Well, I didn't realize it was
a series when I started it, but it was probably about four weeks
ago now that we looked at Psalm 16, the end of which is promising
to the people of God, peace forevermore. Peace forevermore. Pleasures
and peace forevermore. And this is heaven, this is the
eternity that awaits the people of God. And the assurance for
it, we saw the week after that, came from the fact of the sovereign
decree of God, as we saw at the end of 1 Corinthians chapter
1, of Him, of God. By God's decree, are you in Christ
Jesus? And if God has decreed that you
are in Christ Jesus, then everything that is needed to qualify you
for heaven, to deal with your sins and your offense against
the justice of God, is accomplished in Him. It's in Him. Of Him are
ye in. And therefore, that gives great
assurance. And it's all apprehended by faith,
which is that sight of the soul, which teaches true believers
their poverty of spirit. We saw that as well, another
week. And weans us from the world,
and teaches us. These people, they trust in the
Lord. What it is to trust in the name
of the Lord, we saw. But the question remains, is
it genuine? Is the faith that we have and
the relationship we have with the living God, is it the real
article? Is it, as Paul writes to Titus
in Titus chapter one and verse one, the faith of God's elect? Because that's the only faith
which is saving faith. That is the only faith which
will see the one who has that faith in eternal glory, accepted
there in the beloved. Come, you blessed of my father,
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of
the world. Do we have that faith? So that we die the death of the
righteous, is the way the scripture puts it, to die the death of
the righteous. That was Balaam, the false prophet,
but his true prophecy, he could do nothing else. than prophesy
about the people of God, or that I might die the death of the
righteous, or that I might die the death of those that have
the faith of God's elect. If it is of God's Spirit, if
it is the genuine article, then we worship God in the Spirit.
And we rejoice in Christ Jesus. And we have no confidence in
the flesh. But what I wanted to do before we move on, perhaps
to another subject next time, is to think a little more deeply
about that word rejoice. Rejoice in Christ Jesus. To think
a little more deeply about it. What does it mean? What does
it mean and do we rejoice in Christ Jesus? Do we delight in
Christ Jesus? Are we enraptured with the thought
and experience of the Lord Jesus Christ? Is it, you know, there's
lots of things that give us a thrill in this life. It might be music,
it might be a scene with lots of people, it might be sport,
it might be all sorts of things that gives us a thrill. Does
the Lord Jesus Christ God manifested to us, does that give us a thrill? Think of the people or the things
that cause you the greatest delight and the greatest pleasure. Is
Christ even among them? Never mind, is Christ preeminent?
Is He even among them? Is He your beloved? That's the title of this message,
My Beloved. The One above all else whom your
heart desires, is He that One? The One above all else, everybody
else, everything else, is He the One your heart desires, your
heart loves? Is He your Beloved? When Christ
had accomplished redemption. And the disciples were settled,
you know, on that beach, as we read in John chapter 21. The
disciples were settled and confident in the truth of all that Christ
had taught them. There were things that they were
still to discover when the Holy Spirit came upon them at Pentecost,
but nevertheless Unlike the disciples initially on the Emmaus road
who were despairing because the one who they thought was going
to be the Savior of Israel had been crucified and they were
in great sorrow. But now, they know he's alive. It was the third time that they'd
seen him. They were settled, they were confident in the truth
of the resurrection. They were confident and assured
of the truth of Christ. And the risen Christ asked Peter,
Peter? Do you love me more than these? More than what? More than these
things or these people around you? Your fishing boats, your
fishing business, your work, your career, your friends, these
people, these people around you. Do you love me more than these?
