Alright, let's turn back to Matthew
chapter 23. My text is verse 37. Matthew 23, 37. And the title
of the message is, O Jerusalem, Jerusalem. O Jerusalem. Now, I want us to look at this
passage. You know, this is a passage.
Our Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ, the God-man, God in human flesh,
without sin, as He looks over this city of Jerusalem, and listen
to what He cries, O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, And then he describes Jerusalem
this way, Thou that killest the prophets and stonest them which
are sent unto thee. You know, that's a common description
of Jerusalem in the Bible. Thou that killest the prophets.
Whose prophets? God's prophets. He said back
here in verse 34, he says, Wherefore, or for this reason, behold, I
send unto you prophets and wise men and scribes. Now, the scribes that he sends
are not the scribes that are always mentioned along with the
Pharisees. They were false prophets. Incidentally,
this is one of the scriptures that I believe that proves the
deity of Christ. He says, wherefore, behold, I
send unto you prophets. Man doesn't send prophets. God
does. God does. Only God has that authority
and power. Man may think he sends them out.
We may speak that way sometimes, like, for example, sending out
missionaries, but if they're preachers endowed with the gift
of the message and the power of the preaching of God, they're
sin of God. They're sin of God. So, old Jerusalem,
Jerusalem. thou that killest the prophets
and stonest them which are sin unto thee and then listen to
this he says how often would I have gathered thy children
together even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings
and ye now who's the ye there that's Jerusalem Jerusalem would
not now obviously he's talking about those who identify with
Jerusalem as the leaders, those who identify with Jerusalem as
their spiritual leaders and prophets. He's talking about the scribes
and the Pharisees. He started off this discourse
back in verse one, then spake Jesus to the multitude, to his
disciples. And he said, the scribes and
the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. That is, they're the leaders
who lead the people in the law. Moses' law. And for that reason,
he said in verse 3, all therefore whatsoever they bid you observe,
that observe and do. That is, that which is according
to the law. The law of Moses. You see, they
were still under the Old Covenant this time. The Old Covenant,
you know the Old Covenant, began at Mount Sinai. And it lasted
up until the cross. That's the time period. That
was a time period of about 1,500 years. And when we sang that
song that Brother Jim Byrd wrote, the opening call to worship,
it's finished, it's finished, it's finished. You remember?
That's Christ's words on the cross recorded in John 19 and
verse 30. And you remember what happened when he died on that
cross, how the veil in the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.
Indicating several things, but indicating that the old covenant
was now abolished by way of fulfillment. Book of Hebrews speaks of that
quite often. Now that which is old, that which
waxeth old, that means grows old, is done away with. And it's
replaced with the new, the new covenant. And then, that also
indicates that by the blood and righteousness of the Lord Jesus
Christ, the way into the very holy presence of God is made
clear. Hebrews chapter 10 is a beautiful
description of that. For by one offering, He hath
perfected forever them that are sanctified. We have boldness
to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus. You see,
our right and title and fitness Our qualification for salvation,
for blessedness, for forgiveness, for communion with God is nothing
more or less than the blood and righteousness of Christ. Christ
and Him crucified. It's not our works and efforts. So he said, now you observe what
they teach you according to the law. But, he says, do not ye
after their works, for they say and do not. Now, we all know
what a hypocrite is. You know the word hypocrite in
the Bible comes from the same word that they used back then
for an actor. And that's what a hypocrite is,
one who acts one way and does another. and we all know people
who are just open hypocrites but you know what here's the
thing about here's what we need to understand is that any person
any sinner who seeks to come before god and be accepted based
on his works and imagines that god accepts him based on such
is really a hypocrite now he may be sincere He may be really
thinking, you know, I've done the best I can do. And he may
not be one of these fellows, you know, they describe, who
go to church on Sunday and then go to the bar on Monday. He may
not even dream of doing something like that. But hypocrisy before
a holy God refers to anyone, any sinner, who lifts themselves
up in that way in the sense of trying to be accepted and saved
based on their works. That's hypocrisy in God's sight.
And one of the reasons I believe we need to understand that, look
at verse 4. He says, for they bind heavy burdens and grievous
to be born and lay them on men's shoulders. That's what works
salvation does to people. That's what religion that teaches
salvation by the works and the wills of men does. It binds heavy
burdens, grievous to be born. and lays them on men's shoulders.
