turn with me to Exodus chapter
13 verse 20 Exodus chapter 13 and verse 20 and they took their journey from
Succoth and encamped in Etham in the age of the wilderness
And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud
to lead them in the way, and by night in a pillar of fire
to give them light, to go by day and night. He took not away
the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night
from before the people. if you will, to Numbers chapter
4, I'm sorry, Isaiah chapter 4. When the Lord God brought
Israel out of Egypt, the psalmist said he spread a cloud for a
covering and a fire to give light in the night. And that pillar
of cloud and of fire is none other than Jesus Christ himself,
the angel of the Lord going before his people throughout their journeys. He was to the children of Israel
from the time they left Egypt until at last he brought them
into Canaan, the land of their rest, a perpetual pillar of cloud
and fire, not going behind them, but covering them and going before
them. and what he was to the children
of Israel, he has promised he is and will be to you and me. Isaiah chapter 4, verse 2. In that day shall the branch
of the Lord be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the
earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped
of Israel. And it shall come to pass that
he that is left in Zion And he that remaineth in Jerusalem shall
be called holy, even everyone that is written among the living
in Jerusalem, when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of
the daughters of Zion and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem
from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment and by the
spirit of burning. And the Lord will create upon
every dwelling place of Mount Zion and upon her assemblies
a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire
by night. For upon all the glory shall
be a defense, and there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow
in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and
for a covert from the storm and from the rain." Now, I'm not
going to have much to say concerning these things. I'm going to mostly
read scripture to you tonight. But I want you to follow along
carefully. The first thing that I think needs to be observed
here is that this pillar of cloud and of fire is one pillar. It is both a pillar of cloud
and a pillar of fire, appearing differently at different times,
but always one pillar. By night, a pillar of cloud,
by day, a pillar of cloud, and by night, a pillar of fire. The
purpose is the same, whether a pillar of cloud or a pillar
of fire. It was to direct the children
of Israel and to protect the children of Israel throughout
their journeyings in this world. It was the pillar by which they
were at last delivered safely into Canaan, the picture of our
everlasting redemption in heavenly glory. And our Lord Jesus Christ,
our savior, is one. We often speak of our Savior's
various works and speak of them as though his works were himself. Now, the two can't be separated.
What he is and what he does is one thing. But our Lord Jesus
Christ is one Savior whom we trust for the whole of our salvation. He is made of God unto us wisdom
and righteousness and sanctification and redemption so that we believe
him. We trust him who is our salvation. We trust him at the beginning,
and we learn to trust him along the way, and we continue trusting
him until we have come to the end of our way in heavenly glory. Brother Scott Richardson one
time gave a great outline of the believer's life. He said,
it begins with a look, and it continues with a look, and it's
consummated with a look. We look unto him and we are saved. We make our pilgrimage, running
our race, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our
salvation. And we shall at last see him as he is face to face. Our Redeemer is one whom we trust. Here's the second thing. And
I think it's very important. Look at chapter 14 of Exodus. This pillar of cloud and pillar
of fire was for Israel and Israel alone. It belonged to Israel. It worked for Israel. Its benefits
were for Israel. Now I stress this. Our Lord Jesus
Christ is the savior of his elect and they alone benefit from his
works. I stress it. because to suggest
that somehow the Lord Jesus does things for people who do not
benefit from his work is to deny the efficacy of his work and
to deny that he is himself God our Savior. Look here in Exodus
14 verse 19. He is a pillar over every dwelling
place of Mount Zion and above her assemblies, but for no one
else. Exodus 14, 19, the angel of God,
which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind
them. And the pillar of cloud went
from before their face and stood behind them. And it came between
