Good morning. As most of you
know, Gabe is preaching for the congregation in Danville, Kentucky
this morning, and will be going to Lexington tonight to preach
at Todd's Road Grace Church. Lord willing, he'll be back with
us Wednesday. Brandon just read for us Philippians
3. And picking up at the end of
verse 8, Paul said, that I may win Christ and be found in him. My title this morning is Found
in Christ. But our text is going to come
from Hebrews chapter 9, if you want to turn there. Hebrews chapter
9. The concept of being found in
Christ is one that I have often struggled with. To gain an understanding
of it, to give myself a satisfactory explanation of just what does
it mean, found in him, found in Christ. I hope that Lord willing,
by the end of this service, we might all at least be able to
give an illustration of what it is to be found in Christ.
I've divided this message into four points. The meaning, what
does it mean when we say that I might be found in him? What is the result of being found
in Christ? How is that result secured? And the fourth, the glory of
our ark, the Lord Jesus Christ. The first point I wanna look
at with you this morning is just what do we mean when we say that
I may be found in Christ? A writer here in Hebrews 9, beginning
at verse 3, well, in Hebrews 9, he's describing the Old Testament
tabernacle. And beginning in verse 3, he
says, and after the second veil, the tabernacle, which is called
the holiest of all, which had the golden censer and the Ark
of the Covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was
the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron's rod that budded,
and the tables of the covenant, and over it the cherubims of
glory shadowing the mercy seat, of which we cannot now speak
particularly. When the child of God cries out,
saying, oh, that I may be found in Christ, that child is saying, Lord, let
me be as one of these objects, the pot of manna, the rod that
budded, or the tables of the covenant. Let me be hidden. covered by the mercy seat, so
that any, be it the adversary, the law, justice, almighty God
of heaven and earth, any that look for me see nothing of me. Let me be so hidden that all
that they can see is the glory of the God the Son. Why would any of us want to be
so well hidden? God has recorded in His word
the requirements of eternal life. This do and live, but none of
us can do. A ruler who trusted in his own
ability to keep the law of God once came to our Lord saying,
good master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? To which
our Lord answered and said, yet lackest thou one thing. Do we know, do we not all know
this? that we all lack. Apart from
our Lord Jesus Christ, apart from being found in Him, our
conscience bears witness against us as we strive to satisfy just
one more thing to make us appear accepted before Him, to be worthy
of life. A soul that cries out that I
may be found in Christ knows something of lack. That soul
knows something of its inability to satisfy God's law and knows
that if examined outside of Christ, I am condemned. In another place,
our Sister Mary sat at Christ's feet and heard His word. which our Lord declared, One
thing is needful, and Mary hath chosen that good part, which
shall not be taken away from her." When God is pleased to
reveal to us that we have nothing whereby to commend ourselves
to Him for eternal life, when He makes us to see our lacking,
Then may he also reveal to our hearts the one thing needful,
our Lord Jesus Christ, that we will flee to him and beg him
to be found in him. My second point, what is it,
what are we going to find if we be found in Christ? And in
this, we're going to see three things. First, that God is all
of our provision. Second, God is holy and Christ
Jesus is the fulfillment of the law. And finally, that God is
sovereign in salvation and being found in Christ, we have life. And the way we're going to see
all of this revealed is by looking at each of those items that were
placed in the Ark of the Covenant. Over in Exodus chapter 16, the
Lord sends manna to the people of Israel who had complained
that they didn't have food. And he sends to them quail in
the evening, and manna in the morning, manna for bread. Exodus
16 verses 19 and 20, Moses said, let no man leave of it the manna
that they had collected that was enough for them. Every day
their need was supplied for that day, enough manna for that day. None was to be left over. Let
no man leave of it till the morning, Notwithstanding, they hearkened
not unto Moses, but some of them left of it until the morning.
And it bred worms and stank, and Moses was wroth with them."
