You will find the title for my
message in the words of our text. Let's begin reading at verse
10. The Song of Solomon chapter 5
and verse 10. I want to just take one statement
out of this passage, but I want to read the whole passage because
it speaks so beautifully of my Redeemer. My beloved is white
and ruddy, the chiefest among 10,000. His head is as the most fine
gold. His locks are bushy, black as
a raven. His eyes are as the eyes of doves
by the rivers of water, washed with milk fitly set. His cheeks as a bed of spices,
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 and this is
my friend. Now that's the title of my message.
This is my friend. I am a man so abundantly blessed
with friends. Friends all over the world. And
God's good providence have friends scattered literally all over
the world, all the length and breadth of this country. So if
I have folks find out I'm going somewhere, gonna be driving,
passing through, invariably somebody will call and say, stop by and
stay with us. And I'd love to stay with them all, but I've
got friends, many, many, many friends. But here is one perfect
friend. One perfect friend. I'm not much for what men call
numerology, but they tell me the number seven is the number
of completion and the number of perfection. So I thought since
I'm talking about the perfect friend, I'll tell you seven things
about him and you can follow me very easily. The Lord Jesus
Christ is a friend of unsurpassed excellence. And here are the
things that demonstrate that. First, our Lord Jesus Christ
is a friend who fully demonstrates his friendship. We are told that
a friend in need is a friend in deed. And our Lord Jesus Christ
is the friend we need and he proves his friendship to us by
his deeds. The proverb goes, friendly is
as friendly does. Well, our Lord Jesus Christ,
our friend, agreed to become our surety in the covenant of
grace before the world began. Turn to Proverbs chapter six. Proverbs six. I want you to look
at this because we don't use the term surety much anymore.
And many times, terms used in scripture become vague to us
simply because they pass out of usage in common language.
And when we think about assurity, our thoughts about assurity altogether
are different from scripture. We think about assurity as being
one who's a cosigner, one who agrees to assume responsibility
just in case it doesn't work out for us. But our Lord Jesus
is described in Hebrews chapter 7 as the surety of a better testament. The surety of the new covenant. The surety of the covenant of
grace made between the persons of the Holy Trinity on our behalf
before the world began in which our salvation was not only devised
and planned but guaranteed. And guaranteed because Christ
became surety for us. Now this is a friend. Look here
in Proverbs 6 verse 1. My son If thou be surety for
thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger, thou
art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with
the words of thy mouth. This is what the wise man says.
When you assume responsibility for your friend, or responsibility
for a stranger. And though he called us his friends,
we were strangers from him by our choice and our decision.
We yet have him for our surety. And the wise man says, when you
have stricken hands as a surety, then you are snared with the
words of your mouth. An honest man gives his word.
An honest man strikes hands with another man. That's better than
any contract, if he's an honest man. Because an honest man keeps
his word. He keeps his word. And our Lord
Jesus Christ stands as the honest man before the world began as
our God. best friend and strikes hands
with God the Father on our behalf as our surety, assuming the totality
of responsibility for us. What a word. Before we were ever
born, James, he assumed total responsibility for us. Total
responsibility. When our cause was desperate,
he engaged it. When justice was ready to give
us the death blow we deserved, he intervened and absorbed it.
When he knew that we would run through everything and we would
become utterly bankrupt, he became our bondsman, agreeing to pay
our whole debt. when he saw that we would fall
into the depths of sin, misery, he undertook to bring us out,
to cleanse us from all sin, to clothe us with his own righteousness,
and bring us into glory. Was there ever such a friend
as Christ? No, not one. No, not one. Not
only did he show his friendship in this deed of suretyship, but
he stuck to his word. In the fullness of time, God
sent forth his son, made of a woman, made under the law. He came here
as our surety. He took on himself our nature.
He who thought it not robbery to be equal with God made himself
of no reputation. He emptied himself. He became
one of us. He who was rich for our sakes
became poor that we through his poverty might be made rich. As
he lived in this world as the perfect man, God in human flesh,
Jesus Christ, because he agreed to be our shelter. He agreed
to assume total responsibility for us. We could never, never,
never produce or perform one shred of righteousness. But daddy,
he assumed the totality of our responsibility. And he walked
on this earth, Jehovah-seeking you, the Lord our righteousness,
and obeyed God perfectly for 33 years, the full age of a man. But there's more required. Justice
must be satisfied. Sin must be atoned. Our sins
must be paid for. And so the Lord Jesus Christ,
having brought in an everlasting righteousness, having fulfilled
all the requirements of God's law as a man, as you read back
in the study, Ron, he magnified the law, made it honorable in
all his deeds. He didn't do that for himself.
