The name of the message is, The
Cities of Refuge. The Cities of Refuge. Joshua chapter 20, verses 1 to
6, we'll read, The Lord also spake unto Joshua, saying, Speak
to the children of Israel, saying, Point out for you cities of refuge,
whereof I spake unto you by the hand of Moses, that the slayer
that killeth any person unawares and unwittingly may flee thither,
and they shall be your refuge from the avenger of blood. When
he that doth flee unto one of those cities shall stand at the
entering of the gate of the city, and shall declare his cause in
the ears of the elders of that city, they shall take him into
the city unto them, and give him a place that he may dwell
among them. And if the avenger of blood pursue
after him, Then they shall not deliver the slayer up into his
hand because he smote his neighbor unwittingly and hated him not
before time. And he shall dwell in that city
until he stand before the congregation for judgment and until the death
of the high priest that shall be in those days. Then shall
the slayer return and come unto his own city and unto his own
house unto the city from whence he fled." Now, here before us,
we have a wonderful picture, an absolutely wonderful picture
in these six cities of refuge of Christ, who is the refuge
of the sinner's soul. He's the only refuge. And Brother
John brought out the law and justice of God is the avenger of blood. The soul that sinneth, it must
die. We're all sinners. Now the Hebrew
word here for refuge in our text is defined as this, refuge, asylum. And the word refuge means hope,
or safe habitation and is commonly used to denote a place or a person
to which we flee that we may be safe, that we may be safe
and that we may be secure from danger or from death. So we know that to give someone
refuge or to give them asylum is to give them protection. To
give them protection. To take someone in and to protect
them. We see that when people flee
countries and they ask for asylum. And we're saying we will protect
them. We'll take them in and we'll protect them. Beloved, a refuge is a place
where one has safety, and security. And the refuge is a safe habitation. It's a safe habitation. And that's
what Christ is for sinners. That's what Christ is for sinners.
He's a place of safety and He's a place of security from the
wrath and justice of God for my sins, for our sins. And He takes His sheep in, beloved.
He takes His sheep in and He protects them. He is a refuge for sinners. The question is, are you a sinner? Are you a sinner? And He takes
us and protects us all the days while we sojourn on this earth.
And He takes us finally to be with Him. in his protection and
glory. It's marvelous. It's wonderful. He's the shelter in the time
of storm. Moses said this in Deuteronomy
33, 27, he said this, the eternal God is thy refuge. Now think
of that. The eternal God is thy asylum,
thy protection, thy security, thy refuge for his people. The eternal God is like refuge,
and underneath are the everlasting arms. So underneath us is the
everlasting arms of God. That's who keeps us. That's who
our refuge is. Do you see why we say we're safe
and secure in Christ? Because the one in whom's arms
we are in. The one in whom we have found
asylum, the one in whom we are secure, is the everlasting God. That's security. That's safety. The eternal God is thy refuge
and underneath are the everlasting arms and he shall thrust out
the enemy. He shall thrust out the enemy. We're protected from
our enemies. We're protected from that which
would kill us. Spiritually too, right? Because the law of God
has a claim on all of us, doesn't it? We have a refuge in Christ.
We who have fled to the city of refuge, to Christ, who is
our city of refuge. And shall say, destroy them.
David, turn if you would to 2 Samuel chapter 22. David said, And the day that the Lord had
delivered him out of the hand of his enemies and out of the
hand of Saul, he said this, in 2 Samuel 22, our Lord said this,
or I mean David said this, and he said, verse 2 of chapter 22,
2 Samuel, and he said, the Lord is my rock and my deliverer. The Lord, the self-existent One,
the God of my rock, in Him will I trust. And God's people trust
their eternal souls to Christ in Him alone. He is my shield. Who? The Lord, the Everlasting
One, and the horn of my salvation.
My salvation's only in Christ. Who's God? And my refuge. Is Christ your
refuge? For the believer, He's our refuge.
God. My Savior. He's not just my refuge. He's my Savior. He's my shield.
He's the horn of my salvation. He's my high tower. He's my refuge. And He's my Savior. And Thou
savest me from violence. He's the one who saved my soul.
