Good evening. I invite your attention
to the song of Solomon, chapter 3. My text is from the Song of Solomon,
chapter 3, verses 6 through 11. My message is titled, Jesus Christ
Exalted by His Ministries. I remember 1984, coming here
for The first conference that I attended
here was 35 years ago. I was half my age than I am now,
so was the pastor here. I remember with fondness meeting
in the old block building out in the country. I remember with fondness the
hospitality and the kindness that was shown by this church.
I remember with fondness the faithfulness of people who came
from so many miles and from so many different places to be in
this conference. I remember with fondness when
we were young men and we would sit in Donnie's backyard out
on the farm sitting around with Henry Mahan and Scott Richardson
who at that time were in their early or their mid-fifties and
they would teach us and exhort us and mentor us and if needed
they scolded us. Donnie Bell says Henry Mahan
curled his hair. That's a story he needs to tell.
But here we are some 35 years later and the fellowship is just
as sweet. Christ is still the same. Only the people are older. And
I appreciate the kindness and generosity that I have received
from so many of you that I met. that long time ago. You are dear
to me and I appreciate my friends. In the Song of Solomon chapter
3 verse 6 the scene is Jerusalem evidently. Jerusalem was the
city of God It was the place wherein was his temple. It was
the place wherein our God was worshipped. It was a place where
his sacrifices were made and sacrifices were made to him. Jerusalem had walls all around
the city to protect it. Tonight Jerusalem is inside these
walls. Tonight, Jerusalem, the holy
Jerusalem, is assembled here in this house of worship. This
is our Jerusalem here tonight. On the wall of Jerusalem are
watchmen keeping watch for the safety of the city. And one of them looks over into
the distance and he says, who is this coming out of the wilderness? Like pillars of smoke, perfumed
with myrrh and frankincense with all the merchant's fragrant powders. Behold, it is Solomon's couch,
his bed. with 63 score valiant men around
it, of the valiant of Israel. They all hold swords, being expert
in war. Every man has his sword on his
thigh because of fear in the night. This is Christ, escorted
by his preachers. This is Christ, exalted by them. and the watchman says, who is
this? And another watchman comes over
to join and they began to scan, looking off into the distance.
It's night time, it is dark, they cannot see, they cannot
make it out. But they do know this, there
is a band of soldiers, there are torches, from which ascend
pillars of smoke. These men have swords on their
thighs. Our Bible here, the King James
calls it a chariot. Actually not a chariot, it was
more properly a palanquin. A palanquin was a platform. You
can find it described in the next verses. It was a platform. On the platform would be put
a couch. It's different from a chariot.
A chariot has two wheels pulled by horses. This vehicle has no
wheels. It has poles. And there are men,
strong men, soldiers of the king and they've got their shoulders.
They're holding him up. He's seated on his couch. They carry him from place to
place. It's Solomon's couch. It is his. Solomon represents Jesus Christ. He is a greater than Solomon.
Solomon's name means peace. Jesus Christ is peace. This man shall be peace. He is
our peace between us and our peace with God. This is Christ
being brought into Jerusalem. Being born on the shoulders of
his soldiers, they're holding him high for all to see. This
is Christ coming out of the wilderness down Yon Road. This is Christ
in the night season coming back to his people, coming to visit
them. This is Christ coming to see
those who desire to see him. This is Solomon's couch. This
is Solomon on his palanquin. This is he that is coming out
of the wilderness. What wilderness? It's everything
beyond these walls. Everything beyond these walls,
it is a wilderness. The wilderness is the world. It is a wild place. It is a wilderness,
if you will. It is a dry and thirsty land
and the land of great drought called in scriptures. And it
is dry and thirsty in a land of drought because in the wilderness
there are no streams of living water. There is no fountain of
water in that place. It is a dry and thirsty place. It's called a land not sown in
Jeremiah 2 verse 2. Therefore, if it is a place not
sown, we expect nothing profitable from it, do we? The wilderness
is a waste land. This wilderness is said to be
a habitation of wild animals. In the scriptures we read of
jackals and wild donkeys and venomous serpents that bit people
in the wilderness. And this world is full of people
who are animals. Venomous people. Jackals and
wild donkeys, lions and bears trying to devour the Lord's people. We read of them that their throat
is an open tomb, with their tongues they have practiced deceit. The
poison of asp is under their lips, their mouth is full of
cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed
blood. Destruction and misery are in
their ways, and the way of peace, which is Christ, they have not
known. No fear of God before their eyes,
folks. That's what's beyond the walls.