He did it for you. He did it for me. He did it for his people.
But now he goes up to Mount Calvary. He set his face like a flint
to go to Jerusalem. And he goes yonder to die in
our place as our surety, bearing our sin in his own body on the
tree. He's made to be sin for us. And
he pours out his life's blood unto death, voluntarily enduring
the unmitigated wrath of a holy God against all our sin. And he put it away. They buried
him. in Joseph's tomb, but he wouldn't
stay dead. Our Lord Jesus Christ rose up
from the dead. He ascended up into heaven and
he took possession of heaven's glory as our surety. as a forerunner. That's what
it says in Hebrews 6 20. The Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of
God, went into heaven as a forerunner. That means somebody else coming
behind. He sat down and took possession of heaven's glory
as a man. But he did so as our surety in
our room and in our stead. And now he intercedes for us. Turn to Romans chapter 8. Look
at this very familiar text of scripture. Oh, matchless love
is the love of Christ for us. He presents our services and
our sacrifices and our prayers, even our praises to God makes
them acceptable. We try to sing, we try to preach,
we try to pray, we try to worship God. It's all sin. It's all sin. It's not going to change, not
as long as we live on this earth, not as long as we live here.
Sin is mixed with everything we do. Well, how on earth can
God accept it in our assurance? Our prayers and our sacrifices
are acceptable to God, 1 Peter 2, 5, through Christ Jesus. Only
through Christ. Because they're washed in His
blood, robed in His righteousness. He pleads for every blessing
we stand in need of continually. And He answers all Satan's charges
and accusations against us. Look here at Romans 8, 33. The
apostle says, Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? Who's going to charge you with
sin? I mean really, what my conscience does. My conscience does not. My conscience acknowledges my
sin, but doesn't charge me with sin. My conscience is satisfied
with what satisfies God. My conscience is purged from
dead works. I serve the living God. Christ
has put away my sin. Other folks will, you got a case
there. You got a case there. Satan will, you got a case there.
But nobody can. Nobody can. What does it say?
It is God that justifies. That means, Mark, if God put
away your sin, it's put away. If Jesus Christ has borne the
wrath of God for you, there's no more wrath for you to bear.
It's God that justifies. Read the next line. Who is he
that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea,
rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand
of God, who also maketh intercession for us. No wonder the apostle
opens this chapter like this. There is therefore now no condemnation
to them that are in Christ Jesus. No condemnation. And secondly,
not only is our Lord Jesus Christ a friend who has demonstrated
his friendship by his deeds, but he is a powerful, almighty
friend. I was talking to Obie Williams
today, the young man who was killed in Crossville right before
our conference, Scott Myers, over his sister, and he had dated
for a number of years. And we were chatting a little
bit, and I told him just what I'm telling you now. I'm utterly
helpless to help. When I spoke to Jetta the morning
I found out that Scott had been killed, I said, I wish I could
do something to help, but I can't. I spoke to his mom, I said, I
wish I could do something to help, to take away the pain.
I can't. I just, I just want you to know I love you. Shelby
and I are praying for you. God will help you. God will help
you. We go to the hospital, visit somebody, say, if there's anything
I can do to help. And when we say that, well, we know there's
nothing we can do to help. Nothing we can do to help. Listen to
me, though. Here's a friend who can help. Here's a friend who
can help. He's God Almighty, our Savior
and our Redeemer. The Lord Jesus Christ has the
power, the authority, the right to pardon and save the very chief
of sinners. He can help. What are you going
to do with that rebel son? I can't do anything for him,
but he can. What are you going to do that
way with a child? I can't do it anymore. He can. He can pardon
and save the chief of sinners. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's
Son, cleanses me from all sin. And if He'd do it for me, He'd
do it for you. I'm telling you, His blood's
sufficient. Thou hast given Him power over
all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as Thou
hast given Him. And this is eternal life, that
they might know Thee the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom
Thou hast sent. Christ Jesus can not only pardon,
He has power to convert. If any man be in Christ, he's
a new creature. Sometimes I hear People talk
about a husband or a wife, son or daughter, mother or father.
And they speak of them with despair. Say, well, I've just given up
on them. Huh? There stands one before
you tonight, upon whom not only had everybody given up, but the
sooner he got out of the way, the better off everybody would
be. Everybody had given up but this friend. This friend. He has power and grace and love
with which to conquer the hardest heart and convert the most stubborn
rebel by his almighty grace. He has power to break your heart
over your sin that you now love and give you a new heart. He
has power to break your stubborn will and give you a new will.
