Good morning. Good to see everybody. I was
telling Paul or somebody in the back that, I don't think it was,
I can't remember who it is, that's the problem, you start getting
old and you need these and you start losing your mind like you
lose your hair, but anyway, I was telling somebody back there that
just to come and visit you know, have a meal last night and come
and see familiar faces. And I could go home. I mean,
I'll be honest with you, I enjoy the fellowship time, I enjoy
seeing familiar faces because I know that you remain faithful
to the work of Christ here in Madisonville. But seeing how
I already agreed with David to preach That's what I'm going
to do. So, if you would, turn with me
this morning for the Bible class lesson to 2 Samuel chapter 15. Now, you're going to have to
bear with me a little bit because it's going to be kind of a long
introduction to get to my point. We'll look at a few things. 2
Samuel chapter 15. This context is David is fleeing
from Jerusalem, so it's not a very pleasant narrative. He and others
of like mind have left the city. And we'll start in 2 Samuel 15,
verse 19, Then said the king David to Attahi the Gittite,
Wherefore goest thou also with us? Return to thy place, and
abide with the king, for thou art a stranger and also an exile. Whereas thou camest but yesterday,
should I this day make thee go up and down with us? Seeing I
go with her, I may return thou and take back thy brethren. Mercy
and truth be with thee. Natalia answered the king, which
is David, and said, as the Lord liveth, and as my lord the king
liveth, surely in what place my lord the king shall be, whether
in death or life, even there also. will thy servant be." Isn't
that what we want to do? We want to be wherever our king
is, life or death, that's where we want to be. And David said
to Attahia, go and pass over. Attahia the Gittite passed over
and all his men and all the little ones that were with him. And
all the country wept with a loud voice and all the people passed
over. The king also himself passed
over the brook Kidron and all the people passed over toward
the way of the wilderness. Now we note in these several
verses much sorrow, much heaviness of heart, we notice petitions
going up to the Lord God, hardship, trial, sufferings, but we also
notice what I want to look at this morning, this brook. They passed over a little brook,
a simple brook called Kidron, and the If I title this Bible
class, it would be The Cost of Our Liberty. What did our liberty
cost? So hang with me, stay with me
as we look a little bit more about this brook. Now we notice
this brook here is called Kidron. In the New Testament it's the
sea, Sidron, same thing. This brook appears throughout
Holy Writ in the lives and times of various saints. You don't
have to write these down. David we see here passing over
it, Solomon in 1 Kings chapter 15 passed over it, Asa 1 Kings
chapter 15, Josiah 2 Kings 23 and again in 2 Chronicles noted
the same lesson, Hezekiah and of course our Lord. Now we're
going to look at the one when Hezekiah passed over. It's noted
with the king being Hezekiah, 2 Chronicles 29. 2 Chronicles
29. 2 Chronicles 29. And verse 16, now again chapter
29 verse 1, Hezekiah began to reign, so he's reigning and ruling
when this is going on. Verse 16 of 2 Chronicles 29,
And the priests went into the inner part of the house of the
LORD to cleanse it, and brought out all the uncleanness that
they found in the temple of the LORD, They took it into the court
of the house of the Lord, and the Levites took it and carried
it out abroad into the brook Kidron. Okay, so they're cleaning,
they're cleaning. They're getting rid of all the
idols, they're smashing them. Now turn with me to chapter 30,
the same book, chapter 30. And verse 13 and 14, and there
assembled at Jerusalem much people to keep the feast of the unleavened
bread in the second month of very great congregation. And
they arose and took away the altars that were in Jerusalem,
and all the altars for incense took they away, and they cast
them into the brook Kidron. Now the reference that I made
about our Lord Jesus Christ passing over is found in John 18 verses
1-2. When Jesus had spoken these words,
he went forth with his disciples over the book Cedron, or Kidron,
where was a garden into the which he entered and his disciples.
And Judas also, which betrayed him, knew the place, for Jesus
oftentimes resorted thither. with his disciples. So we've
got many references to this book. Now, if you would, and I asked
Dave if he had an easel and something to write, but he said he didn't
have one, and I said that's fine. Go back to your book in the maps.
Go back to the back of your Bible and look in the Jerusalem in
the time of Christ. It's my second to last map. And
the reason why I'm going to show this is, again, bear with me
to bring up what we're talking about, the cost, the believers,
what it costs the Lord Jesus Christ to save His people from
their sins. Jerusalem in the time of Christ. You've got the temple, the court
of the Gentiles, and if you look at that map, if you head west,
you go into the Sidron or Kidron Valley, which at the bottom of
that was the brook, and then if you go up the other side,
the eastern slope, you will have the Garden of Gethsemane, and
then as you go up a little further, you'll have the Mount of Olives.