That's what's beyond the walls of our Jerusalem tonight. It's
a wilderness out there full of wild people, wild things, a dry
and barren place. The wilderness is a dangerous
place, said to be a land of deserts and pits and the shadow of death
in Jeremiah 2 verse 6. Beware in the wilderness. Satan
has pits dug all over the place to trap God's people. You're
going to find snares, you're going to find the pits. Beware
in the wilderness. It is not a safe place for God's
people. The wilderness is said to be
where God's people rebelled against him in Hebrews chapter 3. Thirty-eight
years, he says, they rebelled against me in the wilderness.
They rebelled because they did not like what he gave them to
eat. And they rebelled because they
did not like what he gave them to drink. And they rebelled because
for any other reason they could invent. It's a rebellious place. That's what's out yonder folks.
That's what's out there. It's rebellion all the way around
us. It is rebellion beyond our walls. But a wilderness is also the
place where God saved his church. He had to go to the wilderness
to do it. But he saved his church. We read in Deuteronomy 32 verses
9 and 10 that Jehovah's portion is his people. Jacob is the place
of his inheritance. He found him in a desert land
and in the wasteland. A howling wilderness full of
ferocious beasts yelling boisterously. He encircled him, he instructed
him, he kept him out as the apple of his eye. Christ went into
the wilderness to find his people. It is there that he saved them
and now he's coming out. He's coming out. Who is this
coming out of the wilderness in all his glory? He's bringing
his people out of a sinful world. This is Christ ushering his people
and bringing them back into his fold. This is who is coming out
of the wilderness. It is Christ. His mission has
been successful in the wilderness and now he is bringing his people
back. Observe that we read also that
there are pillars of smoke. These are ascending from the
torches that are being held by these soldiers. Now picture in
your mind these soldiers, if you will, there are 60 of them
and it's night time and they're carrying torches in their hands
and they have their sword hanging on their side. And a number of
them have the palanquin of Christ. It's on their shoulder. It has
poles along its sides and they're coming through the wilderness
carrying Christ with sword on thigh and torches in hand. Illuminating the darkness and
getting ready to defend against any enemy that comes. But ascertaining
that He is high and lifted up and exalted. Pillars of smoke. What do you know about pillars
of smoke? Smoke rises. Smoke represents
prayers. Two things in scripture are represented
by smoke. First is holier than thouness
which God says is a stench in my nostril and the other is prayers
and he says they are a delight to me. The prayers of his people
as he sniffs them. Well here are the soldiers and
their prayers are ascending toward heaven and Christ is pleased
with the incense of their offerings and of their prayers. This smoke rises like pillars. Pillars. What do we know about
pillars? Well first, pillars are upright. And the prayers of God's people
are upright. If you look around at the pagan
temples in the world, in Greece and in Rome and in Italy and
throughout Europe, what do you find about their pillars? They've
all fallen down. littering the ground here and
there, but the pillars in the Church of Christ ever stand tall
and straight. These pillars are known for their
uprightness and they're known for their straightness. There's a straightness to this.
