35. I've got a message this morning
I've wanted to preach for over 30 years. About 30 years ago,
a little bit more, I was preaching, making a tour of, preaching tour
through New South Wales, Australia, going to a variety of churches
that, on a tour of other folks that arranged, and going from
one place to another. I had just preached a message
from Colossians 311, and the subject was Christ is all. And
what had demonstrated without question that Christ's crucified
is the message of Holy Scripture. going back to Luke 24 where our
Lord opened the understanding of those disciples on the road
to Emmaus so that they would understand the scriptures, the
law, and the prophets and the Psalms speaking of him. And I
was in the car with a preacher. I don't remember his name, thankfully,
but for some reason, unknown to me, he objected to the fact
that I had declared that Jesus Christ crucified is the whole
message of the whole revelation of God. And he asked a question,
as those who think they're smart ask questions, you know, with
a smirk on their face. And he said to me, if the whole
Bible speaks of Christ, what was the purpose of the tent pens
in the tabernacle? Oh, that was smart, wasn't it?
What's the meaning of those tent pins in the tabernacle? Well,
I wasn't embarrassed that I didn't know the answer, because I had
never really thought about the question. I'd never given much
consideration to the nails that held the cords that held the
tabernacle up in the wilderness. But I said to myself then, perhaps
someday the Lord will show me something about those nails.
Well, that day's come. Look at Exodus chapter 35. I
want to talk to you this morning about brass nails and linen cords. Obviously, when I get done preaching,
I will not have exhausted the subject. I never dream of exhausting
any subject in scripture. But I do believe God has given
me something that will benefit your souls about these brass
nails and linen cords. Here in Exodus 35, 18, Moses
lists among all the things that God required him to use in making
the tabernacle, the pins of the tabernacle, and the pins of the
court, that is the inner tabernacle, and their cords. The tabernacle,
obviously, was secured in its place by these brass pins, nails,
what he's talking about, and linen cords tied to them. The
nails were driven deeply into the ground and the cords were
stretched over the outer covering of badger skins, tying everything
securely together in place, just exactly the same way we use cords
and nails today to hold a tent securely in its place. We are
told specifically that these pins, these nails, were made
of brass in Exodus 27 and verse 19, and again in chapter 38 and
verse 20. They were not specifically told
that the cords were made of linen. The only material that could
have been used by God's own commandment to make them were blue, purple,
scarlet, and fine linen. Now the word pin is the very
same word that's translated in Judges chapters 4 and 5, nail. You'll remember the story. Heber's
wife, Jail, drove a tent pin, a nail, a pretty good size nail,
through Cesar's temples, firmly attaching his head to the ground. in Isaiah 33 and again in chapter
54. The same word translated pin
and nails is translated stake. Now I point this out for just
one reason. I don't want you to think of these pins as the
little pins that we commonly think of. They weren't little
pins or even bigger pins. These were large stakes, brass
nails driven deep into the ground. Now the first thing suggested
by these nails is security. If I don't get anything else
said, be sure you get this. Security. All things that concern
our souls. All things that concern the glory
of God, all things that concern the salvation of God's elect,
all things concerning your everlasting salvation in Jesus Christ is
secure. Secure. Nothing can shake it,
not even you. Nothing can break it. Nothing
can destroy it. We are complete, as Brother John
just saying, in Jesus Christ our Lord. Complete in Him for
everlasting. complete in him now and complete
in him to eternity. The first thing suggested by
these brass nails is security. They were used to securely attach
and fasten the tabernacle and the inner court to the earth.
