I'm going to read from Psalm
46 for our scripture reading tonight. Psalm 46. Fred and Mary
Jane are going to be leaving us this week. Headed back up
north. You guys are leaving Friday or
Thursday? Sunday? Oh, you're going to leave
on Sunday morning. Okay. Alright. Well, you will
be sorely missed. We will. Count the weeks you've
come back. Sunday I'll be in Charlotte and
Michael and Hugo will be bringing the messages here. So we all
covet your prayers for the services there and for them here, I know. Also, I don't know how many of
you all remember Gene Rutledge. Gene has been here on several
occasions over the years. He's a member of the church in
Lexington. I think he was here at our conference
in February. I know he's been here for a couple
of different ones. Gene was 78? 78? And just a dearly beloved brother in the
church in Lexington and what a sweet fellowship I was able
to have with him and some of you but Gene had an aneurysm
Thursday and Lord took him home just just that quick and He's going to be going to be
missed and we rejoice Joy and I were texting Yesterday
or today. I can't remember now and And
she said, oh, I wish I had his testimony. He was just a dear
brother. So we're going to be reading
from Psalm 46. Don and Carol, it's good to have
you all with us tonight. Verse 1. God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though
the earth be removed and though the mountains be carried into
the midst of the sea, though the waters thereof roar and be
troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof.
Whatever God brings in his good providence, we have no reason
to fear. God before us who can be against
us. There is a river, the streams
whereof shall make glad the city of God. John saw that river,
he said it was clear as crystal that flowed from the throne and
from the Lamb. The holy place of the tabernacles
of the Most High, God is in the midst of her and she shall not
be moved. God shall help her and that right
early. The heathen raged, the kingdoms
were moved. He uttered his voice and the
earth melted. The Lord of hosts is with us.
The God of Jacob is our refuge." I'm glad he said the God of Jacob.
I can identify with Jacob. Behold the works of the Lord,
what desolations He has made in the earth. He maketh wars
to cease unto the ends of the earth. He breaketh the bow and
cutteth the spear asunder. He burneth the chariots in the
fire. There was a time when we stood in enmity with God, raising
our fist into heaven. And the Lord, by His grace, broke
that spirit, caused us to be willing in the day of His power.
Be still. Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the heathen.
I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us.
The God of Jacob is our hiding place. He's our refuge. He's our help in time of need. As sinners, we're always in need
of that help. Let's ask his blessings on his
word to our hearts. Our merciful Heavenly Father,
we're so very thankful that you have given to us a place of refuge,
a cleft in the rock, a place where we can hide. We thank you
for the accomplished work of the Lord Jesus Christ, having
put away the sins of your people once and for all, establishing
peace with Thee. We ask, Father, that You would
bless our hearts with Your Holy Spirit and that You would open
the eyes of our understanding. We pray that You would cause
Your Word to be living and effectual and, Lord, that it would lead
us to be still and to know that Thou art God, Lord, that we would wait on Thee. We thank You for the testimony
of Brother Gene, and Lord, we pray, Lord, that You would comfort
those that were close to him, and Lord, that You would cause
all that knew him to rejoice in Christ, in his home going. We thank you for Fred and for
Mary Jane and we ask Lord that you'd give them traveling mercies.
We pray that you would keep them in their absence from us and
Lord that you would knit our hearts together even as we're
away. Pray for the services in Charlotte and those here on Sunday
and ask father that you would be pleased to bless your word
and cause Christ to be exalted, your people to be encouraged.
