prospered with. I've got all these different vehicles. I've got some a couple of different homes. I've got this amount of money in the bank. And everybody looks at themselves on the outside and they think they're OK. But I want to tell you in the heart, where Satan rules and reigns, there is a slavery to sin. And just as the Israelites were in deep bondage to the Egyptians, so those that are without Jesus Christ are in deep bondage to sin. And my friend, if you're going to be rescued, the first thing you must recognize is your need to be rescued, that you are a slave to sin. You see, sometimes it's hard to try to convince people about their sin, but I'm telling you, there's one who does the convincing for us. His name is the Holy Spirit. Listen to this passage in John chapter 16, verse 8 through 11. And when He, that's the Holy Spirit, has come, He will reprove the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment. Now he begins to explain what that is and what that convincing or that rebuke is all about. He says that he convinces of sin or he proves of sin because they believe not on me. Of righteousness because I go to my father and you see me no more. And of judgment because the prince of this world is judged. Now again, that word reprove that is used there, when he has come he will reprove the world of sin, has the idea of bringing conviction or convincing. So what is the Holy Spirit's job to convince people or convict the unsaved of is three things. He's to convict them that they are a sinner and that their main sin is unbelief. Secondly, he convinces them that they fall short of God's perfect standard of righteousness, which is seen in Jesus Christ. What did Jesus say of himself? That he has gone to the Father. Why has he gone to the Father? Because he was the perfect sacrifice. He died on the cross. He was a sinless substitute and therefore he was the righteous one before God. We all have fallen short. But what else is the Holy Spirit convincing or reproving people of? It is about a coming judgment. What's amazing today, how many people want to put off any talk about death. It's amazing how people don't want to talk about the afterlife and they don't want to talk about all these things, because deep down inside, every one of us recognize that there's coming a day where we'll stand before God. So I'm here to tell you something. The first thing the Israelites did realize is they were slaves. And if you're going to be rescued or saved and have, if you will, a Passover in your life, you've got to recognize your need, your problem. Number two, I want you to notice the penalty. Now, from the call of Moses way back in chapters three and four, especially chapter number four, God had told Moses what he was going to do. And what was that? It was to slay the firstborn. Chapter 4, verse number 23, you can see that. Nine plagues had gone by and there's hardly any movement on the part of Pharaoh to let the Israelites go and worship God. So I want you to notice, go back one chapter, if you will, or wherever you are, Exodus chapter number 11. And I want you to notice what the Lord tells Moses what to say to Pharaoh. Exodus chapter 11, notice here, verse number 1. The Lord said unto Moses, Yet will I bring one plague more upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt. Afterward he will let you go hence. When he shall let you go, he shall surely thrust you out hence altogether. Speak now in the ears of the people. Let every man borrow of his neighbor, every man of her neighbor, jewels of silver, jewels of gold. The Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover, the man, Moses, was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh's servants, in the sight of the people. Moses said, Thus saith the Lord, About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt, and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sit at the bonest throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill, and all the firstborn of beasts. There shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it anymore. The Lord tells Moses what he's going to do. And before we get into talking about this particular penalty, I think it is important that we address, if I can put it in these terms, address the elephant in the room. What is that? Why? Would God be so cruel in killing the firstborn? I bet you if you've been around long enough and you've tried to talk to people about the Bible and about God, you've heard people say, I just don't believe in a God that's going to kill innocent children. And I hear that on a regular basis. But I think there's two overriding things that we must understand, and then I want to pick apart this whole thing. First of all, we must understand the awfulness of sin, and we secondly must understand the holiness of God. You see, we as frail human beings come before God and we begin interpreting the way God should act, what God should do. But I want to tell you, as sinners, we have no ability to be able to stand before God and interpret what God's doing because God is a holy God. But let me give you a couple of things to think about in this whole aspect. Number one, we need to be reminded how cruel Pharaoh and the Egyptians were. The Bible tells us here in Exodus chapter 1 verse 22 that they had slain all of the male children, at least all that they could do. So they're far from being innocent on this. They not only had killed the firstborn, but they had enslaved the Egyptian or the Israelites. And it's amazing to me that when you go back to Abraham in Genesis chapter 12, verse number three, God had promised to curse those who cursed his people. So truthfully, if God did not act in some way, he would have been breaking his promise to Abraham. But second thing I want you to understand about this whole aspect is that God's judgment was mild in comparison to what Pharaoh did. What was Pharaoh's intent? His intent was to kill