It is said that smoke follows beauty. Don't depend on it. unless it is the prayers of God's
people and they surely ascend to Christ straight forward. If these pillars of smoke are
ascending like pillars in straightness, therefore you should know that
the church of Christ is not tossed to and fro and carried about
with every wind of doctrine by the trickery of men in the cunning
craftiness of deceitful plotting. And as Christ comes, as he approaches,
take a deep sniff of the air. It's fragrant. It's sweet. You hear or read of Christ in
this procession perfumed with myrrh and frankincense. And it
comes from Christ. It comes from Christ, this one
that is exalted on the palanquin of his soldiers. He is fragrant. He is fragrant. His wife calls
him a bundle of myrrh that lies all night between my breasts.
She says his cheeks are like a bed of spices, banks of scented
herbs. His lips are lily dripping liquid
myrrh. Everything about Christ is sweet
and fragrant. Everything! No stench of death
in him. The fragrance of Christ. Oh,
if you have ever smelled it, nothing ever smelled sweeter
and more fragrant to you. This one who's coming is perfumed
with myrrh and frankincense. What else do we read about it?
With all the merchant's fragrant powders, with all the merchants
fragrant powders. Alright. We know that his garments have
frankincense and myrrh, kasha and other fragrant spices because
we read that they're all over his garment as he came from the
ivory palaces. Christ is fragrant. There is
nothing that is disagreeable about him with regards to fragrance. But observe this phrase. Observe
this phrase. With all the merchants' fragrant
powders. Powders. How do you get powders? Spices have to be ground. You
take spices and put them into the mortar and pestle and you
begin to grind them and you begin to beat them and you have powder. Christ is fragrant. Christ is
fragrant with all the merchants fragrant powders. Where did these
powders come from? These are the powders of all
his spices. put into the mortar and pestle
of God's wrath and justice and judgment on Calvary. And there
for three hours in darkness, in the mortar and pestle of God's
wrath and justice and judgment, Christ was ground. Christ was
ground until he was made to be powder. But I say to you that
here comes from Christ a fragrant redemption. Here comes from Christ
a fragrant salvation. Here comes from Christ a fragrant
justification. Here comes from Christ a fragrant
sanctification. Here comes from Christ every
fragrance you desire and not one single ground of it was man-made. None of it. He comes with all
the merchant's fragrant powders. Who's the merchant? He is. He's
the merchant. He's the one who says, come and
buy from me gold and sand for your eyes. He's the one who says,
are you hungry? All ye that are thirsty, come
to me. And I'll sell you all you need
and come without money and come without price. Well, how much
do these cost? You can't afford them. You can't
afford them. Don't ask. I can afford them. I have given them freely. Here,
my friends, is a righteousness that is imputed and it is free. Here, my friends, is a sanctification
and holiness that is imparted and it is free. Here is godliness
to control the lives and the speech and the conduct and the
deeds of God's people. It's fragrant and it's free.
Come to Christ. He's the only merchant that has
it. The only one. He's the merchant. These are his powders. And there
he is on his palanquin. Can you smell him? Is he not
sweet smelling as his soldiers carry him from place to place
with all the merchant's powders? Someone in Jerusalem says, this
is Solomon's couch. This is Solomon's bed. And it
was. It was a couch. He could sleep
on it if he wanted to. In the daytime, he'd sit up.
By the way, his wife is with him in this instance. Remember,
he went into the wilderness to get his people. And here he comes. It is Solomon's couch. And there are 60 valiant men
around it. Of the valiant of men of Israel. Who are these men? Who are they? They're Christ's ministers. These
are Christ's ministers. They are said to be all you servants
of Jehovah who by night stand in the house of Jehovah and here
they surround him as he travels by night. These are the men that
carry Christ from place to place and hold him up on their shoulders,
put their lamps before them as they go with their swords on
their thigh, escorting Jesus Christ. When you see this procession
coming, just know this, you're going to be hearing about Jesus
Christ. When these men come, I say to you, they're coming
down the road. Open the gate and you'll see
Christ. They'll bring him right in. Who
are these men? I know them. I know a good number
of them. I know a good number of them.