We ask it in Christ's name. Amen. Stand together. You turn with me in your Bibles
to first Kings chapter 10. First Kings chapter 10. I knew that I had preached from
this passage in the last year or so, but I didn't know exactly
when it was and so Jeff went over our website and found out
that it was the second Sunday of June last year. So it's been
right at a year since we looked at this passage. As I read it
again in preparation for tonight, I just saw so many things that
I felt like we didn't really get to last time that I wanted
to consider this story again and draw from it
the conclusions, I'm sure, that the
Lord would have us to know about what it means to come to Christ. Coming to Christ is the title
of this message and the Queen of Sheba is a type of all those
who come to Christ. What we see in her experience
in coming to Solomon, who certainly is a type of the Lord Jesus Christ,
the man of peace the one who has made peace with god for us
through his shed blood and the one who gives to us the peace
of god is seen in the reign of king solomon and um... what we find in this uh... in
this story is that the queen of sheba heard of solomon's glory
And in hearing, she came. And in coming, she communed with
Solomon. In communing with him, she heard
not just about him, but she heard from him. He answered her questions. She saw his glory. She fell without
breath at his feet in adoration and in worship. She confessed
His glory. She rejoiced in His reign. She
gave of what she had and she left a witness. That's every
believer's experience in coming to Christ. It begins with hearing
of His glory. Faith comes by hearing and hearing
comes by the Word of God. Look at verse 1. And when the Queen of Sheba heard
of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came
to prove him with hard questions." Our Lord spoke of her in Matthew
chapter 12 when He said the Queen of the South would stand in judgment
against this generation for having heard of Solomon, she traveled
a long way. And one greater than Solomon
is here. She came from a long way, but
the testimony of Solomon had somehow, through a witness, gotten
all the way down to where she lived. You know, that's still
the way the Lord communicates the truth of the gospel through
witnesses. She heard of his fame. She said
in verse 7, after she communed with him and saw his glory, she
said in verse 7, half was not told me. What I've experienced
is so much more than what I heard. But she heard enough. She heard
enough to want to come and see for herself. the lord said those
that call upon the name of the lord shall be saved but how can
they call upon him in whom they've not believed and how can they
believe on him in whom they've not heard and how can they hear
without a preacher god uses the ministry of preaching and he
uses the ministry of his children to tell those in the far reaches
of the world about our solomon the man of peace the lord jesus
christ This story starts and ends with
someone telling someone else about the glory of Solomon. And
that's really the ministry of the church. It starts, our salvation
starts with us hearing and it ends with us telling. It's just the means. I've got
some mixed emotions about the Internet. I've shared this with
you all before. I'm thankful for it. I know that
there's a lot of people that are blessed by it. I get correspondence
on a regular basis from folks that listen to our services.
I know Fred and Mary Jane, you're all going to be away from the
church for a few months and you'll be watching the services and
for that i'm thankful and i know that there are some people that
just absolutely cannot get to where there is a local church
and uh... for them i'm glad that that means
is out there i got a call got an email from a a man in england
uh... two weeks ago and uh... they've
set up a television screen and They don't have a pastor, and
they're going to be broadcasting our services over there. They
do the same in Sarasota. We'll be going to Pennsylvania
next month, and they do that up there. And for that, I'm grateful. The mixed emotions that I have
about it is that there are some people, there are some people
that can get to where there is a local assembly. And they just
don't. And I have to conclude by that,
that they're just, you know, they're just not committed
to the gospel and to the Lord's church. And this woman heard
and she traveled a long way. I love the story in John chapter
one where Turn with me to that because
I want you to see something in this passage of scripture. John
chapter 1. Look at verse 45. And Philip
findeth Nathanael, and said unto him, We have found him. of whom Moses and the Law and
the Prophets did write, Jesus of Nazareth the son of Joseph. And Nathanael said unto him,
Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? And Philip said
to him, Come and see." There's a witness. There's a witness. It's like that little maid that
told Naaman, there's a prophet in Samaria and he'll But the interesting thing of
the story is that Philip said, we have found him. But if you'll
back up to verse 43, the day following Jesus would go forth
into Galilee and find Philip. Who found who? Philip said we found him but
in fact it was the Lord that found Philip and Lord knows where
his sheep are he knows where every one of them are he's going
to get the gospel to them one way or the other what a blessing
it is for us to be the ones to be able to tell folks come and
see come and see there's a prophet in Samaria and he will deliver
you from your leprosy so she this story begins with the Queen
of Sheba hearing of the fame and that's what witnesses do
we just we just tell of the fame of the Lord Jesus Christ and
we know that God's people are going to hear God's good people
are going to hear and when they hear look what look what the
scripture says in verse 2 and she came she didn't just you
know this was a this was before the internet this was before
newspapers this was before passing out of books she heard somebody
told her about Solomon and what she heard intrigued her so that
she made the effort to come she came all the way to Jerusalem
And that's always the case. When the Lord is pleased to give
someone ears to hear, they come. And no distance is too far, no
sacrifice is too great, no obstacle is too opposing. If God gives
you a concern for your soul and a love for Christ, and he gives
you years to hear the gospel, you're going to make whatever
effort is necessary to come and nothing will be able to keep
you from him. Nothing will be able to keep you. That's why
you're here tonight. Everybody here tonight, I know
you have busy lives, busy schedules, you drive from afar. Why? Because you want to hear about
Christ. You want to hear about the forgiveness of your sin.