This is the one who keeps my soul. This is the one who's my
city of refuge. Is it so with you? David said also in Psalm 99,
the Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in
times of trouble. And has he not proved that to
we who believe over and over and over again? Psalm 59, 16 says this, but I
will sing of thy power. Why will he sing of the Lord's
power and not because he don't have no power on his own? I will
sing of thy power. Yeah, I will sing aloud of thy
mercy in the morning. For thou has been my defense
and refuge in the day of my trouble. Oh, he's an ever present help,
beloved. God's people cry out like David did about our great
God, who is our refuge. In Psalm 142.5, he says, I cried
unto thee, O Lord. I said, thou art my refuge and
my portion in the land of the living. He's my refuge right
here. Like David said, David said,
he's my refuge in the land of the living. He's my security. He's my defense. He's the one in whom I trust.
This is what David was saying. Isaiah 25.4 says, For thou hast
been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy, in his
distress a refuge from the storm. What storm? The storm of God's
wrath and justice. He's a refuge. A shadow from
the heat. And when the blast of the terrible
ones is as a storm against the wall, He's a refuge for our souls
in all situations. There's not one situation where
He's not our refuge. He's a great god and king. Now
false religion makes their decision or their works or their self-righteousness
their refuge. And it's a refuge of lies. If
you're here trusting in yourself, trusting in what you do, that's
a refuge of lies. Because there's nothing in us
that can gain merit and favor with God. I can't save myself, let alone
anyone else. It's so with you too, isn't it? So folks who trust in themselves,
trust in their religion, or trust in something that they do, they've
built themselves a refuge of lies. But God's people, we have a sure
foundation, beloved. We have a sure foundation. He's a tried stone, the Lord
Jesus Christ, and He is our eternal refuge. He's our eternal refuge. Isaiah 28, verses 15 and 16 says
this, because ye have said we have made a covenant with death
and with hell, are we at agreement when the overflowing scourge
shall pass through, it shall not come unto us. So they're
saying, well, when that falls, We'll be fine. But what does
the Lord tell us? And this is speaking of people
who make their own self-righteousness their refuge, or make their works
their refuge, something they do, or something they've done,
or something that's been performed upon them, like their baptism
when they were a baby. They make these things their
refuge of lies. And it says in Isaiah 28, 15,
for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid
ourselves. See, scripture declares it's
a refuge of lies. Therefore, thus saith the Lord
God, behold, I lay in Zion, look at this, a foundation. A stone, a tried stone, a precious
cornerstone, a sure foundation. And he that believeth shall not
make haste. Isaiah 28, 16. My, that's our
Savior. That's the one in whom I trust
my soul. Is it so with you? And Jeremiah,
turn if you would to Jeremiah 16. Jeremiah wrote of the one
true refuge and how the Gentiles shall come to him. which is Christ,
it says, come to thee, which is Christ, and that his people
shall know his name is the Lord, and that he will be the refuge
of all the elect, which is all the people of all the ages that
were given to Christ by God the Father in eternity. His people, the elect of God,
the very ones whom Christ died for, Jeremiah 16 verses 19 to
21. Oh, Lord, my strength. Oh, Lord, my strength and my
fortress, fortress and my refuge in the day of affliction. Look
at this. And here we are. The Gentiles
shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth. We're all
Gentiles. We are. We who have fled the
Christ were included in that In that name, the Gentiles shall
come under thee from the ends of the earth. And she'll say,
surely our fathers have inherited lies. We're say, we made what
we believe was a refuge of lies. The traditions that my parents
taught me were refuge of lies. Surely our fathers have inherited
lies, vanity and things wherein there is no profit. For what
shall profit a man if he shall gain the world but lose his own
soul? Shall a man make gods unto himself,
and they are no gods? I hit on that in Sunday school.
The people make idols and bow down to them, and they say they're
gods, and they're not gods. They're pieces of stone and wood.
And yet they bow down to them, and they pray to them. They're
making refuge alive, beloved. And there's millions of people
that are doing this, billions of people that are doing this.
And it's sad. But they've made these things
a refuge of lies. Look at, it says in 21, therefore
behold, I will, this once caused them to know. I will cause them
to know mine hand and my might. Has not God done that to his
people? Has he not caused us to know him? To see his mighty
hand at work in providence and our salvation? And we still see
it, don't we? They shall know that my name
is the Lord. We know him because he's revealed
himself to us. In the book of Hebrews, the sinner's
refuge is identified, if you would, the Hebrews chapter six.