So securely was this tabernacle fastened to the earth. Now you
think about it, this is a, it's just a tent. A tent that's pretty
heavy because it's got all kinds of skins covering it. It's attached
to the earth. A tent not much different from
the size of our church building. That's a large tent. It's a large
tent. It's attached to the earth everywhere
the children of Israel went for 40 years. They threw up this
tent where they worshiped God. And that tent is so securely
fastened that we never read that it was even slightly disturbed
by all the strong winds it must have endured in all the years
of Israel's sojourn. Many things in the tabernacle,
the showbread, the candlestick, the censer, many things in the
tabernacle might have easily been swept away with a strong
wind or swept away in a great flood. But that never happened. Why? Because wherever they pitched
this tent, it was held in place by stakes driven in the ground
and cords wrapping around the tabernacle. The brass nails,
of course, were typical of our Lord Jesus Christ. Let me show
you. Turn over to Isaiah chapter 22. Isaiah 22. I think about this a lot as I
preach through the Old Testament. Many of you know I'm finishing
up my commentary on the book of Exodus and those things written
clearly typify the Lord Jesus. But when you look for something
in the scriptures and look to see how does this typify Christ,
we never have to strain. Now, if you have to strain and
say, do you see the type? When you get done, when I get
done preaching, I want you to say, well, that's the reason
those pens were used. I want you to see it clearly.
Here in Isaiah chapter 22, it is clearly set forth. These nails
portray him. They were made of brass, a material
that could not be corrupted, though they were driven deep
into the ground. They withstood the elements of
the earth. Here in Isaiah 22, obviously you'll see I'm not
guessing about this. Our Lord Jesus is here described
as a nail in a sure place. Shemna is about to be taken out
of his place. Verse 20. And the Lord God says
it shall come to pass in that day that I will call my servant
Eliakim the son of Hilkiah. And I will clothe him with thy
robe and strengthen him with thy girdle. And I will commit
thy government into his hand. And he shall be a father to the
inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. Verse
22. and the key of the house of David
will I lay upon his shoulder. So he shall open and none shall
shut. And he shall shut and none shall
open. Man, those words seem familiar,
don't they? Our Lord Jesus in the third chapter
of the book of Revelation says this, he's talking about me.
I'm the one who has the key of David. God has put the shoulder
on me. I open, and nobody can shut. I shut, and nobody can
open. He uses those very words to speak
of him. And I will fasten him, verse
23, as a nail in a sure place, and he shall be for a glorious
throne to his father's house. and they shall hang upon him
all the glory of his father's house, the offspring and the
issue, all the vessels of small quantity from the vessels of
cups even to all the vessels of flagons. Again, we know this
passage is talking about our Savior because in Revelation
3, 7, he tells us so. When you read about these brass
nails that held the tabernacle in place, let them always remind
you of the steadfast purpose and resolve of our Lord Jesus
Christ in all things. His steadfast purpose, His steadfast
resolve in all things. Our blessed Savior relentlessly,
faithfully pursued the path marked out for Him in the counsels of
God from everlasting while He walked on this earth. Though
that path ended in the storm of divine judgment and with the
billows of infinite wrath pouring over His holy soul, He steadfastly
resolved he would not be turned back from it. He said over and
over again, the Son of Man must be lifted up. The Son of Man
must be lifted up. The Son of Man must be lifted
up. Neither the fierce attacks of
the tempter nor the anticipation of the death he had to die turned
him aside from his settled purpose of heart. As our Lord Jesus stood
as our surety before the world was, he said, Father, I'll go
redeem them. He said, Lo, I come to do thy
will, O my God. As he, the firstborn, broke his
mother's will and is coming into this world, he said, Lo, I come
to do thy will, O my God. What was that will? He came here
to save his people from their sins by the sacrifice of himself. Brother Mike referred to a portion
of it that James and John sent their mother to ask the Lord
Jesus that one might sit on his right hand and the other on his
left in his kingdom. And the Lord said to her, you
don't know what you're asking for. And looking at those disciples,
he said, I have a baptism to be baptized with. Can you be
baptized with it? And they answered, well, sure
we can. They didn't have a clue what they were talking about. But
the master said, you shall indeed be baptized with my baptism. Because when he died, Kevin,
you died in him. When he was baptized under the
wrath of God, all his people were baptized in the wrath of
God with him. Just as Noah and his family went
through the wrath of God in the ark, though they themselves were
unharmed, the wrath of God beat upon the ark. And our Lord Jesus
died as our substitute to save us from our sins. And this is
why he came into the world. I went to two Bible colleges,
they don't like for me to tell, I went there so I'll tell it.
