He did it all. Well, I bring
greetings from Brother Jim. He texted me this morning. And
he had texted me four or five days ago. And I had my phone
on silent. I didn't even know he texted
me. So I texted him back this morning. We had a little dialogue.
So he told me to greet you guys, and sends his love, and him and
Nancy both. So just wanted to pass it on. And Jean-Claude, of course, always
says to greet you all in love, and just a dear brother. Please
keep him in prayer with the mission that he does there over in Africa
and in Haiti, and doors are opening to different places, and it's
such a blessing that the gospel's going forward. So if you can
remember him before the throne of grace, that would be wonderful. Today we'll be in Isaiah chapter
32. Lately in the news, there's been
quite a bit of news about storms and things happening around around
the country, different tornadoes and things like that. You know, man always wants to
find refuge during a storm. He wants to find a hiding place. Well, today we're going to look
at Christ, our hiding place. Christ, our hiding place. Isaiah
chapter 32, Verses 1 and 2. Behold, a king shall reign in
righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment, and a man shall
be in hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest,
as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock
in a weary land. Christ, our hiding place. What
a marvelous text we have before us. It speaks of our Savior. It speaks of the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's look at verse 1 first,
and then we'll look more in depth at verse 2. It says, Behold,
a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment. Beloved, this speaks of our wonderful
Redeemer. our wonderful Redeemer. He is
King of Kings, and He is Lord of Lords. Psalm 2, verses 6 and
7 says this, Yet have I set my King, my King, upon my holy hill
of Zion. I will decree the decree the
Lord said unto me, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten
Thee. Oh, Christ is a King, in this
text before us speaks of our King. And He is none other than
the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a particular joy of God's
people that their King is lawfully sovereign. It's by God's decree
that He's King. He's our Redeemer. He's our Mediator. between God and man. He's the
only mediator we have and he's been appointed by Jehovah. He's God. So let us keep this
view of Christ as the head of the church and as the king of
the church. He rules and he reigns. Let us keep it in remembrance
because it'll bring us great joy and peace And we need, we
need peace. The world beats us down, the
storms of life beat us down. So, oh, let us keep this in remembrance. His reign as King, too, is a
reign of grace. It's a reign of grace. He reigns in righteousness. Turn
with me, if you would, to Jeremiah. Chapter 23. He reigns in righteousness. He is the Lord, our righteousness. Jeremiah 23 verses five and six. Behold, the days come, saith
the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous branch, and a king shall reign and prosper. This is speaking of Christ. And
shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days, Judah shall be saved
and Israel shall dwell safely. And this is his name whereby
he shall be called the Lord our righteousness. He's king. He's the Lord our righteousness. He reigns in righteousness. Oh, he's a great king, a mighty
king. And this brings us great joy
and brings us great peace, knowing that he's in control, knowing
that he's sovereign. Let's look at verse two now of
chapter 32 in Isaiah. And a man shall be as an unheightened
place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest, as rivers of
water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary
land. Here in verse 2, we have our
hiding place. Our hiding place. And it's only
in Christ. We have Christ proclaimed. And remember, when Paul and John
and Peter and the disciples were preaching, all they had was the
Old Testament. They didn't have the New Testament.
And they preached Christ. So therefore, He's all through
the Old Testament. All through. A man shall be as a hiding place
from the wind and a cover from the tempest. God became a man. God of the universe, who we sang
about in holy, holy, holy, became a man and dwelt among us. Oh, what condescension. He became a man. And here in
our text, we view him as a shield. Remember the soldiers, the Greeks
and the Romans, they would put their shields up. Brother John
and I were talking about how they would lock their shields together.
And the shields would be a defense. Christ is our shield. He's our shield against 10,000
trials, against anything that comes. He's our shield. He's
our defense. He's our high tower. Here's a
good illustration from biblical times. that I found for this,
about Christ being our hiding place and our shield. We cannot
easily imagine the fury of storms in the Middle East. Granite and
iron columns are snapped in two. The largest trees are torn up
by the roots. Houses are tossed about like
straws. And at sea, whole fleets are
cast, are cast away. And this is during biblical times.
