Open your Bibles, if you would,
to the book of Micah. Micah, Chapter 4. The name of
the message is Six Strong Towers. Six Strong Towers. Micah, Chapter 4. We'll read verses 1 to 5, and
then I'll read a scripture in Zechariah, Chapter 10. But in the last days it shall
come to pass that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall
be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be
exalted above the hills, and people shall flow unto it. And many nations shall come and
say, Come and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord and
to the house of the God of Jacob, and he will teach us of his ways. And we will walk in his paths,
for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord
from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among many
people, and rebuke strong nations afar off, and they shall beat
their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning
hooks. Nations shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither
shall they learn war any more. But they shall sit every man
under his vine, and under his fig, And none shall make them
afraid, for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken it. Here's where we get our text
in verse 5. For all the people will walk,
every one, in the name of his God. And we will walk in the
name of the Lord our God forever and ever. For all the people
will walk, every one, in the name of his God. And we will
walk in the name of the Lord, our God, forever and ever. So the words we will consider
is we will walk in the name of the Lord, our God, forever and
ever. Now a name identifies who a person
is. It identifies who a person is. And we will see today Six strong
towers. Six strong spiritual towers,
all to do with the name of who God is. Who he is. And he identifies himself, and
these are just a sampling of the many names of him. But six
strong towers that are defenses for the believers. Zachariah
says this in Chapter 10, verse 12, when I will strengthen them
in the Lord and they shall walk up and down in his name, saith
the Lord. Now, we who are redeemed, we
who are redeemed by the Lord Jesus Christ, we walk in him. We walk in him. He is the only
way to the father. And it is in Christ and him alone
who we trust, we don't trust anything else or anyone else.
His brother Matt bought out, the father said, this is my beloved
son and whom I am well pleased. He's only pleased with Christ. Only with Christ, and we are.
Clothed, we who believe are clothed in the perfect, spotless righteousness
of Christ. And the only reason God accepts
sinners like you and I. Is because of Christ. Because of him. And we call upon His name. Whose
name do we call upon in prayer? Christ. We plead with our Savior. We rest and trust in Christ alone. And today we're going to partake
of the ordinances. The Lord's Supper. Who does the
Lord's Supper point to? It points to Christ. It's to
draw our hearts and minds to Christ and to remember, to remember
the sacrifice The cost. The fact. That he died for us. That he
died for us, for his people. And so as we partake in the Lord's
Supper, again, let us remember the cost. It was extremely expensive. Priceless, as a matter of fact.
It cost the precious blood of our Savior, the God man, the
Lord Jesus Christ. And each time we partake of the
supper to let it never become commonplace to us, because each
time we partake of the Lord's Supper, we are proclaiming the
Lord's death for us. For us. My, the fact that the God of
glory himself clothed himself in humanity. And entered into
this world to bleed and to die upon the cross for the sins of
his people. And so it is Him and Him alone
whom we rest in and trust, and He is the captain of our salvation.
And it is He also who ever watches over the church. Don't ever forget
that, beloved of God, that God watches over you. If you're a
sheep of God, He watches over you. It'll bring you great comfort,
great comfort. Scripture declares in Proverbs
18.10, the name of the Lord is a strong tower. It's a strong
tower. The righteous runneth unto it
in what? And are safe. We are only safe in Christ. We
are only safe in our God. Outside of Christ, there's absolutely
no safety from the wrath and justice of God. And those who
trust in Christ, they're in a stronghold, beloved. Because it is He who
protects us. He has garrisoned us. We are
protected by Him. And the one who has garrisoned
us and who protects us is none other than the King of Kings
and the Lord of Lords. And Scripture says, And they
that trust in the Lord shall be as Mount Zion, which cannot
be removed, but abideth forever. As the mountains are round about
Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about His people. From henceforth,
even forever, He will never leave His people. He will never stop
protecting His people. He neither slumbers nor sleeps.