I went to Baptist Bible College in Springfield, Missouri and
I went to Piedmont Bible College in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
where I was raised and they taught something funny. They taught
a lot of things funny. They had one of those Bibles
that had been messed with. They called it a school field
reference Bible. I suggest if you have one, you get another
one. But this was their theology. I'm telling you what I was taught
from the beginning to the time I finally got out of that place.
God had plan A. And plan A was that Jesus would
come here and set up a kingdom over in Israel and be the king
of the Jews. Wonderful plan. But the Jews
wouldn't pretty please let him be king. And so God had plan
B. Now this is what the Schofield
Reference Bible says plan B is. It's a parenthesis. I know they
don't teach English in schools these days. Anybody know what
a parenthesis is? A parenthesis is when you read
the sentence and it's got parenthetical marks in it. And the parenthesis
is explanatory of the sentence being stated. But if you pick
the parenthesis up and set it aside and read the sentence without
the parenthesis, it doesn't make any difference. The parenthesis
really doesn't matter. So this whole gospel age, according
to Mr. Schofield and his followers,
doesn't really matter. And it took God by surprise.
Oh, no. Christ Jesus didn't come here
to be king on a little peanut thrown over in Israel. He came
here to be king over Zion. And he earned the right to be
king by that which he suffered and accomplished at Calvary as
our Redeemer and substitute. And he was determined to accomplish
it. Though he must endure all the
deep feelings he expresses for us in the Psalms. Turn to Psalm
55. Hold your hands here to Isaiah.
But turn over to Psalm, Psalm 55. When you read the Psalms, especially
those Psalms that speak of our Lord's sufferings, the Psalms
are all messianic. When you read the Psalms, learn
to read them as if you were hearing the words of Christ, because
that's what you're hearing. When you get to Psalm 22, when
you get to Psalm 40, Psalm 69, here's Psalm 55. This is our
Savior speaking. And he expresses what Brother
Gabe was talking to us about last night, what our Lord suffered. He felt what it was to be forsaken
of God at the apex of his obedience. He felt it. infinitely more than if Marvin
Stonerker should forsake you right now and never speak to
you again. He felt it. He felt it. Listen to what he
says, Psalm 55, verse 4. My heart is sore pain within
me, and the tales of death are falling upon me. He's in Gethsemane,
anticipating knots just dying, not just suffering on the cursed
tree, not just suffering the wrath of God, not just paying
a debt, but being made sin and forsaken of God justly because
he's made sin. The terrors of death are falling
upon me. Fearfulness and trembling are
come upon me and horror hath overwhelmed me. And I said, oh,
that I had wings like a dove. For then would I fly away and
be at rest. Lo, then would I wander far off
and remain in the wilderness. Now notice the next word. Sela. I rarely read that word audibly
when I'm reading the Psalms in public, because really it's a
punctuation mark. It's like a great big period
with a dash. Stop now and think about this.
Stop and think about this. I can hear our Lord. Oh, my father,
if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. Read on, verse
8. I would hasten my escape from
the windy storm and tempest. Turn back to Isaiah 50. Listen
again to our blessed surety speaking of this same determination, this
same steadfast resolve. Verse 5, the Lord God hath opened
mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back. I gave
my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off
the hair. That looks like a contradiction, doesn't it? But it's not any
contradiction at all. It's an expression both of the
deep sorrow he felt in anticipation of his death and of the resolute
determination of his soul to suffer his assurity. He says,
I gave my back to the smiters and my cheeks to them that plucked
off the hair. I hid not my face from shame
and spitting, for the Lord God will help me. Therefore shall
I not be confounded. Therefore have I set my face
like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed. What
faith and faithfulness our Savior exemplified all the days of his
life. He believed God, Scott Keller,
for us perfectly. He obeyed God for us perfectly. He performed righteousness for
us perfectly. And he exemplifies for us faith
and obedience and submission. Oh, what faith and faithfulness
he exemplified all the days of his sojourn through this earth.