Christ knew that Peter was enthusiastic for him. He was always the one
that jumped to the front. I will never leave you nor forsake
you, he said. He was the one always, he was
the one who took the sword and cut off the ear of the high priest's
servant in the Garden of Gethsemane. Peter was always enthusiastic
for him, but the real motivator is love, true love. Later on,
Peter, as a much older apostle, wrote to the scattered pilgrims,
he wrote, unto you therefore which believe, he, Christ, is
precious. To you therefore which believe,
not just which profess, There's lots of profession, yes I'm a
Christian, lots of profession, but is there true belief? Is
there true heart belief? Because to those who truly believe
in the heart, Christ is precious. And the things that are precious,
you love. You love those things that are
precious. Is He precious to you? Is He precious to me? You might
say, yes, but like Peter said in his three answers, you know
I'm very fond of you Lord, but do you love me? Do you love me
with a sacrificial love? Yes, but the flesh is weak. There
are the distractions and the temptations of things all around
me. You know I am very fond of you,
but the flesh is weak. Lord, I believe. Help mine unbelief. Lord, you know my devotion is
fragile and wavering. Help me. Well can I suggest we
come to the Song of Solomon and chapter 5 for this morning's
message. A true believer's experience
of faith in and love for the Lord Jesus Christ. Look at the
scene of it with me starting at verse, well the last verse
of chapter 4, verse 16 of chapter 4. It's like a drama. conveying
lessons of life, you know drama, don't worry, not for one moment
do I suggest that drama is the way of conveying the gospel in
the church, it isn't. It's not by the foolishness of
drama that it pleased God to save those who believe, it's
by the foolishness of preaching, but nevertheless. Drama conveys
lessons of life powerfully, and this is like a drama unfolding. Awake, O north wind, and come
thou south. Blow upon my garden that the
spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his
garden and eat his pleasant fruits. This is poetic, metaphorical
language, talking about the truth of God and the sweet savour of
the gospel that flows through the church of God, the garden
where he feeds. Let my beloved come into his
garden, into his church, amongst his people, and the spices of
gospel truth, and the sweetness of gospel truth, and the savour
of gospel truth. Let us experience these things. And so he says in verse 1 of
chapter 5, this is Christ speaking. I am come into my garden. He's
there. He's here. We can be assured
this morning, we read in Revelation chapter 1, we see Him walking
among the seven golden candlesticks. He's here in our midst. I am
come into my garden, my sister, my spouse. This is His bride,
this is His people, this is His church. I have gathered my myrrh
with my spice. I have eaten my honeycomb with
my honey. I have drunk my wine with my
milk. Eat, O friends, drink, yea, drink abundantly. This is
Christ feeding His people. This is Christ bringing to us
the blessings and the sweetness and the savour of all that he
has accomplished in the gospel of his grace. But you see, The
believer is insensitive to it so often. Verse two, I sleep. This is the believer. This is
the church speaking. I sleep. My heart's waking. There's awareness to it, but
there's an unresponsiveness. I sleep, but my heart waketh.
It's the voice of my beloved. I know he's there saying, open
to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my... What words of tenderness
are they not? Are they not such sweet words
of tenderness? My head is filled with dew. I'm
outside. We need to be together. My locks
with the drops of the night. But she says, my flesh is too
comfortable. I'm too cozy as I am. I've taken
my coat off. I can't put it back on again.
I'm not coming out now. I've washed my feet. I'm in bed. I'm ready for bed. I'm in bed.
How shall I dirty my feet again and have to do that? My flesh
is too comfortable. I need my rest. And there's... the blessed Lord Jesus Christ
saying to his people, come, let us have fellowship. Ah, but the
flesh is insufficiently stirred to wake up and get up. But he's
nearby. Look at verse four, my beloved
put his hand by the hole of the door and my bowels were moving.
He's still there nearby. And if you're truly a believer,
you will want that fellowship with Him, that sweetness of fellowship
with Him. And so, I rose, verse 5, finally
I stirred myself, love drew me on to embrace Him. I rose to
open to my Beloved, and my hands dropped with myrrh, this is poetic
language for deep feeling, and my fingers with sweet-smelling
myrrh upon the handles of the lock. And I opened, verse 6,
I opened the door to go and meet with him, but my beloved had
gone. He'd withdrawn himself and gone.
He'd gone. My soul failed when he spake.