You want to hear about the hope of salvation, the rest that you
have for your soul. That's why we're here. And I
think of Ruth and Naomi. Naomi tried to get Ruth to stay
behind and she refused. She said, no, I'm coming with
you. I'm coming with you. Your God is my God. Your people
are my people. I'm burning my bridges. I'm coming."
And she came. And of course she was delivered
as a result of that. She came to Jerusalem, to the
church, the city of peace. place where God's people are
gathered together where the gospel of God's grace is preached you
know there's something very spiritual that takes place when God's people
are gathered physically and there's a physical preacher declaring
the truth of the gospel that you can't duplicate you just
can't duplicate it on tape you can't duplicate it on TV you
can't duplicate it on the internet you just can't do it God said
where two or three of my people are gathered together, there
I am in the midst of them. There's a blessing of God's Spirit
and truth to the hearts of God's people that happens when people
hear of His fame and they make whatever effort is necessary
to come, to come and see, to come and hear. and uh... those that here will they will
come out i remember uh... jennifer uranic who at the time
was jennifer wells and she had her bags packed to go to saudi
arabia and uh... the lord just convicted her of
the fact that there's no there's not a church there there's not
a place where god's people are gathered there and uh... She's
here and married to a believing husband and two dear children.
God bless that commitment to come and to be a part of the
church. That's what she did. So she begins
with her hearing of his fame and then she came. And look what
the scripture says in verse 2. And she came to Jerusalem with
a great train, and with camels, and bare spices, and very much
gold, and precious stone. And when she was come to Solomon,
she communed with him of all that was on her heart. She sat down with Solomon. She had some hard questions that
she needed answers to. She wanted to know how it is
that a man can be right with God. She knew that there was
life after death. She knew that there was a God.
She knew that there was judgment. She wanted to know. How can that
which is unclean be made clean? Who can bring a clean thing out
of an unclean? And how can God be just and justify
me at the same time? How can a leper's spot be changed? How can the Ethiopian change
the color of his skin? Is there a God? Show us the Father. These are the hard questions
that she brought. She had a concern for her soul
and she proved Solomon with these questions. Look what the scripture
says. She communed with him of all
that was in her heart. Solomon told her all her questions
and there was not anything hid from the king which he told her
not. He answered her questions. He
told her. about the God that is. She told
her He told her about how it is that God could be just and
justify the sinner through the sacrifice of the blood of the
shed lamb. He told her all the things that
she wanted to know. She told her about how it is
that there's a sacrifice that God has made. There's a lamb.
