I'm not going to tell you what
I thought about Don Fortner the first time I met him. God's providence is so wonderful. I'm very thankful for his providence
that caused our paths to cross. I consider Don and Shelby very
dear friends and very thankful that God has brought this relationship
together and look forward to not only many, many more good
times together in this life, but an eternity together in the
presence of our King. It's good to be back here. We're
thankful, Ben. If you think I'm nervous, you're
right. I never go to the pulpit without being nervous. And God
help me never to get so confident that I'm not a little bit nervous.
But it's good to be here. Loved ones back home, send their
love and their greetings. You folks have met some of our
folks who were at your conference this last September. Stephen
Rosemary Doyle, Michael Shirley Loveless, Lamar and Carol Garner,
who are over at Cherokee right now, worshiping God in the worship
services there, and will be there for this upcoming conference.
And what a testimony. of God's work in the hearts of
His children may drive for miles to be where the Word of God is
preached. Our daughter, Judene, and her husband and their children
would not take no for an answer when we would try to get them
to stay in Clarksville. They hadn't. No, I'm delighted that they have
that love. I want to ask you to turn to
Song of Solomon, chapter 3, if you would turn there, please.
I know your pastor has taken you through this book. I also
know he has written a book entitled Discovering Christ in the Song
of Solomon. I am in the process of reading
that, and we're going through the Song of Solomon in our Wednesday
night studies at Rescue. California, and I got to thinking
about how foolish it is to go to a place in the Scripture where
this man has already brought you. But where in the world could
I go in the Scripture where he hasn't already taken you? Besides,
it might be a blessing to you to hear the truths from this
portion of God's Word again. I trust it will be. And it might
be a blessing to you to see how God is blessing other pastors
and other congregations through this instrument that God has
sent our way. One of our members, after our
Wednesday night Bible study, going to a portion of this book,
he said this. He said, before we started these
studies, I thought Song of Solomon was just a mushy love letter.
It is a love letter. A love letter written by Solomon,
inspired by God, using descriptive words to show the love that Christ
has for His Church and the love His Church has for Christ. The
Bible, God's wholly inspired Word from cover to cover, is
all about Jesus Christ and His Church. Our Lord, when He was
on the road to Emmaus talking to two of His disciples After
he had risen from the grave, beginning at Moses and all the
prophets, he expounded in all the scriptures the things concerning
himself. And I believe Song of Solomon was one of those books.
I just have to believe that somewhere in the Song of Solomon, he referred
to himself as he was talking to those two on the road to Emmaus. Now, in this third chapter of
Solomon, a description of Solomon's honeymoon chariot that he built
for his bride as given. Solomon was very, very rich and
very, very wise. I don't believe there was a king
before him or after him that was as wealthy as Solomon or
as wise as Solomon with the exception of our Lord Jesus Christ. And
I believe Solomon designed this chariot himself, and I don't
believe he spared any expense. Salvation is free, but it's not
cheap. It cost God his son, and I believe
God designed every bit of this wonderful eternal gift that he
has given us, eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. And all
of this that we are enjoying in Christ our Savior, designed
by God himself, is for his glory and for our good. And God help
us to look at this this morning as we consider this honeymoon
chariot in relation to what God has done for us. Now, we are
about to read a description of something that actually did exist,
something that actually took place, but it's an allegory. This is an allegory, a true story
that has a hidden symbolic spiritual meaning. So let me read in your
hearing, starting at verse 6 of this third chapter of Solomon,
down through the end of this chapter. Who is this that cometh out of
the wilderness, like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh
and frankincense, with all powders of the merchant? Behold his bed,
which is Solomon's. Threescore valiant men are about
it of the valiant of Israel. They all hold swords, being expert
in war. Every man hath his sword upon
his thigh because of fear in the night. King Solomon made
himself a chariot of the wood of Lebanon. He made the pillars
thereof of silver, the bottom thereof of gold, the covering
of it of purple, the midst thereof being paved with love for the
daughters of Jerusalem. Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion,
and behold King Solomon with the crown wherewith his mother
crowned him in the day of his espousals and in the day of the
gladness of his heart." Now Solomon typifies the Lord Jesus Christ,
which you can only take a type as far as it is intended. But
God helped us to take it as far as it is intended. And Solomon
The wise king of Israel, with all of his riches, certainly
typifies our Lord Jesus Christ, who is wisdom. Jesus Christ is
Jehovah God. Everything belongs to Him. So
Solomon does typify the Lord Jesus Christ, but a greater than
Solomon is here. Jesus Christ is our exalted King. By God's grace, through the repentance
that he has granted to us, we bow down to King Jesus and we
give him all the praise and all the honor and all the glory.
