You will find the title for my
message in the words of our text. Let's begin reading at verse
10. 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 cheapest among ten thousand. 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 said. 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, going to 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 it. 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. Our Lord Jesus Christ is a friend
who fully demonstrates his friendship. We are told that a friend in
need is a friend indeed. 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 6. Proverbs
6. 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 a surety,
our thoughts about a surety altogether are different from scripture.
We think about a surety 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 best friend, and strikes hands with God the Father on
our behalf, as our sugar tip. 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 resolved, 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 stepped 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 surety. He
agreed to assume total responsibility for us. We could never, never,
never produce or perform one shred of righteousness. But then
he assumed the totality of our responsibility. And he walked
on this earth, Jehovah seeking you, the Lord our righteous.
and obey 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, 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
he 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 shelter
in our room and in our stand. 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 how
long we live on this earth. Not as long as we live here.
Sins mixed with everything we do. Well, how on earth can God
accept it in our surety? 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 in 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, well my conscience does. My conscience does not.
Oh no, 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've got
a case there. You've got a case there. Satan
will. You've 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 condemns? It is Christ that died, yea rather
than 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, Obie's 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,
but I can't. I 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 and say, is there anything
I can do to help? And when we say that, well, we know there's
nothing we can do to help. Listen to me though. Here's a
friend who can help. Here's a friend who can help.
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 Job? 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 it's good for me, it's
good 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,
so well, I've just given up on them. Oh, there stands one before
you tonight, upon whom not only had everybody
given up, but sooner he got out of the way, better off everybody's
day. 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, for 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 free and
who 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 say to the uttermost, all them
that come to God by him, our Lord Jesus Christ not only has
a power to 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. 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
going to win sinners to the Savior? One look at Him. 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 said, 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. that 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 loving, 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 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, who made a feast for Christ Jesus
the Lord, a woman slipped in. 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, Lindsay, what
it said. You won't believe it. This is a 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 with her tears and wiped them with the hairs of
her head and anointed him with that precious oil. But 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 calls it. She comes in and she kisses his
feet. Wipes them with the hairs of
her head. Announce him with an alabaster box of whatnot, 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 to 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. 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 man, 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 living and guiding and instructing
in the way that's best for them. Best for them. Listen to me. Bob Ponce, 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. 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, my request, and
set our feet On him I rock there to stay. I free him, the Lord
Jesus Christ is an unfailing present friend. He never changes. And he said, I'll never leave
thee, 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
corn. 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
Lord, you know all things. You know that I love you. This is my prayer. Oh, may God
make him yours now, for Christ's sake. Amen.