me if you will to Numbers chapter
35 I read to you from Hebrews chapter
6 about the refuge has to do with the safety of those that have
fled to His Son, the Lord Jesus. And surely this must have been
in the mind of the writer of the book of Hebrews when he spake
about the two immutable things concerning the refuge that a man has fled to for safety. He must have had this in mind
in Numbers 35, verse 9. The Lord spake. As far as authority is concerned,
this is all that a man needs is for the Lord to speak. Whatever
the Lord says settles it forever. When the Lord speaks, it's settled
for time and eternity. And he spoke this unto Moses,
saying, spoke to him by revelation. He said, Speak unto the children
of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come over Jordan into
the land of Canaan. That was the land that was promised
unto Abraham, the land of milk and honey. They wondered, do
you remember, they came down to the border there, refused
to enter in. Wanted Moses to select certain
men out of the congregation of the Israelites to go and search
out the land, view the land, see what it was like before they
went over. And I think it was twelve men. But anyhow, when they came back,
they all said, apart from two men, Joshua and Caleb, all of
them with one voice, in unison, said, Moses, we can't enter into
that land. Walled cities out there. There's
giants. Said, they'll surely kill us.
We can't go. Let's go back. But Joshua and
Caleb said, and Moses, three of them, said, we can take the
land. God's with us. He'll go before
us. He's already given us the land.
Let's go in. The majority ruled in that case. And the majority rules in most
cases. And in most cases, the majority
is wrong and the minority is right. The minority was right
here. They could have taken the land.
It was an act of unbelief on the part of the Israelites. And
he said that they'll never enjoy my rest And he turned, and they went
back and wandered for forty years in the wilderness. Now, this
is after the wandering, and they're going to go into the land. Moses
can't go, you remember? Moses smoked a rock when he was supposed to speak
to the rock. And so, for Moses' disobedience, The penalty was,
you can't go into the land, Moses. And he took Moses up on the mountain
and let him see the land. In the presence of God, he got
to see the land, and it was better for him to see the land with
God than to go in or into the land with the people of Israel.
But nevertheless, he didn't get to go. God slew him and buried
him there on Mount Moriah. But anyhow, this is before that
took place, and he said, Moses, speak unto the children of Israel
and tell them this. When you come over Jordan into
the land of Canaan, then ye shall appoint you cities to be cities
of refuge. I think this is what the writer
had in mind in the book of Hebrews. when he talked about the cities
of refuge. A point used cities to be cities
of refuge for him. Now those cities were placed
in particular places that they would be so situated
that The person was in trouble from anywhere in the land of
Israel, the land of Canaan. It would take him, or the distance
would be only about fifty miles, wherever the situation was. God appointed the particular
places for these cities of refuge to be founded, and so if a man
got in trouble, If he was in this end and this end, east,
west, north, south, wherever, it was only about 50 miles away. They all had that access. You shall appoint you cities
to be cities of refuge for you, that the slayer flee thither,
that killeth any person unawares. And he gives us another insight
to it in another place where he says if a man be striking
at the wood, if a man be chopping wood, and the axe head flies
off of the handle and hits the man in the head and kills the
man. Well, we refer to that as an
accident. It was an accident. And so if
that happens to a man, his nearest relative, maybe,
or his closest friend, or the strongest man in the family or
close friends, one that could run the fastest. He was the avenger
of the blood, and he set out to kill this fellow. That was
the means of bringing death to one member of the family. He killed him unawares. It was
an accident. He didn't mean to do it. And he'd have to flee for his
life. And if he could get to the city of refuge, he'd be safe.
He'd be safe from the avenger of blood. He'd be safe. They shall be unto you cities
for refuge from the avenger, that the manslayer die not, until
he stand before the congregation in judgment. And of these cities
which ye shall give, six cities shall ye have for refuge. Ye shall give three cities on
this side, Jordan. Three cities shall be given in
the land of Canaan. which shall be cities of refuge. These six cities shall be a refuge
both for the children of Israel, and for the stranger, and for
the sojourner among them, that every one that killeth any person
unawares may flee thither. And if he smite him with an instrument
of iron, so that he die, he is a murderer." and the murderer
shall surely be put to death. And if he smite him with throwing
a stone, wherewith he may die, and if he die, he is a murderer,
and the murderer shall surely be put to death. And if he smite
him with a weapon of wood, wherewith he may die, and he die, he is
a murderer, and the murderer shall surely be put to death.
