Open your Bibles if you would
tonight to Genesis chapter 49. Genesis chapter 49. The name of the message is Shiloh.
Shiloh. Genesis chapter 49. We'll be
looking at verses 8 to 10, but let's read verses 8 to 12. Judah,
thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise. Thy hand shall
be in the neck of thine enemies. Thy father's children shall bow
down before thee. Judah is a lion's whelp from
the prey. My son, thou art gone up. He stooped down, he crouched
as a lion, and is an old lion who shall rouse him up. The scepter
shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his
feet, until Shiloh come. And unto him shall the gathering
of the people be. Binding his foal unto the vine,
and his ass's colt unto the choice vine, he washed his garments
in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes. His eyes shall
be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk. Now here before
us in the text, in Genesis 49, we have the mouth of the dying
patriarch, Jacob, pointing to a time when he, of
whom Moses and the prophets did write, should appear. And we
know from Scripture that the law and the prophets, the Old
Testament, speaks of Christ. Speaks of Christ. He's all through
the Old Testament. Turn, if you would, to Luke,
chapter 24. This is the very thing he told
the two on the road to Aramaeus. After they had told him of his
death and burial. In Luke 24, verses 25 to 27. Said he unto them. Oh fools and
slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken
Look at verse 20 and now remember to all that the prophets had
spoken They didn't have the whole Bible like we have now all they
had was the Old Testament Paul preached from the Old Testament
Peter preached from the Old Testament all the Apostles preached from
the Old Testament beloved They didn't have the New Testament
So whenever you see scriptures mentioned in the New Testament,
it's talking about the Old Testament scriptures. Oh, it's wonderful. Look at verse 26. Ought not Christ
to have suffered these things and to enter into his glory?
And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto
them in the scriptures the things concerning who? Himself. The Old Testament speaks of Christ. It's wonderful. They testify
of him. And the sword of God's justice
was to fall upon the man of God's own choosing, the man that is
his fellow. And the one who the law and the
prophets testified of. Now, before the written word
was given, God spoke to the fathers in various ways about the coming
Messiah. And by faith, by faith, the blood sacrifice, which was
offered, pictured Christ, pictured Christ, pictured the forgiveness
of sins through the shed blood of the Lamb. And it was accepted
by God. Turn if you would, turn if you
would to Genesis. Sorry, I lost my spot here. Genesis chapter five. Actually, Genesis chapter 4,
I'm sorry. I'm sorry I lost my spot. But I know what I was going to
say. Okay. So Cain came before and offered the fruit of his
hands, didn't he? And what did Abel offer? Abel offered the
proper sacrifice, didn't he? He offered a lamb. He offered
a lamb, and it was the shed blood which pictured Christ. It pictured
Christ. It pictured forgiveness through
the shed blood of the lamb, and it was accepted by God. Abel's
offering was accepted by God. It speaks of sacrifice. It speaks
of sacrifice. His offering speaks of death
for sin. And Abel's offering speaks of
substitution. And his offering speaks this.
It speaks against works. And it speaks against man's merit
and man's efforts to justify themselves before God. Because
when Abel offered that sacrifice, it pointed right to Christ. It
pointed right to Christ. Now when Cain offered his offering,
we know that he offered that which is the fruit of his own
hands. He tried to be justified before God by his own works.
And what did God do? He did not accept it. He did
not accept it. but he accepted the offering
of Abel. And in Hebrews 11.4 it says this,
by faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than
Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous. Now how
was he righteous? Through the picture of Christ.
Because that offering pictured the sacrifice of Christ. And
by faith, by faith looking to the Messiah, he offered that
sacrifice. And God testifying of his gifts
And by it, he being dead yet speaketh. Now Enoch also walked
with God by faith. And do you know that Enoch prophesied
about the second coming of Christ? Turn, if you would, to the book
of Jude, the book of Jude. Enoch testified of the second
coming of Christ. Jude 14 and 15, look at this.