the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. And it was
a cloud and darkness to them. And it gave light by night to
these. so that the one came not near
the other all the night. This pillar of cloud and pillar
of fire stood between Israel and Egypt and it was to the children
of Israel a wall of protection and it was a fire to give light
but to the Egyptians it was darkness and confusion. Now that's the
way it is, that's the way it has been, and that's the way
it shall be. What God does in this world,
He does specifically for His people. Christ is our Redeemer
and our Savior. If you believe Him, He is your
Redeemer. your Savior, your God, your Lord,
personally possessed, you can say, the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. But he is distinctly
the Savior of his people. I constantly run across people. I have things sent to me almost
every day, someone suggesting that somehow we must Tell people
that there's a sense in which God wants to save everybody. A sense in which God is good
to everybody. A sense in which God loves everybody. A sense in which the grace of
God is common to all men. A sense in which Christ died
to save all men. Now listen carefully. If God
loves everybody, God's love is meaningless. Because some folks
go to hell anyhow. To suggest that God loves everybody
is to declare that God's love matters not to anybody. To suggest
that Christ died for all men, even those who perish in their
sins, is to declare that Christ's death benefits no one, is of
no benefit to anyone. But that which really distinguishes
men is not Christ and His work. Rather, it is what the man does
for himself, what the sinner performs for God. Here's the
third thing. as this pillar went before Israel
to guide and protect them throughout their wilderness journey going
before them all the time so the Lord Jesus is our guide and protector
through this world ever he goes before us to guide and to protect
to lead the way and to cover turn to Numbers chapter 9 Numbers
9 chapter. He guides us by his word and
by his spirit and by the hand of his omnipotent grace. He has
guided us all our days. He is guiding us now and he will
guide us until he brings us home. Numbers 9 verse. No, the tabernacle was reared
up. The cloud covered the tabernacle,
namely the tent of the testimony. And at evening, at even, there
was upon the tabernacle, as it were, the appearance of fire
until the morning. Every night as the sun set, you
could see a pillar of fire, a column of fire above the tabernacle.
Something supernatural. Something unexplainable. Something
no man could possibly explain and no man could explain away.
That's what Christ is. Our Savior, no man can explain
Him and none can explain Him away. We simply behold Him. There
appeared this pillar of fire until the morning. Verse 16.
So it was always. The cloud covered it by day.
and the appearance of fire by night. And when the cloud was
taken up from the tabernacle, then after that the children
of Israel journeyed. And in the place where the cloud
abode, there the children of Israel pitched their tents. At
the commandment of the Lord, the children of Israel journeyed.
And at the commandment of the Lord, they pitched. As long as
the cloud abode upon the tabernacle, they rested in their tents. They
were content. They were at peace. They were
resting because the pillar of cloud and fire was above them
and led them. It was the pillar that led them,
not in a direct way, but in a terribly circuitous way from Egypt into
Canaan. A pillar that led them in the
path of difficulty and trial and war for 40 long years. But it was God leading them by
His decree, by His commandment. Read on. Verse 19. And when the cloud
tarried long upon the tabernacle, many days the children of Israel
kept the charge of the Lord and journeyed not. And so it was,
when the cloud was a few days upon the tabernacle, according
to the commandment of the Lord, they abode in their tents, and
according to the commandment of the Lord, they journeyed.
And so it was, when the cloud abode from evening until morning,
that the cloud was taken up in the morning, then they journeyed.
Whether it was by day or by night, that the cloud was taken up,
they journeyed. It were two days or a month or
a year that the cloud tarried upon the tabernacle remaining
there on the children of Israel abode in their tents and journeyed
not. But when it was taken up, they
journeyed. Verse 23 at the commandment by the decree of the Lord, they
rested in their tents and at the commandment by the decree
of the Lord, they journeyed. They kept the charge of the Lord
at the commandment of the Lord and by the hand of Moses. Now,
look at some scripture. I want you to see that Jesus
Christ is our pillar of cloud and the fire, our guide in this
world. Turn to Matthew chapter four.