He knew how to cast his burden upon Jehovah. Not my will, thy will be done. He knew to cast his burden upon
God who shall never suffer the righteous to be moved. His heart
was fixed. and God was his exceeding joy. Behold the man who is God, your
savior and mine, fully God, as fully God as if he were not man,
and fully man, as fully man as if he were not God, the God-man,
the man-God, weak, yet immovably firm, himself the mighty God
and yet dependent upon his father for everything. Sitting his face
steadfastly toward Jerusalem that he might go there to suffer
and die in our stead and yet crying out in deep distress,
oh my father, oh my father, if it be possible let this cup pass
from me. Nevertheless, not as I will but
as thou wilt. Behold Him, God in our flesh,
upholding all things by the mere word of His power. He didn't
cease to be God while He was on this earth. He was fully God. And yet this one who upholds
all things by the word of His power says, I am a worm and no
man. Oh, the wondrous power of His
weakness. Oh, the marvelous victory of
His death. the eternal stability of our
unchanging unchangeable Christ He is laid low in the depths
of the grave and yet he is life itself and Alive forevermore. Let's turn to Zechariah chapter
10 for a minute Zechariah 10 The desert seemed to afford but
a shifting foundation for the tabernacle of glory. But the
solid sockets and nails of brass driven deeply into the ground
made everything in the structure secure. Everything. The tabernacle
was built with boards set in sockets of silver. Do you know
where the sockets of silver came from? came from the atonement
money collected from the children of Israel when they collected
atonement money, each man for his soul. Everything picturing
our Redeemer. The tabernacle boards sitting
in sockets of silver interlocked with bars running through the
boards and the tent wrapped in these cords and the stakes driven
deep into the ground. So it is our Lord Jesus Christ,
the nail in a sure place. is he who secures all things
for us. It is Christ and Christ alone
who is our security. Look at Zechariah 10 verse 4.
Out of him came forth the corner, out of him the nail, out of him
the battle bow, out of him every oppressor together. Now here
are three references to our Savior. He's the corner, the nail, and
the battle bow. He's the chief cornerstone and
the headstone of the corner. He's the battle bow by whom we
conquer and prevail over every foe. He's the nail that firmly
secures all the counsels of God's mercy, love, and grace, all the
blessings of the triune God to his people. It is He who connects
everything to His people upon the earth. That means that notwithstanding
the desolation and the ruin of such wilderness as this world
is, notwithstanding all the corruption of our own depraved nature, all
the falls and sins and trespasses and iniquities we engage with
in that warfare, day by day, hour by hour, everything is secure
because Christ is a nail in a sure place. All the purpose of God
stands sure. All the purpose of God stands
sure, you men and women of this congregation. I promise you something
if you haven't yet experienced it, and I know you have somewhat,
but it'll get worse. Hang on. You're going to find
folks opposing you. You're going to find folks opposing
your pastor. You're going to find folks fighting
against you. You're going to hear stuff. Yak,
yak, yak, yak, yak, yak, yak. Folks love to yak. They love
to yak. Let me tell you what to do about
it. Nothing. Never respond to it. Don't ever
give an answer. Don't ever give an answer. Well,
that doesn't make good sense. I know it's contrary to your
flesh. Don't give an answer. Don't respond to it. Don't respond
to it. Just watch and wait. Just watch and wait. Everything's
perfectly secure. Everything's perfectly secure. Everything is perfectly secure. God's purpose prevails always. Did you ever see A Great Dane,
or a German Shepherd, or a Big Boxer. Pomeranians are the noisiest,
yappiest little dogs. I don't know why people like
them, but they do. And Pomeranians used to chase that Great Dane,
or that German Shepherd, or that Boxer. Yap, yap, yap, yap, yap,
yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap. They don't even look at them. I've never even seen them look
at them. Don't look at them. Never think about biting a thing
that's not worth the taste. Never think about it. Just leave
it alone. How come? Because they've got no reason
to be concerned. Hear me, children of God. While
we walk through this world, God's church, God's servants, God's
cause has no reason to be concerned with what anybody does opposing
us. None whatsoever. No matter how
barren the wilderness is, in Christ, with this nail abast,
fixed in a sure place, covenant mercies constantly flow down
in unceasing rivers of grace from our God in heaven. Now back
to Isaiah 22. Look at Eliakim. the man who
typified our Savior as a nail in a sure place. Here, God called
Judah to repentance during the reign of Hezekiah. But the nation
had no regard for God, his word, or his prophets, because the
leaders of the nation under Hezekiah were self-serving, godless men. both the political leaders and
the religious leaders, both the prophets and the priest. The
treasurer over the house of Israel was a scoundrel by the name of
Shebna. And he singled out by God for his sin. Shebna was as. Shebna was as. Shebna was as a nail in a sure
place. But God said, I'm going to take
you out of the wall. I will pull you down. And God pulled him
down, destroyed him, and set up Eliakim in his place. Look at it again, verse 20 of
Isaiah 22. It shall come to pass in that day that I will call
my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah. And I will clothe him
with thy robe, and strengthen him with thy girdle, and I will
commit thy government into his hand, and he shall be a father
to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. And
the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder.