So what you have, if you want to look up here and look at the
map, if you were to Google this and you were to get a contemporary
view, if you were to get a topographical cross-section view, looking right
at it, you'd have the temple where all the sacrifices took
place, and then you would come about 300 feet, about a football
field, a gentle slope, and that's the valley of Kidron, and then
you've got this brook And then you've got the Garden of Gethsemane,
which is where Christ was, and then a little higher on the other
side you've got the Mount of Olives. Now, according to Jeremiah, actually Jeremiah 26
and Jeremiah 31, there was a common man's cemetery between the temple
In the brook there's just these graves. I think it's called common graves
or whatever in Jeremiah. So you've got all this stuff
going on from the temple till you get down to the valley and
then till you get into the brook and then you come out. Now what's
the significance of this? Well first of all Kidron in the
literal Hebrew and the Greek means black. It means ashy, dark,
or gloomy. Okay, so the tendency when you
think of a brook is you think of a clear, running stream. Nothing could be further from
the truth given the climate of the time. The only time from
what I read in those Middle Eastern scholars said the only time it
really ran was when the rainy season came. Other than that,
it was, you know, you would tend to see, to think that the fountain
is a fountain, a place to stop and refresh oneself, but according
to the region, and according to the scriptures, and according
to Mideastern, those who study this section of country, the
brook is rather a small, mostly stagnant cesspool. It received all When they sacrificed
in the temple, they had to wash that. They had to wash it clean
and then they started again. So where is that gonna go? It's
gonna go down, it's gonna percolate, it's gonna filter over graves,
go down, and then hit the bottom. And like I say, it's mostly,
during most of the time of the year, it's a stagnant, polluted,
filthy, worst waste area for all the sacrifices. And we noticed
in the Old Testament the priests when they destroyed and they
smashed the ashes and everything, they threw it in the brook. It's
like a dumping ground. Okay? The water percolated over
these common graves and found its finish in this brook, which
eventually washed out to the Dead Sea. So what you have is all the odors
and corruption and offensive tastes funneling down to an undrinkable,
polluted, isolated pockets of turbid water. Now I don't know
about Kentucky, but Missouri, Southeast Missouri, it's hot
and humid in the summertime, I've seen a bunch of these. Now,
I haven't seen this topographical area that we're talking about,
but in southeast Missouri, my wife and I have hiked quite a
number of places, and there are arid areas, and there's no rain,
there's no water. You'll come across a little cesspool,
which used to be a creek. It's dry, and you have pockets
of stagnant water. It stinks. There's things floating
in it, wiggling in it. I don't think I want to drink
that. As a matter of fact, I know it's not palatable, so I leave
it alone. This is the scene of the brook
Kidron. So, what does this, I came here this
morning not to give you a geography lesson. But I want to, everything
in the scriptures is given by inspiration of God. And Christ
said that he is the sum and substance. Search the scriptures, for in
them you think you have eternal life. And they are they which
testify of me. So everything, even this brook, it's passed
over and we've heard, I've heard Maurice preach on it, I've heard
different people preach on it. It's significant, this brook.
But it's not a river. It's a stagnant cesspool of pollutants
washed down Especially from the sacrifices. And you know what
they had left of the sacrifices. They burnt them and everything.
So this is what I came to do. I came to show forth Christ.
Turn with me to Matthew 26. And this isn't even the main
text. The main text, to be honest with
you, when I saw this several months ago, it kind of shocked
me. I never thought about this and
it made me stop and think and realize that all scripture deals
with Christ and Him crucified. Matthew chapter 26 verse 36-39, And then cometh
Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane. He saith unto
the disciples, Sit here while I go and pray yonder. And he
took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to
be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith he unto them, My soul
is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death, tarry ye here, and
watch with me. And he went a little further,
and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my father, if it be
possible, let this cup pass from me, nevertheless, not as I will. but as thou wilt." Now he just
had crossed that brook. He just had crossed that brook.
Walked up 300 feet down, crossed the brook, another 300 feet up,
Mount of Olives, Garden of Gethsemane. So he's right there. The cost of our liberty. Now
this is the passage I want you to look at. Turn to Psalms 110. Psalms 110. Our Lord's sufferings, His payment
for our sins, He drank all the sins and iniquities of us, the
brook, as it were, and tasted, nay, He drank the cup dry, all
things against Him and all things of us. Psalms 110. Verse seven,
he shall drink of the brook in the way. Christ shall drink of the brook
in the way. It just almost goose pimples. I mean physically, just the physical
thought of the stuff that's in that water. and that is nothing
compared to the spiritual agonies that he voluntarily took upon
himself for the sins of every one of his elect. He shall drink, shall He's got, there's no option. He has to. He has to drink it
dry. Of the brook in the way. He did this to set, the scripture
says, the captives free. Oh, such a high price was set
for our freedom. And oh, such a lowly and humiliating
stoop from our sweet elder brother. I mean, how do you preach that? How do you preach 2 Corinthians
5? He who knew no sin became sin
that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. This is it right
here. This is as powerful a passage as that. And what does it all
mean? I don't know what it all means.
