While we were singing the hymn,
I was thinking every time I've ever been here, I've enjoyed
being around y'all so much. It's just a blessing to preach
to you. I love you dearly. What a blessing. Thank you. Would
you turn with me to 1 Kings 19? I'd like to read the first seven
verses. 1 Kings 19 and give you something
to think about while we are reading these verses. I want to attempt
to speak on the intercession of Christ. Now think about that
when we read these words. And Saul spake to Jonathan his
son and to all his servants that they should kill David. But Jonathan, Saul's son, I'm
sorry, I just heard somebody whisper, 1 Samuel 19. Whoever whispered that out, thank
you. And Saul spake to Jonathan his
son and to all his servants that they should kill David. But Jonathan, Saul's son, delighted
much in David. And Jonathan told David, saying,
Saul, my father seeketh to kill thee. Now, therefore, I pray
thee, take heed to thyself until the morning and abide in a secret
place and hide thyself, and I will go out and stand beside my Father
in the field where thou art, and I will commune with my Father
of thee, and what I see, that I will tell thee." And Jonathan spake good of David
unto Saul his father, and said unto him, let not the king sin
against his servant, against David, because he hath not sinned
against thee, and because his works have been to thee very
good. For he did put his life in his
hand, and slew the Philistine, and the Lord wrought a great
salvation for all Israel. Thou sawest it, and didst rejoice. Wherefore then wilt thou sin
against innocent blood to slay David without a cause?' And Saul
hearkened unto the voice of Jonathan. And Saul sware, As the Lord liveth,
he shall not be slain. And Jonathan called David, and
Jonathan showed him all those things. And Jonathan brought
David to Saul, and he was in his presence as in times past."
Now here we read of Jonathan interceding for David. Saul had expressed his desire
to kill David. He was insanely jealous and envious
of this man, and he wanted his death. When he had done nothing
but good, he still wanted his death. And so he tells Jonathan
about it, and Jonathan tells David, go into hiding. And I'm
going to talk to my father and I'm going to intercede for you.
That's exactly what took place. He was interceding for David. And so he went and hid. I love
the way Jonathan spake, we read in verse four, and Jonathan spake
good of David unto Saul his father and said unto him, let not the
king sin against his servant, against David, because he hath
not sinned against thee and because his works have been to thee very
good. Now that's the way he interceded. That is the way he represented
David. Now, Every Old Testament event,
every historical narrative that we find in the Old Testament
is given to illustrate the gospel. Every single one of them. In
Galatians chapter four, when Paul spoke of the Hagar and Ishmael
and Sarah and Isaac and you know the story in Genesis chapter
16 and he said this is an allegory this represents the two covenants.
Now I would have never known that just reading it but Paul
says this is an allegory so everything in the Old Testament including
the passage of scripture I just read is given to illustrate some
aspect of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is about intercession. But you've got to understand
everything in the Old Testaments like this. I think that the example
that comes to my mind is that time of deception when Rebecca
told Jacob to deceive his father in order to get the blessing.
Now that's a time of deception, isn't it? And it's really kind
of a seedy story when you read it as far as what all took place.
He said, you go and fool him. I'm going to fix food. I'm going
to put goat hair on your neck and your hand so you feel like
Esau. I'm going to give you his clothes
so you smell like Esau and you're going to deceive your father
in order to get the blessing. Now what a See the story, and
David, I mean, Jacob said, what if my father finds me out? I'll
be seen to be a deceiver. He was scared about this, to
see what would happen to him about this. But in this, I see
how I come to the Father. I've got to feel like Christ. I've got to smell like Christ. When Isaac said, are you my son
Esau? He said, yes. I have to answer
to the name of Christ. My only identity is being found
in him. So I come. to the Father the
same way Jacob came, my only identity. And this is just an
example of all the glorious stories and pictures we have of the gospel
of Christ in the Old Testament. Now here we have Jonathan interceding for Christ. Jonathan's a type of Christ,
and he's interceding for David. I love the way it says in verses
1 and 2, and Saul spake to Jonathan his son and to all of his servants
that they should kill David. But Jonathan, Saul's son, delighted
much in David. He delighted much in him. Now,
we know that Jonathan is a great type of Christ. You remember
when David said, is there any of the house of Saul that I can
show the kindness of God to for Jonathan's sake? God says, is
there any of the house of Adam that I can show kindness to for
Christ's sake? So Jonathan is a great type of
the Lord Jesus Christ at this time. And it says, Jonathan delighted
much in David. Matter of fact, 1 Samuel 18 one
says he loved him as his own soul. Now this is a hard thing
to get ahold of, but it's true. Christ delights much in his people. And he loves them as he loves
his own soul. That's how much he loves. Now,
I don't understand that, I just believe it. You know, when Paul
says in Ephesians 5, he that loveth his wife loveth himself. And when Christ loved his wife,
his bride, he was loving himself, wasn't he? This speaks of union
with the Lord Jesus Christ, so united that Christ loves and
delights in all of his people, united to him, one with him. And then he warned David of his
father's wrath. And the Lord Jesus has warned
us of the father's wrath against sin. The soul that sinneth shall
surely die. And he told David to go find
a hiding place and hide there. Is Christ not my hiding place?
He's my refuge. He's the place I hide. I love
what Paul said when he said, Oh, that I may win Christ and
be found in him. So that when God comes looking
for me, he finds me in the Lord Jesus Christ. That's all I want
to be found in him. And then he goes and represents
David. And he's not asking his father
for a favor. He's saying, He's never sinned
against you. And He's always done that which
is right. That's the way He represented
David. He wasn't asking for a favor.
