I'll never, I'll never, I'll
never forsake Go back with me to 1 Corinthians
10. I really hope this will be a Glorifying to our Lord and good
for God's people, their comfort. I'm told to comfort His people,
and I know what comforts. I can't comfort anyone, but I
do know who is the God of all comfort, and what He uses is
His Word. We're going to look at the witness
of God's Word and the warnings from God's Word and then the
way to escape these things He warns us of and tells us of. Verse 1 begins, Brethren, moreover
brethren, this as most of God's Word is written to God's people. Very little to say to common
man except repent. Promises of God are in Christ
to God's people. Outside of Christ, God is a consuming
fire. He says, say to the wicked, it
will be great sorrow for you. But say to the righteous, it's
going to be well with you. Brethren, brethren, be not ignorant,
he said. I would that you should not be
ignorant. Most people are ignorant. The
word ignorant has the word ignore in it. Peter said they're willingly
ignorant. Reject the truth. Turn away the
ears from it. Ignore what is very plain, what
is very clear. They said to us, to the brethren,
to believers, I would not that you should be ignorant now that
all our fathers were under the cloud and all passed through
the sea, all Israel, he's speaking of. They were under the sovereign
care and protection of our Lord. They all passed through the sea.
They all went through it all. They all went through the same
sea. Didn't they? All of them. Since they were
baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea, the Lord sent
them a faithful man. He was just a man. But God sent him. And they followed
that man as he followed the Lord. And he went through what they
went through in the cloud and in the city. Verse 3, they did
all eat the same spiritual drink. I mean, sorry, all did eat the
same spiritual meat. Moses wrote, man ate angels'
food. It came down from heaven. Food
from heaven. Haven't we? How many messages sent by God
have we partaken of? Which things the angels desire
to look into? Fat things, wine on the leaves. How many? How many? Food. Food to the soul for those that
hunger and thirst. Verse 4, they did all drink the
same spiritual drink. They drank of that spiritual
rock, capital R, that followed them. That rock was Christ. All
of God's people, Old Testament and New, knew the Lord Jesus
Christ. He was the angel of God's mercy.
He is the angel of government. He's been with His people from
the beginning. He was with the first sinners
in the garden. The Lord Jesus Christ came to
the first man and woman who sinned, and He said, I'll never leave
you. He never did. He followed them. He led them. Oh, my. That same drink, how
the gospel has quenched our thirst time and time again, hasn't it?
How the water of this world leaves you thirsty. If you've ever drank
of Christ, that water, eh? Hey, woman at the well, don't
eat it. Have you not had your thirst
quenched? Christ, he's followed us. Surely goodness and mercy shall
follow us. What's that? Followed us. Christ. Watching
over us. Like a father does his children.
We're talking about a person here. We're not talking about
a doctrine. We're talking about a person. Watching over. You watch over
your children? Huh? Is your ear open to their cry?
Is it? Are you with me? How much more? Our Lord. How much more? In this
Gospel, Oh my, we still have it. That rock followed those
people 40 years. That's a miracle, wasn't it? I can't explain that. That rock
went with them everywhere. And that rock was Christ. And
a greater miracle than that is the Gospel. Those people didn't
deserve that water, did they? Those people didn't deserve that
rock, but it followed them. And here we have the Gospel.
We've had the Gospel for now and 40 years. I've been here
going on 23 and the man before me 13 or 14. That's nearly 40
years. That's a miracle. We don't deserve this gospel.
We don't deserve this gospel. Because all these things it tells
about them is true of us. Isn't it? Verse 5 said, But with
many of them God was not well pleased. They were overthrown
in the wilderness. They were overthrown in the wilderness.