You who know Christ, you've been liberated. Stand fast, Paul wrote in Galatians
5.1. Stand fast in the liberty wherewith
Christ hath made you free. Now that's not license to sin.
That liberty is not liberty to sin. It's liberty to serve Christ
as a willing, loving bond slave. Not under legalism, legal burden. trying to earn your way. And
you know, if you start trying to earn your way, you've got
to keep on earning your way. Don't let them fool you. And
that's a burden. Up, down. One day you're assured,
next day you're in doubt. But you see, when you come to
a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, there's liberty.
Liberty. And then all of these things,
he says in verse five, but all their works they do for to be
seen of men. Now, I believe that would include
anybody who thinks that their testimony is what men see of
them. I've heard preachers say this,
or people say this, they'll say, I'd rather see a sermon than
hear one. Well, then your goal is to be
seen of men. Now, don't get me wrong, should we walk in our
conduct, our conversation, our attitude. Should that walk be
consistent with what we believe? Yes, most certainly. But nobody's going to be saved
by looking at my daily life, what I do in my conduct. I hope my conduct is honoring
to God. I hope my conduct is helpful
to people. I hope I'm a law-abiding citizen.
I want to be. But you're not going to be saved
by looking at that. The gospel is the power of God
and the salvation to everyone that believe it. To the Jew first
and the Greek also. For therein is the righteousness
of God revealed. You're not going to see the righteousness
of God by my conduct. And I'll tell you why. Because
the best conduct that I can muster up does not equal the righteousness
of God. The only way I can show you the righteousness of God
is by what I preach to you and pointing you to Christ. You want
to see the righteousness of God? Look to Christ. You're not going
to see it eking out on me. Not even in my best moments.
Not even right now standing up here behind this pulpit preaching.
The righteousness of God is the entire merit and value and worth
of the obedience unto death of the Lord Jesus Christ. There's
the perfect righteousness that you need and I need in order
to be saved. Nothing less will do. And anything
that men imagine that are more is idolatry. So, to be seen of
men. Now, he says they make broad
their phylacteries and enlarge the borders of their garments.
What it is, they had robes and they put wide hems on those garments
and they would put scripture on them. I think that's the ancient
version of the bumper sticker. They walk down, you can look
behind them and say, well, there's Deuteronomy 30, you know. And see, that was their witness. They loved the uppermost rooms
at the feast and chief seats in the synagogues. They wanted
to be called rabbi. That means master. He said, don't
call anybody master. God is your master. Don't call
anybody father. God is your father. I'm not going
to call anybody on earth father in a religious sense. It doesn't
mean you children don't call your father's father. That's
your family. That's not what he's talking
about here. He's talking about in a religious sense. There's no priest that's your
father. Father so-and-so. No, God's your father. God's
your father. But he says in verse 11, But
he that is greatest among you shall be your servant, and whosoever
shall exalt himself shall be abased. What is it to exalt yourself? It's to expect God to save you
or bless you based on your works. That's what it is. That's exalting
self. It's not simply wanting to have
the preeminence among men. That's part of it now. And there
are people like that. I know preachers who want a following
for themselves. And let me tell you something.
Let me tell you the first sign of that for any of you. so that
you can avoid it. The first time any preacher,
and I don't care who they are, tells you to believe what he
says without checking it out and testing it by the word of
God or finding out for yourself, that man wants a following for
himself. That's so. If I tell you anything concerning
eternal life and salvation, or if I tell you anything about
any person, you check it out for yourself. Don't you just
believe it because I said it. And if I tell you to do that,
that's what I'm trying to do, get a following for myself. And then he begins to pronounce
the woes on the scribes and the Pharisees. I didn't have Joe
read all of this because it's a long passage, but the one that
really applies to what I want to deal with over in verse 37
is right here. Look at verse 13. He says, but
woe unto you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, For you shut up the
kingdom of heaven against men. Now we know, we know, now listen
to me. Do you think that any man, any
man can stop one of God's people from being brought into the kingdom
of Christ by the power of God? Do you think any man can stop
that? And you know better than that. No Pharisee can stop a
sinner who sees their need of grace and mercy from being brought
into the kingdom and coming into the kingdom. Christ is going
to have his sheep. What's he doing here? He's indicting
them. He's bringing an indictment.