I sought him, but I could not find him. I called him, but he
gave me no answer. God often does this. he will
chastise his people, to train his people not to presume on
his presence, so that he's at our beck and call. No, not to
presume on him, he chastises his people. When we don't respond
and then we think that we can turn it on when we want, no,
he's gone, he's gone, he's withdrawn from his people. And so there's
a frantic search, I need to find him. Oh that I knew where I might
find him. I would even come before his
presence, cries the scripture in another place. The searching
for the living God. And it's again in poetic language,
maybe verse 7 is the rebuke of a preacher, the watchman. The
watchman as in Ezekiel sets watchmen on the walls of Zion. The watchman,
the preachers, The prophets, to give the truth of God, the
watchmen that went about the city found me, and they smoked
me, they rebuked me, they gave me a rebuke for my situation,
they wounded me with their words. If they were true words of God,
it is often the case. that sometimes unwittingly the
preacher wounds and the preacher smites, because it's the Word
of God coming. The keepers of the wall took
away my veil from me, they stripped me of my excuses, they stripped
my soul bare of its excuses, and so I was left seeking help. I charge you, O daughters of
Jerusalem, if you find my beloved, that you tell him, I'm lovesick,
I'm churned up inside, Have you ever been lovesick? I can remember
being lovesick. It's that feeling. When I was
away at university, I can remember being lovesick. I really can.
I know some of you can as well. This is what she's saying. I
just must have him. I must have him. I must have
that fellowship and that close relationship with him,
I must have it. Tell him I'm lovesick. Here is
someone, a true believer, whose heart is in agony for the presence
and fellowship of her beloved. You know what that old Sankey
hymn that we sing, now none but Christ can satisfy, none other
name for me. He's the only one, I must have
him. And so the daughters of Jerusalem
ask her, they ask the true believer, Tell us, why? What is thy beloved
more than another beloved, O thou fairest among women? What is
thy beloved more than another beloved, that thou dost so charge?
There are plenty of other things that you could, there are plenty
of other beloveds that you could love. What's so special about
this one, that you're charging us that this is the most important
thing that must be done for you? What is it? What is it? Why is
there none other than Christ who can satisfy your soul's needs
and desires? There are other candidate beloveds.
Why must you find this one and only this one? The response is
that of one who, as we saw in Philippians 3 verse 3, rejoices
in Christ Jesus. The response is of one who rejoices
in Christ Jesus, to whom alone he is precious. Look at the poetry. My beloved is white and ruddy.
Here comes the answer. My beloved is white and ruddy,
the chiefest among ten thousand. His head is as the most fine
gold. His locks are bushy and black
as a raven. His eyes are as the eyes of doves
by the rivers of waters, washed with milk and fitly set. His
cheeks are as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers, his lips like
lilies dropping sweet-smelling myrrh. His hands are as gold
rings set with beryl. His belly is as bright ivory
overlaid with sapphires. His legs are as pillars of marble
set upon sockets of fine gold. His countenance is as Lebanon,
excellent as the cedars. His mouth is most sweet. Yea,
he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved. Who is your
beloved? What is he more than anybody
else? This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters
of Jerusalem. Those words, I'm not going to
attempt to try and tell you, well, this stands for this and
this stands for that, other than to say it is just a metaphor
for the excellency of Christ. It speaks of the excellency of
Christ. This is my beloved, and this
is my friend. Why do his people love him? Why
do his people love him? If you're a true child of God,
why do you love him? Why do you truly love him? I'll
give you four answers this morning. Because we know who he is, and
knowing who he is, we love him. He is altogether lovely, as it
says there in verse 16. He is altogether lovely. We know
who He is. We know, secondly, that He loves
us. Why do you love Him? I know He
loves me. Thirdly, why do you love Him?
I know what He has accomplished for me, on my behalf, to save
me. I know what He's accomplished.
Why do you love him? Fourthly, I know that he's coming
back for me, to take me to be with him, where he is, that I
may behold his glory. So let's look at these four things.
First of all, who he is. Look in verse 10, my beloved
is white and ruddy, the chiefest among 10,000. Who is he? Who is this one who is my beloved?