They died in the wilderness. Don't think of these people as
dying out there of thirst and hunger in the desert. That's
not how they died. Don't think of them as being
slaughtered by the end. That's not how they died. Many
of them the Lord did slay through disease and earthquake and so
on. But most of them perished living
in the cities. Because children of Israel went
through the world full of cities of people that didn't know God. And they joined with them and
became like them. and perished. That's how they
died. They were overcome by the world. People of the world. The things
of the world. That's how they perished. And that's how we'll
perish. We're not going to die of hunger
and thirst. They were overthrown in the wilderness. Overthrown. Now, here's the warning.
Verse 6. Now, these things were our examples. to the intent that we should
not lust after evil things, as they also lusted." Evil thing? What evil thing? Over in verse
23, he says, all things are lawful for me. Romans 14.14 says there's nothing
unclean of itself. Our Lord Jesus Christ said to
those Pharisees who touch not, taste not, handle not, He said
there's nothing going in the mouth of man that defile him.
And they got so offended. Things aren't evil in that God
made everything. Cucumbers and leeks and onions
and all that. God made us to enjoy using this
world, but not abusing it. Ecclesiastes, the whole book,
deals with enjoy. Enjoy. But if these things make us forget
God, they're evil. They've become evil to us. That's
the warning. Paul said one time, I say weeping,
their God is their belly. Look at our country consumed
with these things. Not God. Verse 7, neither be
ye idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, the people
sat down to eat, drink, and rose up to play. Idolaters. You know, there's one Lord, there's
one faith, and all else is idolatry. All of it. It's false gods, it's false gospels,
it's false Jesus. Don't join with them. Don't eat the bread and the meat
offered to their idols. Don't do it. Don't do it. And
he calls covetousness idolatry, of which we are very, very prone
to it. Covetousness. The golden calf
of materialism. There's a warning there in verse
8. Neither let us commit fornication. You sound like America. And some
of them committed and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. Food, drink, and sex. They were
consumed by these things. These things consumed them. That
sounds familiar. That's what this country is eaten
up with. And we're in the middle of it.
And we're liable to it. We're sinners like everybody
else. We're prone to these things, like everybody else. There's
an old man in us that still loves Egypt. So that's the warning. That's
the warning. Marriage is honorable, Scripture
says. Young people, marriage is honorable and all, and the
bed is undefiled. Everything else, God condemns
it, and you might die from it. Twenty-three thousand died at
one time, and since then, twenty-three billion. And people don't see it. But we're all liable, aren't
we? We're all susceptible. So that's why we need the warning. Verse 9, he said, "...neither
let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were
destroyed of serpent." Christ? Moses. When they rebelled against
Moses, remember Korah and his sons, even Miriam got in on it. Aaron. Moses. They rebelled against
Moses and God said, if they rebel against you, they're rebelling
against Me, because I sent you. Couldn't get to God. Couldn't
complain to God, so they complained against Moses. And they rebelled. Moses was just a man. Boy, he
knew it. That's why he was meeker than
anybody else. He knew it. He begged the Lord not to send
him. Remember that? He begged Him.
Don't, I don't want this job. And on and on, he begged Him,
Lord, help me. I can't do this, didn't I? When
he was confronted by everyone. Many confronted him time and
time again. You know what he'd do? He'd fall
on his face. Oh, and God said, they hate you. They hate me. They hear from me. Who would want that? Well, they
tempted the Lord by rebelling against Moses. He was a meek
man, yet he spoke with authority. He had to. He had to lead God's
people, though he didn't want to. Verse 10 says, "...neither
murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed
of the destroyer." They murmured about everything. I went through
and read. Chapter 15, chapter 16, chapter
17, chapter 18. Oh, they murmured, murmured,
murmured. They murmured about the food.
They murmured about the way going to the promised land. They murmured
about Moses. They murmured about... They murmured...
It says they sat in their tents and murmured. Sat in their tent
floor. Now, isn't that something? They
had a tent. And yet they murmured. People
homeless. And they murmured. Oh, we've
got some pretty nice tents. That's all there are, is tents.