He has power to overcome you, your reigning lust and passions,
and power to create you and you in His own image. The Son of
God, while He has power to give you repentance and faith. He
can do it. These things are His. He's been
exalted to God's right hand, a Prince and a Savior, for to
give repentance to Israel and the forgiveness of sins. The
Lord Jesus is a friend. has power to preserve and keep
all who trust him, even to eternal glory. The Apostle said since
he's the ever-living High Priest, he's able to save to the uttermost. Don't you love that word? To
the uttermost. What is there awaiting the most
blessed believer in heaven's glory. What is there awaiting
the most honored man in heaven? That man is Christ himself. For
whatever the uttermost reach of his glory is, he has power
to bring you, right there, to save to the uttermost all them
that come to God by him, our Lord Jesus Christ, not only has
power to just pardon and convert and preserve and keep us, but
he has power to give us everything we need. He has power to give
us life out of death, peace in the midst of adversity, patience
in tribulation, joy in the midst of sorrow, hope in death, and
a crown of glory in eternity. All right, thirdly, our Lord
Jesus, is the perfect, loving, affectionate friend. Sometimes
things are better illustrated than explained. And when we talk
about the love of Christ, I know it's better illustrated than
explained. Here's an illustration of it. Read through the scriptures
and see how he has received sinners. In love and mercy, our Lord Jesus
stands before publicans and sinners. He stands before guilty, heavy
laden sinners. Sinners who are pressed down
with the load of sin and think they dare not look up toward
God and He says, come unto me. All ye that labor and are heavy
laden and I'll give you rest. It is the love of Christ which
at last conquers our hearts, makes us willing to come to Him
and wins us to Him. His holiness. Oh, when I saw
His holiness, I was afraid. I was like Isaiah. I said, where
is me? I'm a man of unclean lips. I
dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips. When I saw the
terror of his wrath, I trembled before him. When I saw his law,
the utter severity of God's holy law, I was terrified. But when
I looked on him whom I have pierced, his love conquers all. That's it. That's it. What's
gonna win sinners to the Savior? One look at Him. That does it. One look at Him. And His love
is such that the only way you'll ever look at Him is when He gives
you eyes to look. Oh, look away to the Son of God.
Say, but Pastor, can I look? He says, look unto Me. Look unto
Me and be ye saved. All the ends of the earth The
Lord Jesus Christ never refuses any who come to Him in repentance
and faith. The hymn writer says, I can but
perish. If I go, I am resolved to try. For if I stay away, I
know I shall forever die. But if I die, with mercy sought
when I, the King, have tried, this were to die a delightful
thought, as sinner never died. There's never, never, never been
a sinner come to God, bow to the throne of grace, and cry
out to God like that publican, God, be merciful to me, a sinner
who left without mercy. Never been one. Say, well, you
can't preach that. You believe in election. You
believe in predestination, limited authority. I'm the only one who
can preach that. Those who believe the gospel are the ones who can.
We declare there is mercy to be had in Jesus Christ the Lord. And I'm telling you, you look
to Him, you come to Him, you call on Him, it's because He
chose you. He redeemed you and He called
you by His grace. More than that, I want you to
understand there are no bounds to His pity. There's no end to
His compassion. No limitations to his mercy.
No restraints to his love and loving kindness. He says, all
that the Father giveth me shall come to me. And him that cometh
to me, I will in no wise cast out. Let me give you a few other
illustrations. In the gospel narratives, in
John chapter 8, we read of a woman taken in adultery, taken in the
very act. by a bunch of religious, self-righteous
Pharisees. They were involved in it somehow.
I ain't exactly which way they were involved. They were involved
somehow. They would have taken her in the very act. But they took her in
the very act and they brought her to the master and said, Moses
and the Lord said, kill her. Let's kill her. And the Lord
Jesus, when he had silenced her accusers and sent them away and
she stood alone with Jesus in the midst, this is how he spoke
to her. Neither do I condemn thee. Go
and sin no more. Our Lord met a woman in John
chapter 4, a Samaritan woman. She'd had five husbands, but
none of them were her husband. She just shacked up with five
different fellas, and nobody in town had anything to do with
her. This Samaritan, when she came out, she came out to draw water
when there's nobody else around drawing water, because she didn't
want to face anybody else. She was the off-scouring of society. But the Lord Jesus, as John chapter
4 opens, said, I must needs go through Samaria. Why go through
Samaria? Because there's one there, a
sinner. Poor, cast out, desperate, needy, wicked, vile, godless,
wretched sinner. A sinner for whom the time of
love has come. And I'm going to meet her today.