Who is this God? Who is this Lord Jesus Christ
whom I love? Who is he? He's God. He's God. He's God, and in Christ,
He's God manifested to His people. Solomon, who wrote these words,
Solomon's Song, Solomon would have seen in the temple, you
know Solomon built the first and the most magnificent temple,
and it was there with all of its adornments and all of exactly
the right sacrifices and all the things that, as we've been
seeing in Hebrews on a Wednesday night, all of the things that
pointed to and pictured the Lord Jesus Christ and the gospel of
His grace. And he would have seen, Solomon
would have seen, the snow white lambs coming to be sacrificed. pointing to the Lord Jesus Christ,
the Lamb of God, Christ our Passover, the Lamb of God, which taketh
away the sins of a world of His people. He would have seen the
snow-white lambs being brought into the temple for the sacrifice,
and the priest taking the knife. It sounds so brutal, but it's
so essential to picture what must happen for God's justice
to be satisfied, for sinners to be saved. The snow-white lambs
were slain by the knife of the priest, and the blood, the red
blood, flowed out and stained the white wool of the lamb. This
is speaking of the Lamb of God. My beloved is white and ruddy,
in the perfection of his person, the white holiness of the infinite
God. My beloved is white and ruddy,
and the red earth, ruddy, redness, the red earth, Adam means red
earth, that's what the name Adam means, red earth, from the dust
he made him, and to the dust he was told he would return in
the day in which he died. My beloved is white and ruddy,
the red earth of Adam, and he's the two together, the God-Man-Redeemer. There is none higher than this
One. Who is your beloved? There is
none higher. He has the preeminence. It pleased
God that our Lord Jesus Christ should have the preeminence.
He's preeminent over all. Do you know what it says in the
Scripture about the day He returns? You know this world in general,
in the vast majority, rejects any thought of God in Christ,
rejects any idea of bowing to Him, but it says, every knee
shall bow and shall acknowledge that Christ is Lord to the glory
of God the Father. There is none higher. There is
none more powerful. This One who for a little while
was made lower than the angels for the suffering of death, this
One who laid His glory aside and had no comeliness that we
should desire Him, there is none more powerful in the universe.
He it is alone who orders all things according to the counsel
of His will. He it is alone who created all
things. He it is alone who upholds all
things by the word of His power. The active Word of His power
holds all things in this universe together. There is none who is
more wise than He is. Is there? You look at the wisdom
of man, you look at every effort of the wisdom of our politicians,
and their frantic attempts, and the more they try to be wise
and legislate for every situation, the more stupid and futile they
appear. There is none more wise than
our God in Christ. There is none more good. There
is none more good. You know how people fear despotic
leaders, how people fear those that have it in their power to
make sure that somebody is disposed of, done away with. Fear and
terror goes with that, but with our God, who is ultimate in power,
there is none more good, there is none more just. There is none
more glorious in sovereign saving grace. This is his greatest glory.
When Moses said to him, show me your glory, he said, you cannot
see my face, but I will put you here in the cleft of the rock.
And this is my glory, I will be gracious. Grace is the glory
of God. The crowning glory of God is
his grace. He's sovereign, he's powerful,
he's omniscient, he's omnipotent, he's omnipresent. but he's gracious
above all. And none can change his designs. None can frustrate his purposes.
This is who he is. Who is your beloved more than
another beloved? He's the God who rules over everything. In him alone is true and only
wisdom of life. Christ is made unto us, wisdom
from God. What's life all about? What's
it for? Where am I from? Where am I going? What's the
purpose? What does this all mean to the philosopher without God? It's so futile that many of them
commit suicide because they can see no point to it. And there
isn't any point to it outside of God who has made all things.