Murmuring. Murmuring. Murmuring. Anybody
guilty besides me? Verse 11 and 12. Now, all these
things happened unto them for examples. They were written for
our admonition. The Lord wrote this down. The apostles, all their preaching
through the New Testament brought these things up time and time
again, didn't it? All the time. Look at Hebrews. It's a summary
of the whole Old Testament. And it's all the way through,
isn't it? Using the children of Israel to warn us, to warn
us, to warn us, to warn us all. Who will heed the warning? He
said these things are written, written down. The Lord wrote
these things down. You know, the people in the Old Testament
had more excuse than we do. Before they were written down.
Right? It says the times of these ignorance,
God winked at. But not now. Why? Everybody has
a copy of His Word written. Thus it is written. Thus it is
written. Without excuse. These things
are written, read on, it says, for our admonition. Oh, I need
admonition, don't you? Whom the Lord loves, He chastens.
Whom the Lord loves, He rebukes and approves and corrects and
admonishes. I want to be admonished, don't
you? Whom the Holy Spirit comes to, the first thing He does is
convict. I want to be convicted, don't
you? I'm guilty of it all. You know, and many people are
not convicted. Their consciences are seared like a hot iron. Lord,
please, write the Word on the table of my heart. These things are written for
our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. It's
almost over. It really is. I was telling you just yesterday
on the phone, I said, the Lord may come tomorrow. And he might,
he really might. I mean, he really might. That's
not me talking, that's him. He said, I'll come quickly. He
said he's at the door. What does that mean? It's close. That's why he says, don't worry
about tomorrow. You don't know that there's going
to be one. Today is what? What is today? The day of salvation. You read
that article by Brother Clarence Poore? What a fitting name. Brother Clarence Poore is a member
of the church there in Indiana. I've known him for years. What
an article. Did you read it? In our bulletin. Wonderful. The ends of the world. It's the
last of the last days. It really is. I didn't say that. Jesus Christ did. It's almost
over. It's all over but the shouting.
Really? I'm not dramatizing this. It's
true. That's where we need to get our
hope and our help and our comfort. The ends of the world are coming.
Wherefore, verse 12, the warning continues, let him that thinketh
he standeth take heed lest he fall. I think I stand. Do you think you stand? Do you? Do you? You don't know? No, you're not
your own selves, either Christ's in you, lest you be reprimanded.
I think I stand. That's who he's talking to. Those
that make a profession. Those that say they believe.
That's who this is written to. That's who will hear it. Where do you stand? I'll tell
you the only place you can stand and keep from falling. What do you stand on? Where's
your standing before God? If you don't stand in one place,
You're going to fall. You're not going to stand before
God. Where do you stand? Good. On Christ the solid rock
I stand. All other ground is sinking sand.
Stand on your work, stand on your religion, stand on your
morality, stand on anything, and you'll fall. Stand on Him. Stand in Him. Alright,
this next verse now is where we're going to dwell. This is
where we're going to stay a few minutes. For you're good. Hopefully. Verse 13, There hath no temptation
taken you, but such as is common to man. But God is faithful. Who will not suffer you to be
tempted above that you are able. But will, with the temptation,
also make a way to escape that you may be able to bear it? I hope you heard it. I hope you
read it with me. And I hope the Lord will bless
it. Let's look at these common temptations
and our faithful God, the way He limits these things, and see
how to escape. Are you interested? He said,
There is no temptation taken you, but such is common to man. Human. No temptation. The word temptation is used mostly
two different ways. That is, temptation or enticements
to sin. tempted by Satan, sin, the world,
the flesh, and the devil, and trials. Sometimes it means trials,
afflictions, tribulation, and so forth. Everything, he says,
is no temptation, either enticement to sin or any trial, trouble,
affliction that you have gone through that only you have gone
through. None. Zero. Peter wrote in 1 Peter 5, he
said, know this, that the same afflictions are accomplished. That means God sent them and
they're working something, they're accomplishing something. They're
accomplished in your brethren throughout the world, everywhere,
all over. No temptation you have gone through. And I'm going to talk to God's
people here for the rest of the time. No temptation that you
have gone through, be it enticement to sin or trial or trouble, that
you have endured that others have not endured. Millions, billions,
just like you have gone through and even greater. Not one thing, not one person
in here has gone through one thing that millions just like
you have not gone through. And God is faithful. He said, with it, I'm going to
make you bear it. That's what He said. I'm getting
ahead of myself. Because I want to get to that
as fast as I can. Common temptations. The world, the flesh, and the
devil. That enticement is to sin. The Lord told us to pray. He told His disciples. Lead us
not into temptation. Pray that. Why? Because we're
so prone to it. We're so apt to it. We've got
this old man in us. The world's not tempted by sin.