Hebrews chapter six. The sinner's refuge is identified. Hebrews six verses 18 to 20. that by two immutable things
in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong
consolation who have fled for a refuge to lay hold upon the
hope set before us. Which hope we have is an anchor
of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that
within the veil." Now here, he's identifying. Whether the forerunner
is for us entered, even Jesus, there he is, there he is. Our refuge, it says in verse
18, he's our hope. Verse 19, again, he's our hope.
He's the anchor of our soul. He's sure, he's steadfast, and
he's identified as Jesus, made in high priest forever after
the order of Melchizedek. There he is. There's the refuge
for sinners, the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's go back to our text in
Joshua 20. And the cities of refuge here
before us, again, are a picture of Christ who is our refuge. Christ who is our refuge. Look
at Joshua 20, verses 7 to 9. And they appointed Kedesh and
Galilee and Mount Naphtali and Shechem and Mount Ephraim. and Kirjathaba, which is Hebron
in the Mount of Judah. And on the other side, Jordan,
by Jericho eastward, they assigned Bezer in the wilderness upon
the plain out of the tribe of Reuben, and Rameth and Gilead
out of the tribe of Gad, and Golan and Bashan out of the tribe
of Manasseh. These were the cities appointed
for all the children of Israel and for the stranger that sojourneth
among them. And note that. that whosoever
kills any person that unawares might fly thither and not die
by the hand of the avenger of blood until he stood before the
congregation. So today, I'd like us to look
at the names of these cities and how they point to Christ.
And then we'll look at five quick points about the city, about
Christ being our refuge. But look at the names of the
cities. And we see by their names how they point us to Christ.
The name of the first city is called Kiddush, which means holy. Holy. Holy place. Well, we know from scriptures,
right, that Christ is identified as the holy one. The holy one. The perfect one. The sinless
one. The spotless one. And Christ,
Christ is the refuge for the unclean. The perfect spotless one is the
refuge for unclean sinners like me. The holy one. What a picture. And He is the
Holy One. He is God incarnate in the flesh. People may say this and that.
Oh, they might say, I don't believe that. That doesn't change it
at all. He is God. And He is God when He came to
this earth. He was God before in eternity.
He is God when He was on this earth, the God-man mediator.
And He is God upon His throne right now. And it doesn't matter
what people say, but one day, Vicki and I were talking about
this this morning, imagine this, these very people who shake their
fist at God and say this and that, one day they will stand
in His presence and tremble. And tremble. He is the Holy One. This book is the Holy Bible.
The angels, the elect angels are holy angels. And we are a
people made holy so that we're fit to be in God's presence.
Oh my, what a picture of Christ. And the name of the second city
is Shechem, in Mount Ephraim. And it means shoulders, and denotes
a place of burden. Shoulders. Well, upon whose shoulders
is the government? It's upon Christ, upon His shoulders. And the Lord Jesus Christ has
borne the burden of His people upon His shoulders. When the
shepherd finds the lost sheep, where does he place that lost
sheep? Upon His shoulders, beloved.
Upon His shoulders. The lost sheep of God find both
safety and rest upon the shoulders of the Lord Jesus Christ. Think
of that. The lost sheep is out there wandering, lost. And the Lord comes and takes
that lost sheep and places that lost sheep upon His shoulders.
And that sheep finds rest. That sheep finds security. That
sheep finds protection. Our sheep is saved. What a picture
of God's people in Christ. And we also know that the government
is on his shoulders and he has all power and authority in heaven
and earth. Beloved, what a fitting picture
of Christ. And we are told we are told to
cast all our cares upon him because he careth for us. First Peter
5 7 says, cast in all your care upon him all of it. Let's not
hold it back. Cast all our cares upon Christ.