Jesus Christ is omnipotent. All power in heaven and earth
belongs to him. Jesus Christ is omniscient. He knows everything. He is wisdom. And Jesus Christ is God Almighty. Everything rightfully belongs
to Him. Now, all of God's enlightened
children bow down to the Lord Jesus Christ, confessing Him
as our arisen, exalted King. We know that everything is under
the feet of King Jesus. Even Satan And all of the evil spirits,
those angels that fell with him, they have to get permission from
our Lord Jesus Christ before they can do anything. So we bow
down to him. Now the daughters of Jerusalem,
we read about in verse 10, and the daughters of Zion in verse
11, typify the members of Christ's church, spiritual Israel. That's
us. During the early New Testament
church era, those in the Old Testament that we read about,
those from the acts of the apostles right up to today, and all of
those who will be in God's kingdom until our Lord Jesus comes, when
he does come, these are the daughters of Jerusalem. These are the daughters
of Zion. Now, some are more mature in
the faith than others. Some are still babes in Christ. Some have not yet come, but they're
going to, because our Lord Jesus Christ
said, All that the Father giveth me shall come to me, and him
that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. So all of God's
children, from every kindred and tongue and tribe and nation,
God's spiritual Israel, are the daughters of Zion, the daughters
of Jerusalem. Now, verse 6 says, Who is this? that cometh out of the wilderness
like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense,
with all powders of the merchant." This refers to God's church as
she travels through the wilderness on her way to eternal glory. Just dripping with the sweet
smells of God's grace, the fruit of the Spirit. The Spirit of
God dwells in our hearts and the fruit of the Spirit comes
forth. Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, kindness,
temperance, all of these things are the result of God's Spirit
dwelling within us. The fruit of the Spirit coming
forth for His glory. And so we have the sweet smells
of God's grace coming forth from us as we go through this life,
as we travel on this pilgrimage journey on our way to glory.
And so we thank God for what He has done, what He is doing.
But folks, this world is not our home. We're just passing
through. We're on our way to glory. All
that God has given to us, we're thankful for. The air we breathe,
The food we eat, the water we drink, the clothes we wear, our
loved ones, the homes we have, all of these things we thank
God for, but they're temporal. What he has given us in his kingdom
that refers to spiritual things have eternal value, and we are
to set our affection on things above. And so we're just passing
through this world, singing praises to our God on our way home, waiting
for the coming of our Lord Jesus or that day that he is appointed
for our departure. We're just pilgrims passing through
this wilderness like pillars of smoke, our hearts burning
with love for our Savior, on fire for the glory of the one
who loved us. and gave himself for us, loving his gospel, supporting
his gospel, set for the defense of his gospel, loving those who
love the Lord Jesus Christ, loving his divine providence, knowing
that all things are working together for good to them that love God,
to them who are called according to his purpose. Thanking him
for choosing us, thanking him for redeeming us, thanking him
for enlightening us. and thanking him for keeping
us. Now Solomon had his own personal bodyguard that surrounded his
honeymoon chariot. Verses 6 and 7 says, Behold,
his bed which is Solomon's, threescore valiant men are about it of the
valiant of Israel. They all hold swords, being expert
in war. Every man hath his sword upon
his thigh because of fear in the night. Now these men are
not rookie boot camp soldiers, these are the best of the best. These are Solomon's hand-picked
bodyguards. These are men who have proven
themselves, valiant men Men who are not only expert in handling
the sword and defending the king and his bride, but men who are
willing and would do this, if the occasion called for it, to
lay down their life for their king and for his bride. Why the number 60? I don't know if there's anything
significant about that, maybe to remind us that these men,
as brave as they were, as able as they were to defend the king,
that men is what they are. Six is the number short of seven. Seven signifies perfection, and
number six is in this number of bodyguards. So as able as
they were to defend the king, as willing as they were to lay
down their life for the king, they could do nothing without
God enabling them. It was God who who defended the
King of Israel, God who defended the bride of the King of Israel.