And he took her to the temple and explained to her how it is
that a man could be right with God. How it is that God could
put away our sins once and for all. He told her about Christ. He told her about the one that
would lay down his life for the sheep. The one that would satisfy
all the demands of God's holy justice. The one that would establish
a righteousness before God on her behalf. The sin bearer. The substitute. All the hard questions that she
had. And what did she do? She communed with Him. She did like Mary did. You remember when the Lord rebuked
Martha and told her, Martha, Mary has chosen that one thing
that is needful. What was that one thing? To sit
at his feet and listen to what he had to say. She wasn't trying to justify
herself. She wasn't asking him questions
for the sake of proving her own doctrine. She was sincerely,
genuinely interested in the truth. That's the way it always is when
one comes from afar, when one hears about Christ. They don't
have anything to say. They've got questions. They don't
have anything to teach God. They don't have anything to say
to justify themselves before God. they become mercy beggars. They can do nothing but ask Him
for what He can do to save them. I often times have people, I
had somebody call me just recently and this particular person has
a history of being contentious over doctrine and he wants to
meet with me and talk to me He said, he said, I don't have an
agenda. I hope he doesn't. I hope he
doesn't. He said, just have some questions. And he said, I want
you to be able to ask me questions. And I said to him, I don't have
any questions for you. I don't have any questions for
you. If you have questions for your
soul, I'd be happy to show you from scripture. what God has
to say about about Christ and about the forgiveness of sin
about the hope of salvation but I really don't have any questions
for you know that people want a they want to get together and
they want to you know they want to debate things that's not how
she came she didn't come with a debating spirit she came with
a desire and a hunger to know the truth She had heard of his
fame. She traveled a long way. She
communed with him and she proved him. She proved him to be wise
and she proved him to be faithful and she proved him to have the
answers that she needed. Look at verse 3. And Solomon told her all her
questions now she not only heard about him from the testimony
of a witness but now she is hearing from him the Lord said they shall
be all taught of God and when we come with this kind of a spirit
he speaks He does. He speaks truth to our hearts. He's pleased to make himself
known. He said, if any man come unto me, I will in no wise cast
him out. She heard from Him. That's what we need to do. We
need to sit at the feet of Christ and hear directly from Him. Lord,
speak to my heart. You don't hear from the preacher.
You hear from God. I've shared with you all how
somebody told me one time I needed to speak peace to his heart.
I said, I can't do that. I can't speak peace to your heart.
That's something only God can do. I can tell you what God says,
but the Spirit of God has to take the truth of the gospel
and the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ himself
is the only one that can speak peace to our hearts. And so Solomon
now tells her her questions. Don't you love the way the Holy
Spirit phrases that? She asked her questions the best
way she could, you know, but her questions really weren't
that clear, I'm sure, as most folks aren't when they first
come. They don't, you know, they can't even really ask the right
kind of questions. But aren't you glad that when
we come before the Lord that the Spirit of God is able to
clarify our questions for us and give us the right answers
to those questions? You know, He makes our groanings
known to God and He formulates the questions so that they make
sense. And then he answers those questions
for us. Solomon told her all her questions
and there was not anything hid from the king which he told her
not. You bring your needs before God
and he's not going to play word games with you. He's not going
to hide things from you. he delights in showing mercy
and he delights in revealing his glory and uh... whatever
whatever questions we have about who he is and about how it is
he puts away our sin and about how he reconciles us to god about
how he establishes a righteousness for us he's he's pleased to show
those things to us and you know the scripture just so clear they
really are we uh... this past sunday night I was
preaching in Sarasota from Ephesians chapter 1. And there was a dear
lady who's been there two or three times, a couple times before. And I noticed when I was preaching,
every time I'd quote a verse, she was moving her mouth. She
knew that verse. She's 81 years old. Her name
is Betty. She'd been in religion all her life. Grew up in South
Carolina. And I went to Bible college and
I looked at her Bible and it was all marked up and notes written
in it. I mean, that's all she'd ever
known. And I noticed Sunday night, all of a sudden her countenance
changed. She became very concerned about
what she was hearing. And she came up to me afterwards
and she said, she said, I've been in religion all my life.
I've never heard what you just preached. she said she said when you first
started saying it I raised my hands in my heart and I said
no it cannot be this was Betty Sunday night she said it cannot
be but then I look back and there it was she said it's right there
in the scriptures yes let me show you the scriptures there
you know here's the Ephesians chapter 1, verse 4, according as He has
chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world. What does that
mean? What does that mean? It means
what it says. It says what it means. It's just
so simple. It's just so clear. Solomon didn't
hide anything from her. He didn't talk in circles. He
didn't talk out of both sides of his mouth. He didn't say,
God loves everybody and Christ died for everybody and God wants
everybody to be saved and it's all up to you now, but God is
God. No, he didn't say that. The message of religion today
can't be really even understood. It's just nonsense. They say
God is sovereign, but He's only partially sovereign. They say
He's omnipotent, but He's only partially omnipotent. You can't
be partially omnipotent. He's God. He's the Almighty.