Why? Because scripture declares, He
careth for you. God careth for you. The name of the third city is
Hebron, which means fellowship. Which means fellowship. And let
us consider this, that our fellowship with God, is only in and through
the Lord Jesus Christ. Without Christ, we have no fellowship
with God. No. But in Christ, we have fellowship
with God. We have peace with God. Peace
with God. Turn to 1 John 1. We have peace with God in and
through the Lord Jesus Christ. And our fellowship is with one
another, and our fellowship with one another as believers is in
Christ. It's all in Him. 1 Corinthians
1.9 says this, God is faithful by whom ye were called unto the
fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. And then look
at 1 John 1.1-4. that which was from the beginning,
which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes." They
saw Christ. They saw Him. "...which we have
looked upon in our hands of Handel, of the Word of Life..." Remember,
this is John, "...who laid his head upon the breast of Christ." My! For the life was manifest,
and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that
eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifest
unto us. That which we have seen and heard,
declare we unto you. They declare Christ, that ye
also may have fellowship with us. And truly, our fellowship
is with the Father, and with His Son, Jesus Christ. In these things write we unto
you, that your joy may be full. That going through this world
of woe, your joy may be full. To have fellowship with God.
And that fellowship with God only comes in and through the
Lord Jesus Christ. And we as his people have fellowship
in Christ. The next city is called Bezer,
in the wilderness upon the plain of the tribe of Reuben. Now Bezer
means fortress. Fortress. Is not the Lord Jesus
Christ our fortress? He's our shield. He's our protection.
He's the fortress to his people. And remember our study in Psalm
48? Turn, if you would, there quickly.
Psalm 48. Our study in Psalm 48. We saw
how Zion, and Zion is a picture of the church. We saw that through
that Psalm. It's a picture of the church.
Zion's a fortified city. She's fortified. She's protected. And it's not by her own works. No, she's a fortified city and
her towers and bulwarks, which are fortifications, picture Christ,
who's our fortress. Psalm 48. He's the fortification. Now, think of this before we
look at these verses. He's the fortification that's inaccessible
to to the city's enemies. He's a fortification, so he's
my fortification and my enemies are inaccessible. to me through
him. That's what that means in Hebrew.
That he's a fortress that's inaccessible. They can't breach it. They can't
overtake it. And that's what he is. He is
a fortification that is inaccessible to his enemies. And that's what
kind of refuge Christ is to His people. A defense for His people
that can't be touched. Hide me, O my Savior, hide, till
the storms of life are past. Safe unto the haven guide, O
receive my soul at last. Now look at Psalm 48 verses 12
to 14. Walk about Zion. So they're talking
about doing a survey. Walk about her. Do a survey of
the city. Walk about the city. Now, when
a general's planning on attacking a city, they'll do a survey of
it, right? They'll look at what the cost
is going to be. Talk about it. Tell the towers
thereof. She's fortified. This city is
fortified. Zion is a fortified city. Mark
ye well her bulwarks. Consider her palaces, that ye
may tell it to the generation following. For this God is our
God forever and ever. He will be our guide even unto
death. So this city is fortified. And Christ is our fortification.
He is our fortification. He does the battles. He fights the enemies. The next
city is called Ramoth in Gilead of the tribe of Gad. Gramoth
means exalted or heights highly exalted highly exalted what a
picture what a picture of Who our Lord Jesus Christ is that
God has given him a name that is what? That is above all names. He's highly exalted He's highly
exalted wherefore Philippians 2 verses 9 and 11 says this wherefore
God also hath highly exalted him Highly exalted him and given
him a name which is above everything He is all-powerful All authority
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow of things in
heaven and things in earth and things under the earth In every
tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of
God the father. Oh, he's so highly exalted beloved
He's seated at the right hand of the father And let us not
forget, too, that our Lord is seated in the heavenlies, right?
And He's seated far above all principalities and powers. And
His elect are seated there with Him also. Scripture says, and
hath raised us up together and made us to sit together in heavenly
places in Christ Jesus. See, He's our shield. He's our
refuge. He's our refuge. The next city
is called Golan in Bashan out of the tribe of Benassa. And
Golan means captive. Now, you might think, well, how
what does that have to do with the law? Well. It has a lot to do. The Lord
Jesus Christ has a lot to do with the captives, doesn't he? Who are the captives? What has he done? What has he
done for the captives? Golan means captive. The Lord
Jesus Christ has led captivity. He set the captives free. He's
led captivity. He's freed those who are captive. Turn if you would to Isaiah chapter
