Thank you for listening to Servants for Christ. And all that we do and all that we say, we want to give glory and honor to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Thank you for tuning us in as we get into the wonderful Word of God. For the next few minutes, let's take the beautiful Word of God and share it with each and every one of you as we have a sense of anticipation to take the word of God and to listen to its truth for each and every one. As we journey on Would heaven's shining gold we may suffer pain and loss? Burdens only bring us blessings if we live in the shadow of the cross. Are we living in the shadow of the cross where the Savior took your place? By the cross you lead us to That home above, there we'll see Him face to face. On the tree of sorrow, Jesus died for all, Took upon Himself our draw. As I see him there I long to ever live In the shadow of the cross Are you living in the shadow of the cross? Where the Savior took your place By the cross you lead us to that home above there we'll see him face to face there are souls to rescue there are souls to save on the sea of life they toss may we be a line and teach them how to live in the shadow of The cross. Are you living in the shadow of the cross? Where the Savior took your place? By the cross He'll lead us to that home above. There we'll see him face to face When the storms are raging and the nights are long And the tempter gains a toss We find strength and shelter, mercy, grace, and peace in the shadow of the cross. Are you living in the shadow of the cross where the Savior took your place? By the cross you lead us to that home above, there we'll see him face to face. When we reach the river and our time is near, and last final lines we gloss, we will rest in hope and raise in glorious light. from the shadow of the cross. We living in the shadow of the cross Where the Savior took your place By the cross he'll lead us to that home above There we'll see him face to face To us here our Sunday morning Easter message, Miriam, daughter of Yaakovet. Take your Bibles over to Exodus chapter 15, verses 20 and 21. As we read the wonderful word of God here, Easter, Sunday morning, April the 20th, 2025, the 22nd of Nisan, 5785 of the Hebrew calendar. You know, it was the 24th of Nisan, which was 2448, April the 14th, 1313 BCE, which was approximately 3,337 years ago from today, Easter, that Miriam, on this resurrection morning, we turn our attention to Miriam, the daughter the daughter of Yaakoved, a woman of courage, conviction, and prophetic praise. Here in Exodus chapter 15, verses 20 and 21, we find Marian taking up her timbrel in triumph, leading the women of Israel in a celebrating dance after God's miraculous delivery for his people from the Red Sea. It's a moment of spontaneous praise, not just about a historical note, It's a prophetic foreshadowing of a victory that believers celebrate every Easter Sunday because it explores Miriam's life and the tapestry of her faith, deliverance, and resurrection hope. From watching over baby Moses at the Nile to leading a nation in praise, Miriam's journey reflected how God raises up ordinary people for extraordinary moments. She was more than a sister. She was a prophetess, a worship leader, a voice of hope, and a newly liberated generation. And I'm glad that on Easter we celebrate the ultimate act of deliverance because she's a part of the Jewish celebration of the songs that are sung the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the grave and just as the Red Sea was split open to bring Israel out of bondage so the tomb was opened to bring us out of death into eternal life. Miriam's song of praise becomes a part of our song of resurrection and so Like Miriam, we lift up our timbrels and voices in celebration today on this Resurrection Sunday, for he who parted the sea has also conquered the grave. I'm glad. Let's open up with a time of prayer and ask the Lord to intervene on all of our behalves. Heavenly Father, we come before you on this Resurrection morning clothed in the righteousness of your son. And we ask, Lord, that you forgive us of our sins today, our pride, our selfishness, and our doubt, and cleanse us anew. Let us put on the whole armor of God that we may be strong in the evil day. Gird us with truth, shield us with faith, crown us with salvation, and fill this place with your spirit. And speak to every heart this Easter Sunday morning. Father, we asked all of it that you'd get us out of the way, hide us behind the cross of Calvary. And may Easter be not only today, but a celebration every day of the resurrection in Jesus, we pray. Amen. There was a story of a little boy named Tyler who was watching his first Easter play when Jesus rose from the grave. And Tyler shouted, well, I'll be dipped in chocolate and called a jelly bean. Well, the whole church roared with laughter. And maybe today that's how some of us feel. We're surprised. We're overwhelmed and joyfully stunned by the reality of the resurrection. But just like young Tyler, we've got to see it to believe it. Well, in a dusty desert, a woman danced. Her name was Miriam, daughter of Yaakovid, sister of Moses. She saw plagues fall, seas split, an empire crumble. Her timbrel rang out with the rhythm of redemption. But the song