Middle Eastern storms are terrible in the desert. Mountains of sand
are lifted up and dashed down. Sometimes burying whole caravans,
when they would go in their caravans, burying them. And even whole armies. Now picture
a traveler in this case. after a strange stillness as
he looks and he sees this storm approaching. He sees a cloud
of sand rising up in front of him. He's horrified. The sky becomes dark and the
earth and heaven seem totally covered. Destruction rides on every blast.
Fury coming right on him. In his fury. And the poor man
stands horrified. As the storm of doom comes. Oh for a shelter. Oh for a shelter. And he sees a rock. A gigantic
rock. And he runs under it. And the
storm dispense its fury upon that rock. Upon the sheltering rock and
not upon the traveler. That's what Christ did for us
before the law and justice of God, before the wrath of God. Oh, what a great Savior. So let us consider. that God
in Christ is our hiding place. He's our shelter. He's our shelter. And in this life, we have storms,
and we do, don't we? We do. Mysterious hurricanes
within, even. Turmoil within. And without. Dreadful confusion of mind sometimes. We'll have winds come in our
lives whose direction is uncertain, shaking everything, creating
unrest and destruction. And a lot of times, a lot of
times, there's no definite cause. The cause may be physical or
circumstantial, but these trials do arise in our lives. overwhelming temptus of spiritual
distress on account of our sin. We can have unbelief or temptations
which cause us distress. And every one of us struggle
with the same thing, the same things. But we looked on Wednesday night
that we're told not to fear in those circumstances. We're told to look to Christ
because God is our God, and here keep us, and here preserve us. We need a hiding place, don't
we? We need a refuge. We can be tossed about by these
storms which rise up and by attacks from those around us. And David
knew, turn with me if you would to Psalm 143. David knew, David
knew what it was like to have God as his refuge. Psalm 143, verses seven to nine. Oh beloved, we face the trying gales
of different things, temporal loss, bereavement, but in all
those things, Christ is our hiding place. Hear me speedily, O Lord,
my spirit faileth, verse seven. Hide not thy face from me, lest
I be like unto them that go down into the pit. Cause me to hear
thy loving kindness in the morning, for in thee do I trust. Cause
me to know the way wherein I should walk, for I lift up my soul unto
thee. In verse nine, deliver me, O
Lord, from my enemies. I flee unto thee to hide me. Oh, that he'd be our hiding place. Hide me, Lord. Hide me when those
gales and storms come. Hide me, Lord. And in all these things, Christ
is the believer's hiding place. But there's a far greater storm that we can find no refuge from
except in Christ Jesus. And that's the storm of divine
anger and wrath and lost communion with God. And actually there's no refuge
from any of the winds and trials that come up except Christ. But our only safety lies in getting
out of those storms, isn't it? In finding a shelter where God
has provided it. For thou hast been a stranger
to the poor, a strength to the needy. in his distress, a refuge
from the storm, a shadow from heat, when the blast of the terrible
ones is a storm against the wall, Isaiah 25, 4. A refuge from the storm, and
they come. Beloved, we are poor, needy sinners. I like what one brother says,
we're mercy beggars. Begging for mercy. Oh God have
mercy upon me. Psalm 32 verse 7 says this. Thou art my hiding place. Oh Christ is a believer's hiding
place. Thou shalt preserve me from trouble.
Thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. He's that
rock that that traveler found refuge in. Turn with me if you would to
Isaiah chapter 26. There's no refuge from the storm of God's justice
and law But in Christ, there is no other hiding place, but
in Him. Isaiah 26, verse 20 and 21, Come,
my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors
about thee. Hide thyself, as it were, for
a little moment, until the indignation be overpassed. For behold, the
Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of
the earth for their iniquity. The earth shall also disclose
her blood, and shall no more cover her slain. Oh, here in
these verses, we see all who are in Christ
are safe. And our King will show God will
show mercy to those in Christ, but he also must be a just judge. And therefore, there is no safety
outside of Christ. No safety. Only in Christ. As those in the
ark were safe, and those outside perished. If you're in the ark
of safety, if you're in Christ, you're safe. You're safe. Again, our text in verse 2 says,
And a man shall be as a hiding place from the wind, and a covert
from the tempest, as rivers of water in a dry place, as the
shadow of a great rock in a weary land. The Lord Jesus Christ is our
hiding place from these storms. As I keep saying, there's only
one hiding place, and that's Christ. Let us think on these things.
He knows what we go through. He was tempted like us, yet without
sin. He was thirsty and hungry. Tempted like us, but without
sin. The perfect spotless lamb of God. He knows what we go through. Turn with me, if you would, to
Hebrews chapter 4. In John 14.30 says this, and this is a beautiful
portion of scripture, I'll just read this. It says, Hereafter
I will not talk much with you, for the prince of this world
cometh and hath nothing in me. Now in us, there's lots in us
that the enemy could come and say, oh yeah, they're guilty.
But in Christ, you see, he was sinless. There was nothing in
him. He was the perfect spotless lamb of God. Nothing that the
enemy could accuse him of. Prince of this world cometh and
hath nothing in me, Christ said. Sinless, absolutely sinless.
Perfect, spotless, no sin at all. Look what Hebrews says here. Hebrews 4 verses 14 and 15. Seeing that we have a great high
priest that is passed unto the heavens, Jesus the Son of God,
let us hold fast our profession. For we have not a high priest
which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities,
but was in all points tempted like we are, yet without sin."
Perfect. No sin. Not a thought sin. Not a sin indeed. See, we can't even imagine that,
can we? But he was absolutely sinless. God incarnate in the
flesh, the perfect man, tempted like we are. but with no sin,
none. So he knows what we go through.
Had he been a mere man, he could never save us, but he's the God-man
mediator, the sinless one. He's willing, remember this too,
he's willing every tempest and trial we go through, And he's also our hiding place. Hiding us within the cleft of
the rock is that storm comes and just beats upon the rock.
Think of that as a storm of God's wrath and justice just beat upon
Christ. And we're hidden in him. And the great substitute bears
it all. Bears it all. Therefore, he is
the substitutionary man. Interposing and facing the storm
for us. And a man shall be in hiding
place from the wind, in a covert from the tempest, as rivers of
water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary
land. The sword of God's justice fell
upon him. Everything God demanded for my
sins and for all his people, fell upon him. And he's like that rock. There comes that storm just beating
upon him. And he bears it, and he cries
with a loud voice, it is finished. Oh, marvelous. Marvelous! We can only be sheltered from
God's wrath in Christ and in Him alone. He has endured the full penalty
for sin, and He has turned away the wrath of God from His people. Turn with me, if you would, to
Colossians chapter 2. We'll be starting a study in
Colossians on Wednesday nights in January. What a marvelous,
marvelous book Colossians is. Colossians chapter 2. And remember
our state. Remember our state. We come into
this world dead in trespasses and sins with no hope at all. When the Lord saves us, we're
born again in the Spirit, and our hope and rest is Christ.
And look at this, Colossians 2, starting in verse 13. And
you, believers in Christ, and you, being dead in your sins,
that was our natural state. Dead. In the uncircumcision of
your flesh, hath He quickened? Born again, you must be born
again. Hath He quickened? Together with Him. Heaven forgiven
you, remember? Remember that storm? The storm
of God's wrath beat upon Christ for the sins of His people, right?