61. Isaiah chapter 61 and put your finger in Luke chapter 4.
Luke chapter 4 and Isaiah 61. He's led captivity captive, beloved. Look at this. We're going to
look at a portion of Scripture in Isaiah 61, and then we'll see the fulfillment
of that Scripture in Luke 4. The Lord came to set the captives
free, beloved, and He did it. Look at Isaiah 61, verses 1-3. The Spirit of the Lord God is upon
me. because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto
the meek. He hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to
proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison
to them that are bound." Verse 2, "...to proclaim the acceptable
year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort
all that mourn." to appoint unto them that morning Zion, to give
unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for the morning, the
garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, that they might
be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that
he might be glorified." So he tells us here that he's come
to proclaim liberty to the captives. and the opening of the prison
to them which are bound." Turn, if you would, to Luke 4. Luke
4, and here's the words of our Master, the words of the Lord
Jesus Christ, God incarnate in the flesh. Luke 4.16-21, And he came to
Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as his custom was, he
went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood for to
read. And there was delivered unto
him the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when he opened the book,
he found the place where it is written." Now, think of this.
We as sinners are captive by sin, aren't we? And we cannot
free ourselves. Look at these wonderful words
here. Look at this. Luke 4.18. The Spirit of the Lord is upon
me. because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the
poor, he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach
deliverance to the captives, which we saw in Isaiah, right?
And recovering of sight to the blind, to set them at liberty
that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister,
and sat down, and the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue
were fastened on him. And he began to say to them,
this day is the scripture fulfilled in your ears. There he is. He just revealed who he is, the
one who came to set the captives free. In Ephesians 4, verse 8
says this, wherefore he saith when he ascended up On high he
led captivity and gave gifts unto men, grace and mercy, which
is only found in Christ and Him alone. So we see that the names
of these cities point to and picture Christ. is Hebrews 6
tells us that we might have a strong consolation who have fled for
refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us. Now Christ is
to the believer all our holiness. All our holiness. He is the one,
and this is in line with the names, He's all our holiness,
right? He's the Holy One. He's the one in whom we find
rest. He's the one in whom we have fellowship with God. He's
our fortress, and in Him do we trust. He's the exalted Savior,
highly exalted, seated at the right hand of the Father. And
He is the One who has set the captives free. The ones who couldn't
set themselves free. I couldn't free myself. I was
so bound up in sin, but He set me free. And if you're a believer,
it's so with you. He's set you free. What liberty,
what wonderful liberty we have in Christ. Turn if you would
to Deuteronomy chapter 19, Deuteronomy chapter 19, and we'll look quickly
at Who were the ones who fled to
these cities? Let's look at Deuteronomy chapter
19. Deuteronomy chapter 19 verses 1 to 10. And then I'll make some
statements, a few points about Christ being our city of refuge. Look at this in Deuteronomy 19
verses 1 to 10. Who are the ones who have fled
to these cities and why? Deuteronomy 19 verse 1, When
the LORD thy God hath cut off the nations whose land the LORD
thy God giveth thee, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest
in their cities and in their houses, thou shalt separate three
cities for thee in the midst of thy land, which the LORD thy
God giveth thee to possess it. Thou shalt prepare thee a way,
and divide the coasts of thy land, which the Lord thy God
giveth thee to inherit, into three parts, and every slayer
may flee thither. And this is the case of the slayer,
which shall flee thither, that he may live. Whoso killeth his
neighbor ignorantly, whom he hateth not in times past, as
when a man goeth into the wood with his neighbor to hew wood,
and his hand fetches a stroke with the axe to cut down the
tree and the head slippeth from the heath and lighteth upon his
neighbor that he die. He shall flee into one of those
cities and live." So the guy's chopping wood and the head flies
off and hits his friend in the head and kills him. And he drops it and runs. He starts to run. He starts to
run. As when a man goeth into the
wood with his neighbor to hew wood, and his hand fetches a
stroke, and the axe to cut down the tree, and the head slip it
from the hilt, and lighteth upon his neighbor that he die, he
shall flee unto one of those cities, and live. Lest... Why doesn't he tarry? Why doesn't
he wait and explain what happened? Lest the avenger of blood pursue
the slayer while his heart is hot, and overtake him. because
the way is long, and slay him, whereas he was not worthy of
death, insomuch as he hated him, not in times past. Wherefore
I command thee, saying, Thou shalt separate three cities for
thee. And if the Lord thy God enlarge
thy coast, as he has sworn unto thy fathers, and give thee all
the land which he hath promised to give unto thy fathers, If
thou shalt keep all these commandments to do them, which I command thee
this day, to love the Lord thy God, and to walk ever in his
ways, then thou shalt have three more cities for thee beside these
three. That innocent blood be not shed
in thy land, which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.