This all points to what God is doing for us today. These 60
men, no doubt, point to God's preachers, those who are preaching
the gospel, those who are set for the defense of the gospel,
willing to lay down their lives for the cause of Christ, to defend
the honor of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, and his blood-bought
children who make up the bride of Christ. But folks, men is
all we are. As much as we love our Savior,
the Lord Jesus Christ, and as gifted as some preachers are,
man in his best state is altogether vanity. Without the Lord Jesus
Christ, we cannot do anything. All of us are sinners saved by
the grace of God, washed in the blood of Jesus Christ. And all
of God's preachers come to this pulpit, having gone through the
same experience of God's wonderful grace as every sinner that is
brought into the kingdom of God, taught the gospel by the Holy
Spirit under the preaching of the gospel. We grow in grace
and in the knowledge of our Savior, and God himself is the one who
appoints his preachers and places them in positions to serve him
all over this world for his glory and for the good of his church.
So God's preachers are men, but thank God for those who are called
into the ministry who are not ashamed of the gospel of our
Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Now these sixty bodyguards, they
were serious. about what they were doing. They
knew that there was a possibility of danger arising and they were
ready to defend the king and his bride if that ever happened. Well, God's preachers are serious
about what we're doing. This is serious business. We're
dealing with the eternal souls of men and women. We better be
right. God help us not to, as our brother brought out in Sunday
school this morning, just to be haphazard about these things,
to be serious-minded, always pointing our hearers to the Lord
Jesus Christ, who he is. He's the God-man. He's the creator
of this world and everything in this whole universe. And He's
the man who walked on this earth with a purpose, coming to do
God's will, who suffered and bled and died in our room instead,
after establishing a righteousness for us, a perfect righteousness. Jesus Christ did not come to
change the law. He came to fulfill it. And He
fulfilled every bit of it, establishing a righteousness for this poor
preacher that's standing before you. And when He went to that
cross and suffered and bled and died, He was the perfect spotless
Lamb of God. And folks, listen. He didn't
go there. hoping that He might do something
that would enable me to become His child. He went there knowing
full well that when He laid down His life, He was sealing me with
His precious blood. He was accomplishing perfect
redemption through His death on the cross. And when He went
there, He didn't just go there to make us save us. He went there
to save His people. I love that song you were singing
this morning. I just want to go over to the
lady standing here singing, Redeemed, how I love to proclaim it. We're
redeemed. We're bought with the blood of
Jesus Christ. And God has redeemed everyone
who were given to Him by God the Father in a covenant of grace
way back before this world was ever created. And His blood has
sealed our pardon. We belong to Him by virtue of
a divine promise, by virtue of a divine payment, by virtue of
a divine power, and for a divine purpose to give God all the praise
and all the glory. Now this brings me to this honeymoon
chariot. I said earlier that Solomon spared
no expense. He could afford what went into
the building of this chariot. Now try to picture a chariot
in your mind. This was no goat cart. This was
big. It had a bed in it. It was beautiful. Cinderella's, that fictitious
chariot, couldn't even remotely compare to the beauty of Solomon's
chariot. It was beautiful. Verse 7 tells
us there was a bed in this chariot, a resting place, a place where
Solomon and his bride had intimate fellowship, a place where the
bride of Solomon could find sweet comfort in the arms of her husband. Now enclosed in this honeymoon
chariot, Solomon's bride could focus her eyes on no one but
her King. I like that. Now all of God's
enlightened children find perfect rest in Christ our Savior. That's what the bed represents.