This is what they desire. They want to shut up the kingdom
of heaven against men. Now, because they want their
way, not God's way. He says, for you neither go in
yourselves. You see, the way into the kingdom
of heaven is Christ. I'm the way, the truth, and the
life. No man cometh under the Father but by me. That's right. The way into the holiest of all
is through the blood of Jesus, not through the works of man,
not through the will of man. Not through baptism, not through
church membership, not through giving, not even through the
best acts of morality and kindness and charity and love that you
can muster. All those things have their place, but they're
not the way for a sinner into the Kingdom of God. There's only one way for a sinner
into the Kingdom of God, communion with God, forgiveness, blessed,
and that's Christ and Him crucified and risen. No other way. It's the way of grace. It's the
way of mercy. It's the way of justice satisfied.
It's the way of righteousness in Christ. And so he says, he goes on, he
talks about these woes. They devour widows' houses. That's
taking money for their religion from people who don't have it.
That's what he's saying. You know anybody like that today?
They're all over television. And they'll tell him, give your
last dime and God will give it back to you a thousand fold. That's not giving, that's investing. He says in verse 15, Woe unto
you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you compass sea and land
to make one proselyte. You want to convert people to
your religion. And when he's made, you make
him twofold more the child of hell than you yourselves. Steeped
in false religion. That's what that means. twofold
more the child of hell. Now he has an assurance of salvation
that's built upon a lie. Isn't that sad? We'll look over at verse 37.
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the Lord says. This sets forth the intense
compassion of our Lord and Savior and his love for and his sorrow
over his lost children. He says, you that kill the prophets
and stone them, which I've sent unto you, how often would I have
gathered thy children? This is our Lord and Savior crying
out in His humanity, expressing in the infirmities of the flesh
His anguish, His sorrow over the fact that men would try to
hinder His children from entering the kingdom that He's prepared
for them. Think about it. You shut up the
kingdom of heaven against men. And you won't go in, you don't
want them to go in. You won't come to Christ and
you don't want them to come to Christ. You'd rather maintain
your own religious ways. You'd rather have them as notches
on your gun instead of sinners saved by the grace of God. How
many decisions did you get this week? That's what we used to
do. We'd meet back on Monday mornings after we'd been out
on a weekend of what we thought was revivals in seminary. How
many decisions did you have? Well, I told one but somebody
one time, I think I was preaching to a crowd of about a hundred.
I said, I think I had a hundred because those who didn't come
up decided not to. Many look at this verse and they
use it to try to prove that God can only do that which men allow
Him to do when it comes to salvation. And they use this verse to entertain
notions of free willism and they say, I heard a man say this one
time, see Christ wanted to save them but they wouldn't let Him.
He can only save you if you'll let Him. That's not what this
verse teaches. Nothing in fact nothing can be
farther from the truth of this verse or the whole Bible Look at it look at verse 38 He
says behold your house is left unto you desolate Some commentators
say that's a direct reference to the temple and it's destruction. That's about to come It was destroyed
in AD 70 But others say it just refers
to their house in the sense of their family. But I'll tell you
what now, listen to what it says again, verse 38. He says, Behold,
your house, not God's house, your house is left unto you desolate. Your house, the church that these
false religionists were trying to build, that house will be
left desolate. Their house depended upon their
works. Their house depended upon their
establishing their own righteousness. But God's house, the church of
the living God, does not depend upon the works of men or the
wills of men. It depends upon Christ. He said to his disciples, upon
this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell will not
prevail against it. And then look at verse 39. He
says, For I say unto you, you shall not see me henceforth till
you shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the
Father. Now you think about that. The emphasis there is not on
what they'll do, but what He'll do. They're going to bow. You're trying to shut the kingdom
of heaven up against men now and you won't come. But there's
coming a day you're going to bow. He's going to have His will
and His way. Christ is. In John 1.11 the Bible says,
He came unto His own and His own received Him not. But then
after His redemptive work on the cross and His resurrection
for the justification of His people, you know what happened?
Many of the Jews were brought to faith in Christ and repentance
of dead works. Who were they? They were His
elect. They were the lost sheep of the house of Israel. That's
what He called them. His sheep. He said, my sheep
hear my voice. And they follow me. He told the
Pharisees, he says, you believe not because you're not of my
sheep. He didn't say, now notice, he
didn't say, you're not of my sheep because you believe not.