So he shall open, and none shall shut, and he shall shut, and
none shall open, and I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place,
and he shall be for a glorious throne to his father's house,
and they shall hang upon him all the glory of his father's
house. This man Eliakim who was exalted
in the place of Shedna is set before us also as a picture and
type of our Savior. When Shedna was removed, there
was room for Eliakim. And Eliakim was fastened as a
nail in a sure place by God. His name, Eliakim, means my God
shall establish, or my God shall raise up. Like Eliakim, our Lord
Jesus has been set up and fastened by God as a nail in a sure place. Upon Him, our glorious, crucified,
risen, ascended, exalted, enthroned Savior. Upon Him, we can confidently,
safely hang our soul. and everything regarding the
saving of our souls and the dominion of this world. For you see upon
him the triune Jehovah has hanged his very glory. Upon Him, God,
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost hang the very glory of God. The glory of God is only seen
in Him. The glory of God is performed
by Him. What is the glory of God? You
behold it in the salvation of such things as we are by the
doing and dying of Jesus Christ the Lord. Clearly, this man was
a type of our Savior, as he was raised up to be ruler over the
Lord's house in the days of Hezekiah. Our Lord Jesus Christ had been
raised up, exalted head over all things. You remember how
Paul speaks of it? He made head over all things
to the church. What strange language. I would
have written it, he's made head over all things for the church. Or I would have written it, he's
made head over all things including the church. But Paul is inspired
by God to write it, he's made him head over all things to the
church. He is head over everything. That means Jesus Christ, our
Lord and our Redeemer, our kinsman, our friend, our husband, our
Lord. He is sovereign everywhere over
everybody for us. And God revealed it to us. God makes it known to us. Why
does he sit on the throne? So you'll be at peace. Why does
he rule everything? So you can trust him. Why does
he have his way in the whirlwind and in the storm? So you can
confidently rest your soul on him so that you can hang everything
on this nail in the sure place. God has laid on his shoulders
the key of David. His broad shoulders. Oh, how strong. His broad shoulders. Brother Mike's been talking about
Gettysburg, and I couldn't help when he's talking about Gettysburg,
thinking to myself, Russell, where are you? Russell Sanders,
where are you? He's somewhere in here. If I
had just two or three more like you with me at Gettysburg, things
would have turned out different. But our Savior's shoulders are
strong. Strong. He's all man. And I mean that in the most human
way possible. All man. You look for a man,
this is the man you want walking beside you on a dark, dark night
in a dangerous place. You want a man with you? A man
to provide you and uphold you and sustain you? He is that kind
of man. And this man is God in the flesh. God's laid on his shoulders the
key of David. He's king over everybody. King over everything. That means
folks who are his, they ought to be the most carefree, laid-back
folks in the world. What are you biting your nails
for? He's king! What are you worried about? He's
king! Why you gotta go see that shriek? He's king! He's king! Don't you understand? He who
is God, my savior, is king! He rules everything, heaven,
earth, and hell. I love that picture. John Bunyan
draws in Pilgrim's Progress. He's making his way to the Celestial
City. And he's got to go down this
dark, dark path up this steep hill. And he makes his way. There's darkness on both sides. Darkness before him and darkness
behind him. But he's got to follow this path.