He has the right as the potter to make from the same lump of
clay some vessels of honor and some of dishonor according to
His own good pleasure and will. And He does it all for His own
glory. And as I've just read through
these passages, look at verse 5, having predestinated us unto
the adoption of children by Jesus Christ according to the good
pleasure of His will. Why? To the praise of the glory
of His grace. That's why He's done it. He gets
all the glory and all the praise. And Betty sat there, she said,
and she had, I mean, like I said, she was quoting scripture. Her
Bible was marked. She's 81 years old, been in religion
all her life, been to Bible college. She said, I never heard that
in my whole life. How did I miss it? Well, you
weren't. You didn't come to Jerusalem.
You didn't come to the city of peace. You didn't come to Solomon. You weren't sitting at the feet
of Christ. You've been sitting under false prophets all your
life. You've been listening to men tell lies about God all your
life. You've been blind all your life.
It's no wonder you couldn't see. Solomon told her everything.
told her everything we don't have to we don't we don't have
to use double speak we don't have to we don't have to gloss
over things we don't have to hide things we just declare the
simple truth of the gospel of God's free grace in the finished
work of the Lord Jesus Christ and God's people hear it and
they're comforted Those who come from afar, those who have heard
of His glory and of His fame, and those who sit and try Him
with the hard questions and willing to listen and commune with Him
will hear the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
For this cause came I into the world. For this purpose was I
born. testify of the truth they that
are of the truth they hear my voice they hear and they believe back with me to our text in first
Kings chapter 10 look at verse 4 he told her everything
he didn't keep anything back he didn't have to hide anything
He didn't have to sugarcoat anything. He just told her the simple truth. Told her about her depravity. Told her about her inability. Told her about how God had chosen
a people before the world began. Told her about how that blood
sacrifice was the only hope of having her sin taken away. Told
her about the effectual grace of God to make her willing in
the day of His power. Told her about His keeping His
people and presenting them faultless before the throne of God. Told
her everything. told her that salvation is of the Lord. It's all of God from beginning
to end. He is the Alpha and He is the
Omega and He's everything in between. That's what He told
her. And look at verse 4. And when
the Queen of Sheba had seen, she's no longer blind, Like Betty,
all of a sudden, miraculously, her eyes are open and for the
first time in her life, she sees something she's never seen before. How did I read those verses and
not understand them? How did I gloss over that? Well,
you were blind. You couldn't see. The Lord has
to open your heart in the same way that He opened Lydia's heart. And what He opens, no man can
shut. And what He shuts, no man can
open. As many as were ordained to eternal
life, they believed. This queen, obviously, God had
ordained her. He had predestinated her. He
had given her ears to hear and eyes to see, and she believed. How do we know? Because look
what she does. when the Queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon's
wisdom. The first thing she saw about
Solomon was that he was a man of wisdom. God has made the Lord
Jesus Christ to be for us all our wisdom. All our wisdom. All that there is to know about
God. is to be found in the Lord Jesus Christ. How it is that
God puts away sin is to be found in the Lord Jesus Christ. Who
we are outside and inside of Christ is to be found in the
Lord Jesus Christ. It's all in the gospel, the wisdom
of God. There's no, you know, philosophy. All it is is a study
of human behavior, but it doesn't tell us anything about God. politics. All it does is teach
us how to lead and rule over men. It doesn't tell us anything
about God. When man by wisdom knew not God,
God was pleased through the foolishness of preaching to save them which
believed. Science, all science can do is
observe the natural world. It doesn't tell us anything about
God. God has to make himself known
and he'll do that through the preaching of the gospel. Medicine? All it can do is prolong life,
make life a little bit better perhaps. Most of medicine is
only treating the symptoms while the body heals itself anyway,
but you know that's just, that's just all there is to it. I had a lawyer tell me one time
that lawyers are necessary to keep people from killing each
other. And that's about the extent of the law, isn't it? It's about
the extent of the law. Education. The world thinks that
education is a cure for all crime and poverty. Truth is, if you educate a thief,
all you do is turn a carjacker into a white-collar criminal.
You know, it doesn't change the heart, does it? It doesn't change
the heart, and it doesn't reveal anything about God. She saw the
wisdom of Solomon. As she communed with him, she
realized that he was the one who could tell her about God.