The rest that's ours in Christ. Right behind our daughter's place,
our son-in-law and our daughter's place there in Clarksville, Tennessee,
are people who who belong to Seventh Day Adventist group.
They have the Ten Commandments out on the entranceway to their
home, the driveway, and a bumper sticker on their car saying,
Saturday is the Sabbath, and God does not change. Well, God is the same yesterday,
today, and forever. He is immutable. But Jesus Christ
fulfilled all of that in the Old Testament, including that
which is the Sabbath. We rest in Christ. We have perfect
rest in the arms of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, we
love God's laws. God's preachers never preach
against the law of God. Any preacher that is standing
before people telling them they have a license to sin, that they
can break God's law, that we're under grace. They have never
heard the gospel. They're still in their sins.
But we rest in Christ. We're under the law to Christ.
That's the law of love. I was preaching that years ago,
and I had a man come to me after the services, and he wanted to
know what I meant. I said, well, we're under the
law to Christ. He said, I don't even know what
you mean by that. Well, Brendan, that's scripture. And I said,
let me get my Bible and I'll show you. He said, I've been
reading this Bible for about 20 years. Maybe I could show
you something. Well, I don't think you probably could, but
I want to show you what resting Christ means. He left. He didn't
want to see that. God's people delight in that.
That Jesus Christ fulfilled the law for us. That not one thing
can be laid to the charge of God's elect. And we rest in Him. We rest in Christ. And that's
what this bed is pointing us to. The rest that's ours in Christ
Jesus our Lord. It is finished with the last
words our Savior uttered on the cross. And I believe that, don't
you? I believe that the work of redemption is finished. And
we read in the fourth chapter of Hebrews, where God, after
He created everything, He rested. on the seventh day. Now God didn't
get tired. He ceased from his works of creation. And if we leave the gospel, we
cease from our works of trying to earn our salvation. We rest
in the finished work of Christ. And so that's what we're talking
about this morning from this honeymoon chariot, that bed pointing
to our resting place. We're safe in the loving arms
of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 10 tells us that
Solomon's chariot had a covering of purple. Purple symbolizes
royalty. This was the royal chariot of
the king. But purple also symbolizes the
royal blood of Jesus Christ. There was a covering, a canopy.
Well, we have a covering. It's the blood of Jesus Christ.
God has covered us with the blood of Jesus Christ. He sees the
blood and He passes over us. Jesus Christ is our Passover. And what a covering that we have.
What a covering that God has given to us. He sees us in Christ
just as if we had never sinned. Does that bless you? That blesses
me because I still have wrong thoughts, I still do things I
shouldn't do, I don't do things I should do, but I know in Christ
I have done everything that pleases God the Father. Through Jesus
Christ I have a perfect righteousness. I'm washed in His blood. God
sees me in Christ justified. The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses
us from every sin. Verse 10 tells us this covering
had pillars of silver. Now silver is a very precious,
valuable incorruptible metal that can be polished to the point
where it shines brilliantly. These pillars supported this
covering and the materials that surrounded the secluded area
of this honeymoon chariot. And these were strong, endurable,
incorruptible pillars. Now many Bible scholars, including
your pastor, I've read John Gill, I've read Matthew Henry, Henry
Mahan, I've read Matthew Poole, several others, I've read the
book by your pastor, and many of them believe that these pillars
point to these four points, these four pillars point to these four
attributes of God. The silver pillar of God's divine
justice, the silver pillar of God's omnipotent power, the silver
pillar of God's everlasting love, and the silver pillar of God's
immutability. Those four pillars of truth that
support this covering, the blood of Jesus Christ that washes us
from every spot and stain. Now the silver pillar of God's
divine justice God's divine justice must be
satisfied. God must punish sin. And if there
is no one to take our place, if there is no one who perfectly
can satisfy the justice of God for us, there's no hope for any
of us. We come into this world going astray, speaking lies,
And sin after sin after sin just keeps piling up, so we have no
righteousness of our own. The soul that sinneth, it must
surely die. But Jesus Christ, our Lord and
our Savior, satisfied the law's last demand. Like I said earlier,
he perfectly obeyed God the Father. Everything he did was perfect.