They love it. You're only tempted by something
you're trying to avoid. This is to God's people. The old man is tempted. Lead
us not into temptation, he said. Deliver us from evil. Brother Mahan said this one time,
God had one Son without sin. Only one. But no sons without
temptation. None. Must be. James said this, blessed
is the man that endureth, that goeth through temptation. Faith is going to be tried. It's
going to be tested. Temptations, trials, these things
convict us. They humble us, don't they? And they drive us to the Lord
Jesus Christ. Go run into it. God's people
do. Temptations make God's mercy so sweet. Temptations, be it
enticements to sin or trials, make God's grace to be so sweet. Temptations make God's sovereign
care, providence, make the blood of Jesus Christ, the righteousness
of Christ so sweet. You know what I'm talking about?
Enticements. Temptations by the world. Who
in here is not tempted by this world, the things of this world?
Can anybody say that? Who is weak and I'm not weak?
Paul said that. Well, how much less this puny
Paul. Who's not tempted by the things
of this world? Egypt. Who's not tempted by the riches
and so forth of this world? Who? Great temptation topic. Who's not tempted by the flesh,
the lust of the flesh? There is pleasure in sin. For
a season. There is pleasure. Remember that
Moses refused the pleasure of sin. There is pleasure in sin. That's how the God of this world
tempts us. It's pleasurable. Who is not
tempted by the lust of the flesh? Bless the eye. Anybody? Not? The devil, the God of this world,
the world's flesh and the devil. What child of God is not filled
at times with the most blasphemous, horrible thoughts you could possibly
think? John Bunyan once said this, he
said, blasphemies went through my head, my mind, even cursing
God. And he said, did I say that or
was it the devil whispering about here? Anybody? Is there anybody in here that says
nobody could think the awful thoughts that I think? Nobody
thinks such things that I think. Why did I think that? You think
nobody else struggles with those things like I do. Oh, yes they
do. Every one of them. Is there a
believer in here who does not have the most hellish and devilish
thoughts that you think, how could I possibly be a child of
God? Anybody? Please, one of you raise
your hand and say, I'm there, that's me, I'm guilty. I am guilty. No temptation and passport to
sin, no trouble with sin you have that is not common to everybody. Not common. And there are common
trials. Many trials of God's people. He must through much tribulation. Many and varied tribulations.
Troubles. Man born of one was a few days
and full of trouble. All kinds of trouble. Poverty.
Some people in here have been through poverty. My parents grew
up in the Depression. My grandfather Didn't own a home. They worked for a man. Tenant
farmers lived back there. That's how you grew up. Mom,
you ought to see the shack. I'm talking shack that she grew
up in. Dirt poor. Dirt poor. Seriously. Poverty. Sickness. Sickness. Who among
God's people has not been through some kind of sickness? Great
sickness. Grievous sickness. Huh? Terrible sickness. Ongoing sickness. Lifelong sickness. Charles Spurgeon, one of the
greatest preachers this world has ever known, I suppose, wasn't
it? When he was about 21, 22 years old, became sick. And he kept it for 38 years. And he died. Robert Murray McShane,
one of the greatest preachers ever. 29 years old. Died. Sickness. Timothy evidently was
sick all the time. Sickness. Who has not gone through?
