Turn to Isaiah 32, we'll look
at verse 1 and 2, mainly verse 2. Christ, our hiding place. The scripture teaches us that
our lives are hid with Christ in God. He is truly our hiding
place from the storm. Just as the ark was the hiding
place for Noah, His family and all the animals that were on
that ark, they were hid from the wrath of God. Outside of
that ark was nothing but misery, torment, fear, death. Inside that ark was peace, rest,
safety. We are never more safe than when
we are in Christ. Never more safe. I don't care
if we are in the middle of the hottest battle on this earth.
We are as safe in the middle of that hot battle as we are
sitting here. In Christ we are. A bullet can't
even touch you unless he allows it. Christ is our hiding place. It says, Behold, give great attention
to this, a king shall reign in righteousness. And we know that
that king who reigns, who rules in righteousness is the man Christ
Jesus. He is that King. He is the King
of Glory. There is a man, right now, running
this whole show. He's seated at God's right hand,
and that man, flesh and bone, our height, our stature, a man,
an actual real man, is running this whole thing right now, the
whole universe. All human beings, all principalities,
everything that exists, is under the theocracy of this king who
rules in righteousness. He's running this whole thing,
but he's doing it in righteousness. Now, this earth has seen a lot
of kings, but none like this king. None like this king. And the man shall be as a hiding
place from the wind, and this is not just a breeze, this is
a storm, and that covert from the tempest, as rivers of water
in a dry place, as a shadow of a great rock in a weary land."
That's what this man is to his people. This is what Christ is
to us. He's a cold drink of water on
a hot, hot day. And the Scripture says, as good
news from a far country is like a cold drink of water on a hot
day. He's that good news. This King that reigns in righteousness,
this man, This man who is a hiding place from the wind. We're about
to get hit with a hurricane here shortly on the East Coast. How
many people all up the East Coast is going to stand behind one
man from that storm? They're not going to stand behind
any man. They're going to evacuate. That's what they're going to
do. But we have a man that we can stand behind in the strongest
trials, the strongest trouble that comes our way. There's a
man that we can stand behind. There's a man that we can hide
in. There's a man that we can take refuge in. That's what I
was talking about, taking refuge in this man. Some of God's greatest
blessings to us have been men. I think of my pastor, our pastor,
Henry. I can think of no greater blessing
than God giving us a man who's faithful to preach the gospel,
to tell the truth for many years. And I tell you, when I come to
die, I'm going to be very thankful for that man. And God sent him
our way, brought me to that, sent me under that gospel, and
was faithful, faithful to preach the gospel. So God has blessed
us, and He's blessed men by men. The men sent of God, called of
God, sent to preach the gospel. Think of the Apostle Paul going
around all those churches preaching Christ. What a blessing. What
a blessing he was. Look over in Ephesians chapter
4. In Ephesians chapter 4, listen to this. It says in verse 8,
Wherefore, he saith, when he ascended up on high, he led captivity
captive, and gave gifts unto men. I want you to notice the
gifts that he gave. He gave some gifts to men, but
these men were also gifts given. Now that he ascended, what is
it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of
the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended
up far above all heavens, he might fill all things. Then he says, and he gave some
apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and
teachers for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the
ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. And we all
come in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son
of God unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of
the fullness of Christ. He led captivity captive, and
he gave gifts unto men, and if you'll jump down to that verse
11 from verse 8, and he gave some apostles. These gifts that
he gave to men were men, and he gifted them, and they came
preaching the gospel. But above all these men, all
these men that have been given, all these men that have been
gifted to preach the gospel, there is one man that stands
infinitely above all the rest. the man Christ Jesus. Pilate
brought him out on that porch and he said, Behold the man. Behold the man. And I pray God
enable us to do that tonight. That we can see that in this
man God has provided for us all that we need and we are as safe
as safe can be in the Lord Jesus Christ. That we glory in His
Godhead He is God. He's the Son of God. He's God
in every way. But we also glory in His manhood
because this is where He identifies with us. As absolute God, He
would never be able to identify with where I am. As absolute
God. But as a man, He can identify
with me. As a man, He can be touched with
the feelings of my infirmities. As a man, He knows what it is
to be tempted at all points. He knows what that is like. Yet
without sin, he didn't fall into sin. But he knows what that temptation
is like. And he knows what it's like to
the full degree. You see, we either give in to
it or God removes it. But now he felt it to the full
degree. He knows what it is to be tempted
in all points. He knows what it is to be hungry.
He knows what it is to be in poverty. He can identify with the poor.
He's the Son of God, yes. He's the King of Glory, yes. But when he came into this world, he was poor. He was poor. He knows what poverty's all about.
He knows what that's all about. And he can identify with us.
There is no one whom he saves that he cannot fully identify
with them. No one. No one. But Christ is the one spoken
of here. A man, not just any man, but the God-man. The man Christ Jesus is our hiding
place from the wind or in times of trouble. I often now wonder And I know
it's because men and women by nature are dead, so things really
don't register to them like it does to those who are made alive
in Christ. Where do you go in time of trouble? I know where the believer goes.