The revenger of blood himself shall slay the murderer when
he meet him, he shall slay him. Well, that's as far as I'm going
to read about that. And I've already said that the
writer of the book of Hebrews has in mind the Old Testament
cities of refuge, and what he's emphasizing in the book of Hebrews
in reference to the one that flees, what he has in mind is
the absolute safety of all of those who flee to the Lord Jesus
Christ for refuge. Now, God would have us to know
about the safety and security there is in His Son, the Lord
Jesus Christ. And He, as I've emphasized prior
to this, the immutability of His promise. He swore to our
safety. And I said that whenever God
speaks, His Word is enough. That's all that a man needs,
is the Word of God. When God says something, it's
forever settled for time and eternity. But God knows about
our frail and our doubting hearts. the mercy of God, he uses human
terminology. He says he swears to it, and
he takes an oath and binds himself by two immutable things, his
word, immutable in itself, and also by his oath, that is, his
swearing, that we who have fled to Jesus might have strong consolation
as to our safety in him. Now, a person who has been awakened,
all men by nature are dead. You've heard me say that. a thousand
times, men by nature are dead in trespasses and in sins. They
have no understanding of God. They have no understanding of
themselves. And when a man finds out who
God is, and the knowledge of who God is, shines in on him
and reveals to him who he is, he's awakened. There first must
be light before there's life. Light and life. A person who
has been awakened by God's Spirit and has been brought to his senses
who has seen the danger that he is in by nature. Now, that
does not happen to every man in Adam's race, but it does happen
to some in Adam's race. They are awakened and brought
to their senses, and they have found out the danger that they
are in by nature. This man who has been awakened
by the Spirit of God and has renounced himself and all other
hopes and fled to the Son of God as
his only hope, now that man is safe. He is safe for time and
for eternity if he has been awakened as to who he is in Adam. that he has sinned against God,
not by accident, but by deliberate choice. When he finds out that
he's guilty before God, guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty, when
he finds that out and frees the Son of God as his refuge, that
man is safe, absolutely safe. God cannot make him any safer
than he is when he pleads to the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, I
know that this is what is said by the psychologists and others
who claim to have a perceptive understanding of what makes up
a man. Now, they say, They say that
believers in Christ Jesus are no more, they are insecure. They're not
secure, they're insecure. And they need some psychological
crutch to lean upon. Their religion is their crutch. They talk about Jesus, is because
they're insecure and they need someone to lean upon. But, let
me tell you this morning, believers are not insecure. They are the
only secure people on the top side of God's green earth. They
have been awakened to their insecurity outside of Jesus Christ, and
they have been enabled to run, to flee in wisdom and lay hold
of the hope that's in the Lord Jesus Christ. So they are not
insecure, they are secure. As a matter of fact, the only
secure man and safe man upon the face of the earth is the
man who has found refuge in that refuge that God has provided,
the Lord Jesus Christ. And there is no safety anywhere
else to be had or anywhere else to be found apart from the safety
and security that's in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, Hebrews chapter
6 assures us of this. He says if he flees to the Son
of God by faith for refuge, it's a strong consolation. It means
that he is forever safe, safe in time, and safe in eternity. Now, this matter of refuge is
a serious matter. It is a very serious matter. It is not something which you
can take or leave. That is, it's good for some and
maybe not good for others. Now, he shows us, God does, through
his Word, the importance of the cities of refuge. He talks about
it in Exodus chapter 21, Numbers chapter 35, Deuteronomy chapter
19 and Joshua chapter 20, as well as mentioning it several
times in the New Testament. So it's a serious matter. The
refuge of the sinner in Jesus Christ is the most vital matter
that man will ever face here in time. Now, in Exodus 21, after
God had given the law at Mount Sinai, the Ten Commandments,
after he had given them to Moses, and Moses related them to the
children of Israel, God made this revelation to Moses and
said, I'm going to provide you a place. of refuge so that if
any of the people accidentally kill a man or a woman, kill a
person, that the avenger of blood who
wants his ounce of flesh, whether it be a brother or nephew or
whoever it might be, If he frees after you and catches
you, he'll kill you. But I've set this place up over
here, this city. If you can reach this city and
get inside the city, you'll be safe. Now, the reaction of the
children of Israel to what Moses related to them, that was given
to Moses by God about these cities, Now, what reaction do you suppose
that that had upon the children of Israel when Moses delivered
that revelation to them? Now, their reaction probably
was like the reaction of most people today. They might have
said, well, that's real nice. That's real nice out of God to
set up a place of refuge. For a man who has accidentally
killed another man, that's real nice. That's considerate of God. But in reality, the message of
a refuge was really not important to them. And I'll tell you why. Because they did not need a refuge
at the time. They were not in the condition
of a manslayer, they had not accidentally killed their neighbor. So their reaction was, it's a
nice thing that God did that for us, we appreciate it, but
really we're not interested in it at this particular time. They
thought it was nice, though, for God to think of them like
that. that God cared enough about them
to provide a city of refuge. Now, the same reaction is with
the unregenerate men of our time. That is, they say it's nice. This whole world, almost in unison,
says it's a nice thing that God sent his only beloved Son into
this world. that whosoever believeth in him
might have eternal life." That's a nice thing that God so loved
this world, but we really don't see any need of it right now. And if we ever do come to that
place where we feel like we can avail ourselves to this, then
we'll give it consideration, but right now we don't need it.