And His eye is ever upon His sheep. Why? Because He bled for
them and He died for them. And He loves them with an everlasting
love. Zion, which we looked in our
study in Psalm 48, and we saw that Zion is another name for
the church. Turn, if you would, to Psalm
48, verse 13. Do you know that Zion has strong
towers protecting her? Oh, bulwarks and palaces. Psalm 48. Look at verse 12, and this is
a survey of Zion, a survey of the church. Walk about Zion and
go round about her. Tell the towers thereof. She
has towers, beloved. Towers for defense. And bulwarks,
strong fortifications. Mark ye well her bulwarks. Consider
her palaces, that she may tell it to the generation following.
For this God is our God forever and ever. He will be our guide
even unto death. So she has strong towers. She has towers round about her. Mark ye well her bulwarks. Consider
her policies that she may tell it to the generation following.
Proclaim it to the generation that we live in. So I'd like
us to consider six names of the Lord today and how they are six
strong towers for Zion which protect us And we will consider
whose name it is in that we walk in. We walk in the name of the
Lord. Our text says for all, it says
this, and we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever
and ever. Oh, strong towers these are. Six towers that God has been
pleased to make himself known to his people by these names. And as I said, a name reveals
who a person is, who someone is. And His names will reveal
His attributes to us. And ask yourself, as we look
at these names, is not our God an all-sufficient Savior? An
all-sufficient Savior. Is He not the one true God? The
living God? And if you know him, may we leave
here rejoicing today in our great God and King. And let us remember that. The
definition for Jehovah by itself is this, the self-existent or
eternal one, the self-existent, that means that he does not need
you and I. He does not need anything. He
is absolutely self-existent. A.W. Pink bought out in The Attributes
of God that before God created anything, He was perfectly satisfied
with Himself, dwelling in eternity. Before He even spoke anything
to existence. He is self-existent. He needs
no one. He needs nothing. He is the self-existent
One. The Eternal One. He has no beginning
and no end. So let us keep that in mind because
the word Jehovah is used in each of these names. And the six names
I'd like us to look at is Jehovah Sekinu, the tower of righteousness
for his people. And Jehovah Shalom, the tower
of peace for his people. Jehovah Shema, the tower of divine
presence. Promise to his people, because
he has said he will never leave us nor forsake us. The tower
of Jehovah Nisai, which is he is the tower of defense for his
people. and the tower of Jehovah-Jireh
the Lord will provide, the All-Providing One. And Jehovah-Rapha, He alone
is the tower of healing for His people. And it is Him alone that
we have the forgiveness of sins. Turn, if you would, to Jeremiah,
chapter 23. And as we survey these wonderful
names of our great God and King, may we find in studying the Scriptures
that which the prophet Zechariah proclaimed, and I will strengthen,
them in the Lord, and they shall walk up and down in his name,
saith the Lord." So the first spiritual tower I'd like us to
consider, which defends God's people, which defends Zion, is
Jehovah's Zekidnu, the Lord our righteousness. Jeremiah 23, verse
6, In his days Judah shall be saved, and the Lord shall dwell
safely. This is his name whereby he shall
be called the Lord, our righteousness. Behold, this tower of love and.
This tower is built upon the rock of ages. And think of this
wonderful name as we gather. At the Lord's Supper, the Lord's
table today. It is the prince of life whose
righteousness we are clothed in. It's the prince of glory. The king of glory whose righteousness
we are clothed in. Jehovah's Akinnu, the Lord our
righteousness. He wove this perfect coat of
righteousness. How did he do it? By his obedience. By his obedience just in his
death? No, no. By his obedience in his life.
When he lived the perfect life for us. Think of this. We cannot approach God in our
own righteousness, can we? Not at all. Oh, but we are clothed,
we believers are clothed in the righteousness of Christ. And
it is the Lord himself who is our righteousness, the Lord himself. What a shelter. Think of this.