He kept the law of God perfectly. Even his thoughts were perfect.
He knew no sin. The Bible says that. So here
we have our Savior walking perfectly, doing the perfect will of God,
going to the cross, dying for his sheep. paying the law's last
demand by laying down his life for us. This pillar of truth
shines brilliantly before the eyes of God's enlightened children
as we see holy justice being satisfied by our Savior. Jesus Christ satisfied the holy
justice of God. God cannot punish those for whom
Christ died. He cannot. He has already punished
us in our substitute. So God is perfectly satisfied
with what His Son has done for us. So we see the holy justice
of God satisfied where He can be just and justifier of those
who believe. God will not save a sinner apart
from His holy justice being satisfied. But we have that in Christ our
Savior. So we come to Him. All of our
sins, us. It's not what we do, it's what
we are. It's what we do also, but it's
more what we are. We're sin from the top of our
head to the bottom of our feet. There is nothing good in any
of us. We're full of Putrefying sores
is oozing sin from us. Nothing good in any of us, but
we run to Christ knowing that everything good is in Him. And
we have the promise of God that when we come into the waiting
arms of Jesus Christ, our Lord and our Savior, because He by
Himself purged our sins, not one thing can be laid to our
charge. What a pillar of truth that God's
justice has been satisfied. And then we have the silver pillar
of God's omnipotent power. Now, the pillar of God's holy
justice supports this canopy, supports the blood of Jesus Christ
that washes us clean, but we have the silver pillar of God's
unlimited power. We were delivered by the power
of God. We're being delivered by the
power of God. We will yet be delivered by the
power of God. All power in heaven and earth
has been given to our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He has
all power, and He is able to save to the uttermost those who
come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession
for us. And so we have the power of God
that supports us. We are kept by the power of God
through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed at the last
time. Who is going to stop God from doing what He has purposed?
He said, I have purposed it, I will also do it. And he purposed
to save us. In 2 Timothy 1.9 we read we were
saved and called with a holy calling. Not according to our
works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was
given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. And so we're
kept by the power of God. He has purposed this salvation
for every one of us. And if God has purposed that,
and folks, listen, I know, I know I have weaknesses. I know the
weaknesses of the flesh. I know the proneness to wander.
And if I get my eye off Christ, I start looking at self. That's
when I'm miserable. But when we look to Christ, Keep
our eye focused on Him. We have that confidence and that
assurance that He who loved me and gave Himself for me will
keep me while eternity rolls. So we're kept by the power of
God. And how bright this pillar of
truth shines. In our weaknesses we can't do
anything. Without Christ we can't do anything.
But in Christ we can do all things through him who loved us and
gave himself for us. What a pillar of truth it is,
the power of God. Then we have the silver pillar
of God's immutable everlasting love. Love sent my Savior to
die in my stead. Why should he love me so? Meekly
to Calvary's cross he was led. Why should he love me so? I look
at others. I can almost understand why God
would love some others, but I have no understanding why he would
love me. But he does. What a precious truth that shines
forth that God loves me with an everlasting love. Therefore,
with loving kindness, He has drawn me to Himself. It's the
love that comes from God Himself. God didn't look upon us and see
something in us that caused Him to love us. There was nothing
in us that would cause God to love us. He loves us with an
everlasting love that stems all the way back, way back into all
eternity, and it will shine brightly. throughout all eternity to come,
this love of God is a precious truth. Herein is love, not that
we love God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the
propitiation for our sins. The greatest display of God's
love is seen at Calvary. God did not send his Son to die
on that cross so that he could love us, but rather he sent his
son to die for us because he does love us. God so loved the
world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth
in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. That scripture
is showing the quality of God's love more than the quantity.