Heaven forgiven you, all trespasses. There's not one left. All. Every thought sin we do,
every spoken sin we do, every sin of affection, every sin of
deed. For the believer, all their sins are forgiven. All of them. Blotting out that means to whitewash
in the Greek whitewash. It's gone and with an anesthetic. It's gone Whitewashing blotting
out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us and was contrary
to us and took it out of his way Nailing it to his cross He satisfied God's law and justice
for us in our room in place He did it for the belief In heaven's
spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly,
triumphing over them. He's a triumphant king. He did
it. He has saved his people from
their sins. God's blood, the blood of Christ,
has the power to pay all that God demands for the redemption
of all his people. And as a man, he can die in our
room instead as our substitute, in our place. Stead just means
in our place. You often hear preachers say
room instead. It's in our place. Christ died in the sinner's place,
the substitute. He's a representative man, this
man spoken of in our text. And a man shall be as a hiding
place from the wind. He's a representative man. He's
more than a conqueror. And he's glorified in heaven
above. And in him, we are delivered from divine wrath. In him, we are covered from Satan's
blasts. In him dwell, we dwell above
all the trials by sweet fellowship with him. In Him, we are victors over death. He's our all in all. All spiritual blessings are in
Christ. Scripture declares in 1 Corinthians
1.30 and 31 declares this, but of Him, are ye in Christ Jesus, and remember
this, sinners. In Christ Jesus is the key phrase. In Christ Jesus. Who of God has
made unto us wisdom? He's all wisdom to the believer.
Righteousness. We saw earlier, the Lord our
righteousness. His reign is a reign of righteousness. Sanctification means to be made
holy. In Christ, not in ourselves,
but in Christ, we're made holy, and redemption. He paid it all. He paid it all. Why? Well, scripture
declares this wonderful phrase, I love this, that according as
it is written, he that gloryeth, let him glory in the Lord. We
don't glory and boast in what we do. We glory and boast in
what Christ has done. He did it all. See, and that's
the difference with religion and grace. Religion likes to
boast on what they do. Grace says, no, he did everything.
He did it all. This man is the ever-living man.
And because he lives, we will. We live also. He's the interceding
man. Says, I have prayed for thee
when Satan is seeking to destroy us. He's the mediator. Turn with
me, if you would, to 1 Timothy 2, verses 5 and 6. This is the two verses. One verse
here is the verse, actually, that the Lord used to drop the
scales of Catholicism off my eyes, where they tell you you have
to go to a priest and talk to a priest. No, there's only one mediator
between God and man. But I had never read scripture. Look at this beautiful verse,
1 Timothy 2, verse 5. For there is one God, there's
only one, there's only one, and one mediator, there's only one
mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, who gave
himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time. Oh, he's
the interceding man. He's our mediator between God
and us. And He's the coming man. He's
coming again. Folks scoff and say what they will, but the Lord,
He will return in His time. Political catastrophes may come
up or social disruptions, but He still reigns. Remember that. He reigns. And He will come again. There's
no doubt. And he won't come back secretly
like folks say about this rapture thing. It's not going to be a
secret rapture. It's going to be very public. Turn with me if you would to
Revelation chapter 1. It's going to be very, very public. Oh, when he returns. Revelation
chapter 1 verse 7. Behold, he cometh with clouds,
and everyone shall see him. And everyone shall see him. They also which pierced him,
and all the kings of the earth shall wail because of him, even
so, amen. And every eye shall see him. It's gonna be a very
public event. Oh, the man, Christ Jesus. is the man mentioned in this
text. Back to our text in Isaiah. And
a man shall be in hiding place from the wind and covert from
the tempest as rivers of water in a dry place as a shadow of
a great rock in a weary land. Rivers of water in a dry place. This speaks of the abundance
and fullness of the grace of God in Christ. And we looked
at that a little this morning. God's grace is superabounding
grace. Rivers of water in a dry place. God's grace is sufficient for
all his people. God is rich in mercy in Christ. Grace is free, it's unmerited,
it's in Christ. And it flows from the ocean of
divine love to his people. It's like being out in the desert
and you find rivers, find an oasis. And a man shall be in hiding
place from the wind In a covert from the tempest is rivers of
water in a dry place as shadows of a great rock in a weary land.