What a shelter is the Lord, our righteousness before the law
of God. I remember hearing one preacher
say if we stood, if we stood before The law and justice of
God on our own. It's like putting a candle before
a blast furnace. There's nothing left. It just
evaporates. But beloved, we can stand in
God's presence. Clothed in the perfect, spotless
righteousness of Christ, because the Lord himself is our righteousness. And what a shelter against the
law and justice of God, the righteousness of One commentator said our own
righteousness is like a tower of sand. When the water hits
it, it just crumbles. It just falls to pieces and man
trusted in their own righteousness. Who come before their God? They
are standing in a refuge of lies, a refuge of lies, and they will
be naked and defenseless when they stand before God. But God's
people have a strong tower. A strong tower, beloved. The
Lord who is our righteousness. We walk in His great name. We
walk in His righteousness. We have no merit of our own to
bring before God. Scripture declares this in Isaiah
46, 13, I bring near my righteousness. It shall not be far off and my
salvation should not tarry. And I will play salvation in
Zion for Israel, my glory. God's salvation is wrought out
by the eternal son. Whom he has appointed for walls
and for bulwarks and towers of strength for his people. He was
the one who finished the work that He was sent to do. He made
an end of sin. And He made reconciliation for
iniquity and bought in everlasting righteousness. And that righteousness
is His righteousness. His righteousness. Marvel, beloved
of God, in our divine surety, the Lord Jesus Christ has taken
our sins and has paid for them all. And then He has given us
His perfect, spotless righteousness. He has imputed that to us. Turn, if you would, to Isaiah
45. What a comfort for the believer
to know that the Lord is our righteousness, because we have
had revealed to us our natural state and our natural helplessness
and hopelessness before God. And so for the believer, what
a what a tower of strength in knowing that the Lord is our
righteousness. Look at Isaiah 45 verses 24.
And 25, and then actually put your finger in first Corinthians,
because we're see we're see it. In the New Testament that this
truth is declared and it identifies who is our righteousness. Look at Isaiah 45, verses 24
and 25. Surely one shall say in the Lord,
have I righteousness and strength? Even to him shall men come, and
all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed. In the
Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified. See, it says in
verse 24, surely shall one say in the Lord, have I righteousness?
He's my righteousness. And in verse 25, in the Lord
shall all the seed of Israel be justified. If you're here
and you're not saved, you cannot justify yourself before God. It's impossible for man to justify
themselves before God. But the believer who has had
revealed to them that they could never justify themselves before
God is justified by the Lord Jesus Christ in clothes. in his
perfect, spotless righteousness. And how do we know that? Turn
to 1 Corinthians 1, verse 30 and 31 and see the tie-in. See
the tie-in. Surely shall one say, in the
Lord have I righteousness and strength, even to him who shall
come, and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed.
In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified and shall
glory. Then look at 1 Corinthians 1, verses 30 and 31. But of him
are ye in Christ Jesus. Now Paul's writing to believers,
right? This is a fact, beloved. This is a fact, but of him, are
you in Christ Jesus? Who have God has made unto us
wisdom and what righteousness, righteousness, Jehovah, second,
the Lord, our righteousness and sanctification and redemption.
And now remember in Isaiah, forty five, twenty five said in the
Lord to all the seed. of Israel be justified and show
glory. Look at look at verse 31, that according to this written,
he that glory that glory in the Lord. We don't glory in ourselves.
We glory in the Lord. We glory in what he's done, what
he's done. Oh, beloved of God, look and
wonder at this beautiful tower and stand in awe, knowing that
you are armored in the great imputed righteousness of the
Lord Jesus Christ. And as you survey this tower,
with memories of suffering and victory at the cross of Calvary,
what it costs the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember. That he is the same one. That
has been looked upon by saints of old. Saints of old, you are
walking where Abraham walked because he believed God and it
was counted unto him for righteousness. He looked to Christ. He looked
to Christ and you are clothed now. Now marvel in this. You
are clothed in the same righteousness as Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David,
Isaiah, all the apostles, and all the martyrs, and all the
past members of the church throughout the entire world. They are clothed
in every age. The believer in Christ is clothed
in the perfect, spotless righteousness of Christ. And His righteousness
is infinitely perfect, beloved. Perfect. Equal to the highest
demands of the divine law. And therefore, He is a firm,
immovable ground of trust. We can trust and rest in Christ
alone. And we may safely trust our eternal
souls upon this rock, Christ, the Lord, our righteousness.
