so so and and and We welcome you to the service
this morning. We invite you to turn to hymn number 46, O Worship
the King. Let's stand as we sing. His power and His love are sure
and true. Creation obeys, the will of His
Son, to honor Him with praise. Who fell down his life to save
all his friends, But who is on high, who shall now be saved? His chariots of death fly under
God's thorn, And hard is his path, O Lord, Prince of the Storm. With this song of wonders untold,
Almighty God, I have found it of old. I've swam, lashed, and
clashed, I have changed this degree, And grounded, and cast,
I bow and hold the sea. Thy bounty for care, our tongue
can recite. It breathes in the air, it shines
in the light. It streams from the hills and
descends to the plain, And sweetly whispers in the dew and the rain. Where children of dust and people
astray, In Thee do we trust, Lord, Thine be to fail. Thy mercies how tender, how firm
to the end, Thank you may be seated as we
turn once again in our hymnals to 223. you In of the heavenly king, they
speak their jokes of love. But in love's giant hill, the
thousand sacred trees, We boldly reach the heavenly field, to
walk the golden streets. Good morning, good morning. I'm surprised
to see anybody here this morning. After all the folks this week
who have asked me if we were having lunch this week, or we
were having something special, or an Easter egg hunt, or all
these things, no? I said, we're just going to have
the gospel. We're just going to glorify Christ
as He is in this book. And I told one individual that
the word Easter is not even found in the Bible. And she looked
at me and I said, the word that is translated one place in the
King James is not Easter at all, it's Passover. And she looked
at me as if I had said a blasphemous thing. Well, we're here and you're
here and I'm glad and I'm thankful to the Lord for his mercies to
us, his continued mercies, and his great mercies in Christ. We want to pray this morning.
My daughter has asked me to ask you to pray for her. She's not
feeling well. I remember Jewel as she recovers
from the foot surgery. Brother Joe Schwartz and Roger
and Jerry and others that are sick. I want you to turn this
morning to the book of Hebrews. You know, the scriptures say
that the Lord has given these things about these Old Testament
things for us, those of us upon whom the end of the age shall
come. And here in Hebrews 9 we read
a brief description of what was
in the tabernacle. Hebrews 9 verse 1. Then barely
the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service and a worldly
sanctuary. For there was a tabernacle made,
the first wherein was the candlestick, and the table, and the shoebread,
which is called the sanctuary. And after the second veil, the
tabernacle, which is called the holiest of all, which had the
golden censer, and the Ark of the Covenant overlaid round about
with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron's
rod that budded, and the tables of the governor. Over it, and
over it the cherubims of glory, shadowing the mercy seat of which
we cannot now speak particularly. And when these things were thus
ordained, the priest went always in the first tabernacle, accomplishing
the service of God. But into the second went the
high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which
he offered for himself and for the heirs of the people. The Holy Ghost thus signifying
that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made while
the first tabernacle was yet standing, which was a figure
for the time then present in which were offered both gifts
and sacrifices that could not make him that did the service
perfect as pertaining to the conscience. which stood only
in meats and drinks and diverse washings and carnal ordinances
imposed on them until the time of reformation. But Christ being
come and high priest of good things to come by a greater and
more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say,
not of this building. neither by the blood of goats
and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy
place, having obtained eternal redemption for us." May the Lord
bless this word to our hearts. Our Father, this morning we come into your presence, not on a special day, not on
one of those holy days that you taught us not to observe, but
we come into your presence that we might gather as sinners to
worship you and to praise you for that salvation and grace
that is in Christ Jesus. We are ever sinful, ever in need,
ever have the sick among us, ever failing, yet in all these
things you look to your people as they are in Christ. and you
bless them according to your wisdom and you do for them according
to your will and for your glory. Let that all be so. May we be
brought in a sweet submission and pray thy will be done on
earth as it is in heaven. We do lift up before you as the
great physician who heals the soul, also those who have need
in body as well. We pray for all of them, for