But it includes, on the outside, on the end, the end result of
this is, he said, it's finished. It's accomplished. So whatever,
and I don't think we'll know this side of glory. I think that's
one thing Tim James says, we're gonna, he talks a lot about heaven
and heaven's glory. Tim James does and he calls them
sanctified ramblings. Because he's not really sure.
But, when we see him, we see him face-to-face. When we finally
get this glasses removed, we see him face-to-face. All these
things will spend an eternity finding out, understanding, and
worshipping him. So, yes, he resisted not. The scripture says he was led
to the slaughter. Turn with me to Revelation chapter
5. This was the cost of our freedom.
This is why we don't trivialize the Bible. This is why we don't
look at the Bible to prove our point. This is why the Bible
stands alone and we believe what it says. We don't... There's too much nonsense that comes out of the
pulpit that doesn't honor, it's just trivial. It's just trivial
stuff. Look at Revelation 5, the whole
thing, and I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne
a book written, within on the backside, sealed with seven seals.
I saw a strong angel proclaim with a loud voice, who is worthy
to open the book and to loose the seals around. And no man
in heaven or earth or under the earth was able to open the book,
neither to look thereon. And I wept much, because no man
was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to
look thereon. And one of the elders said unto me, Weep not.
Behold, the line of the tribe of the root of David, the tribe
of Judah, the root of David, hath prevailed to open the book
and to loose the seven seals thereof. And I beheld, and lo,
in the midst of the throne and the four beasts, in the midst
of the elders, stood a lamb as it had been slain." Now stop
right there. That word, slain, is slaughtered or butchered. Now I know you have some of those
slaughterhouses over here. I used to pass one by when I'd
come back from Murray, Kentucky. There's a big old sign that says
slaughterhouse. We don't like to call them that.
Our Lord Jesus Christ, when He drank of that brook, was slaughtered. was butchered. That's why the
scripture says his visage was marred more than any man. So physically, but the spiritual
application, I guess maybe it's somewhat a little bit easier
for us to understand the physical cruelty and the disgusting nature
of it. And I think that's why some of
these pictures are in here. That's why the brook is, that's
why we see, because we can relate to that, but then the new man,
the new creature in Christ Jesus, is humbled and says, Lord, I
believe. But help my unbelief. We're so
weak. We're so insignificant. So this
lamb had been slain, seven horns, seven eyes, which are the seven
spirits of God set forth into all the earth. And he came and
took the book out of the right hand of him that sat on the throne.
And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and
20 elders fell down before the lamb, having everyone harps and
golden vials full of odors, which are the prayers of the saints.
And they sung a new song, saying, thou art worthy to take the book,
to open the seals, for thou was slain and has redeemed us to
God by the eye, blood, out of every kindred, tongue, people
and nation. It has made unto us our God kings and priests,
and we shall reign on the earth. And I beheld and I heard the
voice of many angels round about the throne, and the beasts and
the elders, and the number of them was ten thousand times ten
thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, Worthy
is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and
wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing. Just
one time, I'd like to read that verse the way I think it's written
and just shout it. Just stand up here and just shout
it. Worthy is the Lamb, and every
creature which is in heaven, on earth, and under the earth,
and as under the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying,
blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sits
upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever. And the
four beasts said, Amen, and the four and twenty elders fell down
and worshipped Him that liveth forever and ever, that liveth
forever and ever. Back to our text, Psalms 110,
because it says, it's got another section, and I'll just make a
comment, and then we'll close. He, Christ, shall drink of the
brook in the way. Therefore, everything Christ
did had a result, and a consequence, and was full of purpose. Therefore
shall he lift up the head." Therefore, he did lift up his head in completion,
in victory, in resurrection glory, and successful accomplishment,
because he hung on the cross and he said, it is finished. And I dare anyone to say Christ
did not succeed. We know him as writing, ruling,
a sovereign monarch. And what he set forth to accomplish,
that he did. And so, you know, there's a lot
of liberties that we have in this country this weekend, thanks
to our veterans. And we should. We absolutely
should. But just think about what our
Lord did voluntarily, what it cost to secure us our eternal
freedom. Bless His name. Paul, I guess,
would you close us? Or Larry, would you want to close
us in prayer? Father, thank you for the blessings
we receive, the exaltation of Christ, having been humiliated
in our sin and our wickedness. We pray that you continue to
lift Him in our hearts, making precious to each and every one
of us. Thank you again for meeting with us this morning. Bless the
Lord.