And he is a rock that will stand forever, forever, and those that
trust in Christ shall never be moved because he keeps us. He keeps us. And so the words
of our text are the words of our beloved, as we consider Jehovah,
who is our righteousness, we will walk in the name of the
Lord our God forever and ever. Let us survey the second tower,
turn if you would to Isaiah chapter 9. The second tower is Jehovah
Shalom, the Lord my peace, or the Lord send peace. Spiritual Tower of Peace stands
side by side with the Tower of Righteousness, because the Scriptures
declare in Isaiah 32, 17, And the work of righteousness shall
be peace, and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance forever. Look at Isaiah 9, verse 6, For
unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government
shall be upon his shoulder. and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father,
the Prince of Peace. Beloved, the believer is justified
by faith. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ,
trusting in his finished work and what he did at Calvary's
Cross. And the scriptures declare that we now have peace with God. Peace with God. God is Jehovah
Shalom, our peace. Christ himself is God incarnate
in the flesh. And the only way we have peace
with God is in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. It is the Lord who is my peace.
Is He yours? Is He yours? Oh, I pray that
if He's not, that God would make you willing and reveal to you
Christ and your desperate need of Him. Because He alone is the
mighty God. He alone is the peace, our peace. Scriptures declare in Isaiah
27 5, Oh, or let him take hold of my strength that he may make
peace with me and he shall make peace with me. Christ and Christ
alone is the strength and power of God, beloved. The man of his right hand, made
strong for Himself. He is a strong tower, a rock
of defense to whom the saints may find rest and safety, which
we only have in Christ in His righteousness and His strength. And remember this, in our weakness
He is strong and He has everlasting strength. We get older and our strength
declines. He has everlasting strength.
Everlasting strength. And the Lord Jesus Christ being
both God and man and one person, He alone is able to be the mediator
between God and man. He alone is the strength of Jehovah. And He alone is able to make
peace between God and man. And beloved, He did it by the
sacrifice of Himself, shedding His own precious blood on the
cross of Calvary for His people. And let us remember, as we partake
of the Lord's Supper, let us remember this. Oh my. Man will never find peace with
God by their own works. Peace with God only comes in
and through the works. which the Lord Jesus Christ did
as a substitute of his people, and let us, let we who believe
rest upon him by faith in a firm dependence upon him, casting
ourselves upon him, for he careth for us, casting ourselves upon
his salvation, and we will only find peace with God through him. And you know that he is the purchaser
of peace. for his people. He is the personification
of peace because he is the prince of peace and he is the publisher
of peace because we only have peace through God. And he is
the perpetuator of peace because he's our mediator right now in
glory. Behold this wonderful tower of
defense, beloved. And is it not true that the believer
walks in the name of Jehovah Shalom, the Lord our peace? I
ask you who believe. Did you ever have peace like
you have now before the Lord saved you? I had no peace before
the Lord saved me. Brother Donny Bell and I were
talking just a couple weeks ago about the peace that we have
now in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. And it is absolutely
incredible. Amidst the trials and storms
of life, we have the peace that passes all the understanding
that keeps our hearts and minds upon Christ and Him alone. And
we know it's God's strength in us, don't we? Because we'd fall
apart. in situations. But he gives us grace and strength
to make it through the various trials and tribulations which
come upon us. And he is the Lord, our peace,
isn't he? He really is. And what a repose
the gospel gives to believers. Our hearts and minds are stayed
upon him. We have peace with a holy, almighty,
righteous God. And we walk in that peace day
by day. And it's ours. All because of
what Christ has done for us. My. So let us rest and repose
in Jehovah Shalom. And proclaim with Micah, we will
walk in this name of the Lord our God forever and ever. Forever
and ever. The third spiritual tower What
stands in our defense is this, in Isaiah 48.35, turn with me
if you would, it is Jehovah Shema, the Lord is there, the Tower
of the Divine Presence, the Tower of the Divine Presence. Isaiah
48.35, it was round about 18,000 measure in the name from the
city, In the name of the city, from
that day shall be, the Lord is there. Jehovah Shema. Oh, what comfort the believer
can find in surveying this tower. Jehovah Shema, meaning the Lord. The Lord is there. The Lord is
there. He's not far away, beloved. He's
not far away. And when it says the Lord is
there, that's Jehovah Shema. He's not a far off God. He's ever near before us, beloved. No matter what we go through,
this blessed name brings great comfort to the believer, knowing
that this very name tells us that He's with His people. He's
with His people. He's near to His people. He's
in the midst of them. For where two or three are gathered
together in my name, where? There am I in the midst of them. Oh, the Lord is there. And we
know God is everywhere, right? We know He is. He's all-seeing,
all-knowing. We know that. We look to the
stars in the night sky. We see the beauty of creation.