He says, you believe not because you're not of my sheep. There's
a difference. This could be summed up I believe in Philippians chapter
2, you don't have to turn there, but basically you see, every
knee is going to bow and every tongue is going to confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord. There's coming a day when all
shall acknowledge who Christ is and what He's done. The wicked
will do so under their eternal damnation, but the righteous,
sinners saved by grace, washed in His blood, clothed in His
righteousness, they'll do so to their eternal blessedness.
He'll say, come on in, you blessed of my Father. So this verse does
not teach free willism, and it doesn't deny His deity. How could
a mere man gather people unto himself when it speaks of salvation? Oh, men can gather people unto
themselves to get a following for a while, but that won't last.
Only God could do this. His divine will as God is always
fulfilled. For who hath resisted his will?
Romans 9, 19. He works all things after the
counsel of his own will. Ephesians 1, 11. He does whatsoever
he pleases. None can stay his hand or say
unto him, what doest thou? God is sovereign. His divine
will is sovereign, it's unchangeable, and it's always accomplished.
He said, I've purposed it, I will do it, I will perform it. The
redemption and salvation of His people would be accomplished
despite all the opposition of any man or all groups of men,
even the Pharisees and the scribes. But we know this now, the Bible
teaches, whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be
saved. We also know that man by nature will not call upon
the name of the Lord. Christ said, you will not come
to me that you might have life. The Bible teaches that all are
under sin, there's none righteous, no not one, there's none that
doeth good, there's none that seeketh after the Lord. So when
a sinner is willing, now think about this. When a sinner is
willing to come to Christ, where do you suppose that came from?
Well, turn back there to John chapter 1 with me. John chapter 1, I quoted part
of it there, or verse 11. Think about that. Here's a sinner
willing to come to Christ. Where did that come from? Here's
two sinners. Both of them deserve hell. Both
of them have earned judgment and damnation. And then all of
a sudden, one is willing to come to Christ. What do you suppose
is the difference? Was one better than the other?
What happened there? We'll read the Bible. Let's give
the biblical answer to that instead of man's reason. And when man
reasons, he reasons from the ground up. And it's always out
of his own self-righteousness. Isn't that right? I've been there,
and you have too. We'll look at it, verse 11, John
1. He came unto His own, and His own received Him not. That's
the natural man. But verse 12, But as many as
received Him, as many as. How many were? I don't know.
As many as. To them gave He power. Now that
word power does not mean ability. That word power means right or
title. I told my Sunday school class
this this morning. It's kind of like, if I claim
to be a child of God, if I claim to be saved, what right do I
have to claim that? That's what this is talking about.
He says, but as many as received Him, to them gave He that right
to become the sons of God. Even to them that believe on
His name. Now what's the difference between verse 11 and verse 12?
What's the difference between those who received Him not and
those who received Him? Well, verse 13 tells you. Which
were born? Those who received Him. They
were born. And they were born. Not of blood. In other words,
it wasn't their physical birth. And it certainly wasn't their
pedigree. You know, the Jews said, we be Abraham's seed. Well,
that won't get it. That won't make you righteous
before God. That won't bring about forgiveness of sins. So
it's not of blood, not of your bloodline. Nor of the will of
the flesh, that's works. The will of the flesh, what does
the flesh will to do? It wills to work for salvation.
Bring forth fruit unto death, Paul said in Romans 7 verse 5. That's what it wills to do. So
in other words, nor the will of the flesh, nor of the works
of man. Then it says, nor of the will of man. It wasn't of
your will or free will or your decision, but which were born
of God. You must be born again, Christ
said, or you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. You cannot
see the kingdom of heaven. Now, all men by nature are unwilling
to be gathered. Christ said, how often, back
here, verse 37, would I have gathered thy children? Well,
all men by nature are unwilling to be gathered by Him, but He
makes His people willing in the day of His power. How does He
do that? Well, Jeremiah described it in
Jeremiah 31, verse 30. He said, I'll put my spirit within
them. I'll give them a new heart. That's what He'll do. Look at
John chapter 6. Look at this one. Look at verse
37 of John chapter 6. He says, All that the Father
giveth me shall come to me. And him that cometh to me I will
in no wise cast out, for I came down from heaven, not to do mine
own will, but the will of him that sent me. That's Christ,
the Son of God, submissive to the Father for our salvation.