The Lord Jesus Christ is like a shadow of a great rock in a
weary land. Turn with me if you would to
Psalm 61. And David in Psalm 61 too will
give us help on this high rock. Psalm 61, verses one to four. Hear my cry,
O God, attend unto my prayer. From the end of the earth will
I cry unto thee. When my heart is overwhelmed, think of this when you go through
a trial or a temptation or something comes up, when our heart is overwhelmed,
lead me to the rock that is higher than I. That's Christ. He is the rock that is higher
than I. For thou hast been a shelter. He's a hiding place. When a storm
comes, what do we do? We seek shelter, don't we? Oh, seek shelter in Christ. Flee
to Him. Seek shelter from God's wrath
and law and justice. Seek it in Christ alone. May
God make you willing to seek it. For thou hast been a shelter
for me in a strong tower from the enemy. I will abide in thy
tabernacle forever. I will trust in the covert of
thy wings. From the end of the earth is
any place of absence from the temple where God dwelt above
the mercy seat. Truly a weary land. And then
David says, I cry unto thee when my heart is overwhelmed. Trouble
comes, as I said, perplexing trouble, gnawing troubles, overwhelming
troubles. Oh, we just rest in Christ. We
just look to him. Lead me to the rock that is higher
than I. If we would find the rock of
ages, we are dependent upon his hand to lead us. He leads us
and guides us all through the, we're so blind, we could never
find him. But his hand is powerful and
tender. This rock is the rock which our God has laid. Isaiah
28, 16 says this. Therefore, thus saith the Lord
God, behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation stone, a tried stone,
a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation. I used to
do construction. And they lay that foundation
down. If that foundation is not sure all that, everything else
is out of whack. Christ is the foundation stone.
He is the foundation of our faith. In Him we rest. In Him we trust. And it is higher than I because Because He is God. Christ is the believer's foundation. He's the believer's hope. The
foundation? That's sure. He's the fountain of living water
to the believer. He's a shade from the heat, and
a shelter from the storms of life. Back to our text. And a man shall be in hiding
place from the wind, in a covert from the tempest, as rivers of
water in a dry place, as a shadow of a great rock in a weary land. Oh, may we take shelter in Christ. May we hide behind him by faith. May He deliver us from all evil. May He be our shield and our
protector. Psalm 119 says this, thou art
my hiding place and my shield. I hope in thy word. We have no
hope outside of Him. Oh, what a great God. What a
wonderful Savior of His people. You that are here outside of
Christ, the tempest is lowering. Come to the shelter. hasten to the hiding place. Oh, that God, the Holy Spirit,
would make you willing. Oh, that He'd draw you to Christ. Those of us who are saved, we've
found the hiding place because He's revealed Himself to us. Oh, that He might do so for you. Christ is the only refuge for
sinners. Are you a sinner? Most folks don't think they are. But if God moves, He'll show
you you're a sinner. And then you'll run. You'll flee to Christ. Turn with me, if you would, to
Luke. Luke chapter 14. In Adilam, all David's army could
hide, so was Jesus able to receive a host of sinners. A host of sinners. Luke 14, verses
22 and 23, and the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou has
commanded, and yet there is room. Yet there is room. And the Lord
said unto the servant, and this is when we preach the gospel,
when it goes out on the internet, when it goes out anywhere, when
you talk to someone, oh, that the Lord would compel them to
come. And the Lord said unto the servant,
go into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in that
my house may be filled. Christ is the eternal hiding
place. He's our dwelling place throughout
all generations. There's only one way to be saved. And that's through Christ. May God give you the grace to flee to Him. Oh, may the Holy Spirit make
you willing. Because every believer in here, He made us willing. And we're only saved by the grace
of God in Christ.