We see the screams of our Creator. But what comfort for the believer
to know that He is in the midst of us, and that our own Savior's
words in Matthew 18, 20, for where two or three are gathered
together in my name, there am I in the midst. What comfort for the believer. He is ever with us. He is ever
near. Who is he? Well, he's the omnipresent
one. Heaven is his throne and the
earth is his footstool. And from among its lowliest insects,
To the ranks of angels and archangels, Jehovah Shammah, the Lord is
there ruling and reigning over all. There is not an Adam in this
world that's not under His control. And this brings the believer
great comfort as we look with eyes of faith to see Jehovah
riding, as one commentator said, riding in the chariot of providence,
reigning in great power and accomplishing His sovereign will. When we see things going on in
the world, remember the Lord is with you. He is with you. Let we who are His covenant people
flee to the strong tower, beloved. walking in the name of our Lord
God. The Lord Almighty is with us.
The God of Jacob is our refuge. Truly our fellowship is with
the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ, 1 John 1.3. So the uncertainties of life
lay ahead of us, don't they? We do not know what tomorrow
holds. We have no idea. But what comfort
for the believer. In this precious name of God,
Jehovah, Shema, the Lord is there. He is the one who holds tomorrow. He is the one who keeps us. And
let us remember this as we partake of the Lord's Supper. If your
presence go not with us, carry us not hence. Don't let me go anywhere where
you don't go before me. You, O Lord, are in the midst
of us, and we are called by you, and we walk in the name of the
Lord our God forever. Let us survey the fourth spiritual
tower which stands in our defense. Turn, if you would, to Exodus
17. Jehovah-Nissi, the Lord, my banner,
the tower of our defense, We find this name proclaimed after
the Israelites had defeated Amalek in Exodus 17, 15. And let us never forget that
this world is not our home, beloved. And while we are here in this
world, there's a warfare around us, and we are soldiers in the
army of the Lord. And let us remember this, again,
as we partake of the Lord's Supper, that He is our banner. Exodus
17, verses 15. and Moses built an altar and
called the name of it Jehovah Nissi. The Lord my banner. We march in the army of the Lord
rallying around He who is our banner. Some trust in chariots
and some in horses but we will remember the name of the Lord
our God. He is our stronghold beloved.
He is the one we rally around. And let us never forget Let us
never forget this. He who is for us is greater than
all who can be against us. He that is for us is greater
than all who could be against us. Let our attitude be like the
workmen on the walls of Zion in Nehemiah's time, building
with the sword girded by our side, and ever ready, when the
missiles are flying thick and fast, to flee to him who is our
high tower against our enemy. Turn, if you would, to Psalm
89. Psalm 89. And I'll read a portion in Isaiah
26.20 which says this, Christ is the tower of King David and
the tower of all the saints of God, whereunto they hang a thousand
bucklers, all shields of the mighty men. Look at Psalm 89
verses 15 to 18. is the people that know the joyful
sound. They shall walk, O Lord, in the
light of Thy countenance. In Thy name shall they rejoice
all the day, and in Thy righteousness shall they be exalted. Notice
Thy righteousness. They rejoice in Thy name. For
Thou art the glory of their strength. We have no strength but our King.