You see, a man, a person, man, woman, boy, or girl, may go along
in his sins and rebellion against God for years and years and years,
not realizing the evil that's about to fall upon him. But the
very hour, the very moment, the very moment that son of God,
takes the law of God to a man's heart and shows that man his
guilt before God, then the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ becomes
very precious to him, and getting to Jesus Christ then is everything
for him. He's kind of like the expression
that Paul uses in the book of Philippians when he says, that
I may win Christ. When the law of God penetrates
a man's heart and reveals to that man that he's guilty of
breaking God's law, then Christ, becomes his object, and Christ
becomes his goal. He's no longer indifferent now
because he must have a cover. He must have forgiveness. He
must have righteousness. But the reaction before the Spirit
of God does a work in his heart, He said it's a good thing, it's
nice that God cares about us like that. But right now, I don't
need it. I don't need it now. If there
comes a time, maybe, I'll think about it, see? Oh, listen, the
avenger of blood, as I said, is usually a relative, a brother,
or a close kin. and no doubt a powerful man,
a powerful person. He's the swiftest, and they chose
him to go after this man that has killed their kin accidentally. So we have a picture here, a
picture of the just and avenging law of God that few people in
the twentieth century know anything about. We'll talk about that
a little bit. Now, the law of God is out, and
it's determined to hunt and pursue and to kill every sinful son
of Adam. Two essential parts to the law
of God. There is the precept, and there's
the penalty. Now, you cannot have a law without
these two elements which are essential, the precept and the
penalty. Now, to give a precept without
attaching a penalty to it is not law. That's just advice. Take it or leave it. It's counsel. It's advice. If God had said, I want you people
where I wish, my desire is that you people would do this and
you do that, and never attach a penalty to it, God could not
be a lawgiver. A precept without penalty is
advice. Not a law. Now, a penalty imposed
without a precept given and is broken is tyranny. And God is not a tyrant. And
God is not just one who gives advice to the human race. The Bible says in the book of
James, chapter 5, there is One lawgiver. He's a lawgiver. In Genesis chapter 2. Let me
read this to you. Genesis chapter 2. There's two
principles here. Two essential parts of law. Let's see if I can find that. Genesis. Verse 16. Verse 15. 16 and 17.
Two principles. The Lord God took the man. He took the man. The man is the
first Adam. He's our federal head. He acts for us. He's our representative. What he does is binding on us. If he falls, we fall in him.
We're in his loins. by one man's disobedience, and
the Lord took the man, Adam, and put him in the garden of
Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the Lord God commanded the
man, saying, Of every tree of the garden now mayest free Now He took the man, put him
in the garden, commanded the man, and this is the precept. He commanded the man, of every
tree of the garden, thou shalt freely eat. But the tree of knowledge of
good and evil, the tree of the knowledge of evil, thou shalt
not eat of it. Now, if God had left it right
there, it would not have been lost.