It's the quality of it. He so loved his people, all of
his chosen people, all of those who were given to Christ from
every kindred and tongue and tribe and nation throughout the
whole world. God so loved the quality of his love that he gave
his only begotten son. gave him to that cruel cross
that Brother Lindsay was talking about in Sunday school this morning,
that ignominious death of the cross, gave him to those who
smote him and plucked out his hair and hit him with their fists
and beat him with a whip. God gave his son to that. We wouldn't have to be punished
by God. That's the quality of His love. He's so loved. And so that pillar
of truth, God loves us, shines in our hearts so bright that
we bow down before Him, thanking Him for His love. And we love
Him because He first loved us. And then there's the silver pillar
of God's immutability. God says this about Himself.
I am the Lord. I change not. Therefore, ye sons
of Jacob are not consumed. What a pillar of truth to give
the saints of God confidence and assurance, that assurance
that we need as we travel through this wilderness on our way to
the marriage supper of the Lamb. What a pillar of truth. God does
not change. He's immutable. He cannot lie.
If God could ever change his mind about anybody, He changed
his mind about me. But he can't, and I rest in that
wonderful truth that God cannot lie. We read in the scriptures
in Hebrews chapter 6, verses 17 through 20, God, willing more
abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of
his counsel, confirmed it by an oath that by two immutable
things in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have
a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge, to lay hold
upon the hope set before us, which hope we have as an anchor
of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters into that within
the veil, whether the forerunners for us entered even Jesus, made
in high priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek. So
God cannot lie, He cannot change His mind, He cannot break His
oath, and we have this assurance, this coming from God Himself,
who is willing to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability
of His counsel by pointing us to Christ, who has already entered
within the veil. Brethren, that covering, that
blood that covers us, when Jesus Christ offered himself as a lamb
without spot and without blemish. His blood was shed at Calvary. And that blood, he took that
blood, he entered into the holiest of holies, into heaven itself,
there to appear in the presence of God for us, sprinkling the
blood on the mercy seat. Christ is our mercy seat. And
this wonderful truth of God's immutability that He, God, cannot
lie. We are sealed with the blood
of Jesus Christ. We have a pardon from God Himself
that we should find confidence in. God has already given the
greater. Will He not give the lesser?
He's given His Son. So we see Him already entered
into glory for us. Our forerunner has entered in.
And Jesus Christ is our hope. That's the hope that's like an
anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast. Before one for
whom Christ died can be taken from him, you're going to have
to take him off the throne. Who's going to do that? He's God Almighty. And we have this hope, and God
has given us this hope. We look to Christ, who has already
entered in, and we've been made to sit in heavenly places in
Jesus Christ, our Savior. Already there, representatively
speaking. We're in Him. And if the head is already there,
the body is going to follow. Not one for whom Christ died
will be lost. And so, we thank God for these
wonderful truths. Now, verse 10 tells us that in
the midst of this honeymoon chariot was paved with love for the daughters
of Jerusalem. Nothing is said about the wheels
of this chariot. but we know it had wheels. The
chariot moved toward Solomon's honeymoon cottage as the king
himself directed it. King Solomon gave the orders.