Stephanie and for Jewel, for Joe and for Jerry, for Roger,
for all of your people especially that are sick and in beds of
affliction. We know it is for your glory. We know it is according to your
will. And may we all find rest in that
knowledge, comfort in the knowledge that you're able to do that above
which we're able to think or ask. And we ask this morning
that in the midst of all the idolatry of this day, that we
might find in reality thy spirit taking the things of Christ and
revealing them to us. Show us that which we need most. Show us him who alone can save
and keep. Show us our great need and help
us to grant to us faith that we might believe the word that
you set forth. We pray for your people. We pray
for all those that may be in disobedience, may be in rebellion,
may not have yet been brought by your spirit, may be enduring
your chastening hand, may be denying your very simplest commands. We pray for them. We know that
you'll deal with them in mercy and grace, though you may deal
with them in severity. Because those who are your children,
you chastise. And if they have not your chastisement,
if we have not your chastisement, then we are just illegitimate
sons. We pray this morning that you
would get all the glory and praise for everything that's said and
done in this place this morning. We rejoice in our Lord Jesus
Christ. We find in him that which we
can get from no other. We find you always in all that
you do and all that we experience being brought back to Christ
in Him alone. He alone can save us in every
sense. And we pray this morning that
we might know that grace, that free salvation, that imputed
righteousness in the Lord Jesus Christ alone. Forgive us of our
failures. Help us to see the grace and
the mercy that is in Christ alone. For we pray and ask you in His
name. Amen. In your hymnals once again,
178. 178, the Savior to glory is gone. And Brother Tim, would you wait on the carnage? The Savior to Mary is born, His
sufferings are overnight, His work is completed and done, And
shall for eternity abide. Oh, how pretty was to me so,
How blessingly virtuous were we! How wonderful were to know,
How still and perfectly true were we! His promises thankful embrace,
And thank you, O God, for so long, And magnified places have
you. Thou shalt so well care in his
arms, As shall each and every one's poor. Riches and inventions, O Lord! Thou art rich, O God, and so
shall be! Thou art great, O God, and gentle,
O Lord! Thou art good, O God, and so,
Thou art good to Thy foes, O Savior! When there's a need, it's all
to Thee alone! Huh! the the the the the the you. O'er the land of the free ? Lord, have mercy on me ? ? Lord,
have mercy on me ? ? Lord, have mercy on me ? All of our hopes is going away. Now it is my calling, it shall
be seen. All because Jesus was a young
boy. Lord Jesus Christ is born. Burning for me, bleeding for
me, O come, Thou Son of Israel, King
of glory, O come, Thou Son of Israel, King of glory, O come,
Thou Son of Israel, King of glory, ? Is coming for thee ? ? One day,
dear Lord, is coming for thee ? ? And with what joy you speak,
his eyes shall see ? ? For all the life I see is coming for
thee ? Turn back in your Bibles this
morning where we read in Hebrews 9. The title of my message this
morning is, Where is the Law? Where is the
Law? If you remember, God gave the
law on tables of stone to Moses on Mount Sinai written by his
own hand. Some say the stones were signifying
the state of the heart that those commands were given to. Hard,
dead, disobedient, and yet maybe that God used stone
to show his unchanging, show the enduring will of God. His unchanging purpose. His absolute
holiness. His mind. But what some don't realize is
that it was never given as a goal for men. Nor did God expect men to be
able to obey it. because they had already fallen
in sin. As a matter of fact, they were
breaking it at the base of Mount Sinai even as God gave it to
Moses. They were making a golden idolatrous
calf. And these tables of stone Though they had been spiritually
in the sight of God broken many years before in the garden, they
were literally then broken by Moses when he threw it at the
golden calf. So you had these tablets of the
law, these words of the testimony, you have them laying broken on
the ground. And then God tells Moses, He
commands Moses to make new tablets. And so Moses made the new tablets,
God wrote again the same thing, and this time He commanded them
to be put in the Ark of the Covenant. That's what we read about, that
description that there in the holiest of holies of the tabernacle
was the Ark of the Covenant. A box made to the description
of God. And Moses was to put them in
the ark. If you look down at verse 4,
when he describes that place and those things in it, he says,
which had the golden censer and the ark of the covenant overlaid
round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna,
and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant."