And in Thy favor our horns shall be exalted. For the Lord is our
defense. The Holy One of Israel is our
King. He alone, He alone is our banner,
our defense. What a strong tower is the name
of our God, Jehovah Nissi, the Lord my banner. And we will walk
in the name of our Lord God forever and ever. Let us survey the fifth
tower. Turn if you would. to Genesis
chapter 22. Genesis chapter 22. And look at verse 14, keep your
finger there because we'll be going back here. And Abraham
called the name of that place Jehovah-Jireh, as it is said
to this day in the mount of the Lord it shall be seen. Now Jehovah
Jireh is the Lord will provide. This is a tower of trust, beloved,
a tower of trust. And let us remember as we survey
this wonderful tower, the Lord will provide because He knows
the beginning from the end. He knows all that will ever occur,
all that will ever happen to His people. All that you ever go through
is ordered by the Lord. And He has provided for all the
situations which will come upon you and I. He's provided for
them all. He's all-knowing. He's all-seeing. And let us not forget, He alone
has the power. He alone has the power to provide. And He knows what we need. And
it says He is our provision. He's our provision. The Christian has the promise
of assured help. My God shall supply all your
needs according to His riches and glory by Christ Jesus. Now
there's some things that we think are needs, but they're not. That
doesn't mean that God has a wand and He just gives you everything
you want. That's not what that means. That's what the name it
and claim it folks use. But that's not what that means.
No, but has he not supplied all our spiritual needs, everything
that we've needed? Everything. And he does give
us things, doesn't he? He does. And we rejoice. Trust in Christ. We trust in
Christ. We trust in his goodness. We
trust in his mercy. We trust in his faithfulness
because he's a faithful God. And we see in our lives We see how He's provided for
us all through our life, how He's taken care of us. Let us
look to the Lord's provision for our sins when we partake
of the Lord's Supper. Now there's a great provision,
a provision that really can't be measured. Because you and I who believe
know we could never pay for even one sin, right? Anybody who says
they can, they're liars. Because we can't even pay for
one. But what a great provision. The
Lord has paid everything for my sin. And if you're a believer,
for your sin. For the billions of sins which
we commit in a lifetime. Paid for. Paid in full. What a provision. That's what
we remember when we come to the Lord's table. We remember what
He's done for us, how He's provided for us. Spiritually, He's everything. He is the Lamb of God. Behold
the Lamb of God. Scriptures declare this, He who
spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us, how shall He not
also freely give us all things? Romans 8.32. Now Christ is the provided substitute
from God. And it is Him who hath redeemed
us from our sins. And the believer rejoices because
we're complete in Him. Turn again, if you would, to
Genesis 22. Why did Abraham call him Jehovah
Jireh? And think here what infinite
power and infinite love and what infinite provision is on display
at Calvary's cross when Christ died for the sins of his people. There's infinite power on display
at the cross. There's infinite love on display
at the cross. There's infinite provision on
display at the cross because God himself provides himself
as the lamb. God Himself. And look at Genesis
chapter 22. This is why Abraham called Him
Jehovah Jireh. Look at verses 6 to 8. And Abraham
took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it upon Isaac his son
and took the fire in his hand and a knife and they went both
of them together. And Isaac spake unto Abraham
his father and said, My father. And he said, Hear my son. And he said, Behold the fire
and the wood But where is the lamb for a burnt offering? Now
look at the words in the next text here. And Abraham said,
my son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering. So they
went both of them together. God provided himself. as the
lamb at Calvary's cross when he died as my substitute and
if you're a believer as your substitute. God himself provided
that lamb. That lamb was purposed and that
lamb was planned for maternity because scripture declares he
is the lamb slain from the foundation of the world. What a picture! And God God will
provide Himself a land for a burnt offering. And He did. He did. Think of this. A child in the
midst of a storm can hide their head in their father's arms and
fall asleep. Let we who are redeemed remember
who our Father is. And how much He cares over us.