But he went on to say, in that day that thou eatest thereof,
thou shalt surely die. Part is a precept, and the finish
of it is a law. The day you eat of it is the
day you are going to die. Well, now it becomes a law, because
God has attached a penalty to it. So it's a law. It's not just advice, it's a
law. And it's a binding upon every
member of the human race, every son. and daughter of fallen Adam
is binding upon the precept and the penalty." Well, it's not just a thing for
Adam to consider whether he would take it or leave it, like advice
is, but it was binding upon our first father Adam. It was, do
it! or die. Do it or die. The command is do it. If you
don't do it, I'm going to kill you. Not advice, good advice, counsel. It's command of God. When God speaks, I mean, that
settles the whole thing. The law of God then is binding
on the whole human race. Whether we have the Ten Commandments
given at Sinai or not, or whether we live in the darkest corner
on the face of the earth where the sound of the Redeemer has
never been heard, we still have the law of God written in our
hearts that leaves all men of Adam's race accountable unto
God for their actions. Everyone of us. So then, we are
all under the precept and the authoritative command of God
Almighty. And also, we have all, every
one of us, the Bible says, that all of us have sinned and come
short of the glory of God. It says that there's no man that
understands God, there's no man that seeks God, there's no man
that cares about God by nature in his native foreign state. Listen, all of us, all of us, deliberately, willfully, maliciously,
have despised God. And that's the truth, so help
me God. But here's where we go beyond the type. The manslayer
that fled because he accidentally killed his neighbor, you and I, did not accidentally sin against
God. You and I, the Bible says, have
with wicked hands crucified the Son of God. You and I, with malice
and forethought, have tried to take God off His throne. Now, the Bible says that the
carnal mind is enmity against God. It's not that we accidentally
got out of line here or there a time or two, but we deliberately,
maliciously hate God and go against His command. In Romans chapter
8 and verse 7 it says, The carnal mind is not subject to the law
of God, and neither indeed can be. There's another part of the law
of God, and that part of the law of God's on our trail. And that's the penalty. We're
all exposed to the wrath of God. Every man, every man, every woman,
every boy and girl who's a member of Adam's race, is exposed to
the wrath of the law of God. And God must, His character of
justice binds Him to bring His wrath upon those that are guilty. And we're all guilty. All have
sinned and come short of the glory of God, every one of us. deliberately, maliciously, forethought,
sinned against God, and we're in danger of trouble, serious
trouble. Not a headache I'm talking about,
not a stumped toe, not a broken leg. I'm talking about serious
trouble. If God doesn't intervene, if He doesn't, sovereign land,
come where we are and make Himself known to us, we'll wind up out of the presence
of God. We're in the presence of God
now, saved and lost. Not alike, but we're all in the
presence of God. One day, whatever this means,
we'll be cast out from His presence. If we're not redeemed, if our
sins are not covered, if this law of God is not completely,
absolutely obeyed, every jot and every tip will be cast out
of His presence. What keeps this whole world together
now is God in His presence. He'll withdraw His presence one
of these days, and His presence will resign where His people
are. Those that are redeemed, those
that have fled to His Son of refuge, those who say, we haven't killed
anybody accidentally. And we certainly don't understand
what you're talking about when you say we deliberately, maliciously
forethought, crucified the Son of God. You don't understand
the law. What you need to understand is
the law, the law of God that comes from the mouth of God.
That's authority. Ah? Listen, suppose, now I'm
telling you, that this law, this penalty, wrath of God's going
to fall upon him sooner or later. It's going to fall upon him who
has not fled to the refuge, who hadn't got across the line into
the city of refuge. He's still running. Now, he's exposed to the law,
and the law's going to fall on him. The law's going to catch
up with him. The law's on his trail. Don't
catch up to him. Either in time or in judgment.
Don't catch up to him. He's going to have to answer
to the law. He's exposed to it. Now listen. Suppose you know
a little bit about this if you watch some of them television
programs. Suppose you knew that someone had taken out a contract
to kill you. Suppose you knew that. The FBI. or the police have found
out about it and they've come to you and they said you want
to be real careful. Where you go after dark, don't go out after
dark unless you've got two or three people with you. Don't
you even go to the grocery store by yourself. Because there's
a man, we've got it, the information from this gangster, criminal. They got a contract out on you
to kill you. And even this very day you could
be gunned down. Well, if this was so, would that
concern you? Would that concern you? If this
was actually so, that there was somebody out there, put a contract
out on you, wanted you killed, and he sent a hired thug out
to kill you. Would you be concerned? Would
you start watching? Huh? Would you say, well, I can't
go to the store. Someone else has to go. I'd call
you on the telephone and say, well, we're having this bridal
shower tonight at 7. I can't go. Why? Well, there's
someone out to kill me. And I just can't go. I'm going
to stay in here before I'm safe. Huh? Well, listen, if this was
so, would you be concerned? You say, yes, I'd be concerned.
Well, why then is it that all the threatenings and the warnings
of God Almighty have failed to concern you? Well, so I'm here this morning.
You've heard the threatenings and the warnings of God, that you're a breaker of his
law, and you need to fulfill that law. But you found out you
can't fulfill it yourself. But you've been told that God
himself has sent his Son to fulfill that law in your stead. to righteously
and justly forgive you of your sins on the basis of His complete
and absolute atonement sacrifice. That He's established love, He's
established righteousness. All that God requires out of
you is fulfilled in Him. Why don't you? out of concern
for your soul, flee to Him, lay hold of Him. God says, I send
you strong consolation to those that have fled, refuge, that
they're safe in Him. You're safe in Him. From whom? From the Avenger of Love. safe
from law tracking you down minute by minute. I read there in the Saturday's
paper where a lady's sister used to come to this church, 82 years
old, she died. She died. She's got a good hope, everything's
alright. We're going to die. Oh, God's law is stalking your
soul at this minute. And this law will track you down. What insanity must reside in
a man's soul who is not concerned about what I've been talking
about here this morning? I've taken too much time, but
I'm going to talk some more about this this evening, about this concern.