And so blood be upon thee. So now let's go back to our text
in Joshua chapter 20. So there's the reason. Now, we
are all guilty before God's law, as Brother John bought out, and
that law is in pursuit of us. Let's look at a few points though
here. Five quick points at Joshua 20. Look at verses 1 and 2. The Lord
also spake unto Joshua, saying, Speak to the children of Israel,
appoint out for you cities of refuge, whereof I spake unto
you by the hand of Moses." So let us note from the text here
that these cities were appointed by God. They weren't appointed
by Moses, and they weren't appointed by anyone else in Israel. They
were appointed by God. They were appointed by God to
be cities of refuge. It was by God's divine decree
and by God's word and by His will that they were provided
as cities of refuge, as a place of safety and security to those
who fled to them. Let us remember, beloved, the
Lord Jesus Christ is the appointed divine refuge of His people,
and it's by God's will that He's the refuge of our soul. God appointed
it thus way. He became By God's appointment,
by God's decree, Christ is our prophet, Christ is our priest,
and Christ is our King. And He is the only refuge appointed
by God for our souls. Christ alone. God will accept
no one else. He will only accept those in
Christ. And for the believer, He is our
righteousness. He is our Redeemer. He is our
Savior. And He is our all in all. And
it is all by God's doing. By God's decree. By God's appointment. By God's will. And God's people
marvel. We marvel. And she shall bring
forth a son, and thou shalt call His name Jesus. For He shall
save His people from their sins. God decreed this. God appointed
Christ as the only refuge. Now all this was done that it
might be fulfilled, which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet,
saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and she shall
bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel, which
being interpreted is God with us. Matthew 1, 21 to 23. By God's
appointed will, by His decree, the Lord Jesus Christ is the
only refuge for sinners. The second point is the cities
of refuge were to be located so that one could flee to the
refuge without difficulty. Now, in studying for this lesson, several commentators noted how
you could see these cities from far off. From far off, you could
see them. Now, one was down in a valley.
One was where you couldn't see it a whole lot. But the other
ones were, most of them were seated upon hills. from what the commentators
said. They were seated in places where
one was down in a plane, but the plane was wide. So they were
very visible cities, very visible cities. easily found and highly visible
mark with clear roads and readily accessible for anyone who would
need them Deuteronomy 19 3 says this thou shall prepare the away
and divide the coast of thy land which the Lord thy God giveth
thee to inherit into three parts and every slayer may flee theater
prepare the away Prepare thee a way. And they're
not exclusive for Israel, but they're also there for the stranger
and the sojourner among the people of Israel, which pictures both
Jew and Gentile in the body of Christ. He is the only refuge for his
people. And the way is a prepared way.
It's a prepared way. It's a way clear of obstructions.
Not by works of righteousness, which we have done. It's only in Christ. It's only
in Christ and Him alone. It's a prepared way, a clear
way. And all the sinner does is look, believe, and live. Turn if you would to Romans chapter
10. Romans chapter 10. In the Word of God, this book
is a clear sign which points us. Who does this book point
us to? Christ, the city of refuge. It
points us right to Christ. Right to Christ in Him alone. And we know Paul wrote of this.
Paul wrote that the preachers of the Gospel are to keep the
way clear of stumbling blocks, right? And of obstructions. How do we do that as preachers?
By preaching Christ in Him alone. Paul said this, For Christ sent
me not to baptize, but to preach the Gospel, not with words of
wisdom, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.