Now, they didn't have the scriptures because Moses wasn't alive at
the time, was he? No, but God had taught these
men to look to Christ. Look at Jude 1, verse 14 and
15. In Enoch also the seventh from
Adam prophesied of these saying, behold, the Lord cometh with
10,000 of his saints to execute judgment upon all and to convince
all that are ungodly among them of their ungodly deeds which
they have ungodly committed and of the hard speeches which ungodly
sinners have spoken against him. So even before the word is written,
God has revealed to the patriarchs Christ. Christ. Because it says
right there in Judea and Enoch also, the 7th from Adam, prophesies
of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with 10,000 of his
saints. Turn, if you would, to John chapter
8. Do you know that Abraham rejoiced to see My day, Christ said? Abraham rejoiced to see My day. Look at John 8, starting in verse
56. Your father Abraham rejoiced
to see my day, and he saw it and was glad. Do you know Job professed both
redemption and resurrection through Christ alone? Turn, if you would,
to Job 19. Who taught these men about Christ? God. The Holy Spirit had revealed
Christ to them. Now, remember, the Old Testament
saints are looking to the cross. We look back to the cross. They
were looking forward. They were waiting for the Messiah
to come. They were looking for the Messiah, looking for Shiloh,
which is what we'll look at tonight. Look in Job chapter 19. Job,
he confidently professes both redemption and resurrection by
Christ alone, looking to his Redeemer and our Redeemer. We
who believe. Look at Job 19, verses 25 to
27. For I know that my Redeemer liveth. Job knew his Redeemer lived. And that he shall stand at the
latter day upon the earth. And though after my skin worms
destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God. Here,
see God. And then look at the next verse.
Every believer in Christ professes the next verse. Whom I shall
see for myself. There will be a day. When this
old sinner here. Sees Christ face to face, and
if you're a believer, there be a day you see him face to face.
And look at that, it's marvelous when I when I shall see him see
for myself and mine, I shall behold and not another. It won't
be someone else's experience. Well, it'll be other believers
experiences one, but Job is talking personally here. whom I shall
see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another, though
my reins be consumed within me." Oh, what a day when the saint
of God is called home to glory. Now, in this chapter which our
text has found, Jacob is dying, and he's called his 12 sons together
for the purpose of prophesying future things related to the
12 tribes which descended from them. He had a word for each
of his sons, but it's what he said to Judah that I'd like to
look at tonight. And if you want in your own time
to read the whole chapter, he has something to say to each
tribe, but Judah is the one I want us to focus upon tonight, the
one I'd like us to consider, because he prophesies of the
Messiah. He prophesies of the Messiah
through what he says to Judah. He tells Judah that Shiloh, Shiloh,
what a word. Shiloh, or the Messiah, shall
spring from him. And let us remember that it's
from the tribe of Judah came David, Solomon, and the Lord
Jesus Christ. Look at Genesis chapter 49 verse
8. Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren
shall praise. Thy hand shall be in the neck
of thine enemies. Thy father's children shall bow
down before thee. Now Judah's name means praise. It means praise. And the name
was given to him by his mother, her heart being filled with praise. Turn, if you would, to Genesis
29. Her heart being filled with praise. to God for Him. Look at Genesis 29, verse 35. And she's conceived again and
bear a son. And she said, now will I praise
the Lord. Therefore she called his name
Judah and left bearing. Praise. Now think of this with
our eyes towards Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ is our
Messiah and our King. And who is the object of our
praise? Christ. And Christ alone. He is the object
of our praise. And He is the one who's deserving
of our praise. He's the only one who's deserving
of praise. We speak against giving man praise
because God gets all the glory and all the honor and all the
praise for what He's done. Oh! And when we Think about the
eternal love that God has for his people. If you're a believer,
it'll fill your heart with praise. To think that that love, the
eternal love of God, has been set upon his people from eternity. My goodness, even when we were
sinners, and His love was set upon us. Oh, and may our hearts
be full of praise for our wonderful, merciful Redeemer, the Lord Jesus
Christ. We'll say His full title, the
Lord Jesus Christ, because that's who He is. Now think of this,
the opposite of praise is murmuring. The opposite of praise is murmuring.