The apostles asked, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth
us. And our Lord said, oh, have I
been with thee so long that you don't know? You've seen me, you've
seen the Father, for I am the Father of one. The wisdom of God is found in
the Lord Jesus Christ, in His glorious person and in His accomplished
work. Notice what else she saw. She
saw the house that He had built. Upon this rock I shall build
my church." She saw something different in Solomon's house
that she hadn't seen in anybody else's house. She obviously was
a woman of great means. I mean she came with an entourage
of servants and wealth and yet she saw something in Solomon's
house that was different from all the stately palaces that
she had ever been to before. If God's pleased to cause a person
to sit down and commune with Christ, they're going to see
something different here than they're going to see anywhere
else. They're going to see something different. Because it is different. It is different. The Lord said
our love for one another will convince the world that we're
His disciples. There's just something different
about God's people and about the church. The world's impressed with buildings,
they're impressed with those things that appeal to the flesh,
and churches are full of things like exciting music and rousing
testimonies and entertaining drama and all these sort of things. What is there in the church?
Well, that Christ is preached. That's what the difference is.
The Lord Jesus Christ is lifted up. He said, if I be lifted up,
I will draw men to me. Paul said, we're the true circumcision
that worship God in the spirit and rejoice in Christ Jesus and
have no confidence in the flesh. There's something very different
and very special about Solomon's house that's different from all
the other stately places of the world. Turn with me to 1 Peter
chapter 2. Last place in this world I have
any interest in going back to is religion. Pretentious, man-made,
God-dishonoring religion. Feigned religion. The church
is different. Look at what Peter says in 1
Peter 2, verse 1, "...Wherefore, laying aside all malice, and
all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speaking,
as newborn babes..." You know, there's the church. Members of
Christ's Church are not competing with one another to prove who's
the more mature. They're all like babes craving
after the sincere milk of the Word of God that they might grow
thereby. Why? Because they've tasted that
the Lord Jesus Christ is gracious and they want more of Him. to
whom coming as unto a living stone disallowed indeed of men
but chosen of God and precious. The Lord Jesus Christ is priceless
to God's people and they're always coming. They don't talk about
their experience in the past as if coming to Christ was some
sort of experience that they're hanging their hat on. No, they're
coming right now. They're coming just like the
Queen of Sheba. They've heard of His glory. They're sitting
at His feet. They're listening to His wisdom.
They're rejoicing in what they see in His house. Verse 5, You also. as lively stones are built up
a spiritual house, a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices
acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. They're not running around in
frantic activity They're offering the sacrifices of their lips,
and the sacrifices of their praise, and the sacrifices of their faith.
They're offering up their hearts to Christ. Wherefore, also it
is contained in the Scriptures, Behold, I lay in Zion a chief
cornerstone. Elect, precious, and he that
believeth on him shall not be confounded. They're resting in
Christ. They're not confused. They're
not confused. God's people are not frantic,
they're resting. Unto you therefore which believe,
He is precious, but to them which are disobedient, the stone which
the builders disallow, the same is made the head of the corner. They've got a rock on which they
stand, and He is all their hope, and all their salvation, and
all their desire. a stone of stumbling and a rock
of offense to the world, even to them which stumble at the
word." The clear teaching of the Word
of God, they can't see it, they twist it, they rest it, they
excuse it, they cut it out, they push it away. Where unto also
they were appointed. They were appointed to this end.
They were vessels, as Paul says in Romans chapter 9, fitted for
destruction, made of God in order to be destroyed. But you are a chosen generation,
a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a purchased people, a peculiar
people. bought by the precious blood
of the Lord Jesus Christ, put into the family of God, and made
a stone in His church, that you should show forth the praises
of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.
You believe that the Lord Jesus Christ gets all the glory and
all the praise for your salvation. You know you brought nothing.