This manna is a picture of the Lord's provision. The Lord of
glory gives food to all flesh. the just and the unjust, those
found in Christ who acknowledge and give thanks to Him for all
things, and those who have no regard for God or His mercies. He provides for all flesh according
to His mercy. Israel complained against God
for a lack of food in the wilderness, and God provided for all their
need. Every day manna was provided,
and it lasted for the day it was provided for, and it had
to be continually renewed and continually gathered. We know
what that's like, don't we? Left to ourselves and dead in
sin, knowing in ourselves that we lack, we work hard with the
things God has provided for us. We read our Bibles. We see in
the Bible what God says He requires. And like Israel of old, we say,
we'll do it. We'll keep your commands. And
we labor hard to meet those demands, at least before others, and most
especially so that we outperform our neighbor. As long as I'm
doing better than they are, I'm gonna be okay. That's how we
judge. Given time or money, the Lord
provides to all of us. We would, admittedly begrudgingly,
give our 10% to the church to meet the requirements of tithing.
Not a penny more, though. You get 10%. The rest of it's
mine. And the next day, we wake up. Having worked so hard the day
before to obtain a righteousness which we can't obtain, the next
morning we wake up our conscience bearing witness against us, and
we have to do it all over again. There's no rest because yesterday's
service stinks in our own nostrils. But Moses took a golden pot and
placed some of that manna in that pot. And he took that pot of manna
and he placed it into the ark and he covered it over with the
mercy seat. And that manna, which every day
was provided and every the next day rotted in the ark, that manna
was preserved. It was good. In Christ, our daily necessities
are ever met. Do you need mercy? His mercies
are new every morning. His mercy endures forever. Do you need forgiveness? Psalm
86, verse 5, For thou, Lord, art good. and ready to forgive,
and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee." Do
you need salvation? 2 Corinthians 6 says in part,
Behold, now is the accepted time. Behold, now. Eternally now. Every time we read it, Now is
the day of salvation. And as He has provided for the
necessities of this life, He provides for the necessities
in the world to come. Revelation 7.16 says, They shall
hunger no more, neither thirst any more, neither shall the sun
light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb, which is in the
midst of the throne, shall feed them, and shall lead them unto
living fountains of waters, and God shall wipe away all tears
from their eyes." In Christ, we have all we need. When we're found in Him, He is
all of our provision. Secondly, we see that God is
holy and the Lord Jesus Christ has satisfied the law. God is
holy. He is just. He must punish the
guilty. You know the account of how God
called Moses up to Mount Sinai to give him the law written on
two tablets of stone. While Moses was with God, Israel
went to Aaron and said, make us a golden calf that we may
worship it. When Moses saw them worshiping
that calf as he came down from the mountain, he cast the tables
out of his hands and break them beneath the mount. God cannot
look upon sin. He cannot accept a broken law. Isn't Moses and his breaking
of the law typical of all of us? Some of you can't remember this,
but it wasn't that terribly long ago that the maximum speed limit
on the interstates in the United States was 55 miles per hour. And most of us law-abiding citizens
were content with traveling at about 60 miles per hour. Then the government said, well,
everybody's traveling at 60. Let's raise the speed limit to
60. Nobody will speed. Is that what happened? Of course
it isn't. We can't help ourselves. If a
law is given, we almost of necessity must break it. In casting those tablets down,
Moses is a picture of every one of us. We have all shattered
God's law, and we have no ability in and of ourselves to undo what
we have done. Thank God the law was given by
Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. Moses went up into the mountain
a second time, and God gave him the law again. And Moses took and put the testimony
into the ark, and set the staves on the ark, and put the mercy
seat above upon the ark. The complete, unbroken law was
placed in the ark beneath the mercy seat. Outside of the ark,
the law lay broken in pieces, but in the ark, the law is complete
and whole. Our Lord said in Matthew 5, 17,
think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets. I am
not come to destroy, but to fulfill. How can the holy God accept man