That's the only way to the Celestial City. And as he makes his way
up the path, he hears a lion roaring. Roaring. Roaring in the dark. Can you
imagine the fright? He hears the lion roaring and
he stops. He freezes in his tracks, but he's got to go on. He's got
to go on. And so he proceeds a little further,
and the lion roars louder. But he's got to go on. And he
draws near the roar. And when he gets close, he sees
the lion on either side of the path. A black, raging lion roaring
against him. But he's got to go on. And he
moves hesitantly forward. And then he sees the lion has
got a collar around his neck. and he's chained and the chain
is driven with a stake in the ground on both sides. That lion can't get to me and
he gets a little further and he sees the lion's got his fangs
taken out and his claws are gone. All he can do is roar. Oh, hear
me, children of God. Satan, as a roaring lion, seeks
whom he may devour. But King Jesus came down here
and burned the lion and cast him out. All he can do is roar. He has no fangs and no claws
with which to harm you. He's God's lion. He's our Savior's
house cat. He does with him as he will.
Our Lord Jesus Christ is a nail in a sure place. So in his exaltation,
Eliakim was a type of Christ, but there's more, much, much
more. Before Eliakim could be set up, Shebna had to be removed. God said I'm going to take you
out of your place. I'm going to put Eliakim in your
place. I'm going to take the key out
of your head. I'm going to put it in his head. I'm going to
take robes off of you. I'm going to put them on him.
And he's going to sit where you're sitting. I'll set him a nail
in a sure place. But he can't be set there till
Shebna is brought down. Even so, in the sweet experience
of God's grace, in order for Christ to be established in the
heart. If the Lord Jesus comes, this
king, this king of glory, and sets his throne in your heart,
there's gonna be some things take place that disturb you.
I promise you, they'll disturb you. Because somebody has got
to be overthrown and thrown out. You read about it in Matthew
chapter 12. The strong man must be bound. The devils of self-righteousness
must be cast out to make room for Christ in man's soul. Wherever
Christ comes and whenever Christ comes into the heart, wherever
he sets up his throne in the city of man's soul, there's a
battle that takes place. Every rival to King Jesus, Every
rival to King Jesus must be cast out. He will not share his throne
with anyone. What's that mean, preacher? All
personal worth, merit, and righteousness has got to be pulled out, cast
down, and torn to shreds. All men by nature, I'm talking
to some here, You have some kind of self-righteousness. There are no exceptions. There's
no man so vile, so base, so corrupt, but that he still wraps himself
up in his rags of self-righteousness and comforts himself with the
notion that somehow his moral, spiritual, and religious goodness
will stand him in good stead with God. That's just where some
of you are right now. You wouldn't dare proclaim yourself
to be too good, but there's one reason why you don't trust Christ.
There's only one reason why, because you don't need him. But
not any other reason. Anybody here who needs him, who
doesn't trust him, raise your hand. I'll sit down and let you
talk. The number one reason you don't bow to my savior, you don't
need him. There's no other reason, because
you're a proud rebel. And you really think you're good
enough, after all, for God to say, well, come on in. You have
a notion that somehow there's something in you. After all,
I'm not so bad as some folks are. Yes, you are. I've got news
for you. You're worse. You're worse. But you think you're
good. You're goodness. will not stand you in good stead
with God. Your righteousness must be torn
to shreds, every stitch unraveled. You see, you cannot put on by
faith the robe of Christ's righteousness until you take your own off. Well, God has to do that for
me. Yeah, you're right, but you got to do it. You've got to put
on Christ Jesus. You've got to put off the old
man. And you can't put Christ on if you don't take the old
off. Like Adam's fig leaves in the
garden, they've got to be stripped off. Stripped off. Oh, it's so humbling to be caught
naked before somebody. Naked before God. I can't describe anything else
to compare to it. But you've got to be made to
stand naked before God or you will never be robed in Christ's
righteousness. Paul said, I count my righteousness
but dung. Just dung. Just dung. that I may be found in Christ,
not having my righteousness, which is after the law, but the
righteousness of God that's in Christ Jesus. Christ will never
go shares in this business of salvation. As he alone suffered
for us, he alone saves us. All self-confidence must be cast
to the ground if you would trust Christ. Confidence in your mighty
will, confidence in your resolutions, confidence in your experiences,
confidence in your knowledge, confidence in your religion,
confidence in your reformation. Some seem to have the idea that
we're to trust Christ for the past, but look to ourselves for
the future. The Galatians, some of them had
that notion. You remember in Galatians 3, Paul said, Having
begun in the Spirit, are you now made perfect by the flesh?