And how much He watches us. And how much He provides for
us. Remember that God is your father,
beloved of God. Walk up and down in the strength
of the gospel. The gospel named Jehovah-Jireh,
the Lord will provide. Look back in your life before
you were even saved. Survey back in your life. Did
not God provide for you and take care of you even before you were
saved? You who are beloved of God. I can see it. There's times
I should have died and he kept me alive. My goodness. Survey your pilgrimage
now. Now, now you is a. Is one who
is at Christ revealed to you, survey your pilgrimage right
now. Count the times if you can, because
I don't think we can. Count the times of providential
intervention in your life. We only know a few. Count the provisions and you
will be quickly overwhelmed. You will be quickly overwhelmed
at the goodness of God, at the goodness of God and the grace
of God which has been given to us. Remember this, one of His
names is also El Shaddai, the all-sufficient God who says to
His people, turn if you would to Hebrews 13.5, this verse is
a treasure. Hebrews 13.5. What a comforting verse. Let your conversation be without
covenants and be content with such things as ye have. For he
has said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. The emphasis in the Greek is
in the word never Never, never, never forsake you. Ah, we all know what the word
never means. This is God, God says, I'll never leave you. And
I'll never, never, never forsake you. Is He not a rich provider? Is
He not a sure provider? Is He not a willing provider?
Is He not an all-wise provider? He is Jehovah Jireh, the Lord
our provider. And we who are redeemed cry out
with Micah, we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever
and ever. What a name, Jehovah Jireh. Let
us survey the sixth spiritual tower which stands in our defense.
Turn, if you would, to Exodus chapter 15. Jehovah, Raphi, the
tower of healing. I am the Lord who heals you. Jehovah, Raphi. Exodus 15, verses 22 to 27. So Moses bought Israel from the
Red Sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur. And they went three days in the
wilderness and found no water. 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, What shall we drink? And he cried
unto the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree, which when he had
cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet. There he made for them a statue
and an ordinance, and there he proved them. and said, If thou
wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and
wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear
to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put
none of these diseases upon thee, which I have bought upon the
Egyptians. For I am the Lord that healeth thee." Jehovah-Rapha. And they came to Elam, where
there were where there were twelve wells of water and threescore
and ten palm trees and they encamped there by the waters." Beloved,
think of this. Folks in this world are always
worried about a pandemic and different things, but there's
already a pandemic in this world. It's called sin. And man can't heal himself. He tries, does all kinds of things, even
says, well I'm not a sinner. But still, this disease courses
through their veins. But beloved, our great God is
the great healer of the plague of sin. And we need to be healed
of this deadly disease because it's infected every fiber of
our being. We sin in thought, We sin in
action, we sin in words, and there's no part of us that's
not infected by sin. But praise be to God, there is
healing in the Great Physician. Healing. In Jehovah Rapha, turn
if you would to Mark chapter 2. Mark chapter 2. Who is the
Great Physician? The Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord
Jesus Christ. And think of this, you who are
lost, you are sin-sick. May God reveal to you the deadly
disease of sin which courses through you. And may He have
mercy upon you and regenerate you and give you the gift of
faith and repentance, if it be His will. Look at Mark 2, verses
16 and 17. And when the scribes and Pharisees
saw Him eat with publicans and sinners, now imagine that. Our
Savior was eaten with publicans and sinners. I praise God that
it says He ate with sinners, because that's what I am. He ate with publicans and sinners.
See, these religious folks, they so despise the common people.
Little did they know that they were sinners themselves, but
they didn't think they were. That's why grace is so different.