He goes to his Lord. He goes to his master. You know, in times of trouble,
you know, you know that this trouble, this trial, whatever
it is, is in the hands of the man, Christ Jesus. It's in his hands. And that's where you have to,
that's where you have to take comfort. That's where the believer
does take comfort. It's not something just happening
to us by chance. It's something ordained of God
for a purpose, and it's in His hands. It's in His hands. The wind, it says here, it says,
is a hiding place from the wind. The wind is mysterious. It's invisible. You can't see
it. I imagine when Job woke up that
one morning, I imagine he had his devotion, his prayer. I'm sure he did. He was going
to go about his daily business. He had things on his agenda that
he was going to do and accomplish. Then here comes one of his servants
with some bad news, and he no more finishes telling him the
bad news. And another one comes. And another
one comes. And another one comes. That didn't happen by chance.
Did not happen by chance at all. The wind is mysterious. That's
why it's compared. Trials are compared to the wind
here. You don't see them coming. Most times you don't see them
coming. You'll see a sickness coming.
You know, I'm right now I'm healthy, but tomorrow I may find out that
I'm not. But I'm telling you, if I'm not,
I'm still in his hands. I'm still in the hands of the
Lord Jesus Christ, I'm still in. He's still responsible for
me. What does that give me? That
gives me so much comfort. He is responsible for me. He's
my surety. He's your surety. He's your mediator. He's my mediator. He's my advocate. If you're a surety for someone,
you're responsible. And it makes me calm down when
I realize that the Son of God, the man Christ Jesus, is responsible
to bring me home. That's comforting. He is our hiding place. In Joshua 20, it speaks of the
cities of refuge. If someone accidentally killed
someone, they could flee to one of these cities. And the manslayer
couldn't get him. Manslayer can't get me. Manslayer
cannot get you. Christ is our city of refuge.
The law can't touch me in Christ. What's the law satisfied with
me anyway in Christ? He's our city of refuge. Christ
is the safe place. He's the safe place. I don't
know, you know, some people as a family, They'll have a safe
place where everybody can meet if something happens. If the
house catches on fire or something, you know, you have a safe place.
Everybody meets at this place here. That's a safe place. God's
family meets in one safe place. His son, he's the safe place. He is. He's the safe place for sinners,
for time, right now. right now. Some of us are going
through tough times, tough trials. Some of you are going to. Not
now, but if you're His, you're going to sooner or later. He's the safe place. He's the safe place. David said,
I flee unto thee to hide me. I remember when I was younger,
late 20s, early 30s. Henry made those statements.
He said, you may not be going through something tough now,
but you will. And I used to go, oh. I said, I can remember that.
I used to say, oh. I just thought, man, I don't
want to do that. Well, you're going to. You're
going to if you're is. And you're going to find. Here's
what you're going to find. You're going to find Christ to be that safe
place. You're going to find him to be that that rock in a weary
land. You're going to find him to be
that wall that protects you from the storm, that keeps you from
crumbling under the storm, that keeps you from being blown away
by the storm. He's that wall of protection.
I've heard a statement that God hedged him about, and that's
what Satan said to God. About Job, you hedged him about. You have been hedged about by
his son. You're hedged about by Christ.
He's the hedge. He's the hedge. In Christ, all are safe from
the curse of the law, from Satan, from the power of sin, Sin shall
not have dominion over you. It will not control your life. There's no power over you. Our Lord said this. He said, All power and all authority
has been given to me in heaven and earth. Now you go preach the gospel.
You will preach the gospel because all power and all authority has
been put into my hands and to the hands of the man, Christ
Jesus. It's in his hands. Apart from him, there is no hiding
place. There is no other hiding place
from the wind. There is no other hiding place from the tempest. Storm of God's wrath, no other
hiding place but in His Son. We find refuge in Him. Let me
give you three or four things here wherein we find refuge in
the Lord Jesus Christ. We find refuge in Him as our
substitute. He took our place. Look over
in Isaiah, just a few pages here. Let me just read this. Isaiah
53. You know it well, but let's read it again. Here is our hiding place, our
substitute. Who hath believed our report,
and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? For he shall grow
up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground
he hath no form of comeliness. And when we shall see him, there
is no beauty that we should desire him. He's despised and rejected
of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. Our grief,
our sorrows is what he's acquainted with. And we hid, as it were,
our faces from him. He was despised and we esteemed
him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows."