who in every thought, word, and action does nothing but break
his holy law? by providing that which only
He as God alone can provide. The Lord Jesus Christ, God Himself,
is the only man that ever walked in absolute perfection, upholding
God's law. In the Lord Jesus Christ alone,
the law is complete and God is satisfied. Being found in Christ, the sinner
finds that Christ provides everything that is needed. The law is complete
and God is satisfied. And the third lesson, God is
sovereign. In salvation and in Christ, we
have life. Hold your place here in Hebrews
and turn with me to Numbers chapter 17. Numbers chapter 17. Numbers 17, beginning in verse
6. And Moses spake unto the children
of Israel, And every one of their princes gave him a rod apiece,
for each prince won according to their father's houses, even
12 rods. And the rod of Aaron was among
their rods." Take note here. 12 rods, which had been cut away
from the tree which once gave them life. 12 dried, hardened,
dead rots. I imagine no two were exactly
alike. One may have been longer, one
shorter, one thicker, one thinner. Some of them may have been hickory
or oak, different woods, but in the end, They were all the
same. Dead sticks. The ability to bring
forth leaves, much less fruit, had long since gone. All twelve,
including Aaron's rod. Number 17, verse 6, And Moses
spake unto the children of Israel, And every one of their princes
gave him a rod apiece, for each prince won according to their
father's houses, even twelve rods, and the rod of Aaron was
among their rods. And Moses laid up the rods before
the Lord in the tabernacle of witness. And it came to pass
that on the morrow Moses went into the tabernacle of witness,
and, behold, The rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded,
and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds. Why did Aaron's rod bud? The answer is found at the beginning
of verse 8. And it came to pass. The purpose of God was fulfilled. God chose Aaron's rod. It was of His choosing, according
to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of
His grace. Does the fact that God chooses
whom He will to salvation upset or cause you anguish? It shouldn't. It should fill us only with joy
that God would be pleased to choose any of Adam's race who
have so maliciously abused not only his holy law, but his only
begotten and beloved son. Do you not know that we took
God the Son and hung Him on a cross and crucified Him? Why should
God be willing to choose any one of us? Does the fact that God chooses
whom He will cause you fear? Are you afraid that you may not
be one of God's elect? The fear of the Lord is the beginning
of wisdom. Does God's election leave you
thinking, there's nothing I can do? God will either choose me
or he'll cast me out. I have no responsibility in this. I'll live the way I want to.
Nothing can be farther from the truth. All are commanded to seek
the Lord. Seek ye first the kingdom of
God and his righteousness. We can all call upon God to have
mercy upon us, to reveal himself to us, to show
us our need of him, to let us know that it is He who provides
our every need, that it is He that gives us the one thing needful,
and He has promised to not remove it from us. Oh, may God make us seekers of
the Lord Jesus Christ. What is the result of God's election
in Christ? Aaron's rod budded and brought
forth buds and bloomed blossoms and yielded almonds. That formerly
dead rod that God chose, separated unto himself for his own purpose
and gave life to, At Rod, Moses took and placed it in the ark
under the mercy seat, and it brought forth fruit as the result of God's election
in Christ. Life is given and will bring
forth spiritual fruit. We have looked at the meaning
and result of our being found in Christ. Now let's look at
how Christ has secured our provisions, fulfilled the law and made sinful
man accepted before God, and secured for sinful man eternal
life. I hope you've noticed how often
I've made reference to the mercy seat. The manna, God's provision,
the tablets of stone representing God's holiness and justice, and
the rod that budded, representing God's sovereignty and chosen
people, are all placed into the ark under the mercy seat. Without the mercy seat, the rest,
the hope, the joy, and peace we know from being found in Christ
would have no foundation. Turn back with me to Hebrews
9. Hebrews chapter 9 and verse 11. Once a year on the day of atonement,
the high priest went into the holiest of all with the blood
of a sin offering and sprinkled the blood of bulls and goats
on the mercy seat. Hebrews 9, 11. But Christ, being
come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more
perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not