Those tablets of stone. That second set was put by the
command of God in the ark. And God goes to some length to
tell us that. As a matter of fact, I know of
at least 10 references in the Old Testament that tell us what
God says He was to do. If you look in Exodus 25 and
verse 16, He says, And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony
which I shall give thee. One other time in that same chapter,
and thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark, and
in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee. Ten times at least, put the tablets
of stone, put these commandments in the ark. And that's what he was commanded
to do. But why was he commanded to do
so? He was commanded to do so because
the Ark, the Ark of the Covenant, I'm not talking about Noah's
Ark here, I'm talking about the Ark of the Covenant, which God
commanded Moses to build, the Ark was a type of the Lord Jesus
Christ. These things were called in scripture
figures of the true. Types and shadows of the one
that was to come. And this was a kind of treasure
box. At that time, the only thing
that was in it was these tables of stone whereon God had written
his law and command. Later, these other two items
would go in it. But here was just this box that
was made of a particular wood, but it was overlaid with solid
gold, showing both the humanity of Christ in the wood and the
deity of Christ in the gold. I have a bad habit of watching
a program on TV called The Curse of Oak Island. And they're in a constant search. They're digging and they're probing
and they're trying to find a treasure that is supposed to be buried
on that island. And one of the things that they
think it might be, they're hoping that it will be, is this same
very Ark of the Covenant, supposedly preserved and buried there by
the Knights Templars. But if they do succeed, and if
it is found on that island, there will be a great stir, not only
archaeologically, not only historically, but also religiously. But in truth, what will they
have? They will have nothing but wood
and gold. Just like it was said of the
brazen serpent that God commanded Moses to to make whatever the
fiery serpents bit them. And all the people wanted to
raise it up later and make an idol out of it. And God's King
just called it what it was. He said it is Nahashtan, which
means it's just a piece of brass. And when they dig this up, if
it were to be, I doubt it is, but if it were to be, all that
they would have is a piece of wood and gold. And possibly these stone tablets. Because the treasure The treasure
is the Christ that the Ark pictured. And it pictured not only his
successful work, but it pictured also the gospel. You see where these tablets of
stone were commanded to be put He said, put them in the ark. And therefore Christ became the
law-containing ark. He became for his people the
law depository in every sense. This is a picture of Christ,
not only of him in his person, but especially in his work and
accomplishment for sinners. There are three things this morning
I want to tell you. And the first is this, that all
the law's precepts were satisfied in the Lord Jesus Christ, in
the man Christ Jesus. And it sets him apart from everyone
because no son of Adam, and including the first Adam, no son of Adam,
daughter of Adam, has ever come close. Those that have the best will,
the most exact same words, and he's talking about none other
than Christ Jesus the Lord. Quotes the very same exact word. But look at the next verse. This
one who is quoting, or being quoted, this one who is speaking
Christ, he says this, I delight to do thy will, O my God, yea,
thy law is written in my heart. The law of Christ. The law of
God is written in the heart of Christ and He is that one, single,
sinless, perfect, God acceptable Savior and sacrifice for sinners. Listen to what the Bible says
in the New Testament. For we have a high priest which
cannot For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched
with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted
like as we are." There's just one difference. Yet without sin. He is all that the law requires
and demands. Listen to this again. Paul in
Hebrews 9.14, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through
the eternal spirit offered himself without spot, without spot to God, purge your
conscience from dead works to serve the living God. He offered himself to God in
one way, as being without spot. The perfect sacrifice and Lamb
of God. Then Peter says this in 1 Peter
1. But we are not redeemed with
these corruptible things such as silver and gold. If we had
all the gold on the Ark of the Covenant it would not ever redeem
one of us or one sinner. He says but with the precious
blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. All the time, every sacrifice
had to meet this close scrutiny. It had to be as good as it could
be. And yet, never one time did one
of those animals' blood put away sin. And then Paul says also,
if he'd be the writer of this in Hebrews 7. He said, for such
a high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled,
separate from sinners, and made higher than the heaven. That's
the kind of priest we have to have, and that's the kind of
sacrifice we have to have. And so in order to be that sacrifice,
in order to be that redeemer, he had to be clear according
to the law. He had to be perfect in every
way and he had to be so in order to be that one sacrifice for
sins forever. And the law had no claim on him. The law could not condemn him.
