I bring greetings from Gabe and
all the folks at Kingsport as they found out I was coming up.
There were many that came to me and said, be sure to say hello. And if I call them by name, I'll
forget someone. So everyone sends their greetings. If you would, this morning, let's
open to Isaiah chapter 32. Yeah, chapter 32. I'm thankful to be back with
you. Stesha and I had a good trip coming up last night. Back during the summer, I was
talking to a friend out west and, you know, we got to talking
about life in general, things that were going on. And we were
having a very wet summer. They were having a very dry,
very hot summer. And both of us were trying to
keep our tomato plants alive. He said, you know, if I don't
go out and water mine at least twice a day, they're dead. And
I think he was able to save his tomato plants. I think mine got
root rot and died. They were just too wet. And I
got to thinking about that condition. Tomato plants, too dry, they
shrivel up and die. Too wet, they shrivel up and
die. What a representation of our
condition. We're either too dry, we're made
hard, made hard in our self-righteousness, in our pride, in our arrogance,
We're like Paul said in Philippians, I'm blameless before the law.
All you other folks, you're sinners. I'm blameless before the law.
I'm hard. I'm judgmental. I'm unmoving. Or we're too wet. Having no fear
of the Lord, accepting of everything and everyone that comes beyond
every doctrine, Dear lady I grew up with would say, we're all
going to heaven. We're just taking different paths
to get there. we accept everything. No fear
of the Lord. In either case, too dry, too
wet, sinners before God, and unless the Lord has mercy upon
us, we, like our tomato plants, are going to die in our sin and
unbelief. Isaiah 32, verse 1. Behold, a king shall reign in
righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment. 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. Our text this morning will come
from verse 2. And a man shall be as an 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 frog in a weary
land. What a glorious declaration. And a man. Who is this man that
is a hiding place, a covering who meets all our needs and gives
us rest? Who is this man that in summary
is our refuge? This man is our Lord Jesus Christ,
God the Son. We read in Philippians 2, who
being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with
God, but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of
a servant, and was made in the likeness of men. The Lord Jesus
Christ, amen, is the ever-living, almighty God robed in flesh. In him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily. God, the almighty, ever-living,
self-sufficient God, left the glory and praise of heaven. The God the Solomon declared,
the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee, humbled
himself and became a man. Why? The answer from our text,
a man shall be as an 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. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the
only man who fulfills this scripture. In this life, there are men and
women who have a need of a hiding place from the wind. This word
translated wind here is most often translated spirit. One of the definitions meaning
God the spirit. Why would a man or woman today,
now, need a hiding place from the Spirit of God? We hear almost
everywhere that we turn, God is love. God wants to save you. Is there any reason one that
is living today would need a hiding place from this loving God? We do indeed worship the God
of love. But He is to be worshipped as
He is, for who He is. He is holy. He is just. He is righteous. Oh, He is love,
but not at the expense of His holiness. Why would one need a hiding place
from this God? All have sinned and come short
of the glory of God. Anyone to whom it has been made
known that God is holy, and to anyone that it's been made known,
I am a sinner. Anyone who knows that, That I've
not just done some bad things in my life, I've not just made
some mistakes, I am sin. From the top of my head to the
sole of my foot and everywhere in between, there's nothing but
sin. To whom that's been made known,
we also know God must punish sin. Do you need a hiding place from
the searching spirit of God? The God who knows the hearts
of all men? The God who looks upon the heart
and declares of each of us, every imagination of the thoughts of
his heart is only evil continually. have good news for those who
need a hiding place. A man shall be as a hiding place
from the wind. Why did God come in the person
of our Lord Jesus Christ? He came to be a covert from the
tempest. He came to be a shelter, a covering
from this tempest, a flood of rain. Do you, as I do, need a
covering from the judgment of God which stands against us?