that she sang wasn't just about Egypt. It was a foreshadowing of another deliverance, one that would come centuries later on a hill called Calvary, when the Lamb of God would be slain. And today on Resurrection Sunday, we look back at her story to understand our own, for Miriam's victory dance points us to the resurrection joy. Here, when we look and we realize that here today, this Easter Sunday. Miriam the daughter of Yaakovid. Have you felt the book of Exodus chapter 15 verses 20 and 21? The Bible says, the Miriam, the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances. And Miriam answered them, sing ye to the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously. The horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. Well, the name Yaakoved is the Hebrew name of Moses's mother, of Miriam's mother, and it's rich with meaning and it's made up of two parts. I'm glad Yaakoved, meaning yak, shortened of the form of Yahweh, the sacred name of God, and Kaved, meaning glory, honor, or weightiness. So the name Yaakoved, which many talk about Jacobed in the King James Version, but Yaakoved means Yahweh is glory or the Lord is my glory. And her name proclaims God's majesty and it reflects a faith that God's glory be revealed even in the times of oppression like when she hid Moses in the bulrushes because Miriam, was that little girl that was faithful of her mother's choosing. And it's meaningful during Easter when we declare God's glory revealed through the resurrection. So when we say Miriam, daughter of Yaakovid, we're not only identifying the lineage, recognizing that she comes from the heritage of faith and from a mother whose very name glorifies God, but Miriam's father's name was Amram. And he was the husband of Yaakov Ed, and the father of Miriam, Aaron, and Moses. And so Amram is the Hebrew name composed of two parts, Am meaning people or nation, and Ram meaning exalted high and lifted up. And so, I'm glad an exalted nation, a people of the Most High. I'm glad in Exodus chapter 6, verse 20, the Bible says, And Enram took him Jacobet, his father's sister, to wife, and she bare him Aaron and Moses. And so, I'm glad. that Amran belonged to the tribe of Levite, and both he and Yaakoved were descendants of Levite, the son of Jacob. He was a godly man who fathered three of Israel's most significant spiritual leaders, Miriam the prophet, Aaron the high priest, and Moses the deliverer. So when you speak of Miriam, daughter of Yaakovid in Amram, you're pointing to a legacy of glory, spiritual elevation, a family that produced leaders that shaped the destiny of God's people. Well, what happened on the 29th of Nisan? We look back, And we see the major events because on the 10th of Nisan, there was the selection of the Passover lamb in Exodus chapter 12, verse three. On the 14th of Nisan, there was the Passover. On the 15th of Nisan, Exodus was coming from Egypt. And the 21st of Nisan, the crossing of the Red Sea, the seventh day of Passover. And then when we look at later days later, I'm glad that Exodus was the freedom from Egypt that happened on the 15th day of Nisan in the year of 2448 of the Hebrew calendar. I'm glad that the event and the month of Nisan When we look at the scripture, we see the 10th of Nisan, each family selects a lamb for Passover. In Exodus chapter 12, verse 3, the 14th of Nisan of that evening, the first Passover is observed. The death angel passed over Exodus chapter 12, verses 6 through 13. The 15th of Nisan, the Exodus begins and the Israelites leave Egypt by night in Exodus chapter 12, verses 29 to 42. The 21st of Nisan, the crossing of the Red Sea, the seventh day of Passover, Exodus chapter 14, verse 21 down to verse 31. The 22nd down to the 24th of Nisan, the Israelites travel into the wilderness of Shur in Exodus chapter 15, verse 22. So Moses led them into the wilderness of Shur, and they traveled three days without finding water. That brings them around the 24th of Nisan. And they came to Myra, where the waters were bitter. God miraculously made the water sweet. And so, in Exodus chapter 15, verses 23, 24, and 25, and when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore, the name of it was called Marah. And the people murmured against Moses, saying, why shall we drink? And he cried unto the Lord, and the Lord shoot him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet. I'm glad that when we look, On all around this day, the Israelites arrived at Mara where God turned bitter water sweet, a powerful lesson in trusting God's provision. Well, as we look at the word of God, we see a woman of fateful memory. Miriam, she remembered the God who hears in Exodus chapter two, verses 23 and 24. And God heard their groaning and God remembered his covenant. Miriam had watched her people suffer, but never stopped believing that God was listening. I'm glad Adrian Rogers said one time, faith is not believing that God can, it's knowing that he will. And so, when we look and realize of all about Miriam, the daughter of Yaakoved, we see a woman of fateful memory. She remembered that God who hears in Exodus chapter 2. And she remembered the God who delivers in Exodus chapter 12 verse 13. When I see the blood, I will pass over you. The blood on the doorpost was a sign of faith, just like the blood of Christ on the cross, hallelujah. A woman of faithful memory. She remembered the God who hears. She remembered the God who delivers. But she remembered the God that brings joy of Psalms chapter 30, verse five. Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. The morning after Passover, Miriam danced, and so do we, for Christ is risen. Paul Harvey once told the story of a young soldier who was wounded and yet crawled to save his brothers. He later said the pain wasn't as bad as the joy of knowing that they lived. That's the heart of Christ. And so we see a woman of fateful memory. She remembered the God who hears. She remembered the God who delivered. And she remembered the God that brings joy. But secondly, Miriam was a woman of fearless worship. She led in praise according to Exodus chapter 15 verse 21. Sing ye to the Lord. Worship is something that's contagious. And when Miriam danced, others followed. A woman of fearless worship, she led in praise. But she danced in deliverance of Psalms 149, verse 3, where the word of God said, let them praise his name in the dance. Some Baptists don't dance, but if they ever saw the Red Sea split or Jesus walk out of the tomb, they might start, hallelujah. And so a woman of fearless worship, she led in praise, she danced in deliverance, hallelujah. But she also lifted her voice in victory of Isaiah chapter 12, verse two. The word of God says, I will trust and not be afraid for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song. I'm glad James Merritt said one time, worship is not an escape from reality. It's the realization of who is in control. And so. I asked the deacon once why he never raised his hands in worship and he said, if God wants my hands up, he better raise them himself. I told him he already did on the cross. And so, I'm glad. I'm glad that when we look at Miriam, daughter of Yaakovid, we see a woman of faithful memory. She remembered the God who hears. She remembered the God who delivers. And she remembered the God who brings joy. We see secondly, a woman of fearless worship. She led in praise. She danced in deliverance and she lifted her voice in victory. But it brings us to our third and closing point for an Easter message. We see a woman who foreshadowed redemption because in Exodus chapter 12, verse 23, the blood saved her people. The Lord will pass over the door. Jesus, just as the blood of the Lamb saved Israel, the blood of Christ saves us. And so a woman who foreshadowed redemption, the blood saved her people. But secondly, the sea buried her enemies. In Exodus chapter 14, verse 30, thus the Lord saved Israel that day. And I'm glad that our sin and shame were drowned in the sea of grace. Hallelujah. A woman who foreshadowed redemption, the blood that saved her people. the sea that buried her enemies, but thirdly and closing, the song that preached the gospel. Because in Exodus chapter 15 verse 2, the Bible says, the Lord is my strength and song and he is become my salvation. I'm glad Tim Keller said one time, the gospel is not advice. It's news, good news, and the tomb is empty, praise God. And so I'm glad and moody today in the word. A woman wrote how that her son died in an accident on Good Friday. But that Easter morning, she heard the hymn, Because He Lives. Her tears began to turn to praise. Why? Because resurrection changes everything. It changes death. And I'm glad Miriam's song wasn't just about the Red Sea. And it wasn't about the eight stages that Judaism begins to take part and sing the song of the sea. It was about the cross yet to come. Her dance foreshadowed the resurrection day. Her deliverance points to ours. And just as Pharaoh could not hold Israel, the grave could not hold Jesus. And that, my friends, is why we rejoice on Resurrection Sunday, hallelujah. And so I'm glad that what's your Egypt? What has God brought you through? Whether it's addiction, whether it's fear, whether it's loss and grief, praise God, he's still part seized today. I'm glad, listen, are you singing your song of deliverance this Easter Sunday? If God has saved you, you've got a testimony. You ought to sing about something. You ought to be shared it, hallelujah. Have you applied the blood of the lamb to your heart today? Because salvation is not about heritage. It's about faith in Christ alone. One boy asked his Sunday school teacher, if Jesus came back from the dead, why didn't he scare the Romans? And she replied, because he came back to save, not to spook. I hope and pray that all of y'all have a wonderful Easter Sunday, because I'm glad of a woman of a faithful memory, a woman of a fearless worship, and a woman who foreshadowed redemption, praise God, because I'm glad the Lord is my strength and song, and he has become my salvation. Lord, we thank you for the song of Miriam, and for the song of the empty tomb, And Lord, this Resurrection Sunday, we rejoice in the Lamb who takes away the sins of the world. And we ask you to save every sinner, revive every believer, remind every heart that freedom comes only through your Son. May the blood of Jesus cover us and may we live today, this Resurrection Sunday, in the power of the Resurrection and in the name of our risen Savior, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. so so