This is what Zachariah said of him. He has come to give light
to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death to
guide our feet in the way of peace. In Matthew chapter four,
we see the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy. Verse 16, the people
which sat in darkness saw great light and to them which sat in
the region of the shadow of death, light is sprung up. He leadeth me beside the still
waters. He leadeth me in paths of righteousness. He leads me by my hand continually
by day and by night when I'm aware of it and when I'm not. When I acknowledge it and when
I don't, still he leads all the time. By day, a pillar of cloud. Somehow, for the children of
Israel, the Lord God arranged to be constantly over that camp. Constantly over. Now remember,
when they came out of Egypt, there were at least two and a
half million of them. At least two and a half million. And all their days as they went
through the wilderness, continually multiplying, the Lord was over
them as a dark cloud. Not a dark foreboding cloud,
but a dark cloud to protect them from the sun that scorched everyone
else. A dark cloud to give them shade
by day, a dark cloud to protect and comfort them and to lead
them through the wilderness. That's what Christ is to you
and me. A cloud of protection. To protect us from all those
things that harm others. To protect us from all those
things that destroy others. To protect us from all those
things that cause hurt to others. Christ is a covert in the time
of storm. He is our covering, our pillar
of cloud. He spread a cloud for a covering
and fire to give light in the night. That's what Christ does
for us. A shade by day, defense by night,
a shelter in the time of storm. Let's turn to Psalm 91. I believe
James read this just Sunday night. I think this is a psalm he read,
somebody did recently. Psalm 91. He that dwelleth in the secret
place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the
Almighty. Oh my soul, what a good place
to abide. I was looking at this passage
today, right here in Psalm 91, preparing this message when I
got a call from Brother David Edmondson down in Madisonville.
His son Just found out how old is Andrew, 21, 22 years old,
somewhere in there. Got to take his head apart, open
his skull up, and operate on his pituitary gland. He that dwells in the secret
place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the
Almighty. That'll be good enough. That'd
be good enough. Several years ago, I got a telephone
call one morning. Brother Rupert Ravenbark's daughter,
Melody, committed suicide. Young lady, new baby, found her
sitting in the car. She committed suicide. Several
of us flew down for the funeral. Brother Mahan preached the message.
This is what Rupert said. when he stood up, and this is
all they said during the whole course of the funeral service.
He said, we've come here today to kiss the hand of God's providence. To kiss the hand of God's providence. You can do that with a breaking
heart. when you abide under the shadow
of the Almighty. Read on. I will say of the Lord,
he is my refuge and my fortress, my God. In him will I trust. I'll kiss his hand. Surely he
shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler and from the noisome
pestilence. He shall cover thee with his
feathers and under his wings shalt thou trust. His truth shall
be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for
the terror by night, nor for the arrow that flyeth by day,
nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness, nor for the destruction
that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy
side and ten thousand at thy right hand, but it shall not
come nigh thee. Only with thine eye shalt thou
behold and see the reward of the wicked, because thou hast
made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most high thy habitation. There shall no evil befall thee,
neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. There shall no evil happen to
the just. Is that his promise, James? He's
as good as his word. It matters not how painful your
experience is. It matters not how troublesome
my trial is. There shall no evil happen to
the just because Jesus Christ leads me and abides with me as
a pillar of cloud to protect me. Oh, how we ought to thank
God for the covering that Christ Jesus is. God, give me grace
to trust him. But our Lord is also a pillar
of fire. Now, when I think about fire,
there are several things that immediately come to mind. light
and heat and warmth and burning. Christ Jesus is a pillar of fire
to guide our souls through the night of mortality. Lest we lose our way. The Lord
Jesus is a pillar of fire to protect and guide our souls in
the dark night of trouble and temptation. Piercing through
our spiritual darkness a pillar of fire round about us to protect
us all the time He said he would encamp round about us. He said
he would be a wall of fire Round about us to protect us and keep
us all the time and that's what he is The Lord Jesus our Savior
is a pillar of fire to our souls Not only to give light Not only
to protect us, but to give heat and warmth. His Spirit, God the Holy Spirit
is often compared in Scripture to fire. He says that His Word
in the book of Jeremiah is not my word like a fire. And He by
His Word and by His Spirit continually warms our depraved cold hearts reviving
us with the fire of his grace lest we perish with coldness
from within he is a pillar of fire for his own here's a fourth
thing this pillar of cloud and fire is always with us turn to
Nehemiah chapter 9 From the night that Israel left
Egypt until the day that they finally were brought into the
land of Canaan by Joshua and took possession of that land
and drove out their enemies, from the day that God brought
them out of Egypt to the day that he brought them into Canaan,
he abode with them continually a pillar of cloud and a pillar
of fire. Nehemiah 9 verse 19. Yet thou,
in thy manifold mercies, forsookest them not in the wilderness. If they'd have been mine, I would
have. And if they had been Moses, Moses would have. But they're
gods. He wouldn't forsake them. He wouldn't forsake them. If I were yours, you'd forsake
me. And if you were mine, I'd forsake
you. But we belong to Him who will
never forsake His own. Read on. The pillar of the cloud
departed not from them by day to lead them by the way, neither
the pillar of fire by night to show them light. and the way
wherein they should go. So it is with Christ our Savior. He has sworn, I will never leave
thee, nor forsake thee. When my father and my mother
forsake me, the psalmist said, then the Lord will take me up.