And nothing is more inconsistent. Brother Henry said nothing's
more inconsistent with faith than murmuring and unhappiness.
Now that doesn't mean we're always going to be on the mountaintop.
We've talked about that before because let's be realist because
we're not always. Religion tells you you got to
always be on the top, don't they? No, there's sometimes we get
down and there's sometimes we get depressed. But who is our
hope? Christ. Who is our peace? Christ. That doesn't change because he
is the object of our faith. So it appears that Judah had
some, one commentator said, had great authority and was possibly
highly esteemed among his brethren. But beloved, this text that we're
looking at is pointing to Christ. It's pointing to Christ, our
Redeemer. Who is highly esteemed among
the brethren? Christ. Christ. He is the one who's highly esteemed.
And we are his. We his people. Now, let us just
ponder this too. I know we say it, we talk about
it, but we're his by divine purchase. God himself became a man. And
by the shedding of his blood, he purchased his people. He purchased
his elect. And it's incredible because we
are undeserving. We are undeserving. But we're
his by divine purchase. Why? Because Christ is God in
the flesh. And it was him who shed his blood
for the sins of his people. Divine purchase. God himself
becomes a man. God incarnate in the flesh. And
who do we praise? Well, we praise him. We who believe
praise Him for His glories, and not just for His glories, but
for the excellence of who He is. My, just ponder who He is. He's the eternal God. He's the
ruler of everything. Everything and every person,
every atom is in His hand. And yet He condescends and becomes
a man to die for His people. Oh, let us just meditate upon
the excellencies of his person. And we who believe, let us meditate
upon the blessings of his grace and what we have received in
him. Our text continues, it says, thy thy hand shall be in the
neck of thine enemies. Now, this is illustrated by the
life of David, and he passed through severe conflicts. Turn,
if you would, to Psalm 18, verse 40, Psalm 18. David passed through
severe conflicts and he gained great victories and he He founded
a peaceful empire, and he utterly crushed the forces that were
against him. But it was all by God's power, beloved. It was
all by God's might. But he broke the neck of all
opposition, again, by God's power. So this is proved in Psalm 1840. Look, it says, thou hast given
me the necks of mine enemies, that I might destroy them that
hate me. Thou hast given me the necks
of mine enemies that I might destroy them that hate me. Turn,
if you would, to Isaiah 55 and then put your finger, put your
finger in in Romans chapter 16. It says thy hand shall be in
the neck of thine enemies. Now, think of this also in light
of our wonderful savior. Think think of this in light
of our savior who who has triumphed over all his enemies, all of
them. Now, one commentator said when
it says thy thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies,
it says one commentator said when one has his hands securely
on the neck of his enemies, he can stop the breath and destroy
them. Well, think of this. Think of this. Christ. Is victorious over his enemies
and over our enemies. He we have victory in him, in
Christ. Think of this. Our Lord took
our sins, the sins of all his people to the cross and he conquered
them. He conquered them. Our Lord met
death. He met death. He was buried in
the tomb. And he arose triumphant. Conquering
it. Conquering it. And our risen
and exalted Savior is the one who has conquered death for us.
He's the one who has conquered our sin. And it is He who died
upon the cross for His people as the sinner's substitute. Again,
it is He who was raised for our justification. And it is he who is risen and
exalted and he is our mediator right now before God right now.
He intercedes for his people right now before God. And it is by his power and by
his grace that we shall one day be in his presence. Think of
this, I want us to ponder this before we look at Isaiah 55.
There is no enemy of his. and there's no enemy of his people
and there's no enemy of his kingdom that shall not finally be destroyed. My. Christ is our almighty leader
and commander, which Jehovah has given to his people, and
he will put our feet upon the neck of all of our enemies because
he's conquered them all. Look at Isaiah 55 verses three
and four. Incline your ear and come unto
me here and your soul shall live and I will make an everlasting
covenant with you. Even the sure mercies of David,
behold, I have given him. For a witness to the people,
this is Christ, a leader and a commander to the people. Then
turn, if you would, the Roman 16. And look at verse 20. Oh, he has conquered all his
foes, beloved, and he is conquering. He's he conquered as Satan and
the principalities at the cross and. Look at Romans 16, verse 20,
and the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. He did this
at the cross. He did it. He did it. And with Paul, we can say of
our Redeemer, nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors. More than conquerors through
him that loved us. Our text continues over in Genesis
49. It says, thy father's children
shall bow down before thee. This is meaning that they would
bow down before the kings that should spring from this tribe.