In Him alone, is true and only wisdom in this life. Only He
can pay my debt to His broken law. Only He has paid my sin
debt and made me the righteousness of God in Him. God requires perfect
righteousness. God requires a standard of righteousness
that is as righteous as He is. But this One, who is my Beloved,
has paid my sin-debt by Himself being made that sin, that He
might pay its sin-debt and make me thereby the righteousness
of God in Him. The righteousness that God requires
for eternity. As that old hymn says, there
was no other good enough. to pay the price of sin. He only
could unlock the gate of heaven and let us in. And yet, He is
not distant. This is who He is. The sovereign
of the universe, yet He is not distant. He says he is the friend
of his people, the friend. Who's your best friend? Those
of you that are married. If you're in a happy, settled marriage,
then I hope you can say that your husband, your wife is your
best friend, your friend, your marriage partner. There is a
friend, says Proverbs. Solomon, again, writing in Proverbs
18, verse 24. There is a friend that sticketh
closer than a brother. Look what Jesus said to his disciples
in John 15. This was the night in which he
was betrayed, the feast in the upper room, the Passover in the
upper room, before he was crucified. And he says in verse 13, greater
love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his
friends. The fact that He laid down His
life for His friends shows how great is His love for His friends. You, my disciples, my believing
people, you are my friends. You are my friends. If you do
whatsoever, I command you. You are my friends. They used
to say in certain places of work, you can either be a boss or a
friend, but you cannot be a boss and a friend. Oh, praise God.
The Lord Jesus Christ is not only the ultimate boss, if I
can say that without sounding irreverent. He's the sovereign
of the universe, yet he's the friend of his people. You are
my friends, if you do whatsoever I command you. What, is this
strict legal bondage? Not at all. This is gospel truth,
gospel precepts. Henceforth he says, I call you
not servants, for a servant knoweth not what his Lord doeth, but
I have called you friends. For all things that I have heard
of my Father, I have made known to you. He reveals the mystery
of the gospel of His grace to His friends, to His believing
people. He shows it to His friends. The
Scriptures are written to reveal to the friends of God, His believing
people, His elect, that multitude that no man can number. He reveals
the secrets of sovereign grace salvation. Are you good enough to be His
friend? Are you good enough? You say, oh no, I don't think
so. Well, let me tell you, let me comfort you with this. Do
you know what he was called while he walked this earth? He was
the friend of publicans and sinners. He was the friend of the harlot.
He was the friend of the swindling tax collector. He was the friend
of sinners who repented. And he gave them that gift of
repentance. How, as sinners, we need a friend
to pardon sin. You know, it's above all else,
the thing that we need. We might be poverty stricken
at times of life, we might be hungry, we might be thirsty,
we might be cold, we might be unwell, we might be sick near
to death, we might be in desperate loneliness. But do you know,
although those are great needs, they're nowhere near as great
as the need we have of a friend to pardon our sin. We need a
friend. And you know, there's lots of
songs that talk about that. I like to pick away on my guitar. I like that song by Carole King,
James Taylor's guitar version of it, You've Got a Friend, because
I just like the music and I like picking away on it. But you know
those words, there's no mortal man can make promises like that. Not a solitary one. All you have
to do is call and I'll be there. No, nobody can fulfill promises. There's only one who can, and
that's the friend who sticks closer than a brother. That's
the Lord Jesus Christ to his people. You've got a friend.
Whether you're John Bunyan in Bedford jail, he had a friend
there. A friend that sticketh closer
than a brother. Whether you're a martyr tied
to the stake in the midst of the burning pyre, You've got
a friend. He's your friend there in that.