all of the Hebrew male children, but God only took the firstborn. It can also be noted that it's never recorded in the book of Exodus that Pharaoh rescinded that order. Though we don't know, it's very possible that when we get to the 10th plague in Exodus chapter number 12, that Pharaoh's edict is still in place that he is killing the Hebrew children. Never rescinded that. Third thing I want you to understand is that as we read through this, even though Moses is writing in this language of that all of the Egyptians, there is no doubt in my mind that there were some Egyptians who were saved. In fact, you look later on in Exodus chapter number 12, and as God is giving certain instructions to Moses about keeping the Passover, he says, and the strangers that are with you, Who are the strangers? Those are the non-Israelites. Why would God be mentioning that to Moses right now if there were not some Egyptians who had not followed the Israelites out of Egypt? I have no doubt in my mind that there were Egyptians and there were possibly even some in Pharaoh's court who started to believe God. And that night that that promise was made, there were some Egyptians who placed their faith in God and showed it in their household and their children were spared. And so it's important for us to understand this whole aspect. But now let's get into this penalty for just a moment and this judgment of death. God made it very clear that at midnight that he'll go out and the firstborn will die. And I want you to know that God's warned us clearly in His Word that there is a judgment coming for all who will die in their sin. Hebrews chapter 9 verse 27, As it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment. Revelation chapter 20, reading here about those that are at the great white throne judgment, And here it is, the words of the Lord Jesus. He says, I saw the dead small and great stand before God. The books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books according to their works. The sea gave up the dead which were in it. The death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them. And they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. Note these words. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. Mankind may deny that there is a place like the lake of fire. They may laugh about hell. But I want to tell you, God's made it very clear that it is a true and real place. And though it's real, God has never intended to send mankind there. He's patiently waiting for people to come to him. 2 Peter 3, 9, the Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness. You see, Peter's writing to a group of people who said, oh, come on, the Lord Jesus isn't coming back. There's no such thing as a judgment to come. There's no such thing as a heaven or a hell. And Peter writes and says, I want to tell you something. You may laugh at that. You may think God's not going to keep his promises. But I'm telling you, he's long suffering. He's not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. So I want to tell you, if you're going to be rescued today, you have to understand there's a problem that is of sin, slavery. I want you to understand there's a penalty, but I'm glad there's a provision. Look at Exodus chapter number 12. God gives very specific direction for Israel and we read through that in our text regarding the Passover. The ability to be rescued. I want you to notice the first few things here. Let's just look back at it. Verses 3 and 4 of chapter number 12. First, the lamb or the goat needed to be sufficient for each person in the family. Notice that. This pictures that salvation must be applied by each individual. You're not saved because you grew up in a Christian home. You're not saved because you attend church. The only way that you're saved is that you personally apply the blood of Jesus Christ. Second, I want you to notice verse number five. Notice here, Exodus chapter 12, verse five. Your lamb shall be without blemish. That is, it's to be an unblemished male. of a year old. What do we mean by without blemish? We mean that we're not to bring in, the Israelites were not to bring in a lamb that had a broken leg, a lamb that was diseased, a lamb that was sick. It was to be noted as best as possible and looking at it, it was to be the best lamb and it was to be something that seemed to, humanly speaking, to be perfect. Why was that? Because all of that, pointing forward to the future, was a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ, our Passover Lamb. John 8, 46 says about Jesus, which of you, Jesus said, which of you convinces me of sin? 1 Peter 2, 22, who did no sin, speaking of Jesus, neither was guile found in his mouth. I want to tell you, the Lord Jesus Christ was the perfect sacrifice. But notice in verse 2 and verse number 6, something else about this lamb. It was to be selected here on the 10th day of the month, that is, but not sacrificed until, according to verse 6, of the 14th day. So there was preparation that was made with the lamb. What does that signify about the Lord Jesus Christ? Can I tell you, according to 1 Peter 1, verses 19 to 20, that Jesus Christ was before the foundation of the world. It was designed by God that Jesus Christ would come. All the way back in the book of Genesis, After Adam and Eve had sinned, God had already had a plan in place that His dear Son, Jesus Christ, would be the one that would die on that cross of Calvary. So preparation being made. But notice verse number 7, the Israelites were to put some of the blood on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the house. That's verse number 7. Verse number 8, they were to roast the lamb that they had with fire. And they were to do this along with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Now, the fire here of the lamb roasting this lamb, it was it was a picture here. Fire is a picture of God's wrath. And no doubt