And this is the Father's will which is sent me, that of all
which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise
it up again at the last day. Look at verse 44. Now they begin
to murmur at him as to the reason he said this, and he says in
verse 44, No man can come to me. That speaks of inability. That word can there, you remember
when, think about Romans 1 16. It says for the gospel is the
power of God. That word power in Romans 1 16
is the word we get our English word dynamite. That's a powerful
thing. The gospel is the dynamite of
God. It's the power of God. Well that
word can there is the same root word. No man can. No man has the powers, what he's
saying. We're spiritually dead and have
to come to me. Accept the Father which hath
sent me. Draw him. Draw him. And the analogy there is like
the parable of the dragnet. Do you remember the parable of
the dragnet in Matthew 13 when those who are fishing, they put
their nets out and they pull up and it's full of fish because
they're caught. I was telling the Sunday school class, somebody
told me about that. There's a sign that's popular
outside of churches now. It says, we catch them, God cleans
them. Not so. God catches them and
God cleans them. No man can come to me except
the Father which has sent me. Catch him. Draw him. Now he may use us in the preaching
of the gospel. That's fine. But God catches
them. And then he says, I will raise
him up at the last day. He's not going to lose what God
gives him. But look at verse 45. It's written in the prophets,
and they shall be all taught of God. Every man, therefore,
that hath heard. Now how are you going to hear
unless you have ears to hear? Remember Christ told the disciples
in Matthew 13, blessed are your ears, for they hear. Blessed
are your eyes, for they see. Every man, therefore, that hath
heard and hath learned of the Father. How do you learn of the
Father? Well, let's put it this way. Without Christ, the only
way you can meet God is as a righteous judge who will condemn you for
your sins. Without Christ, the only way
I can meet God is as a righteous judge who will condemn me. How
can I meet God as my Heavenly Father, Abba Father? Through
Christ. And that's how you learn of the
Father. You learn of Him through Christ. That's how the Heavenly
Father, the God of my salvation, reveals Himself to me. And everyone
who has learned of the Father through Christ does what? Cometh
unto me, He says. They come unto Him. Now go back
to Matthew 23. Now He says in verse 37, Jerusalem,
Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, That's a constant
characteristic of Jerusalem on earth. Physical Jerusalem. But
did you know something? The Bible speaks of two Jerusalems. Did you know that? One physical,
that's this one here in verse 37, O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou
that killest the prophets and stonest them which I sent unto
thee. That's physical Jerusalem. That's the earthly Jerusalem.
And the second one is spiritual Jerusalem. Now physical Jerusalem,
as you know, was the capital city of Israel under King David
and King Solomon. And of course, you know, after
Solomon, the kingdom split and there was the northern kingdom.
Their capital became Samaria. And then there was the southern
kingdom. It remained to be Jerusalem. And it was destroyed in AD 70. Spiritual Jerusalem What is that? Well, that was spoken of in the
Old Testament as a future spiritual city, a spiritual kingdom to
be established when Messiah would come, Christ, and do His great
work of redemption. I want you to turn to Galatians
chapter 4. Now, many people will tell you that spiritual Jerusalem
has not come yet, that it's well off into the future. And they
base that on Revelation 21 which talks about the heavenly Jerusalem
when Christ comes again. And that will be fulfilled. I
want to tell you something. Look at Galatians chapter 4 and
look at verse 21. I want to show you that spiritual
Jerusalem is already here in a spiritual sense. Now what are
you talking about? Well look at verse 21. Paul is
writing to the Galatians here. What was the problem in the churches
of Galatia? false preachers had come in and
began to introduce or inject salvation at some stage, to some
degree, in some way by the works of men instead of totally, totally,
100% being founded and conditioned upon the work of Christ. In other
words, they were interjecting a mixture of works and grace,
and works and grace can't mix. Paul wrote about that in Romans
11. You can't mix the two. Salvation is either all of grace
or it's all of works. He said that in Romans 11. And
they were trying to bring people back under the old covenant law. And Paul told them, he said,
now let me tell you something. If you follow these false preachers,
you are denying the Lord Jesus Christ. That's not just another
denomination of Christianity. That's not just another branch,
you see, of our religion. That's a total denial of Christ. Where does that leave denominationalism
today? I want you to think about that.