And when she went home, she went home drinking of the well of
living water, never to thirst again. Our Lord Jesus was sitting
in the house of Simon the Pharisee one day. This Simon the Pharisee
was also a leper. But he was a Pharisee, so he
was a proud leper. He thought he was somebody. And as the Lord
Jesus sat in the house of this wealthy man, this self-righteous
wealthy man, he made a feast for Christ Jesus the Lord. A
woman slipped in, a poor harlot. I think the next chapter identifies
her pretty good, Mary Magdalene, out of whom the Lord had cast
seven devils. I was studying that a couple of weeks ago. I
picked up Haley's Bible handbook. You won't believe, Lindsey, what
it said. You won't believe this. This is the standard Bible handbook
issued in most every Bible college in the country. It said you cannot
suggest that this woman who kissed the Lord's feet and washed his
feet with her tears and wiped them with the hairs of her head
and anointed him with that precious ointment. You cannot suggest
that this was Mary Magdalene, that vile woman. The Lord would
not have allowed a prostitute to be so near him. Bless his
holy name. He not only allows it, he caused
it. She comes in and she kisses his
feet. Wipes them with the hairs of
her head. Anoints him with an alabaster box of ointment. Very
precious. And the Lord Jesus said to Simon
the Pharisee, Now you've just seen who loves me most. Our Lord Jesus came to a publican
named Zacchaeus. Came to the place where he was
and looked up and said, Zacchaeus, come down. For today I must abide
at thy house. And Zacchaeus made haste and
came down. Our Lord came. the dying thief. That dying thief
who had just a little while before joined everybody else in railing
and mocking him. Railing at him. But before the
day was over he said today shalt thou be with me in paradise.
Yes the Lord Jesus Christ what a friend he is. Oh what a friend. Our Savior is also a wise and
prudent friend. We have a tendency to be extravagant
with our friends. That's our nature. I just have
one daughter. She might debate this, but no,
she wouldn't. I'm just kidding. I spoiled her
a little. I tried to see to it she was
raised and disciplined. She minded me, did what I told
her to do, and bless God she always has. I thank him for his
good providence. She's been such a blessing to raise, but I kind
of tend to spoil her. And then this grandbaby coming
along, don't know what we're going to do with her. But spoiling them is
not good. Not good. Extravagance is not
good. It's just not good. What's proper
is love and care, providing and rearing and guiding and instructing
in the way that's best for them. Best for them. Listen to me. Bob Ponce, are you You and Sally
have been going through a tough time for months now. Our friend
has done and is doing what's best for you. Now that's right. That's just right. He never gives
too much pain or too much joy. He never gives too much, too
much of a burden, nor does he make the load too light. He always
mixes our cup just right. His name is Wisdom. Wisdom. And this wise and prudent friend
is a tried and proven friend. He has friends from every possible
conceivable background and condition. Some of his friends were married
like Enoch and others were single like John the Baptist. Some were
sick, like Lazarus, others strong and healthy, like John the Beloved.
Some were masters, like Cornelius, others were slaves, like Onesimus.
Some of them had bad servants, like Elisha, and some had bad
masters, like Obadiah. Some had good families, and some
had rotten families, like David's. Some of Christ's friends had
been self-righteous Pharisees, others had been harlots. One
had been a murderer, another a thief. Blessed be God. Christ Jesus stoops to reach
down and lift his friends out of the deep mighty clay and set
our feet on him, our rock, there to stay. Our friend, the Lord
Jesus Christ, is an unfailing present friend. He never changes. And he says, I'll never leave
them. nor forsake thee. Never will. Oh, what a faithful
friend. In our afflictions, he's our
friend to comfort and to uphold us. In our sicknesses, he promises
to make our bed in our sickness. In death, He is our friend, present
to sustain us. Yea, though I walk through the
valley of the shadow of death, thou art with me. I will fear
no evil, for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort
me. And in the day of judgment, he's
going to be my friend in court. A friend to his people, at all
times, forever. One last thing. The Lord Jesus
Christ is a friend well beloved, by all who know him. This is
my beloved. This is my beloved. And this
is my friend. We love him because, because,
because he first loved us. He loved us before we loved him.
He loves us infinitely, exceedingly more and better than we can love
him. He loved us from everlasting to everlasting. And His love
is the cause of our love for Him. But Lord, You know all things. You know that I love You. Listen, my friend. Oh, may God
make Him yours now, for Christ's sake. Amen.