God's wrath was shown on Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary. Eating of the bitter herbs was a reminder of the cruel slavery that they went through in Egypt. But God made a promise here. And that is that if he would see the blood on the doorpost, that those people inside of that home, that that angel of death would pass over that house and would not strike down the firstborn. This all leads to the final truth, and that is this, the possibility. The Israelites, in order to be saved and spared, They had to sprinkle the blood on the doorpost. They had to kill the lamb, eat it in a prescribed manner, put the blood on the doorpost and on the top there, and all of that required taking God at His word. Their obedience, listen to this now, their obedience was evidence of their underlying faith. Hebrews chapter 11 verse 28, talking about this at a later time, through faith he, that's Moses, kept the Passover in the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them. Exodus in our passage of scripture later on in the chapter verse number 28 underscores the same point then the sons of Israel went and did so just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron so they did I want you to think about something for just a moment if an Israelite questioned or doubted God's Word and they didn't do it judgment was going to come upon them Imagine if they said to themselves, you know, this just doesn't make sense. I mean, come on. What's the big deal about putting blood on the doorpost? Or maybe they're thinking to themselves, you know, that's that's a little gross here. I mean, come on. I mean, we're going to be putting blood on the doorpost. Or maybe there were some that said, look, I'm vegetarian, I don't eat meat and and I'm not going to do this. I'm not going to kill this animal and eat a lamb. Can I tell you, whatever excuse they would have brought up would have been a lack of obedience. But obedient faith, listen to this, obedient faith takes God at His word and acts upon it. It may not make sense. You may not understand it. But obedient faith just says, all right, God, if you say it, I believe it and I'll do it. And truthfully, when you think about this, it's almost hard to process in your mind here this whole aspect of putting the blood on the doorpost and sparing the firstborn child. Doesn't make sense from an intellectual standpoint. But notice verse number 13, if you will. Chapter 12 and verse number 13. I want you to notice a word that is used here. And the blood shall be to you for in the King James, the word is token. We could say the word sign, a token or a sign. In other words, it is a symbol that is pointing to a spiritual reality. And the reality is, is that the blood that was on the doorpost there, it is speaking of this fact that every person, every individual that was inside that house belonged to God and was spared by the blood that was slain. You go over one book further, Leviticus chapter number 17. It tells us that the blood of an animal symbolized the life of a victim and the life of those whom it was substituted for. So what are the people doing when they're putting the blood on the doorpost? Their faith in what God says and in God's word unites them to the Lord God. The blood on the doorpost serves as a sign and as a symbol of their faith. Now let me bring this to conclusion. And I have really two main things. I'm speaking to really two groups of people here today. First of all, in conclusion, Just like the Israelites had to exercise faith in the provision of a Lamb, so today people must exercise faith in God's provision of THE Lamb. You know, the Passover, what we've just gone through here, just talked about in brief, is really a picture of the Gospel. The wrath of God is coming for sinners. Romans 323, all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Romans 623, the wages of sin is death. God provides a way to escape that wrath because the rest of Romans 623 says that the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord. And salvation is by grace through faith. Romans 10, 9, if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Romans 10, 13, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. That's faith. So yes, there's a judgment coming. Yes, there's a penalty for sin. But there is a way of escape. And that's what God gave on this day, this moment in the book of Exodus. He shared that there'd be a judgment coming, but there was a way of escape. And he's telling us today who most of us, if not all of us, are not Israelites, that there is judgment for our sin, but there is a way of escape. And it is faith in the Lamb of God. Just as the Hebrews applied to their doors the blood and faith, So you and I must have the blood of Jesus Christ applied to us. I want you to think of this. Their only hope for salvation was applying the blood. The only hope of your salvation is in the finished work of Jesus Christ on Calvary. I tell you, people slough this idea from time to time. They speak about the fact, well, come on, it's going to be more than faith in Jesus Christ. I mean, come on, just simple faith. You see, we've learned in America to just kind of work for what we get. And so we think to ourselves, well, we got to contribute something. We've got to do something for God to earn favor with him. But I want to tell you. The only way that you and I are saved is applying. The blood of Jesus Christ to the sins of mankind. There was a very famous years ago, a very famous soap manufacturer and a Christian were walking down the street one day and the Christian was trying to explain to the businessman the gospel of Jesus Christ and how every person must be saved. But the businessman all of a sudden objected about halfway. He said, look, he said, if what you say is true, why is there so much evil in the world? Well, the Christian was struggling with how to answer this businessman. But as they're walking