We read, cursed is everyone that continueth not in all things. which are written in the book
of the law to do them, my conscience bears witness against me. I am
guilty. I cannot do the least of the
things that are written in this law, much less keep them all. In and of myself, when the book
of the law is opened, when justice, righteousness, and the holiness
of God stands looking at the works of this worm, the judgment
must be declared guilty. Where shall I turn? I have broken
the law. When I've been pursued, when
the king against whom I have sinned has me in his court, when
the verdict guilty on all charges has been announced, when the
sentence is death, when destruction is pitted against me, Oh, that
I might find a covert, a hiding place from the tempest. And a man shall be as a covert
from the tempest. Why did Christ Jesus come into
the world? He came because there are some
who are in a dry place and a weary land. He came that God may be
pleased to reveal and continue to reveal to us our condition. He has made us to know that we
have no life in and of ourselves, no way to obtain life. We are
under the curse of the law without a place to rest. Search and work
as we might, we cannot get out from under the crushing weight
and the weary load of our sin. We can find no place to rest,
no water to quench our thirst. A man shall be as rivers of water
in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. Turn over to Ephesians chapter
1. Ephesians chapter 1. Why did our Lord come into this
world? First and foremost, that God
might be glorified. Ephesians 1 verse 4, well verse
3, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who
hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places
in Christ, according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation
of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before
him in love, having predestinated us unto the adoption of children
by Jesus Christ to himself according to the good pleasure of his will,
to the praise of the glory of his grace wherein he hath made
us accepted in the beloved. He came into this world that
God might be glorified. to the praise of the glory of
His grace. Why did God predestinate us unto
the adoption of children? In whom we have redemption through
His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches
of His grace. Wherein He hath abounded toward
us in all wisdom and prudence. having made known unto us the
mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he
hath purposed in himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness
of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ,
both which are in heaven and which are on earth, even in him,
in whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated
according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after
the counsel of his own will, that We should be to the praise
of His glory who first trusted in Christ. Why do we have redemption
through His blood? To the praise of the glory of
His grace. After establishing that our Lord
came into the world to accomplish the glory of God, Why else might
he come? For the great need. We guilty,
undeserving sinners, we cannot obtain peace with God on our
own accord. There is a great need. But just because there's a need
doesn't always necessitate action. Think of the great needs we encounter
in this world. Needs of our, well, needs of
strangers. We see them all the time asking
for help. Needs of our friends and family. But you go to a restaurant and you've
got your children with you. And you're sitting there and
a stranger comes in with their child and they're sitting having
lunch or whatever. And your child and the stranger's
child do the exact same thing at the exact same moment. This action that the child takes
is something you've declared in your household will not stand. It's against your law. You react to your child. You
discipline your child because you love your child. You have
the best interest of your child at heart. The stranger's child,
they did the same thing. They don't get that response.
You don't react to their need. Your love prompts your action. So did God's love prompt his
action. for those that He chose in eternity
past. It prompted Him to act on our
behalf. Therefore, God the Father chose
us in Christ Jesus. He gave us to the Son. He adopted us as children. we were given to the only begotten
Son, in all our sin, in all our shame, and He redeemed us, making
peace by the redemption of His blood. Why did the Lord Jesus
Christ, God the Son, leave glory and come to this world as a man? to glorify the Father and to
fulfill the need of those he loves. How did Christ become what we
elect sinners need? How did he become a hiding place
from the wind, from the Spirit of God, a covert from the tempest,
rivers of water in a dry place, and the shadow of a great rock
in a weary land? No man born of Adam is able to
keep the law, nor are we willing to keep it. But Christ our Lord,
the seed of woman, the Son of God, did not inherit the nature
of our father Adam. He is holy, harmless, undefiled,
separate from sinners. And as a man, he fulfilled all
things written in the law of Moses and in the prophets and
in the Psalms. Having fulfilled the law, not
for his own righteousness, but for those he loves, our Lord
took our sin, our iniquity, our shame before God, and he bore
our sin in his body on Calvary Street. He shed his blood. He laid down his life. He paid
our debt. He entered the tomb. When he came forth, he openly
declared, paid in full. and he ever liveth, making intercession
for those he loves. Go back to Isaiah 32. Isaiah 32 verse 2. A man shall
be as a hiding place from the wind, Is Christ Jesus your hiding
place from the spirit of God's scrutiny? When the accusation
comes, you, O.B. Williams, have broken God's holy
law. You are guilty. Do you have a
hiding place? This is my hope, my only confession. When that accusation comes, Christ
Jesus came into the world to save sinners. I am complete in Him, for I am dead and my life is
hid with Christ in God. A man shall be a covert from
the tempest. As it was in the days of Noah
and the flood came, men and women were warned and they gave no
heed. Only those that were in the ark
were spared from that judgment. The penalty for each person's
sins must be paid. Our Lord Jesus Christ upon that
cross paid the debt due, and for those sinners who were crucified
with him, he bore the penalty of our sins. The tempest of God
fell upon him. As Noah and his family in the
ark were hidden, While the rain raged upon that ark, we were
born by our precious Savior upon that tree. He is our covert from the tempest. A man shall be rivers of water
in a dry place. Do you hunger and thirst for
righteousness? Has the Holy Spirit given you
a desire for the things of Christ? Oh, go to Him. Flee to Him. He is the water of life. As He cried, if any man thirst,
let him come unto Me and drink. He that believeth on Me, as the
Scripture hath said, Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living
water. In him, as Noah had all that
he needed inside the ark, we have all we need for our life,
for he is our life. A man shall be a shadow excuse
me, a man shall be the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. From east to west, from north
to south, from dry to wet, we pass through this life, this
sinful life in our constant need, never able to find a place of
rest. The longer we continue, the more
we can enter into Paul's cry, O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from this
body of death? Do you desire a place, a rest
to lay aside your burdens? Our Lord declared, come unto
me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give
you rest. Come. Come to Christ as you are. Come today. The need is urgent. Come now. Sue him for mercy. Find rest for your weary soul. Oh, thanks be to God. When we
were unwilling, unable, undesiring, He, in loving kindness, saw our
need, and he sent forth a man, the man, Christ Jesus our Lord,
our hiding place, our covert, our life, and our rest. May this be our prayer. Lord,
keep me. Keep me coming to you and suing
you for mercy. I have great need Be merciful
to us. Lord bless us.