Sorrow. Sorrows. David, oh how we love the psalm,
don't we? David said, I've watered my bed
with my tears. My tears have been my meat day
and night, he said. All of God's people do that,
have cried themselves to sleep anytime. Sorrows over sorrows. Loneliness. Loneliness. Persecution. Death. Facing death. Who can
say that they have no fear of death? Come on. Come on. If you don't, you must be near
it. You must be near it. The Lord
has given you grace. Oh, my. Persecutions. Millions
before us have endured the same. God had some of His choice servants
go through all of them to show us. Like men like Job. Everything
you could possibly imagine, Job went through to prove that God
is faithful. God proved Himself in it. God
says, I'll show everyone. I'm going to write this down
for all to read for all time and eternity. I'm going to send
upon a man every conceivable trial and trouble you can have
at the same time. And you know what? He's going
to get through it. Because I said my grace is sufficient,
and I mean it. He's just a man. He didn't get
through anything. I got him through it. Got him through it. That brings
me to this. Our God is faithful. God is faithful. No temptation you've gone through,
no trial, no trouble, but God is faithful. God is faithful.
He said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. He doesn't forsake us, especially
in times of trouble, does He? He said, they shall never perish. As thy days, so shall thy strength
be. That's the promise of our Lord.
As thy days, according to the trouble and the need, so shall
thy strength be. Who's your strength? He is. I'll
undergird you. Our God is God. Our God is faithful. Our God is God over the world,
the flesh, the devil, circumstances, everything. I don't mean that
just, that's not just a doctrine. It's so. Our God reigns and rules. Our God does all things. Our
God wounds. Someone gets sick, God sends it. Where else is there comfort?
Why would you believe in a God who wanted something to happen,
didn't want something to happen to happen anyway? I say you throw
that God in the garbage because He can't do you any good. We don't understand, do we? You
don't want a God you can understand. That means He's just like you.
We don't want a God that we can figure out. That means He's like
a man. I can figure out men. God doesn't give an account of
His matters to anybody. Because He's God. He doesn't
have to. But know this, believe me. He
said, I the Lord do all these things. And this sovereign God is too
good to do wrong, too kind to do evil, too merciful to hurt
anyone unnecessarily. He won't even kill the unjust
with pleasure. He said, I am God, not a man.
As the heavens are higher than the earth, so is my mercy, so
is my grace, so is my love, so is my kindness. Believe Him. If we look anywhere else and
blame anyone, everything else, including ourselves, we will
be full of trouble. If we look and say, like Eli,
here's all Eli could do. This was all his hope, all his
help, all his strength. Job, all of them said, it's the
Lord. I don't know why this happened,
but I know who said it. It's the Lord. And He'll tell
me someday, I'll find out. He's faithful. God is God. And
He's faithful. Faithful to His purpose. Everything
is working together according to His purpose. Everything's
not just rolling out of control. God, before the world began,
made an everlasting covenant, purposed all things, willed all... God, before the world began. made an everlasting covenant,
purposed all things, willed everything from the particle of dust in
the sunlight to where it would land to fulfill his eternal purpose
in Christ Jesus. Chose a people more than the
sands of the sea and the stars of the sky. and gave them to
Jesus Christ in that covenant to come and put away their sin
by the blood of His cross, but make them righteous by His holy
light. Go back to heaven, sit down, and rule over everything
in their life. Send it for their good and for
His glory. Every single thing that happens
to them, God Almighty wrote it down and purposed it in the Book
of Life. Your life is a tale that's going to be told. And
it's all in Jesus Christ. And Jesus Christ is coming back
for His people to take them to be where He is. And we're going
to sit down forever as He unfolds it all to us. And we're going
to say, My Lord and my God, wasn't it wonderful? I wouldn't have
changed a thing. What was I worried about? God
working all things and every single thing in the life of His
people has been purpose. I've got to holler that. Purpose!