You brought nothing but your sin. He did it all. He sent you
a witness. He caused you to have an interest
in the things of God. He gave you a burden for your
soul. He revealed to you your need
of salvation. He caused you to see that God
won't put more on you than you can bear. If He doesn't, you'll
never need Him. And if He ever puts the weight
of your sin on you, you'll know you've got to wait. You can't
move. He's the only one that can give you that way of escape
and that's what he does for his people. Which in times past were not
a people. They know. God's people know
that but for the grace of God there go I. They don't stand
and point their fingers at others. They know who's made them to
differ. They know everything they have
was given to them by free grace. What a wonderful thing it is
to be around a bunch of folks like that. I mean, it's just,
it's different. She saw his wisdom and she saw
the house that he had built and she knew that it was different
from any other palace she had ever been in, in her whole life. And it is different. Once God
makes you to differ, you know it's different. You see the difference. Someone says to me, well I, you
know, it just seems like the same message, I don't really
see a difference. I know, they haven't heard. I
know they haven't communed with Christ. I know they haven't seen. I know he hasn't asked. They
haven't asked the right questions. And he hasn't revealed himself
to them. Because when he does, they will be like the Queen of
Sheba. Go back with me to our text. She saw Solomon's wisdom. She
saw the house that he had built. and the stones that made up that
house. Look at verse 5. And the meat
of His table. Oh, she was able to fare scrumptiously
at His table. As are God's people when the
meat of the gospel is preached. when christ is lifted up when
they are able to feast on his body and on his blood they know
that his body his life his righteousness is meet in deed they know that
his blood is drink in deed they know that they have access to
the to the father they know they have a throne of grace they just
know it they're not they're not They're not eating the husk that
swine do eat, as did the prodigal son. That's what the religious
world does. They just chew on husk that has
no nourishment to it whatsoever. They eat of his meat, of his
body. They drink of the river that's
clear as crystal that flows from the throne of God. They're not
like the goats. You know, a goat will come in
here and they'll listen and they'll pretend to eat and then you know
they're goats because they'll leave and go eat trash somewhere
else. They don't do that. They see
the meat that's at Solomon's table and they're not settling
for anything else. Not settling for anything else. I have to
tell you this story. We had a dear lady here this
past Sunday. Her name is Edith. and she lives
in Palatka two-hour drive from here and she had been here once
before I don't know when it was sometime ago and she said you
know I came she said but I just I just didn't really hear the
gospel I didn't hear the gospel and she said I I just just did
and you know that happens i'm so
thankful that you all love me and your patient with me sometimes
maybe i'm not as clear as i ought to be and i don't know when she
was here what i preached but uh... she said i heard it this
morning and i'll be back i'll be back You know, that's
just the way God's sheep are. They'll travel however far they
need to travel. They're like the Queen of Sheba.
When they eat His meat, they want more of it. They've tasted
that the Lord is gracious. And they need grace. Why? Because they're sinners. And
that's all they want. They just want more grace. She ate of the meat that was
at His table. Look at verse 5. And the sitting of His servants. The sitting of His servants.
I was telling Ed and Deborah Sunday on the way over to Sarasota,
we passed an old religious organization that we used to be a part of.
and told them how our mode of operation was to give everybody
a job. You had to have a job so that
you'd feel obligated to come. That's what religion is all about. What work must we work? What work must we perform to
do the works of God? And what did the Lord Jesus Christ
say? He said, this is the work of God that you believe on him
whom he has sent. And one of the differences you
see among God's people is they're just content to sit and listen.
That's all they want to do. They're not running around frantically
with programs and business and trying to do this and that and
impress one another with who's doing more. You talk to religious
folks and what do they want to tell you? Somebody told me recently,
I think, Ed, you may have been telling me this. You were talking
to somebody and they were telling you about all the things they were doing
for God. And that's just, men just pride themselves in that.
Why? Because they're convinced that that's proof of their salvation.
What is the proof of our salvation? What is the proof of our salvation?
that we have labored to enter in to His rest." We're working
not to work, aren't we? We're resisting the temptation
of doing something in order to earn favor with God and believing
that the only hope we have is what's been done already through
the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ. We're sitting at
His feet. She was impressed. Look what
she was impressed with. She was impressed with the sitting
of His servants. Such a frenzy of activity in
religion. God's people are just content
to sit and hear and feast. Look at verse 5, "...and the
meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance
of his ministers." All his believers were just All of his attendants,
all of his servants were just in attendance. They were just
there. They were just sitting there
and enjoying his presence. So it is with God's people. Look at the next phrase, and
their apparel. And their apparel. You know in
religion everybody's got an opinion, don't they? We've been part of
religion where you had five or six different groups of people
in the same congregation. You know, everybody was competing
with one another as to who was right and who was wrong over
different doctrinal positions, and God's people just aren't
that way. They all have the same clothes
on. They're all dressed in the righteousness of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Don't you love when the Roman soldiers, when they had
the robe of Christ, they said, it's seamless. Let's don't rent
it. Let's don't tear it. There's
no seams in it. And that's the way the righteousness
of Christ is. He's our apparel. He's our dress.