He says, He's never sinned against you. And He has always done that
which is very good. Now, how can the Lord Jesus Christ
represent me and you that way? Because the fact of the matter
is, that can't be said of us, can it? Not in and of ourselves. That cannot be said of us. Now, when we intercede for someone,
We're asking for a favor on our behalf. Maybe somebody says,
can you put in a good word for me to get a job or to get some
kind of raise or something of that nature. We're asking for
a favor. But when Christ intercedes, He's not asking for a favor. Now, how is that? How is that? He says regarding His people,
they've always been good. And they've never been bad. Now that's the way He intercedes. How is that? Well, His intercession. He always asks
for justice. And His intercession always arises
from His atonement. And what His atonement accomplishes. Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? It is God that, what, justifieth. Who is he that condemns? It's
Christ that died. Need anything else? Yea, rather,
that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who
also maketh intercession for us. the intercession of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Now we've sinned and our works
are very bad, yet he pleads before the Father, they've never sinned
and their works are very good. It's not like the Lord Jesus
is interceding in this way. I've committed the same sin for
the 5,000th time. And he says, well, forgive him
again. No, not at all. Not at all. That is not the intercession
of Christ. It's not him asking the father
for a favor to spare me once again. Now, how is it that Christ
can intercede this way? Well, it's because of the reality
of justification. The reality of imputation. The reality of union with the
Lord Jesus Christ. Now, religion convolutes this. Water it down. They think of,
for instance, imputation means, well, that means if my sin was
charged to his account and his righteousness is charged to my
account. Or like if I sinned against you and you were held
responsible for it, it would be charged to your account. And
if you did good, it would be charged to my account. You know,
that wouldn't even be right, would it? Wouldn't even be right? for me to be punished for your
sin. If you did it, you're the one
that needs to be punished. If I did it, I'm the one that needs
to be punished. If I perform right, I'm the one
that needs to be rewarded. This idea of just moving things
around, that's not what has taken place at all. And I do not understand
this, but I believe it. 2 Corinthians 5.21 says, For he
hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might
be made the righteousness of God in him. And when Christ represents
me, he represents because of his work in my behalf, because
of me being united to him, because of me being justified. And justified
means I never did it. I never did it. I'm without guilt.
That's what justification means. Because of this, when he represents
me, when he intercedes for me, he says he's always done that
which is good. And he's never done that which
is evil. That's the reality of the work
of Christ. That is the reality of the gospel. That is how he intercedes. Now, in John chapter 17, verse
9, The Lord said, I pray for them. I pray for them. Can you imagine having the Lord
Jesus Christ praying for you, representing you? I pray for
them. He's talking about the whole
company of God's elect, every believer. I pray for them. I
pray not for the world, but for them which you have given me,
for they are thine. Now, when the Lord prayed, to
the father, father, forgive them. They know not what they do. You
know what? The father forgave them. That
wasn't a generic prayer. He forgave everybody that that
son represented and they were forgiven then. I think of the
Lord saying to Peter, Peter, I've prayed for you. And he didn't
pray that he wouldn't fall, did he? Peter needed to fall. And that fall was for Peter's
good. And what a blessing it ended up being, as painful as
it was. I think of him going out and weeping bitterly. Can
you imagine the bitterness of the tears he experienced and
how wickedly he had done? But the Lord didn't say, Peter,
I've prayed for you that you don't fall. He said, Peter, I
prayed for you that your faith fail not. And it didn't. It didn't. Now, Jonathan intercedes
for David and Saul says, I'll not let anything happen to him.
As the Lord liveth, everything's fine. Didn't last long, did it? Real soon after, he's gonna be
throwing a javelin at David again, trying to kill him. And Jonathan
ended up dying. And Jonathan wasn't able to intercede
for him anymore. But think of this scripture.
Hebrews chapter 7 verse 25. Wherefore He is able to save
them to the uttermost that come to God by Him. You know when I come to God,
there's only one way I come. By Him. You know, when he comes
into the Father's presence, I do too, because I'm united to him. That's the way I come, by him. Wherefore he is able to save
them to the uttermost that come to God by him, seeing he ever
liveth to make intercession. His will's always going to be
accomplished. How many people have died and
their will's not end up accomplished? It was contested, something happened,
somebody wanted to get something, they're not alive to make sure
their will is done, but He ever liveth to make sure His will
is done. Now let's close with 1 John 2.
The intercession of the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, I want the
Lord interceding for me, don't you? I want Him representing
me. 1 John 2, verse 1, My little children,
these things write I unto you, that you sin not. You know what that means? That means
every one of us ought to make it our resolve right now to never
sin again. Grace, the gospel, is no justification
for sin under any circumstance. These things write I unto you,
that you sin not, not in thought, not in tongue, not in deed. These things write I unto you
that you sin not. And if any man sin, and you know
that word if is quite often translated when, and it is in this book,
1 John. When you do. When you do. We have an advocate with the
Father. We have an intercessor with the
Father. We have one who represents us. And his name is Jesus Christ
the righteous. He's no crooked lawyer. He's a lawyer that has never
lost a case. He's a lawyer whose judge is
his father. And he's a lawyer who's altogether
righteous and would never make some kind of plea bargain or
some kind of corrupt. No, he's Jesus Christ, the righteous. And he represents every single
one of his people just the way Jonathan represented David. And
it's all because of this. He is the propitiation for our
sins. He has removed God's reason for
anger. There is no reason for anger
because those sins have been put away. He by himself No help from me or you. No contribution
from me or you. He by himself purged our sins. And there's a lot of glorious
things about our advocate, but he makes all of his clients plead
guilty. Every one of them. And every
one of them are justified without guilt. What an advocate we have. Amen.