It looks at every one of us. It shows us our sin, our fault,
our inability to keep it. And it does so, but it found
no fault and could not bond any fault with Him. He was perfect. He was absolutely sinless. And therefore, He was perfectly
suitable. He was the way in which God in
His mercy and grace would save us by this one sacrifice for
sins forever. All the law's precepts are satisfied
in him. I didn't say they were imputed
to you because you had already fallen. I had already fallen.
We'd already broken the law. We'd already violated. I don't
say that they did any, that God imputed those things so as some
people say, a righteousness that is a fleshly righteousness or
a personal righteousness, but God imputed to us his sacrifice,
his work of redemption, his righteousness in that which he accomplished
because he could accomplish it on the basis of who he was. The law can find no fault in
this one that the Ark of the Covenant represents. The second thing is this. All
the law's penalties were satisfied in him. Because every lawbreaker
He that sins, the soul that sins shall surely die. Shall surely die. But not only
did Christ be the one who honored the law, who kept the law, who
the law could find no fault in him, when he died and suffered
in the place of his people, he satisfied all the claims of the
law. He satisfied all the penalties
of them all. Turn over to the book of Galatians. Sometimes I think it would do
us good to re-read the book of Galatians every day. We're so
prone to a legalistic thinking, we're so prone to add something
to the grace of God in Christ. But listen to what it says in
Galatians chapter 3. In verse 10. For as many as are
of the works of the law are under the curse. For it is written Cursed is everyone
that continueth not in all the things which are written in the
book of the law to do them. That's what people don't understand. Close might be acceptable as
they say in horseshoes and hand grenades. but close as far as the law of
God will never count for anything but sin. He says, cursed is everyone
that continues not in the things of the law to do them. And James tells us if we break
or offend in one point, we're guilty of an all. It's not a
matter of our doing our best It's a matter of his best. And he says this, but that no
man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident,
because the just or the justifiers live by faith. And the law is
not of faith, but the man that doeth them shall live in them,
Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made
a curse for us, for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth
on a tree. They're hanging on that tree,
on that cross outside of Jerusalem, the Lord Jesus Christ on behalf
of his people, laying down his life for his sheep, he bears
all their iniquity. He puts away all their sin there. He dies a death for sin, a sacrifice
for sin, and his death puts away all their sin. I was riding down the street
Friday. And I saw, told my granddaughter,
I said, what has happened up ahead? It's a police car with
a blue light. I never saw one that had that
many blue lights. But he had every blue light flashing
and going like that. And I thought, what has happened? Something bad's happened. And
then I got up there a little closer, and I noticed that that
police car was following about five men. and they were walking along on
the side of the street, and the first two had wooden crosses,
and they were dragging those wooden crosses, and two or three
were following along behind them, I'm sure, to take it up a little
bit later on. They were dragging it along,
and they were moving slow, hindering traffic, and they were followed
by this police car. And the thing that came to my
mind is this is what the devil, this is what false religion wants
us to believe, that we have some part in salvation. Here they
were working, thinking they were doing something for Jesus, thinking
that they were doing something holy and spiritual, when in truth
They were making a mockery of the cross. The cross is not about
the wood and the dragging of wood. The cross is about the
death of Jesus Christ and what he accomplished on that cross. Amen. I wanted to get out with the
chainsaw. But that's symbolic of how all
of religion is. That's symbolic of the things
that men cling to, the things that they can see and the things
that they can do. They have no hope unless God
gives them faith and eyes to see that it is the Christ of
the cross. It's this art Turn over to the book of Romans,
chapter 10. Listen to Paul in Romans 10, verse 1. He says, My heart's desire and prayer
to God for Israel is that they might be saved. He was talking
about his own kindred, his own people after the flesh. In direct
contradiction to what men say that we believe about sovereign
grace, that we don't care about anything or we don't care who's
lost and who's not. This is Paul who wrote the most
distinct definitions of sovereign grace in the very chapter before
this. It didn't dull his desire to
see them saved. He said, my heart's desire and
prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved. For I bear
them record that they have a zeal of God. Those people dragging
that cross have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they, being ignorant of God's
righteousness, ignorant in thinking that God can be satisfied by
the righteousness so-called of sinners, which is nothing but
filthy rags, and going about to establish their own righteousness,
have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the
law. for everyone, for righteousness
to everyone that believed. Did you see that? When those tablets of stone were
placed in the Ark of the Covenant and the lid was shut on it, nobody ever saw it again. Not
even that priest. Why? Because Christ is the end
of the law. I've heard so many definitions
of what that means in man's efforts to try to make it a rule of life
and stuff like that. But he says there is the end. It is the end of the law. That word is telos. You know where we find it again?