And he's seamless, and we have no interest in renting that apparel. So we just all wear the same
wedding garment, don't we? We don't compete with one another
to see who's got better clothes. We've all got the same dress,
the same apparel. And his cup bearers, his cup
bearers, They do all things decently and
in order. They don't use levity or humor
or they're not flamboyant. They're respectful and sober
and serious about their worship. They don't feed the people with
junk food and candy. That's the way religion is. That's the way religion is. She
was impressed. and his ascent by which he went
up into the house of the Lord." Solomon was the one whose all
eyes were on Solomon. His ascent as he went up into
the house of the Lord. So it is here. All the attention
and all the glory goes to the Lord Jesus Christ. And there
was no more spirit in her. Her breath was taken away. She
just worshipped. She worshipped. And she said to the king, it
was a true report that I heard of my own land, of thine acts,
and of thy wisdom. How be it, I believed not the
words until I came, and my eyes had seen it. And behold, the
half was not told me. Thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth
the fame which I heard. all his glory we cannot we we
can't we can exhaust his glory we can exhaust his fame his prosperity
his riches his beauty his wealth we can't speak of it enough can
we it's half the stories not been told us yet there's gonna
come a day it does not yet appear what we shall be but we know
when we see him it will be made like him Then we'll see Him in
all of His splendor, in all of His glory. Until then, tell me
more about the Lord Jesus Christ. Look at verse 8. Happy are Thy
men, happy are Thy servants, which stand continually before
Thee, and that hear Thy wisdom. There's true happiness. True
happiness is sitting at the feet of Christ and hearing what He
has to say. blessed be the Lord thy God which
delighted in thee to set thee on the throne of Israel because
the Lord loved Israel forever therefore made he the king to
do judgment and justice that's what we say blessed be God the
Father who has taken the Lord Jesus Christ and given him a
throne he set him up and we just we
just worship him why'd he do it because he loved Israel He
loves his bride. He loves his church. He's loved
them with an everlasting love. There's never been a time when
he didn't love them. And she gave the king 120 talents
of gold and of spices very great store. In precious stones there
came no more such abundance of spices as these which the queen
of Sheba gave the king Solomon. Oh, she was happy to give. She
gave willingly. She gave abundantly. They're
God's people. When they hear of Christ, they
come. When they come, they commune
with Him. When they commune with Him, they hear from Him. When
they hear from Him, they see Him. They see His wisdom. They
see the house that He's built. They see His servants all dressed
alike. They eat of His fare. Their breath
is taken away. They worship at His feet. and
they confess his glory as she did the one whom God had sent
on the king of Israel on the throne of Israel she rejoiced
in his reign she gave what she had look at verse 12 verse 13
skip down with me to verse 13 and the King Solomon gave unto
the Queen Sheba all her desire what did David say This is all
my salvation and all my desire though he make it not to grow.
What? That God has made with me an everlasting covenant and
that covenant is ordered in all things and it is sure. King Solomon gave unto the Queen
of Sheba all her desire whatsoever she asked because that which
Solomon gave her of his royal bounty So she turned and went
to her own country, she and her servants. She became a first-hand
witness of the glory of Solomon. Let's pray together. Our Heavenly
Father, we ask that you would cause us to
be like the Queen of Sheba. that you would give us ears to
hear and eyes to see, that we would sit at the feet of the
Lord Jesus Christ and rejoice in his finished work. Lord, that
you would give to us the gift of your grace and cause us to
be a witness for you. We ask it in Christ's name. Amen. Number 131 and the sawback tenon,
let's stand together.