Some folks think they are. They think Christ justifies us,
but we sanctify ourselves. You know, God puts a little grace
in you, and then if you read your Bible enough, and pray enough,
and do enough push-ups, and jumping jacks, and you pull your boots,
and you struggle, and you pray hard, until at last you get sanctified. And now, now you're just almost
right for heaven. Until at last, you're so heavenly
minded that you're no earthly good and God takes you home.
And I got news for you. Your sanctification is no heavenly
good either. You're making yourself holy by
what you do. When did you ever read a sentence
in this book? or think about uttering a word before God in
prayer? I'm talking about your best words. That's your best
work, isn't it? When did you ever think about
reading a word in this book or uttering a word before God in
prayer without sin? When? And you call that holiness? You call that holiness? Oh no. Oh no. No, no. Christ is made
of God and to us wisdom. He's the revelation of God and
righteousness. He is all our right obedience
and sanctification. He is that holiness without which
no man shall see the Lord Christ in you the hope of glory and
redemption, the complete deliverance of our souls. Having cast away
all self-righteousness and self-confidence, We must continue to do so all
the days of our life through this world. In theory, we recognize
the evil of it and despise it. And yet, self-righteousness is
the darling sin of proud flesh. It's the darling sin of proud
flesh. I have to keep screaming to myself,
day by day, hour by hour, moment by moment, Christ is my Savior,
not my faith. Christ is my Savior, not my righteousness. Christ is my Savior, not my obedience. Christ is my Savior, not my faithfulness. Christ is my Savior, not my knowledge. Christ is my Savior, not my feelings. Christ alone is all, and He is
all in all who know Him. If He's not all to you, He's
nothing to you. If He's not all your wisdom,
righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, He is not your
wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. This is a nail
fastened in a sure place by the hand of God in eternity. Fastened in a sure place by the
hand of God at Calvary. Fastened in a sure place by the
hand of God when He's seated at His own right hands in the
heavens. Here's a nail upon which you
can confidently hang the weight of your soul. This nail is God
the mighty one. This nail is the man who is God
who died in our stead, our mighty redeemer, our mighty savior,
our mighty advocate. The gospel is the proclamation
of redemption by Christ. That's what we preach. Brother
Gabe preached to us about the gospel last night. how that Christ
died for our sins according to the scripture. And he well declared
the preaching of the gospel is not just the announcement that
Christ died. but rather the proclamation of
H-O-W, how that Christ died. He died as a sovereign Lord. He died as a substitute for his
people. He died as a successful Savior. He died and made satisfaction
to the justice of God for us. Our Lord Jesus Christ is a nail
in a sure place. Trust Him. And I tell you, as
God is true, I tell you that you shall never come to condemnation. Satan may raise Moses up in your
mind and challenge you to your righteousness and your holiness
and your perfection in Christ. How can you? Todd Fortner, I
know you. How can you? think that you're
holy and righteous. How dare you say such a thing? How dare you? Look what you've
done. That's what he did with a fellow
named Joshua back in Zechariah chapter 3. And Michael, the archangel, shut him up. Jude verse 9. How'd he do that? He stood by.
He stood by, he said, there's Joshua. He'd been out in Babylon.
He married a Babylonian woman. He oughtn't to have done that.