Those who should rule over them. David and Solomon and others,
but also with eyes to Christ's Beloved. All those whom the Father gave
to Christ, all those whom are the Father's choosing, and by
adoption through the precious blood of Christ will bow down
and worship The king of kings and the Lord of Lords, the one
spoken of in verse 10 is Shiloh. He's our mediator. They will
bow to the scepter of his kingdom and his righteousness, and they
will give him all the glory for their salvation, his people,
and that's what we do on earth. We give him all the glory. Our
salvation is of the Lord. It's nothing we can do. We have
no ability to come to Christ, but he makes his people willing
and we flee to Christ. And it's wonderful because salvation
is a little. It takes everything off of us. It's all his work. It's all his
mighty work. What a great king. And one day,
All whoever lived will one day bow to the King of Kings and
the Lord of Lords, and they will confess Him to be Lord. Now, that's a wonderful day for
we who believe, but that's a horrible day for those folks who do not
trust Christ. Look at verse 9. It says, Judah
is a lion's whelp. From the prey, my son, thou art
gone up. He stooped down, he crouched
as a lion, and is an old lion who shall rouse him up. Turn,
if you would, to Revelation 5.5. One of the names of our great
God and King, our Savior and our Redeemer, is found in Revelation
5.5. And I must confess, this is one
of my favorite names of my Savior. Revelation 5.5. In one of the elders saith unto
me, Weep not. Behold. Behold. The lion of the tribe of Judah,
the root of David, hath prevailed to open the book and to loose
the seals thereof. The lion of the tribe of Judah. That's my Redeemer. That's Christ
Jesus, our Lord. My Christ is the lion of the
tribe of Judah who sprang from thence. And it is in Revelation
that we see that which is spoken of in Genesis 49, 9 come forth. Judah is a lion's whelp from
the prey, my son. Thou art gone up. He stooped
down. He crouched as a lion and as
an old lion. Who shall rouse him up? He said
to be a lion, an old lion, stooping down and crouching. What a picture
of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is called the lion of the tribe
of Judah. He is compared to a lion because
of His great strength. His great strength. And He is the mighty God. He is the able savior, right? What he set out to do, he accomplished. He set out to redeem his people
from their sins, right? That's the whole reason he left
the glories and splendors of heaven, was to save his people
from their sins. And he cried, it is finished. And if it's finished, there's
nothing to be added. So that takes man's works out
of the equation. because it's finished. It's done. The work is complete. It's complete. And he is the protector of his
church, and he is the savior of his people. What a what a
picture. The lion of the tribe of Judah,
the avenger of our enemies. And it is he who defeated Satan
and the principalities and powers when He bore the sins of His
people at Calvary's cross, when He bore the Father's wrath was
poured out upon Him for my sin. And if you're a believer for
your sin, the full wrath of God was poured out upon Him. And He bore it all. He bore the
Father's wrath in the place of His people for their sins. And it was He who died in our
place when the fierceness of the wrath of God and the fury
of the wrath of God for our sins fell upon Him. But He's victorious. It is finished. And He gives up the ghost. And
they bury Him in a tomb. And He rises again. Scripture
says, for our justification. And now, beloved, he is seated
at the right hand of the father again right now, right this second
in it and for all of eternity. In the old in the Old Testament,
in the temples, remember, there was never a chair in the Holy
of Holies because the work was never finished. But our king is the one high
priest who sat down. And he sat down at the right
hand of the Father, because it's all done. The work is complete. The work is complete. Rejoice,
beloved. It is he who stooped in becoming
a man, leaving the glories of heaven to do all this for his
people. Rejoice. Rejoice, beloved of
God. The lion of the tribe of Judah
hath prevailed. There's no question. He's prevailed. Let's look at verse 10 now. And
consider Christ who is proclaimed here. The scepter shall not depart
from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh
come, and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. Now
we see the prophecy has its fulfillment in Christ. Turn, if you would,
to 1 Chronicles 5, and then put your finger in Daniel 9, verse
24. 1 Chronicles 5 and Daniel 9, verse
24. This prophecy has its fulfillment
in Christ. 1 Chronicles 5, verse 2. Scripture declares, For Judah
prevailed above his brethren, and of him came the chief ruler.