God does all things on purpose. Learn something about the God
who does all things on purpose according to His will, you'll
know the God of the Bible. And He'll give you peace. That's
the only thing He will. God is faithful. True to Himself, true to His
Word, true to His purpose, true to His people. God has entered into covenant
with His people. Just like when that girl was
born right there, the Lord gave me her, and she's mine. And I will lay down my life for
her. I'll give all my worldly goods
for her. Yes, sir! I've entered into a
covenant. She's mine. I'm hers. What I
have is hers. I don't need anything she's got.
Everything I've got is hers. And since you're married to her,
same goes with you. Same it is with Christ. All those
in Christ, all those married to Christ, God Almighty is in
covenant with them. And nothing and no one can touch
them or do anything but what God permits. Covenant. That's a good word. God's covenant. We don't have anything to do
with it. We still don't have anything
to do with it. It's His covenant. His oath, His covenant, His blood. Support me in the overwhelming
glory. When all around my soul gives way, He, then, the Lord that reigneth,
is all my hope and strength. God is faithful. He said, your
father and mother may forsake you. I won't. My, my. Do I need to go on? I
will. Okay? Look at the next thing.
He limits these trials. These trials are sent by God,
and it says, He'll not suffer you to be tempted or tried above
that you're able. God's the one that sent it. And He said, I will not send
more than you're able to bear. He limits these trials according
to his wisdom concerning all his children. He knows his children
like we know ours. And sends various trials for
various ones. He knows. What may be a trial
for you may not be a severe trial for me, and so on. Right. But
he sends them. He sends them. Spurgeon brought
this out. I love this. He sends them when
we're able and not when we're unable. Like very young believers. Very young. New believers. It
doesn't send an overwhelming trial. It would break them. They'll be around a while. They'll
be standing on a rock a while, having learned the Word a while.
Then he starts sending them. That's good, isn't it? And Spurgeon
said this, he said, he seldom sends one trial on top of another
at the same time. Like Job. That's very rare. Paul, the Lord did. To show us
that God's grace is sufficient if every trial hits you. But
Spurgeon said, when the north wind blows, the south won't be. Listen to this. He gave this
illustration. John Bradford was one of the first martyrs. 1555. Four hundred years to the
year I was born. 1555, John Bradford was burned
at the stake by Bloody Mary for preaching the truth. Can you
imagine? He had a family, had children.
Can you imagine? You can't imagine that, can you?
I can't. But before that, he suffered for years with rheumatism.
What is rheumatism? I meant to look that up. Is it
some sort of breathing problem or arthritis? Joints? Some of you old folks tell me
later, okay? Nancy? Rheumatism. Rheumatism. He said he suffered
with it for all his life. And he suffered so badly with
it. They didn't have the drugs and things we have now. They
didn't have the treatments we have now. They didn't have anything.
Fifteen hundred. He said he suffered with it so
bad that at times he would get real depressed. As you can imagine,
you'd be sick and in pain all the time until you'd get real
depressed. He said he suffered with this rheumatism for years
and he would get so depressed and so down. Well, they took
him and threw him in a prison, a damp, cold prison. Not one
of these country clubs like today. A damp, dark, cold prison. He wrote to his wife later, he
said, Honey, the greatest miracle of all. This is wonderful. He
said, I'm in this dark, damp prison and my rheumatism is gone.
He said, and not one moment of depression has passed over my
spirit. He won't send it all at the same
time. He's able to bear it. Like an old oak tree, the duration
of it, the strength of the trowel. You know, Lord, you see in these
storms. I sat on my front porch the other day and there are trees
all around my house. And there's an oak tree. Boy,
that's as strong as it gets. Buddy, the wind was so strong
that thing was doing this. And I was watching the thunder
cracking, one of the wildest storms I've ever seen. And that
oak tree, I thought, it's going down. And it would bend to the point,
I thought, it's going to break. No. And then the wind stopped. You
know why it didn't break? The root of the matter. The Lord
said, just enough. And how many have bent to the
point you thought, I'm going to break? The wind stopped. That's our God. He knows. He says, not more than
you're able to bear. He won't do it. The way of escape. This reads wrong, I'm sorry,
but the actual literal reading, I have a Greek Bible, and it
says He will make the way to escape. That's right. Prove me later,
I'll show you. The way. There's only one way. To escape. Temptations. We're no match. We're no match. We'll fall to every one of them.