Look, and he is, he calls himself God's priest. Look at, look at
Clay Curtis, and he calls himself God's priest. Shoot, let me tell
you about him. And the Lord says, take his clothes
off of him and put a new robe on him. Take that old cowboy
hat off of him and put a mitre right here that says holiness
to the Lord. Worship and make him clean and
Satan's got nothing to say. There he is. Wisdom and righteousness
and sanctification and redemption with his spotless garnet soul
by eternal union one. You are as holy as God's own
son. That's called a nail in a sure
place. A nail in a sure place. Now,
let me wrap this up and I'll send you home rejoicing. Back
in our text, we read about linen cords. Exodus 35, 18. pins and cords. Everywhere in the Old Testament
where mention is made of the tabernacle nails, you see that
the nails of brass and the linen cords were inseparable. Wherever
there was a nail, there was a cord. Wherever there was a cord, there
was a nail. Why? The cords fastened to the
nails over here on this side. And then you'd have another nail
over on this side, and you'd take that cord and tie it to
the nail and stretch it through the loops made for it over the
tabernacle, over top of those ugly badger skins. And you'd
bring it down this side, and you'd pull that thing up and
tie it snug, tie a square knot. You fellows with Boy Scouts,
there it is. What'd that cord do? It held everything together. It held everything together.
Everything in the revelation of God. Everything in the salvation
of God's people. Everything in the church of Christ. Every member of God's church. is held together by Jesus Christ
our Redeemer, this sweet linen cloth, this girdle of salvation
that holds us all together. Christ crucified, the nail in
the sure place, and the blessings of his grace communicated to
us by his spirit in salvation holds everything together. Now, one more thing. Turn to
Isaiah 53, and let's read a chapter or two together, and you'll see
something just to top everything off. Isaiah 53, verse 4. Surely He
hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. Yet we did esteem
Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded
for our transgressions, and he was bruised for our iniquities.
The chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes
we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray.
We've 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, yet he opened not his mouth. He is brought as a
lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is
dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and
from judgment. And who shall declare his generation? For he
was cut off out of the land of the living. For the transgression
of my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with the
wicked, and with the rich in his death. Because he had done
no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth, yet It pleased
the Lord to bruise him. He hath put him to grief. When
thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his sin. He shall prolong his days, and
the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall
see of the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied. By his
knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many, for he
shall bear their iniquities. Therefore, therefore, will I
divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the
spoil with the strong. Because he hath poured out his
soul unto death, and he was numbered with the transgressors, and he
bared the sin in many, and made intercession for the transgressors. All of that saying, he's going
to save his people. He's gonna save his people. He's
gonna save his people. Now, don't stop reading there.
Go right to chapter 54. Sing, O barren, thou that didst
not bear. I read this again earlier this
morning, and I couldn't help but think about this congregation
right here in this barren wasteland. Sing, O barren, thou that didst
not bear. Break forth into singing and
cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child. This matter
of redemption and salvation wasn't accomplished by you. For more
are the children of the desolate than the children of the married
wife, saith the Lord. Now watch what it says. Watch
what it says. Enlarge the place of thy tent. Build this building
a little bigger. Let them stretch forth the curtains
of thine habitations. Spare not. Lengthen thy cords
and strengthen thy stakes. How come? For thou shalt break
forth on the right hand and on the left. What a promise. promise. Thou shalt break forth on the
right hand and on the left. You may see it and you may not,
but you're going to break forth. Brother Mike mentioned a minute
ago the means God's given us for preaching the gospel. It means he's given us thousands
and thousands and thousands of people every week he had been
preaching the gospel of God's free grace. Thousands of them.
We've had nearly two, a little over two and a half million sermons
downloaded on webpage. Isn't that amazing? Thousands
of people everywhere in Arab countries, in China, in Japan,
in Taiwan, all over the place, in Russia, all over the place.
Folks, hear the word. He says, uh, Thou shalt not be ashamed, neither
shalt thou be confounded, for thou shalt not be put to shame,
for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember
the reproach of thy widowhood any more. For thy maker is thine
husband, the Lord of hosts is his name. And thy Redeemer, the
Holy One of Israel, the God of the whole earth, shall he be
called. Now, first time some smart aleck
comes up to you and says, well, the Christ is all, brought me
the tents and the tent pins me in the tabernacle. You can say,
well, hang on, I'll tell you. That's Christ our Lord, a nail
in a sure place. And the cords are the grace and
power of His Spirit that holds everything together for us so
that Zion shall not be moved. She is the quiet habitation of
God. This is a nail in a sure place. and cords of omnipotent grace. Amen.