If you look very carefully at these soldiers who are carrying
Christ down or out of the wilderness and up into the place of his
people, if you look carefully, you're going to see men like
Elmquist, Nyberg, Chapman, Cunningham, Mahan, Crabtree, Stallnicker,
both the younger and the older. Curtis, Chris, Walker, Evans
and a whole host of others. Even Parks is among them. These
are his soldiers. These are the soldiers of Jesus.
who carry Him from place to place, exalting Him high and lifting
Him up so that all can see Him. These are men of Israel, spiritual
Israel. These are all who walk according
to the rule of Christ and boast of Him rather than of themselves
and they are 60 in number. 60 in number. Now 60 is a real number that
is symbolic or represents a symbolical number. Christ has more than
60 men actually but symbolically he has 60. What is the symbolism? We're not told except That David
the king, the greatest king the world knew, David the king had
30 valiant men and Christ is twice as great. He has 60. He has 60. Here comes Christ
with 60 valiant men. Always has 60 valiant men. His soldiers. His ministers. from time to time, one of them
has to leave this earth. He looks down, we saw one of
these soldiers leave this earth not long ago. Old man named Mahan
had served his Lord for many years. I believe he's carried
the plank, went into this building a few times, has he not? And
in that generation, old Richardson and Montgomery and Shanks and
others, and they're no longer with us. What happened? They
were among the 60. And the Lord looks down one day
and says, Mayhan, you're a little slow today. Yes, Lord, I have
served you for many years. Nothing would please me more
than to serve you, but I must say, this sore's getting heavy. I'm no longer having the strength
and the vim and vigor. I wish I could keep up with your
younger men, but I cannot. Cannot. My body won't let me
do it. Yes, Mahan, you've served me
well. I'll send my angels to carry
you and promote you to glory. And when you have come into glory,
turn in your helmet. They're going to give you a crown
of gold. Turn in your uniform and your This armor that you've
been wearing, they're going to give you a robe washed white
in my blood. No longer must you walk from
place to place. They're going to let you sit
down on a throne. And there he is. But now he's
only got 59 soldiers. And so he looks around. He sees
someone's got to replace the one that left. So he looks around,
you know, and he sees his field soldiers, but he needs one to
promote to the rank of captain to make him an officer. And what
does he do? He's done it with all these soldiers. He may look out and say, Chapman,
report for duty. Chapman reports for duty. Well,
you're now one of my captains. You're now one of my soldiers.
Here's a sword. Put it on your thigh. And here's
a torch. Hold it up high and put your
shoulder to my palanquin and exalt me and carry me from place
to place. And that happened not long ago,
did it not? I would not be surprised that
in time to come we hear that young Chapman has proven himself
to be a valiant soldier, if not already, mind you. But this is
the way the Lord is. When one is called to glory,
there's another one to take his place. He always has 60 of them. carrying him from place to place
and ministering as his soldiers. These are valiant men, strong
in Christ and in his grace and might. They are courageous and
bold. They will propagate his gospel. They fear no man. They fear no
man. These are valiant men. These,
by the way, are also wounded men. Many of them, they've got
battle scars. They have fought the battle of
free grace versus free will. They have fought the battle of
imputed righteousness versus legal righteousness. They have
fought this battle and that. They've got wounds and they've
got scars. And they still delight to serve
their King. They still delight to do so.
Valiant men, not a novice among them. And they are said to be
around Christ. Some are before Him. And some
are after Him. And some are all around Him.