of this building, neither by the blood of goats and calves,
but by his own blood, he entered in once into the holy place,
having obtained eternal redemption for us. It was on the mercy seat
that God met with Israel of old. It is in the Lord Jesus Christ
upon Calvary's cross that God met with Christ concerning our
sin, our need, our disobedience, our life. God's elect people,
whom He gave to Christ before the foundation of the world,
He placed in Christ. Our sin, God the Son took as
His own. He suffered the just for the
unjust to reconcile us to God. as the high priest sprinkled
the blood of the sin offering on the mercy seat which covered
the manna, the tables of the covenant, and Aaron's rod to
make intercession for Israel's sin, being a picture of that
which the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished on the cross, our great high
priest entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal
redemption for us. How is the redeemed, chosen,
elect sinner's provision, acceptance before the thrice-holy God, and
eternal life secured? By the Son of God, who after
He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand
of the Majesty on High. And finally, I want us to behold
the glory of our Ark. As we read in Hebrews 9, 5, we
cannot now speak particularly of the Old Testament Ark. Its
day has come and gone, As it was a picture of our true ark,
the Lord Jesus Christ, who being come, no longer needs pictures
or types to be revealed. But our Lord said, Abraham rejoiced
to see my day. And I have no doubt that Moses
also saw Christ's day and rejoiced. As it is with us, so it was with
the saints in the Old Testament. They learned more of Christ as
they lived in this world, as he revealed more to them, and with each revelation, Do
we not all rejoice to see Christ's day? One of the ways that Moses
saw Christ's day was when he saw the ark completed. That ark that was overlaid with
gold and crowned with the mercy seat, I am certain it was a beautiful
sight to behold. It was a It was glorious to think
that common wood, being wrapped with precious metal, oh, how
Moses looked upon that ark and saw how it pictured the promised
seed of Abraham that was to come. And when that ark was completed,
Moses had the promise of God that that was the place where
God would meet with Israel. That promise would have caused
that metal to diminish. That promise would have given
that ark all the more glory for Moses. Then the day came when
Moses placed the pot of manna into the ark and covered it with
the mercy seat. Again, Moses looked upon that
and saw Christ's day. There was no change in the outward
appearance of the ark. It still had the same glory that
it was built with. But by faith, Moses saw that
God's Christ would come and be the provision for his people. What relief, what rest, what
satisfaction Moses must have found after having come down
from the mount with those first two tables of stone and cast
them out of his hands and broke them. What relief Moses must
have found when he set that second set into that ark and covered
it with the mercy seat. He was no longer responsible
for upholding the law. It was in the ark. He saw Christ's
day, and he looked to Christ as the fulfillment of God's law. And finally, when Moses took
up Aaron's rod that had budded, that rod that had been dead,
that rod that had been separated out from the other rods, and
he placed it into the ark under the mercy seat, his heart had
to rejoice to see Christ as the surety of his people. None of
the objects added to the ark had any bearing on the glory
of the ark itself as it was displayed. The glory it had before the contents
were placed into it was the same as after the contents were entered.
But with eyes of faith, Moses could look upon that ark, and
knowing what it held within it, the glory to him was all the
greater. God the Son. Our Lord Jesus Christ
is glorious. He is glorious before the foundation
of the world when He was with the Father. He is glorious in
creation before Adam sinned. Oh, He is glorious. He has no need of anything to
add to His glory, and nothing can take away from His glory.
But when he is pleased to reveal to a sinner that he alone is
all of our provision, that he alone has fulfilled the law that
we break, that he alone can give us life in him, oh, how glorious
he is made to us! Oh, that we might be found in
Christ, hidden in Him who is all we need, who has fulfilled
the law and the prophets, who is life, who bore in His body
our sin, who is our ark and has covered us under His wings, who
shed His blood and obtained eternal salvation for those He loves. Lord, please have mercy on us
poor sinners that we might be found in the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.