He will take you to eternal glory. In whatever situation you are,
you've got a friend. Think how privileged to be let
into His eternal secret. Think how privileged. Child of
God. This is it. If you know this
one, if this is your beloved, you walk the corridors. When
I worked in government for a few years, there's a real buzz, there's
no doubt about it, but when you walk down the departments of
state in Whitehall in London, and you walk down the corridors
where the Secretary of State's office is and all his supporting
staff, there's a real feeling like this is the place where
it all goes on, this is the place that actually makes this country
tick, this is the place where the decisions are made. To walk
the corridors of power in Whitehall felt very good but you know it's
negligible, it's insignificant compared with walking the corridors
of universal power. as the Friend of the King of
Kings and Lord of Lords. What in this world could offer
more? What is your Beloved more than another Beloved? I know
who He is. I love Him for who He is. And
secondly, I love Him because He loves me. I know He loves
His people with a love that is so strong. We love Him, said
John, because He first loved us. That's why we love Him. If
there's a love for God in your soul, it's because He first loved
you. And having put that love there,
He will not let you go. This is an everlasting love. What sort of love is his? It's
everlasting. I have loved you with an everlasting
love, he says through Jeremiah. When did you love me? Everlastingly,
before time. There never was a time when he
didn't love his people. Before time began, according
as Paul writes to Timothy, 2 Timothy 1 verse 9, according to his own
purpose and grace given to us in Christ Jesus before the world
began. before the world began. That's
when He loved us then. And having loved us then, as
it says in Romans 8, 29, He foreknew us. That's electing sovereign
grace. That's electing love. He chose
us for nothing other than love. Not because we were lovable,
but because He loved us in sovereign grace. Those whom He foreknew,
He predestinated. He ordered all events of each
and everyone's life. He predestined us to be conformed
to the image of His Son. He called us, He called us in
eternity with the name of Christ, when He put us in union with
Christ. And He called us in irresistible grace when the Spirit came, and
called His people to trust Him and believe in Him, with that
call that cannot be resisted. He called us, and having called
us, He's justified us. He's shown us that by Christ
and His redemption, He has justified His people from the curse of
the law. And having justified us, glorification is all that
awaits. glorification. He commends His
love to us, says Paul to the Romans 5 verse 8. God commends
His love toward us. He demonstrates His love toward
us. He illustrates His love toward
us. He highlights His love toward
us in that while we were yet sinners, think how vile and repulsive
a sinner is to the character and person and being of God. A sinner is utterly vile and
repulsive. a stench in the nostrils of God
as a sinner in himself, in his flesh, yet in Christ, redeemed
from the curse of the law by the death that Christ died, by
the blood that he shed, Though we were yet sinners, He showed
His love to us by Christ dying for us. God commends His love
in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. He loved
His people enough to die for them. For a good man, some might
venture to die. For a brave man, some might venture
to die. But God commends His love in
that while we were yet neither good nor brave nor anything else
commendable but sinners, Christ died for us. He loved His people
enough to die for them. He loved His people enough to
be made the sin that they carry, that He might pay its penalty.
To be made sin, that His people might be made that which is necessary
to bring them gloriously to heaven, to eternal glory, which is the
righteousness of God. They're made the righteousness
of God in Him. His love drove him to do all
that was necessary to save. We read in Hebrews chapter 12
verse 2 about looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our
faith, who for the joy which was set before him endured the
cross, suffered the cross, despising the shame What was the joy that
was set before him? Taking his people, whom he loved
with an everlasting love, whom he loved with a love so strong
that he died to save them from their sins, taking them into
heaven. That's the joy set before him. Why do you love your beloved?
Why is this beloved so important to you? Why will no other beloved
do? Because no other beloved has loved me like this. No other
beloved has loved me to accomplish all of this for me. So what has
he done then? Let's be quick. He's taken his
people's sin debt and he's owned it. I've already said as much,
but he's taken the sin debt of his people and owned it as his
own and borne it in his own body, its guilt and its curse. Christ
has redeemed us. What's the curse of the law?
Cursed is everyone who continues not in all things written in
the book of the law to do them. Three verses on, verse 13 of
chapter 3 of Galatians. But Christ has redeemed us, paid
the freedom price, paid the ransom price to set us free. He's redeemed
us from the curse of the law. The soul that sins, it shall
die. He's redeemed us from it. He's released us from it. How?
By He being made that curse for us and bearing it in our place.
all of his people's sins, all of them. He, says Peter, his
own self bore our sins in his own body on the tree. And the
result of that, therefore there is, says Paul to the Romans,
no condemnation. to those who are in Christ Jesus.
This is what he's done, justified his people. The charge of God's
justice against the people Christ loved is perfectly answered by
Christ's death and his shed blood. And that knowledge causes rejoicing. Rejoice in Christ Jesus. Rejoicing
leads the heart to sing, this is why we sing hymns. Singing,
I remember we used to belt out a chorus many years ago, O the
love that drew salvation's plan, O the grace that brought it down
to man, O the mighty gulf that God did span at Calvary, mercy
there was great and grace was free, pardon there was multiplied
to me, there my burdened soul found liberty at Calvary. I'm
rejoicing, is what that is saying. Think why the hymn writers wrote
their hymns, all the hymns that we sing on a Sunday morning,
all the hymns that come to your mind, singing in psalms and hymns
and spiritual songs. It's hearts overflowing with
the love of Christ and gladness at the blessings of God's grace
for what he has done. We rejoice in Christ Jesus. We rejoice in what he's done.