Look at Romans chapter 10. Oh, what a clear sign. Romans
chapter 10 verses 6 to 10. But the righteousness which is
of faith speaketh on this wise. Say not in thy heart who shall
ascend into heaven, that is to bring Christ down from above,
or who shall descend into the deep, that is to bring Christ
up again from the dead. But what saith it? The word is
nigh thee. Even in thy mouth and in thy
heart, that is the word of faith which we preach, that if thou
shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus Christ, Lord Jesus,
and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from
the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth
unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made
unto salvation. And then look at verse 17. And
this is why we must preach Christ. So then faith cometh by hearing.
and hearing by the word of God. There it is. The next point is,
the manslayer was to flee immediately to the city of refuge. To delay
meant death. It was foolishness for him to
delay. And it is so now, as all who would find refuge from the
curse and condemnation of the law must run to Christ now. This is why we pray that God
would reveal to you that you're a sinner. He'll give you grace,
He'll grant you faith and repentance to believe on Christ. And if
He does, you'll do what we did. You'll flee to the city of refuge,
which is Christ and Him alone. He's the only refuge for sinners. Scripture says this, For He saith,
Have I heard thee in time accepted, and in the day of salvation have
I secured thee? Behold, now is the accepted time.
Behold, now is the day of salvation. I was talking to my mom on the
phone the other day, and she was talking about how we just
never know, because she's older now, and her friends are dying,
and people around her are starting to die. And we all have that
in our lives, people stepping into eternity. But one of her
friends, the guy who cuts her grass, his wife just, she was
downstairs, and he was upstairs, and he heard a thump and went
out, and his wife was gone. Scripture says, now is the day
of salvation. Now is the acceptance. We don't
know when we're going to die. We don't know when we're going
to step into eternity. We have absolutely no idea. So
for the manslayer to tarry was foolishness. Because the avenger
of blood was on his heels. The fourth point is that the
manslayer must be within the city to be safe. He must be within
the city to be safe. Outside the city, there's no
safety for the slayer. No safety at all. Now, just knowing about the city,
going, oh yeah, I know those are the cities of refuge. That
wouldn't help them, would it? Or even making a profession that
they were the cities of refuge. Wouldn't help them. Didn't save
them. No. No. There's no safety for
the slayer outside the city. No safety for the slayer outside
the city. The one fleeing the avenger of
blood must be in the city. Turn, if you would, to John 15.
Must be in the city to find refuge. And those who would find refuge
in Christ must, by faith, dwell in Christ. Look at John 15, verses
5 and 6. This is why when you hear people
say, well, I believe in Jesus, but they have absolutely no idea
who He is. Nothing. You just sit there and
shake your head. They don't know who he is. But
look at what the scripture says here. John 15 verses 5 and 6. I am the vine,
ye are the branches. Now think of this in light of
the city of refuge, right? We dwell within the city of refuge. God's people are in the vine.
They're in Him. They're in Christ. He that abideth
in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit. For
without me ye can do nothing. Nothing. If a man abide not in
me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered. Think of that
in light of the cities of refuge. If you're in Christ, you're safe.
If you're outside of Christ, the avenger of blood. He's right there. And the men gather them and cast
them into the fire, and they are burned. So the one who has
fled to Christ for refuge is safe in Christ and accepted in
Christ. Accepted in Christ, just as the
slayer was safe within the city of refuge. Ephesians 1.6 says
this, To the praise of the glory of His grace wherein He hath
made us accepted in the Beloved. We're accepted in Christ. We're
safe in Christ. So let us take note that to know
Christ, to profess to know Christ, or even to admire Christ, is
not to be saved. Believers, like the manslayer
of old, leave everything behind, leave everything behind, and
gladly lie in the bosom of the Redeemer. We gladly lie upon
our Lord and rest and trust in Him alone. We cast all our cares
upon Him, don't we? And we rest in His sufficient
grace, because His grace is sufficient for us. Not one of us here can
save ourselves. But we fled to the One who can
save us from all our sins. And He has. He has. But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus.
Of Him are ye in Christ Jesus. Who of God is made unto us. Wisdom. Righteousness, sanctification,
and redemption. He is everything. Let us take note of the last
point here. The manslayer must remain in the city. He must remain
in the city. Look at verse 6, "...and he shall
dwell in that city until he stand before the congregation for judgment,
and until the death of the high priest." Take note of that. Who's
our high priest? Who died for us? The Lord Jesus
Christ. "...that shall be in those days.