along, he saw a little boy on the curbside and this boy that was sitting on the curb, his face was dirty, his hands were dirty. All of his clothes were filthy. And all of a sudden, the Christian had this light bulb that went off and he looked at the businessman. He said, hey, I want to ask you a question. He says, don't you manufacture soap and help people to be clean? And the man says, oh, absolutely. He said, why is that boy dirty over there? The man said, well, he hasn't applied the soap yet. Can I tell you that the only way that you're saved is you've got to apply by faith the blood of Jesus Christ. That's the only way that you're saved. The crucial question for you today is, have you applied the sacrificial blood of Jesus to your heart? Believing in general about Jesus Christ, believing that Jesus was just a teacher, believing that Jesus just merely existed some time ago does not get you saved. But it is only by placing your faith in the finished work of Jesus on Calvary. Have you by faith accepted Jesus as your savior? If you haven't. Then judgment is coming on you. And you can avert it today if you place your faith in Christ. But number two, now I'm talking to a different group of people. Every person who has exercised their faith in Jesus Christ must make it a top priority to never forget what God's done for them. Look with me if you will, Exodus chapter number 12, look at verse number 2. Notice as God's giving these instructions, He says here to Moses to tell the people. This month, that is what you're gonna be doing with this Passover, shall be unto you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year to you. In other words, in your religious calendar, I want you to understand this is like our new year. Or maybe we might put it this way. This is our day of independence, our July 4th. You're going to mark everything according to this day. And in fact, look at verse number 17, same chapter. He says, you shall observe the feast of unleavened bread for in the self same day. Have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt? Therefore, shall you observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever? Look at verse 24. You shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons forever. Why? Because you were, verse 25, brought out of the land. And then verse number 27, when the children ask, what are we doing here with this particular day? Well, in verse 27, it's the sacrifice of the Lord's Passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians and delivered our houses. What God is telling the Israelites is this, is that there was a deliverance And I don't want you to ever forget this, so from here on out, forever, in perpetuity, you are to remember this day. And my friend, I want to encourage you today, for those of you that are saved, to keep in mind what God has done for you. God has rescued you. And yet far too many Christians go on their life forgetting what God has done, not remembering the price that was paid and the judgment that has been averted. Oh, I think we all need to be like the man in this illustration that I came across many years ago, and I loved it. It was actually a story told. Many of you are familiar with the name Paul Harvey. I read these words from Paul Harvey. It is gratitude that prompted an old man to visit an old, broken pier on the eastern seacoast of Florida. Every Friday night until his death in 1973, he would return, walking slowly and slightly, stooped with a large bucket of shrimp. The seagulls would flock to this old man, and he would feed them from his bucket. Many years before, in October 1942, Captain Eddie Rickenbacker was on a mission in a B-17 to deliver an important message to General Douglas MacArthur in New Guinea. But there was an unexpected detour, which would hurl Captain Eddie into the most harrowing adventure of his life. Somewhere over the South Pacific, the Flying Fortress became lost beyond the reach of radio. Fuel ran dangerously low, so the men ditched their plane in the ocean. For nearly a month, Captain Eddie and his companions would fight the water and the weather and the scorching sun. They spent many sleepless nights recoiling as giant sharks rammed their rafts. The largest raft was 9 by 5, the biggest shark 10 feet long. But of all their enemies at sea, one proved the most formidable, starvation. Eight days out, their rations were long gone or destroyed by the salt water. It would take a miracle to sustain them, and a miracle occurred. And here it is in Captain Eddy's own words, Cherry, That was the B-17 pilot, the name of the pilot, Captain William Cherry, read the service that afternoon, and we finished with a prayer for deliverance and a hymn of praise. There was some talk, but it tapered off in the oppressive heat, and with my hat pulled down over my eyes to keep out some of the glare, I dozed off. Something landed on my head. I knew that it was a seagull. I don't know how I knew, I just knew. And everyone else knew too. No one said a word, but peering out from under my hat brim without moving my head, I could see the expression on their faces. They were staring at that gull. The gull meant food if I could catch it. So Paul Harvey concludes this story. And the rest, as they say, is history. Captain Eddie caught the gull, its flesh was eaten, its intestines were used for bait to catch fish, the survivors were sustained, and their hopes renewed because a lone seagull, uncharacteristically hundreds of miles from land, offered itself as a sacrifice. And you know that Captain Eddie made it. And now you also know that he would never forget Because every Friday evening, about sunset, on a lonely stretch along the eastern Florida seacoast, you'd see an old man walking, white haired, bushy eyebrows, slightly bent. His bucket filled with shrimp was to feed the gulls, to remember that one which on a day long past, gave itself without a struggle, just as Jesus