What is your beloved more than another beloved? Is there another
beloved that has redeemed me from the curse of the law? And
then finally, he's coming back for his people. You see, redemption,
salvation, will not finally be complete until we experience
the consciousness of heaven. Finally, the consciousness of
heaven, until we know the reality in our own experience of what
Jesus said to the penitent thief next to him on the cross, this
day you shall be with me in paradise. Or, until he comes again, because
he is coming with clouds, and every eye shall see him. And
when He comes, He will take His people to be with Him. He will
lead His elect hosts. Lift up your heads, O ye gates,
and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory
shall come in. Who is the King of glory? The
Lord of hosts. He's coming with the children
that the Father has given Him through the gates into heaven.
There is no Saint Peter sitting there checking whether you are
qualified. Christ has qualified His people,
and Christ leads every one of His people gloriously. This is
the joy that is set before Him, through the gates into glory,
into that kingdom which is their inheritance. Come, you blessed
of my Father, inherit the kingdom. that was prepared for you from
the foundation of the world. Let me ask you, is anything,
we've been in this long period of lockdown and everybody's looking
forward, they called yesterday Super Saturday because it was
the first day, 4th of July, not American Independence Day over
here, it's Super Saturday when everybody was allowed to go to
the pub or to a restaurant and to start doing things socially
again. Is anything in your events diary? It might be next year, I mean
for me it wouldn't be, but it might be next year's Glastonbury
concert over that weekend. You know, it might be one of
the great festivals of popular music. You might have a holiday
of a lifetime in your diary. There might be a special anniversary
coming up. There could be. It could be your
favourite football team winning the European Champions Cup. Oh,
what a blessing that would be. Do you know something? Every
single one of those, however much of a little thrill they
might give you at the time, will prove in eternity to be no more
than broken cisterns. I tried the broken cisterns,
Lord, but all their waters failed, and even as I stooped to drink,
they mocked me as I wailed. Compared to the eternal glory,
of heaven, the eternal glory and the return of our Lord Jesus
Christ, that appointment, that appointment that is in the diary
of every one of God's people, the new heavens and the new earth
coming down wherein dwells righteousness, that appointment, that makes
everything else pale into insignificance. There, all of his people will
experience and enjoy the intimate love of God. God's love for them,
and their love for God, without anything in between, without
anything in the way, without any end. That is the bliss of
heaven. He's coming back for his people.
What is your beloved more than another beloved? I've barely
scratched the surface, I know that. Never mind plumbing the
depths, I've barely scratched the surface. Is this important? Is this important? Let me give
you a scripture that tells us that it is. 1 Corinthians 16
verse 22. If any man love not the Lord
Jesus Christ, let him be anathema maranatha. If any man love not
the Lord Jesus Christ, in the way that we've been scratching
the surface this morning, let him be anathema maranatha means
eternally lost. Eternally lost. Remember what
we saw in Hebrews recently, Hebrews 10, 38 and 39. If any man draw
back, Paul was giving warnings. from the history of the Hebrews,
many of whom had been under all of the spiritual blessings that
was unique to that people alone in that time of history. And
yet of them, many had drawn back. Many professed to be Israelites
indeed. Many went through all the rites
and rituals of being Israelites indeed, but many of them drew
back from faith, from belief. He says, if any man draw back,
my soul shall have no pleasure in him. God shall have no pleasure
in him. But Paul says, we are not of
them. Let's be hopeful. We are not
of them that draw back unto perdition, but of them that believe unto
the saving of the soul, or that we might believe unto the saving
of the soul. He that believeth in me, said
the Lord Jesus Christ, has everlasting life. Amen.