Trials. We can't endure one without...
What's the way? Come on, Alvin. Somebody say
it louder. Louder. Christ said, I am the
way. Not just the way to God. Not
just the doctrinal thing of justification. Not that. No. Christ said, I'm
the way. I'm your salvation. Through whatever. I'm the way to escape. You're
tempted by this world. How are you going to get through
it? He said, call on me. I'm a very
quick call. Whosoever shall call on the name
of the Lord shall be saved. That doesn't just mean from your
sins. That means in everything. Help! That's what it means to call
on the They that trust in Egypt, trust in horses, trust in themselves,
trust in man, you're calling on a vain God to help you. He
can't save you. Christ said, I am the Lord. Call
on that. I'm a very present type. He said,
listen to this, Psalm 50. Call on me in the day of trouble,
I will deliver thee. And thou shalt glorify me. You
will give me the glory for it. Call, call, call. tempted and
tried and molested. When sin and sense molest us,
call! There's only one greater. There's
only one stronger than the tempter. Only one stronger than the old
man. Only one. He said, call. Call. Oh, I want me to get a hold of
this. Call! Don't quit calling. That's why
he said, pray without ceasing, didn't he? Why? Because we're
tempted without ceasing. Tried without ceasing. Call. Call. Loneliness. Call. You say, I'm near. I'll be near
you. Distress. Lord, I'm going down. Call. Depression? I love that story in 1 Samuel.
Turn to Psalm 73 in closing. Psalm 73. Brother Stan and I
just love this. Between the two of us, we could
look at Psalm 73 every couple of months. Every couple of days. Psalm 73. There's a story in
1 Samuel 22. It says David, who represents
the Lord Jesus Christ, I was in a cave and it says, everyone
in distress, everyone in vet, everyone discontent, troubled,
worried, came to David. He became a captain over. I led them all the way to the
throne. I led them all the way to Jerusalem. Christ is the way. Now, I'm talking about a real
person to call on, to lean on. A real person to comfort up. A doctrine can't comfort you,
but a person can. Only a person. A real person. Christ is this city of refuge. You know, most people withdraw
and get alone with their troubles. I'm guilty. Most people, when
they get in trouble or great distress and sorrow and so forth,
withdraw and get alone. And I say this, during that time,
unless you're calling on the Lord and reading His Word, you're
only going to get deeper and deeper within yourself, and there's
no comfort there. You're only going to get deeper
and deeper in sorrow unless you hear something that's going to
get rid of that sorrow. You're only going to get deeper
and deeper in distress if you pull away and get further and
further away. I'm telling you the truth. We
all are prone to do this. Our Lord has promised to be where
His people are. Would you listen to me? Our Lord never revealed anything
to anybody in private. Did He? The disciples? He'd take one of them aside.
Ever. No sir. So it was two or three. Usually in the midst of all of
them. Didn't it? He said, I'm going
to tell you something I'm not telling the world. They gathered
together and he met with them and laid all their fears, their
troubles, their worries, their unbelief. Gave them strength,
hope, peace, comfort, even joy. Strengthened them so much that
where they left that place, their head up, went out with a high
hand. Always. Always. Only one place where
Christ is, where His people gather, is their found peace and joy
and comfort. Psalm 73, verse 2, David said,
As for me, my feet were almost gone, my steps as well, and I
slipped. I'm going down. David said, I'm going down. Do you know what all David went
through? You know, he had a bunch of children. As far as I can
tell, only one or two of them had a happy ending. Oh, he had troubles. Constant
trouble. He said, I'm going down. He said,
I was envious. Looked around, saw the world,
people in prosperity. He said, they're living well. They don't have any troubles,
do they? Verse 14, he said, all day long
I've been plagued, I've been chastened every morning. I'm
going through nothing but trials and troubles, he said. Is all
this in vain? Verse 13, is all this in vain?