Then shall the slayer return and come into his own city, unto
his own house, unto the city from whence he fled." But think of this though. for
the slayer to leave that city before the death of the high
priest, meant death. He had to stay in the city. Numbers 35, 26, and 27 says this,
but if the slayer shall at any time come without the border
of the city of his refuge, whither he was fled, and the avenger
of blood find him, and this is before the death of the high
priest, without the borders of the city of his refuge, and the
revenger of blood kill the slayer, he shall not be guilty of his
blood. So that claim was upon him until the death of the high
priest. Believers will and must and continue
in faith in Christ, don't we? They're not leave the gospel.
They're not leave Christ. Turn if you would to Colossians
1. Now to deny Christ or to depart from Christ is to perish. Hebrews
says this, Now the just shall live by faith, but if any man
draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are
not of them who draw back into perdition, but of them that believe
in the saving of the soul. Look in Colossians 1, verses
21-23. and you that were sometimes alienated. Now he's writing to the Colossians,
who are believers, and he said, this is how you were. You were
at one time alienated. Enemies in your mind by wicked
works. And that's how we were. We come into this world, dead
in trespasses and sins. But look at this, it says, yet
now hath he reconciled. How? By his precious blood. When
he died on Calvary's cross as a substitute of his people. in
the body of His flesh through death to present you. Look at
this. Look at this. To present you holy. God's people
are presented holy. Holy. And unblameable. Sinners presented before God
unblameable and unapprovable in His sight. Why? Because we're
clothed in the precious righteousness of Christ. Our sins were imputed
to Him, and His righteousness is imputed to us, and God looks
at us, and He sees us unblameable, and unapprovable, and holy in
His sight. And it's all through Christ,
who is our refuge. But look at verse 23. If ye continue
in the faith, grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the
hope of the gospel, God's people will keep looking to Christ.
They'll keep looking to Christ. They'll keep looking to Him. And we know from other scriptures,
He's the one who keeps us looking. He's the one who keeps us looking.
Which ye have heard, have ye heard? Has God given you ears
to hear? I pray He does. If you don't
have ears to hear, I pray God give you ears to hear and eyes
to see Christ. He's the only refuge for sinners. God's people have heard. that
which was preached to every creature which is under heaven, whereof
I, Paul, am made a minister." Oh, how sweet it is to the believer
to behold Christ in picture in the cities of refuge. He is our
almighty refuge, beloved. And we are sinners who are guilty
before God's law, guilty before God's justice, but we have found
a refuge. Haven't we found a refuge? Who's
sure of anything? He's sure. He's sure. Oh, he's a refuge for our souls,
and his name is the Lord Jesus Christ. Death, judgment, and
the law all act as the avenger of blood. And they would have overtaken
us, Before we were safe in the city of refuge, if the Lord had
left us where we were, we surely would have perished. But we cry out in praise, giving
Christ all the glory. All the glory. He's our great
Savior. He's the great refuge of our souls. He's the Lord our
righteousness. He's our Redeemer. He's the Redeemer
of our everlasting souls. And in Him, We find a city of
refuge, which is fully defensed. He's the fortress against our
enemies. And we find a refuge, a full
refuge, and we are everlastingly delivered. Everlastingly delivered
from the avenger of blood. It has no claim on the believer. Because they're safe. in the
city of refuge, which is Christ. Gracious Heavenly Father, we
come before Thy throne. Oh, Lord Jesus, what a refuge
You are for sinners. What a refuge You are from Your
own law and Your own justice. And You came down and You satisfied
your own justice and your own law in the place of sinners. You are the spotless, sinless
lamb of God. And now you are victoriously
set upon the throne on high. May we glorify thee. May we magnify
thee. May we leave this place rejoicing.
We who believe in the wonderful salvation that we have in thee. And oh Lord, we pray that if
it's your will, that one who is a slayer, and we know we're
all slayers, we're all sinners, may flee to you who are the city
of refuge. May you make it so, Lord. May
you grant them faith and repentance to believe. In Jesus' name, Amen. All right, take your hymnals
and turn with me to number 474 in closing this morning. Only a sinner, let's sing, only
a sinner, saved by grace.