Who is the chief ruler? Christ. Christ Jesus. and then turn, if you would,
over to Daniel 9.25. Judah prevailed above his brethren,
and of him is the chief ruler, a prince. The Hebrew word here
is Nagid, and it's the same term which is translated Messiah,
the prince, in Daniel 9.25. Know, therefore, and understand
that from going from the going forth of the commandment to restore
and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah, the prince shall be
seven weeks and three score and two weeks in the street shall
be built again in the wall, even in troublous times, Messiah,
the prince, and after three score and two weeks shall Messiah be
cut off, but not for himself. He's sinless. Not for himself. He's perfect. He's spotless. Not for himself. Well, for us,
for his people. This is why he died. And the
people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and
the sanctuary, and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto
the end of the war desolations are determined. He was cut off,
but not for himself. No, he was cut off from my sins
for this old sinner right here. And if you're a believer, he
was cut off for you. But it was all appointed by God.
It was all God's purpose and plan that Christ would come in
to redeem his people from their sins. In the scepter, Let's go back
to our text, it says, "...the scepter was not to depart from
Judah, nor a lawgiver between his feet,
until Shiloh came." And this was literally the case
in the royal line, going on with Judah until Jesus came. "...the
scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between
his feet, until Shiloh come." And unto him shall the gathering
of the people be. And the scepter did not depart
until Jesus came. For in the family of David, it
was continued. It was continued. Turn, if you
would, to John 19. Even when Judea became a province
under the Roman government, the lineage continued. But when Christ
came, the Jews themselves Do you know that when Christ came,
the Jews themselves confessed to Pilate that they had no king
but Caesar? Look at John 19, verses 13 to
15, and remember our text. The scepter shall not depart
from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet until Shiloh
come. So until the Messiah comes, look at John 19, verses 13 to
15. When Pilate therefore heard that
saying, he brought Jesus forth and sat down in the judgment
seat in a place which is called the pavement, but in the Hebrew,
Gabbatha. And it was the preparation of
the Passover in about the sixth hour. And he saith unto the Jews,
Behold your King. He is the king, isn't he? And what did the Jews say? But
they cried out, away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, shall
I crucify your king? And look what they answer. And
keep in mind, the scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a
lawgiver from between his feet until Shiloh come, until the
Messiah come. The chief priests answered, we
have no king but Caesar. There it is. Filled right before
our eyes. That which was protected or predicted
by Jacob comes to pass right there before our eyes. Let's
go back to our text in Genesis 49 verse 10. The scepter shall
not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet until Shiloh
come and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. The scepter shall not depart
from Judah till Christ's coming. Judah possessed authority, but
shortly after his crucifixion, according to what Christ foretold, Jerusalem was destroyed. They
came in and just, the Romans came in and just went to town. Now let's look at what Shiloh
means, the word Shiloh. Shiloh means sent. It means sent. The Holy Spirit brings forth
before us that Christ is the sent one. He does not come without
authority. He is commissioned by the court
of God, by God's sovereign will, by the sovereign of the whole
universe, the King. who reigns supreme, the Eternal
Father, sends the Eternal Son, who in our text is called Shiloh,
and it is revealed to us by the Eternal Spirit. God Himself sends Christ, and
He was sent to redeem His people from their sins. And what He
is sent to do, He has accomplished. He of having obtained eternal
redemption, eternal redemption. It's not temporary. It's eternal. Zachariah 13, seven says this
awake. Oh, sword against my shepherd.