And so he says in verse 21, look at it. Tell me you that desire
to be under the law, do you not hear the law? You want to be
back under the law? Well, let me tell you what the
law says in three words. Do and live. do and live. The flip side of
that, disobey and die. Well, how much do I have to do?
Well, to offend in one point is to be guilty of all is what
scripture says. What do I need to have the righteousness
of the law? Perfection. Nobody can do that. That's right. Salvation is by
grace. Isn't that right? That's why
we need Christ. He kept the law perfectly. So
do you not hear the law? He says, for it's written that
Abraham had two sons. It goes back to Abraham. One
by a bondmaid. That's Hagar and Ishmael. You
remember that. The other by a free woman. That's Sarah and Isaac.
But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh. But
he who was of the free woman was by promise. Now the promise
is of grace. Promise and grace here are the
same thing. Because the promises are in Christ, yea and amen.
Not in you or in me. And he says in verse 24, which
things are in allegory? These are symbols. For these
are the two covenants. The one from Mount Sinai which
gendereth the bondage which is Agar or Hagar. That's a conditional
covenant. What's the testimony of a conditional
covenant? What's the testimony of man under
a conditional covenant? Failure. And it would be the
same for us. That's bondage. Verse 25, For
this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth, now look
at it, answereth to Jerusalem which now is. In other words,
this is how Jerusalem now, O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest
them, this is how Jerusalem is now. They are seeking salvation
by their works. They are trying to establish
a righteousness of their own. Christ came and they received
Him not. They are rejecting the grace
of God in the Messiah. He says, Jerusalem which now
is and is in bondage with her children. They are in bondage.
They are condemned. But look at verse 26. But Jerusalem
which is above. That is heaven. They don't think
of geography there. He is talking about a spiritual
Jerusalem. It is free. free from the law, O happy condition,
Jesus hath bled, and there is what? Remission. Liberty in Christ. Christ kept the law. He fulfilled
its justice against me, for who can condemn me? It is Christ
that died. Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect?
Blessed is the man to whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity. Blessed
is the man to whom the Lord imputeth righteousness without works.
That's freedom. That's liberty. I'm justified
in Him. I'm sanctified in Him. For He
hath perfected forever them that are sanctified. For by one offering
He did that. His offering. He satisfied His
justice. He fulfilled its demands. For
Christ is the end of the law, the finishing fulfillment of
the law for righteousness to everyone that believes. So Jerusalem
which is above is free. Who is Jerusalem which is above?
That's his church. That's us. That's the people
of God in Christ. Which is the mother of us all. The mother of us all. One more
verse. Turn to Hebrews 12. That's spiritual Jerusalem. And the Bible teaches that all
who are in Christ are spiritual Jews and citizens of a spiritual
kingdom, spiritual Israel. And then it identifies us as
citizens of spiritual Jerusalem too. Just the same way of saying,
the different ways of saying the same thing. But look at verse
12. Or no, Hebrews 12 and verse 21. He's talking about Moses there.
The side of Moses coming down off the mountain. Mount Sinai.
the establishment of that old covenant. And he said it was
so terrible that it was the sight that Moses said, I exceedingly
fear and quake. That is under that law and the
manifestation of it. But look at verse 22. But ye,
that's those who are in Christ, are come unto Mount Sion, that's
a picture of the church, that's a symbol of the church, and unto
the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You see there? Not old Jerusalem, Jerusalem. Thou that killest the prophets.
Not that Jerusalem. You can make a trip over if you
want. I hope you have a good time. But it has no spiritual
significance whatsoever. I'm telling you. You may make
you feel good. You may remember some history.
That's okay. But it has absolutely nothing
to do for you spiritually. but the heavenly Jerusalem, and
to an innumerable company of angels, that's messengers, to
the general assembly and church of the firstborn, who's the firstborn?
That's Christ, the firstborn among many brethren, which are
written in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the
spirits of just men made perfect, justified men whose spirits are
in heaven right now, perfect in Christ, and to Jesus the mediator
of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh
better things than that of Abel." That's Abel's lamb. And Abel,
he looked to a greater lamb, something better. And we do,
too. And that's the Lamb of God. Oh,
Jerusalem, Jerusalem. You see? We're citizens of the
heavenly Jerusalem. All right. Let's sing as our
closing hymn here. Jesus Never Fails, hymn number
274. Let us stand as we sing.