Whom have I in heaven but thee? There is none upon earth that
I desire beside thee, my flesh and my heart faileth. But God
is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. The Lord Jesus said, when you
pass through the waters, I'll be with you. And through the
rivers, they'll not overflow you. And through the waters of
trouble and the rivers of woe, you must pass. But pass through
them you will, and he will pass through them with you, a pillar
of fire and a pillar of cloud. And when you pass through the
fire, the flame will not kindle upon you, for I'm with you."
I often think about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego cast into
the burning, fiery furnace. And the only thing they lost
in that furnace, the only thing that happened to them in that
furnace, Larry, the cords that tied them were burned up. That's
all. They came out of the furnace,
didn't even smell like they'd been in a smoking room. They came
out with no harm. With no harm. And so you and
I shall pass through this world the days of trouble and the nights
of darkness with no harm. Because Christ is a pillar of
cloud and a pillar of fire to guide and to protect his own. What does all that mean? Though I walk through the valley
of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. Thy rod
and thy staff, they comfort me." We have entirely too many fears
for a people to whom the Lord Jesus Christ is an ever-abiding
pillar of cloud and fire, to whom the Lord said, fear not.
thou worm Jacob, for I am with thee. Be not dismayed, for I
am thy God. I will uphold thee with the right
hand of my righteousness." We have entirely too many doubts
and fears concerning God's mercy, love, and grace for people to whom the Lord God
has given Christ as a pillar of cloud and a pillar of fire,
to whom He says, Him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast
out. I give unto them eternal life,
and they shall never perish. God forgive our unbelief. I know some of you have trouble
in this area, and I know sometimes preachers overstate things when
they mean to do good. I've heard preachers say, if
you doubt, you're damned, and I've heard preachers say, if
you don't, you are. The fact is we do have doubts and fears,
don't we? Well, I just, I've never had
any lack of assurance. I'll be honest with you, I kind
of doubt that. I kind of doubt that. I acknowledge my own and I'm
ashamed of it, but I won't excuse it. On what grounds? Dare I call into question the
mercy, love, and grace of my God. Mr. Spurgeon reasoned like this,
and I like the way he reasoned. The scripture says, he that believeth
on the Son of God hath everlasting life. I believe on the Son of
God. I have everlasting life. That's too simple, Brother Don.
No, that's just simple enough. I believe the Son of God. And
my sins, and my lack of faith, and my inward corruptions must not dissuade me from believing
my God. and resting my soul on my Savior. I refuse to doubt God's love
because of something I've thought, said, done, or am. I refuse to
question His grace because I'm not worthy of His grace. And
we spend entirely too much time grumbling, complaining, and murmuring
about our trials and troubles for a people to whom the Lord
Jesus is an ever-abiding pillar of cloud and defier. For a people to whom he says,
in the world you shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I've overcome
the world. No matter the trial, no matter
the foe, no matter the heartache, no matter the heat of the day
that we must endure, No matter what darkness we must pass through,
as the Lord God took not away the pillar of cloud by day, nor
the pillar of fire by night from before the people of old, so
he will abide faithfully with you and with me as we make our
pilgrimage through this world, leading us every day in the way
exactly as he has appointed until at last he brings us into the
possession of heavenly glory and we have no more need of protection
and no more need of guidance. He brings us at last into that
blessed, blessed, blessed promised land where he says we will have
no need of the sun, of the moon, but the Lord God and the lamb
shall be the light of that city forever. God give you and me
grace to trust him. Until then, amen.