gave Himself for you. Jesus died on that cross, greater than any seagull giving its life. The very Son of God gave His life for you. If you're saved today, you ought to be so truly thankful. Thankful for the fact that God has passed over and has averted judgment and forever You'll be able to spend eternity with God in heaven. Father, thank you for this day. Thank you for the Word of God. Help us, I pray, in our invitation time. May you speak to hearts and may you work mightily. I pray it in Jesus' name. While heads are bowed and eyes are closed, please, there's nobody looking around. I'd just like to speak here. In my conclusion, I really, I spoke to two different groups of people. And that's really all there are here today. There's only two groups of people. Either you are saved or unsaved. Either you've been rescued or you're lost. Where are you today? You say, well, Preacher, I think I'm saved. Well, I would hope so. If you're here today and you say, Preacher, I know that I'm saved. I don't have any doubt about it. I know that if I were to die, I'd go to heaven. And just by uplifted hand, you'd acknowledge that here today. Would you do that here today as a testimony to me and before God? God bless you, may put your hand down. It's possible you're here today, couldn't raise your hand. I'd like to invite you today to accept the free gift of eternal life. That free gift is only through Jesus Christ. You may say, well, I know about Jesus, but you actually have to place your personal faith in Jesus Christ. There has to come a time when you and your life have expressed your faith in Christ, and you've called out on the name of the Lord, and you said, the only way that I'm going to be saved is through Jesus, and I'm accepting Him right now. You see, just like that Passover many years ago in the book of Exodus, There was a judgment that was coming. But there was a judgment that could be averted if the blood was applied. And if it was done by faith in God. Do you have faith in God that he'll save you from your sin? What are you trusting in to get to heaven? You trusting in your good works? You trusting in what you can do? You trusting in the fact that just someday God will sort all that stuff out later? I want to tell you, God sorted it out now. He's made it very clear in His Word how a person can be saved. And it has to be by the faith of an individual. If you're not saved here today, I'd like to invite you right now by faith to call out to God and ask Him to be your Savior. You have to acknowledge you're a sinner. You have to acknowledge the fact that God sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross to pay for your sins. And you have to place your faith in Jesus and in Him alone. And if you right now say, preacher, I'm not saved, but I'd like to be saved right now, you could pray a simple prayer. I'm going to invite you to go ahead and pray that prayer right with me here today. I'm going to pray this prayer in short phrases out loud, and if you need to be saved today, why don't you pray repeating after me? Please understand, it's not just the repeating of any words. This has to be something from your heart. So here's the prayer right now. that you can pray, as I pray it out loud, you pray it to yourself. Dear Jesus, I know that I'm a sinner. And I know that I cannot save myself. But I believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay for my sins. And right now, I'm asking Jesus Christ, God's Holy Son, to forgive me of all my sins, and become my personal Savior. Now right now, if you just prayed that prayer, heads are bowed and eyes are closed. I'm the only one looking. You say, Preacher, I prayed that prayer and I meant it. I asked God to forgive me of my sins. I believe that Jesus Christ died for me and that He forgave me. Would you just slip your hand up right now? Anyone here today? Preacher, I just prayed that prayer. I asked the Lord to save me. Anyone here today? Preacher, I prayed that prayer. Anyone here today? I trust that with the absence of hands that every person knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus is their Savior. Christians, can I talk to you then? When's the last time you got down and you just thanked the Lord for what He did for you on the cross? When's the last time you poured out your heart to God and said, Oh God, thank you for that day, and you went back in your mind to that day that you got saved? I want to invite you today When we stand in just a moment, the piano will begin playing. And when that piano begins playing, why don't you come down to the front, whether you stand at the front or kneel or maybe sit in the front row and you make this, if you will, an old fashioned Old Testament altar where you come and pour yourself out before God and you say, oh, God, thank you for that day that you saved me. Why don't you do that today? Give God thanks. The Bible says in the Psalms, let the redeemed of the Lord say so. There's nothing wrong with giving thanks. Husbands, I'd encourage you to come down with your wives, come down as families, do whatever it takes, come down and give God thanks for what he's done for you on that day of your salvation. Let's quietly stand to our feet together, please. Heads are bowed, eyes are closed. I'm going to pray. And as soon as I'm done praying, the piano will begin playing. Why don't you come, Christian, and do business with God and just go ahead and give God thanks for what he's done in your life. Maybe today you'd like to join Calvary Baptist Church. This would be the time to make it known. See one of the people right up front and say, I'd like to join here today. Maybe you've been saved and never been baptized. Make it known here today. Let me pray and then we'll begin our invitation. Father, thank you for this day. Thank you for the Lord Jesus Christ. I pray that you'd work mightily in our invitation. In Jesus' precious name and for his sake, amen.