Huh? Looking to the Lord and believing
the Lord and His Word and trusting Him and all I've got is troubles? Anybody felt that? Anybody? Come on. Verse 17. Until I went into the sanctuary.
The sanctuary. That's where the people of God
were gathered together. There were man standing up with
the Word of God. Preaching the Word of God. He
said, I went in there with the people of God, with the great
congregation. Oh, yeah, I understand. And I understood. And down in
verse 21, oh, I wish we had time to read it all. He said, oh,
verse 21. Verse 21, my heart was grieved. Verse 22, I was so foolish. I
was ignorant. Remember how this all started?
Brethren, don't be ignorant. Peter said, don't be ignorant
of this one thing. A day is a thousand years. A thousand years is a
day. The glass of vapor. It's almost
over. It's over. In a moment, the twinkling
of an eye. It's going to be changed. That's
right. He said, I was so foolish. Verse
22. He said, verse 23, Oh, I'm continually
with Thee. You're holding me by my hand. You can't fall. Why? Somebody's holding you. My heart, verse 26, my flesh
and heart fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion
forever. So, there's no temptation such
as common. I want you to look around this
morning. You look around at these people
around you. And even in this small congregation have been
people that have gone through great trials. Haven't they? Even in this little
group. Same affliction. Look around.
People have endured sickness for years. Haven't they? Poverty, as I said, loss. Most people in here have lost
fathers and mothers, the older people. Husbands. You're not the only one. Wives. Children. This dear lady lost her only
daughter. These dear people lost their
youngest son. These lost their oldest son and
their only daughter. Is God's grace sufficient? I watched them. I've never seen
a greater testimony to God's grace. Is God's grace sufficient? Will
He get you through that? Through the unimaginable? Will
He? Tell me. Will He? Tell these people. It's a great cloud of witnesses. A great cloud of witnesses. That our God is faithful. And
He will not. suffer you to go through what
you came here. And will with that make the way
to escape. What's the way to escape? How
have you gotten through this, huh? How? I look into the Lord. Our God is faithful. He provided
the grace to endure it, the way to escape. This is not just a church meeting. This is not just a sermon. I
hope this is the sure Word of the living God. Living Word.
Lord, make it live. Make it to be the rock upon which
God's people can rest and stand. Promises. Lord, You speak peace
to their hearts as only You can. Give them that peace that passes
understanding. That the world can understand.
That joy which no man and no thing can take away. He's promising. He's promising. That's more than
a Bible verse. That's the rock upon which we
stand. The Word. Faithful self. You're not going
through anything that God's people haven't gone through and are
going through and will go through. Watch out. Be warned, this world,
many have perished in it. Don't be ignorant. but watchful,
wary, looking unto Jesus, author and finisher of our faith as
we run this race. And whatever trials He sends,
the only way to bear it, the only way to escape distress and
trouble is to call it on Him. And gathering with His people
as they look to the same Lord, those who have gone through the
same troubles, who can attest to you, testify to you that his
grace really is sufficient. Wednesday night, we're going
to look, Lord will them, Psalm 27. We've looked at that
before. We're going to look at one verse.
When David said, one thing have I desired of the Lord, and that
will I seek after. The last part of that verse he
said, to inquire in his temple. I don't think I've ever dwelled
on that one verse by itself. Inquire in his temple. We're
going to inquire. We're going to ask some hard
questions. See if God's Word will answer. Why? Why? The disciples did. When? When? Why? He gathered them together aside
and said, I'm going to tell you. I'm going to tell you. Not before we look at the beauty
of the Lord. Come there with us, we'll do
you good. Brother Gabe, you've come.