There were instruments, of course, but he gave the orders. Now all
of God's saints are moving toward our heavenly home aboard the
honeymoon chariot that God himself has designed for us. God did
not say it would be smooth sailing all the way. I just imagine Solomon
and his bride in that honeymoon chariot hit a few bumps. They
didn't have the smooth roads that we have today, but every
bump that they hit, Solomon's bride was resting in the arms
of her beloved husband, fearing no evil, with the bodyguards
around her. Now God himself has designed
every bump that we experience. It's paved with love. God himself
is directing the wheels of divine providence. Each one of us are
on that straight and narrow path that leads to God's kingdom.
We're in Christ, but we have different paths that we travel
down in this world. Some experience more difficult
trials than others. But all of these things were
designed by God Himself for His glory and for our good. As we hit a bump, as there's
a rough spot in the road, lean back into the everlasting arms
of the Lord Jesus Christ, thanking Him that we have His comfort,
His Spirit to guide us and direct us and give us the assurance
that The bumps cannot change what he has designed for us,
and that is to be like our Savior, to be with him for all eternity.
Look at verse 11, and I'll quit. Go forth, ye daughters of Zion,
and behold King Solomon with the crown wherewith his mother
crowned him in the day of his espousals and in the day of the
gladness of his heart. The historical account of Bathsheba,
Solomon's mother, and her involvement in Solomon's ascension to the
throne is recorded in the scripture, but like other historical accounts,
this has a spiritual meaning. To behold Solomon's chariot was
one thing, but to behold the King was something else. And
that's what we're to do. We're to behold the King. A greater
than Solomon is here. God has crowned His Son, the
Lord Jesus Christ. He has highly exalted Him and
given Him a name which is above every name. That at the name
of Jesus, every knee should bow. Of things in heaven, things in
earth, things under the earth. Every tongue should confess that
Jesus Christ is the Lord. through the glory of God the
Father. And so we need to take our eye off of self. We need
to look to Christ. We need to look to King Jesus.
Even when there are bumps, even when there are rough times, difficult
times, we need to look to our Savior. Some of God's saints
go through financial problems, physical
problems, loved ones turning against us because of our love
for Christ and other trials that I could bring before you. But
God has paved these paths with his love. The bottom of the chariot
was with gold. The pillars were silver, but
the bottom of the chariot was gold. And folks, that I believe
points to God's children being taken through these trials, these
difficulties, removing the drops that we would come through as
refined gold, being conformed to the image of our Savior. We
read in 1 Peter that the trial of your faith being much more
precious than of gold at perish it, though it be tried with fire,
might be found under praise and honor and glory at the appearing
of Jesus Christ. whom having not seen ye love,
in whom though now ye see him not yet believing, ye rejoice
with joy unspeakable and full of glory, receiving the end of
your faith, even the salvation of your souls." So, God help
us. The bottom line is this. God
has a purpose for everything that happens. And this honeymoon
chariot that we're on that God has designed for us as we travel
through this life. God help us to see that these
things that are happening are according to his purpose for
his glory and for our good that we might not take our eye off
of our King. Behold, a greater than Solomon
is here, looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of
our faith, keeping our eye focused on Him, seeing His providential
hand in everything that comes our way, knowing that as we travel
through this life, we have the promise from God Himself that
He will never leave us nor forsake us. So if we hit a bump, If there
is a difficult time, if there is a painful experience, rest
in the arms of Jesus Christ, our Savior, who will comfort
us and by His grace give us all that we need to carry us through
that trial, knowing that there's coming a day when all of this
will be over and for all eternity. We'll see him in all of his glory.
We see him now through the eye of faith. God has commanded the
light to shine in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge
of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we see him
through the eye of faith. One day, faith will give way
to sight, and we'll see the King. in all of His glory. What a day
to look forward to. God help us to just trust Him
and praise Him and glorify Him every step of the way as we wait
for that day when this honeymoon chariot that we're on will end
and we'll be at the marriage supper of the Lamb where we enjoy
our Savior and one another for all eternity because of Jesus
Christ our King who loved us and gave Himself for us. I wish the Himalayas are here.