And some are under Him, holding Him up and exalting Him as they
carry Him from place to place. Sixty valiant men. They all hold
swords. They all hold swords. Every one
of them got a sword hanging on his thigh. What is that sword? The sword, the word of God. A
sharp two-edged sword. It is sharp, it is too wedged,
because it serves two purposes. It's sharp because it must pierce. As the king travels on this palanquin,
exalted by his servants, he looks around and he says, hey, see
that rebel over yonder? I do, Lord. He belongs to me. Go fetch him. And so the soldier
takes his sword out and he goes to the rebel whom the Lord had
said belongs to me and through the preaching of the gospel takes
his sword and thrusts it into the heart of the rebel. The rebel
is mortally wounded and says, what must I do to be saved? And the soldier says, you see
him up there being exalted? Look to him. Look to him. Believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. Oh, may he
be pleased to use that sword tonight. I'd be blessed to see
him convict some sinner tonight through the sword of one of his
soldiers. But it is double-edged. It's double-edged. It is efficient
both coming and going, back and forth. And when Satan sends his
minions out against the servants of King Jesus, out comes the
sword. And they face them and they slash
them back and forth, back and forth. And these men know how
to use that sword. It hangs on their thigh until
it's needed. And when it's needed, it is ably
used. They all hold swords. None of
them goes into the battle unequipped. They are said to be expert in
war. Expert in war. I have been amazed and I am a
military veteran and but it amazes me what The military does. And remember that I went into
the military in 1970. I was raised in the 60s. That
was a rebellious generation. And we were a rebellious lot
that reported for basic duty. And I still remember that drill
sergeant. And he told us when we got off
the bus, he said, you'll soon learn to hate me. And I was hating
him already. But, you know, took these young
men, 17, 18, 19 years old, put them through 6, 7, 8 weeks of
basic training, then sent them off to some tech school, and
the next thing you know, they're defending their country! And
ably doing so! Well, if Uncle Sam can do it,
so can King Jesus. takes raw recruits, puts them
into basic training. They learn of his grace. He trains
them and mentors them. And the next thing you know,
they are experts in war. There's not a novice among them.
Not a novice among them. Expert in war. They are well
aware of their enemy. They know his tactics. They know
that Satan is sly and deceiving and that your adversary the devil
walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. They wage the good warfare having
faith and a good conscience. They are mindful that no one
engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this
life that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. They
have proven themselves faithful to the exhortation to endure
hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. That's his soldiers,
folks. His soldiers. I have more respect
for ministers of Jesus Christ than I do for anybody else in
all this world. Valiant men. And they just love to hold Jesus
up, lift him up and carry him from place to place. Every man
has his sword on his thigh because of fear in the night. They wear
their sword the same place he wears his. Gird your sword upon
your thigh, O mighty one, with your glory and your majesty. They imitate their Lord when
they wear their swords. They are appointed for the defense
of the gospel. They wear their swords Because
of fear in the night, they know the power of darkness. They are
aware of the rulers of the darkness of this age, the spiritual host
of wickedness in the heavenly places. They know those who are
led by Satan. These, these are the preachers
of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Here they come, here they come. down Yon Road, out of a wilderness. And inside these walls are people
who have gathered wanting to hear some good news. You want
to hear some good news? Open those doors. Open those
doors and those soldiers will bring Christ right in here, exalted
high. Their torches will dispel the
darkness and their swords will subdue his enemies and they will
exalt him high. He will supply every need you
have. Do you desire redemption from
your bondage? Here he is. Look at him. He's
the only one who can do it. Do you desire deliverance from
your captor? There he is. We're lifting him
up. Look to him. Do you desire justification from
your condemnation? Here he is. Do you desire sanctification
from your uncleanness? There he is. Do you desire to
be cleansed of the leprosy of your sin? Here he is. We're holding
him up. We're holding him up. Every need
you have, it's in Christ. Just look to him. And that's
what we do. That's what we ministers do.
We carry Christ through the wilderness. We bring him to his people. We'll
bring him into this building. We'll exalt him, we'll lift him
high, and we will exhort you to look to him. And I love to do it. I love to
do it. I love this torch. I love this
sword. And I love him whom I have exalted. My shift has come to an end. I have endeavored to fulfill
my duty on my shift tonight. But there's another shift getting
ready to report for duty. His sword is on his thigh, his
torch is in his hand, and he's ready to exalt Christ. And I
pray that the Lord will bless his ministers as they exalt him. May the Lord be pleased.