when Christ hung on the cross and said, it is finished. Same root word. It is finished. Close the lid
on it. Because Christ, all the lost
penalties are satisfied and made an end of in Him. That word tell
us means to set as a definite point. It means a properly and probably
the point aimed at as a limit or a conclusion, an act or state
of termination, literally, figuratively, a result, a purpose, everything. This is what Christ came to do. He finished it. Look over in the book of Colossians. The book of Colossians chapter 2 and verse 13. And you, being
dead in your sins, And in the uncircumcision of your flesh
hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all
trespasses? How? Blotting out the handwriting
of ordinances. Whose handwriting? God's. The handwriting of ordinances
that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out
of the way, nailing it to his cross. Nailing it to his cross. The law does not tell us to hit
the mark. The law does not tell us to keep
aiming at the bullseye. The law tells us we
missed and can never hit it. But the gospel tells us that
Christ is the end of the law for righteousness. The ark bears all the law. And then the third thing is this. All the law's promises are satisfied in him. They're
not only satisfied, he's glorified because the law now and forever
is in the hands of a different mediator than Moses. Here they are. the Ten Commandments. He didn't say, you make sure
that everybody has a set of them hung on their living room wall. He didn't say, hold it up for
the rule of law the rest of your life. No. He said, Moses, take it out of
your hands and put it in the Lord. is in the ark. Christ has died the death of
the cross. He's died as a substitute and
surety for the sins of his people. He saved them. He was delivered
for their offenses, and also he was risen because of their
justification. And every one of them died to
the law, died in Him, and in Him they have all the covenant
promises and blessings. You don't have to look anywhere else.
You see, this is called, this was called the tables of testament,
or the tables of the covenant. There were promises made by God.
There was a reward, a gift that some would receive because of
what Christ did. And all the covenant promises,
every promised blessing, eternal life and eternal inheritance,
freedom from all their sins, everything that was promised
and pledged in this covenant. They're ratified. You see, right above that Ark
of the Covenant box, the lid of that box, made a part of that
box, was a mercy seat. Was this salvation that even
the angels desired to look upon. And that's where the blood was
sprinkled. It's gone. It's satisfied. It's honored. Nobody honors the law except
those who look to the Lord Jesus Christ. Turn over to Revelation chapter
11. Revelation chapter 11. And look at verse 19. Here's
where John sees the vision of heaven and all that's going on. He says, And the temple of God
was opened in the heaven. that was it was manifest. That was him who was the temple. And there was seen in his temple
the ark of his testament. And there were lightnings, and
voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great safely through all, received of God, honored in every
way, every promise, everything established. In Hebrews 9.15, he says, for
this cause, he is the mediator of the New Testament, that by
means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were
under the First Testament, they which are called might receive
the promise of eternal inheritance. It's in his trust. It's safe
for eternity. He tells us the heart of it and
the truth of it in Matthew 22. What is it? To love God and your
neighbor as yourself. To forgive. Pray for the brethren. All these things. Because it's all in Christ. Where did God put his own law
in its entirety? In the ark. In the ark Christ Jesus. And I say, let's leave it there.
That's the only place that's safe. It's the only place we're
safe. It speaks nothing but death to
us, but it was kept and honored and satisfied in Christ crucified
forever. And so it's become a box of blessings
to us, a real treasure chest, all the treasures of wisdom and
knowledge being in the Lord Jesus Christ. Whereas the law is in the art. It's always been
there for his people. And I want us, I rejoice in that. He's the only one that's honored
us. He's the only one that's satisfied. He's the only one
that's met its requirements. He's the only hope we have. We pray, Father, this morning
that we might behold the glory of Christ our Ark. Man and God. Everything accomplished on behalf
of his people. Always because of his sacrifice
of blood on the real mercy seat. Always a sacrifice for a particular
people. always a successful redemption. We thank you this morning. We
thank you that because he raised from the dead, he assures and guarantees that every blessing
is safe and will be received by all his sheep. We pray in
Christ's name. Amen.