Zachariah 13, seven. And this is speaking of the justice,
the sword of God's justice awake. Oh, sword against my shepherd
and against the man that is my fellow. saith the Lord of hosts, smite
the shepherd, smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered,
and I will turn my hand upon the little ones. Shiloh means
sent, beloved, and Christ is truly the sent one, and the mission
of Christ by His Father is to come into this world and to do
the Father's will and to obtain eternal redemption for His people,
to live as their substitute and to die as their substitute. And He is the author and the
finisher of our salvation. And we who are born again by
the Holy Spirit, we cry out exactly what Brother Tim mentioned in
his prayer. Salvation is of the Lord. That's the cry of God's
people. It's his doing. It's his doing. Shiloh also means the son. And
truly, he is the son of God. The son of David and the son
of man. Shiloh also means the one to whom it belongs. And beloved,
the scepter and the crown and the throne and the worship of
his people belong to him. Belong to him. And lastly, Shiloh means tranquility
or rest and peace. And all these come for the believer
only through the Lord Jesus Christ in him alone. Christ alone is
the peace bearer. Christ alone is the peace giver.
He is the rest of his people. He is the rest maker of his people. And what a wonderful title for
our king, Shiloh. Shiloh. And after he came, the
scepter was departed from Judah. And the gathering of both Jews
and Gentiles was to him, was to Shiloh, as their King and
Savior, which we see in the latter part of verse 10. And unto him
shall the gathering of the people be. Romans 15, 12 says this,
and again, Isaiah said, there shall be a root of Jesse, and
he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles, in him shall the
Gentiles trust. In him shall the Gentiles trust. The people mentioned here are the Gentiles, by and under
the Messiah. At one time, the ordinances and
the worship of God and salvation were for the Jews only. But at Christ's coming, when
the Messiah Christ should come, salvation comes to the Jew and
to the Gentile. The middle wall of partition
between Jews and Gentiles has been taken down. Taken down. that believing Gentiles and believing
Jews should worship the one true God, Messiah, the Lord Jesus
Christ. And as promised, as the promised
Shiloh, it is Christ who is the one who will gather his people,
the one who will gather his people. And he's the one that his people
will be gathered to. No one else. They're born again
by the Holy Spirit of God and they're granted faith and repentance
to believe on Christ. And they are made willing in
the day of his power. I had a talk this week with a
guy about ability. And he said, well, the difference
between you and I is ability. He says, I believe that man has
the will to make a decision. And you believe that man doesn't
have a will. I said, hold on. I believe man
has a will. But I believe that will is bound by his nature.
And if man has a dead nature, all he will choose is sin. That's
all you choose. You must be born again. You must
be born again. And when you're born again by
the Holy Spirit of God, you will flee to Christ. You're run to
Christ. You're run to Christ. Made will in the day of his power,
turn, if you would, to John chapter one, John chapter one. These
spoken of in our texts come to Christ, obtaining through his
blood and through his his work, the pardon of all their sins,
they're justified before God. And they are righteous in the
eyes of God, clothed in the perfect, spotless righteousness of Christ.
Look at John chapter one, verses 12 to 13. This is marvelous. But as many as received him.
To them gave he power. He gave us the power to flee
to Christ. He made us willing. He made the
unwilling, willing to flee to Christ. To them gave He power
to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name,
which were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh,
nor of the will of man, but of God." They're born again by the
Holy Spirit of God. It's wonderful. The whole Trinity
is in action in our salvation. God the Father chooses the people
and gives them to Christ. And Christ comes to this earth
and dies upon the cross for them. And the Holy Spirit regenerates
them and draws them to Christ. And that's why we cry out, salvation
is of the Lord. It's His doing. And we marvel
that we were included. We marvel. What mercy and grace
God has upon sinners. And they are sanctified. These
people spoken of, gathering unto the Messiah, gathering unto Shiloh. They're sanctified in Him. They're
made holy in Him. They're made fit for heaven.