Because we know what we are. In religion, It's all window
dressing. They think they're better than
everyone else, but the believer in Christ realizes, because he's
being taught, that I'm the chief of sinners. And I need a physician. Desperately. So here these scribes
and Pharisees saw him eat with publicans and sinners. They said
to the disciples, how is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans
and sinners? When Jesus heard it, he said
unto them, they that are whole have no need of the physician.
You see, whether you know it or not, if you're trusting in your own
self-righteousness, you believe you're whole. You don't believe you're a sinner. And what does the Lord say? Those
who believe that way have no need of the physician. You who are redeemed, remember
your thoughts about Christ before you were saved. I was always one of those guys
who thought the sinners were them guys down the street. Because there was one young man
who was always in trouble in our neighborhood, constantly.
Now he was a bad guy. He was a sin. Little did I know of my sinnership until God revealed
it to me. And then the scripture declares,
but they that are sick, and we are sick with sin. But look at this. I come not
to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. He calls sinners. He calls people who were righteous
and self-righteous at one time, reveals to them who they are
and what they are. And He calls them to repentance.
Now if you're saved and if you partake of this table, rejoice. Because we are one of those sinners
that have been called to repentance. We're one of those sinners that
have been healed by the Lord Jesus Christ, Jehovah Rapha. The Lord who heals you, has he
not healed you? Oh my. God's people also sometimes
we go through sorrows, don't we? Hidden griefs, too deep for
utterance or for tears. They leave us weak and tried.
Oh, but let us keep looking. Let us keep looking to our Savior,
the great physician, the one who heals the hurts of our heart. He heals us from all our sins
and he also heals us from from the trouble and pain of life
which we go through. And sometimes God's people, they
suffer and they don't say a word. But remember, He is ever with
you. And He has loved you with an
everlasting love. And He loved, He loved you so much. You who are believers, that He
went to Calvary's cross, and He set His face like a flint
to Jerusalem, knowing what awaited Him, shedding His own pressure, having
those nails hammered through His hands and His feet, being
hung upon a cross. But before that, He had been
beaten, and He did that for you and for
me. for His people, to heal us from our sins. So when we take
the Lord's Supper, let us remember this. Let this be evident before
us. And remember this, He is the
King of sorrows, the Prince of sufferers. And it is He, He alone who is
called Jehovah Rapha, Because He alone is able to heal the
brokenhearted. He alone is the only one who
can heal sinners. And that's the wonder again,
with the fact that we're clothed in His righteousness. Because it's by His stripes that
we're healed. He was acquainted with grief. a man of sorrows
in a preeminent way, in a way that none of us can even imagine, when He died upon the cross of
Calvary for our sins. And He proclaims as His name, Jehovah Rapha, I am the Lord
that heals you, because He suffered and bled and died that we might
have the right the privilege, the honor to call Him Jehovah-Rapha. He is the true healing tree which
is cast into the bitter, bitterest Mariah pool of our sin and will
make its water sweet. Let us remember this during our
trials and troubles and heartaches. Let us claim to Him. Let us claim
to Him who is the unfailing and faithful one. When others ask, who is our comfort? Who is our strength? Let us proclaim
Jehovah, the great I AM. And may His name
be an ointment poured forth for us, a comfort for us, The great three-in-one in covenant
for our salvation. The Father, the Son, and the
Holy Spirit. May He send us help. May God
send us help from His sanctuary. May He strengthen Zion as we
survey these wonderful towers. Then we can proclaim with Micah,
we will walk in the name of our Lord of the Lord our God, forever
and ever. Heavenly Father, we come before
Thee, knowing that we have absolutely no merit on our own to come before
Thee, but simply the righteousness of our great God and Savior,
the Lord Jesus Christ. And we saw, we've looked at many
times through Your Word how You are everything to the believer.
You are our all in all. And without you, we are just
pieces of animated dust with no hope. Oh, Lord, we pray you'd
use the message for your glory. Draw your lost sheep to thee,
we pray, if it's your will. And may God's saints be strengthened. And may we leave here rejoicing.
In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.