That's our substitute. Yet we did esteem him stricken,
smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded. Over my margin
it says tormented. He was tormented for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace
was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep
gone astray, we have turned to everyone to his own way, and
the Lord has laid on him the iniquity. He hath made him to
be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness
of God in him." The Lord has laid on him, it's
over my margin that says, made the iniquity of us all to meet
on him. They all came together at one
time on our sin-bearer, our substitute. He was oppressed, he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth. He was brought as a lamb to the
slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is done, so he opened
not his mouth. He was taken from prison and
from judgment. Who shall declare his generation? For he was cut
off out of the land of the living. For the transgression of my people
was his treatment. It doesn't save us just for the
transgression of people. My people, mauls the two to sinners,
no man can number. Made his grave with the wicked
and with the rich in his death. He had done no violence, neither
was any deceit in his mouth, yet it pleased the Lord to bruise
him. Where do we find refuge? In our
substitute. When it comes time to die, My refuge, my hope, is in this
man, Jesus Christ, taking my place. That's my hope. He stood in the very tempest
of God's wrath and took his full blow. I don't have to. And then we
find refuge in him as our representative. What he did, we did. What he did, we did. Did he do
righteousness? Then we did too. Did he love God with all his
heart? Then we did too. Did he love his neighbor as himself?
Then we did too. Oh, so did we. Did he keep the
law, every jot and tittle of it? So did we. In him, our representative. We died in a representative,
and Adam all died, and Christ all shall be made alive. Is he alive? We shall be too. Is He at the Father's right hand?
So are we right now. That's something we can't quite
get a hold of with these little minds of ours, but I'm telling
you, we are seated at God's right hand in Christ. And then we find refuge in His
intercession. I covet your prayers. I covet his more. I want him that Lord intercede
for me. He said, Father, I know that
you always hear me. I know that you always hear me.
I find refuge. in Him as my substitute, as my
representative, as my high priest interceding for me. If He, if
Christ intercedes for me, He's heard. He's heard. I tell you what, you go over
and read John 17, that great intercessory prayer, and we will
have receive everything he interceded for us in that prayer. Father,
I will that they be with me. You reckon that's going to happen?
You better believe it's going to happen. He asked for it and
it's going to happen. He said, I want to behold my
glory, the glory I had with you before the world was. You think
that's going to happen? Are we going to see him in his glory?
Yes, we are. He gets everything he asked for.
Because everything he asks for is according to the will of his
Father and our Father. And then it says here that he's
rivers of water in a dry land. There's no shortage of drink, refreshing drink in
the Lord Jesus Christ. His grace is ever flowing. His
love ever being manifested. There's a river, says over in
Psalm 46, that makes glad the city of God. He's that river. He is that river. He is the water of life. He doesn't
just give us a drink of water. He is the water. He is the bread. He is the life. Whosoever drinks of the water
that I shall give him shall never thirst again." The water of life. And then it says he's as a shadow
of a great rock in a weary land. Is this land not weary? Is this life? Is this life not
weary? The longer I live, the more weary
it gets. Of course, as you get older,
you do get weary, but life can wear you out. This life and this
life. This old life on this earth, it can wear you out. But the great rock that gives
us rest that gives us some relief in this weary land, in this weary
life, is the Lord Jesus Christ. I find, even when I come here,
and even though I'm doing the preaching, I find this to be
a place here for a little while of rest. I find a little rest. I find a little refreshment.
I find it here. Even though I'm doing the preaching,
I find it. I find it in your fellowship.
I find it. Because he's the center, he's
the hub of the fellowship. He is the reason we can fellowship
with one another in such a way that the world doesn't know anything
of it. You know, usually when I meet
somebody that's in the past or something, we talk about, what
do you do now? Where are you working? What's
your family doing? But you and I can talk about
Christ. We can talk about eternal things, eternal matters. We can
talk about our Lord. I mean, we used to take care
of John Howson. Some of you knew him. That man
was often talking about the Lord. We lived with him for four years.
And I tell you, it wouldn't be a day, if I saw John during the
day, whenever we saw him during the day, there would be a conversation
always struck up about the Lord. We had something in common there,
a common bond. As a shadow of a great rock,
not a little rock, no, a great rock that cast a big shadow in this weary land. And Christ
is that rock that shadows us from the blast of the wind and
the tempest. He is our rest. Christ is our
rest from the guilt of sin. He's our rest. Now this verse, verse 2, tells
us that the man and a man shall be as a hiding place from the
wind and a covert from the tempest." We know that man is Christ, and
we know this, by this, trials are going to come. Trials are going to come. They are appointed. God said
to Israel, I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction. chosen you in the furnace of
affliction. We go through inward trials of guilt over sin. We
wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities
and powers. We have trials within and without. We are attacked within and without.
But in the storms of this life, the man Christ Jesus is our hiding
place. He's our hiding place as God.
He's our hiding place as the mediator. He's our hiding place
as the priest. He's our hiding place as the
keeper, our shepherd. You just name it. He's our hiding
place, this man. There was no room for him in
the inn. But there is plenty of room for
you in Him. Plenty of room. If everybody in this town had
to run for a shelter, do you know a shelter in this town that's
big enough to hold everybody in this town? If everyone had
to go to it? What, 30,000 people? I tell you what. Millions upon
millions, and I think it's in the billions upon billions have
found their hiding place in the Lord Jesus Christ. One man. One man. He's our hiding place.