They're made fit for heaven in Christ, and they are delivered
from the power of darkness, and they are translated into His
kingdom, the kingdom of His dear Son. And it's all through Christ. It's all through Christ. If you're saved, the only reason
you're saved If you're here tonight and you're saved, the only reason
you're safe is because of the shed blood of Christ, because
God had mercy upon you. Oh, and we marvel because we
know what we are. We know what we were. We know
the struggles we have right now. But yet. God has had mercy upon
ourselves. Turn, if you would, to John,
Chapter 12. John chapter 12 he alone is the desire of all nations
and his people are gathered from every nation And it is he being
lifted up from the earth at the cross which the Holy Spirit draws
God's people to look at John chapter 12 verses 27 to 35 Now
as my soul troubled and what shall I say father saved me from
this hour, but for this cause came I unto this hour Father, glorify thy name. There
came a voice from heaven saying, I have both glorified it and
will glorify it again. The people, therefore, that stood
by and heard it said that it thundered. Others said an angel
spake to him. Jesus answered and said, this
voice came not because of me, but for your sakes. Now is the
judgment of the world, of this world, and now shall the prince
of this world be cast out. And if I be lifted up from the
earth, now that's speaking of his death upon the cross will
draw all men unto me. This, he said, signifying what
death he should die, that he was going to die upon Calvary's
cross and that he was to endure the wrath and judgment of God
in the place of his people. The people answered him. We have
heard of the law that Christ abideth forever. How sayest thou
the son of man must be lifted up? Who is this son of man? Then Jesus said unto them, yet
a little while, while, while is the light with you. Walk while
you have the light, lest darkness come upon you. For he that walketh
in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. The children of God are gathered
abroad. scattered from every tongue,
tribe, kindred, nation through all the ages. But where do we meet? Where do God's people meet? And I don't mean in a building.
We meet at the feet of Christ. At the feet of Christ. He is
the center of our unity. He is the object of our faith. And think of this. Ponder this. In Christ, the believer is fully,
freely, and forever saved. Saved. And the believer doesn't just
come to Christ once, does he? We keep coming and coming and
coming. Trial and tribulations, which
the world would think drive us away, actually draws closer to
our great king. Draws closer to him. Because
it is him. In whom the believer finds. Our
refuge. And our strength. In our weakness,
He is strong. He is strong. So let us consider
this wonderful word this week. Let us meditate upon it this
coming week. Shiloh. Shiloh. What a wonderful word for the
believer. And we have seen tonight that
He was predicted as coming. And the very word Shiloh means
sent. Sent. And let us remember, let
us meditate upon this, that he was sent by the Father. He was sent by the Father. And
his name Shiloh also means peace. One commentator said, rest, rest. Oh, beloved, let us remember
this week that we only have peace with God. We only have peace
with God in and through the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And He alone is the rest of our souls. Him alone. When we look to ourselves, we
get in all kinds of trouble. I know I do. When I get looking
at circumstances, and when I get looking at my own flesh and trying
to figure things out in my own flesh, I get in a world of trouble.
I don't know if it's so with you, but it's so with me. My
goodness, I got to keep my eyes upon Christ, who is my rest,
who is my peace. And I always have to remind myself
that it is only through the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ
and he alone is the rest for my soul. Let us also finish with
this. Let us remember this week the
completeness of his rule. When we see things going on in
the world, Let us remember the completeness of His rule, the
completeness. And let us rejoice in this wonderful
truth, knowing that our Savior, our Redeemer, is King. He is King. He is King. And it is He who saved us. And
praise God, it is He who will keep us. It's not based upon
us. It's based upon what He's done. Oh, what peace we often forfeit.
Oh, what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything
to God in prayer. Let us just rest in Shiloh, our
great God and King. Heavenly Father, we thank Thee
for this time that we've had to be able to gather together
around Your Word. We pray that we would think upon
these things which we looked at tonight. Oh, that it would
warm our hearts, we who believe, that we would be filled with
joy, that it would give us strength for the coming week. You know
what's coming before us, Lord. We don't know, but nothing catches
you by surprise. So we pray that you'd be glorified
and magnified. as we think upon these precious
truths which we looked at tonight. Lord Jesus, give us strength.
Give us strength, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.