Learning to Look to Christ Alone

I want you to turn in your Bibles
to the second chapter of Luke again, if you will. Luke chapter
2. Let me repeat a few verses which
Brother Payne read for us a moment ago. I'll begin reading with
verse 28 of Luke 2. Then took he him up in his arms,
and blessed God and said, Lord, now let us, thy servant, depart
in peace according to thy word, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation. The flesh clings tenaciously
to two things. This natural man clings tenaciously
to two things and is so reluctant to let them go. Number one, the
flesh clings to this earth and to this world. The flesh is dust. It's nothing but dust. It can
be nothing but dust. All flesh is Dust thou art, to
dust thou shalt return, God said. And the flesh being dust has
an attraction for this earth. And even old age, I've found
this to be true, even old age with all its infirmities does
not make men and women willing to depart out of this world.
No matter how frail, no matter how sick, no matter how afflicted,
this flesh will hold on and cling to this world. Or we may say
with our mouths, I want the Lord to take me home, but are we really
saying that in our heart? Just how many of us here can
honestly say, sincerely before God, from our heart, With the
Apostle Paul, I have a desire to depart and to be with Christ,
which is far better. Examine your own heart while
I examine mine. I don't believe, I just don't
believe that I can with all sincerity of heart and purpose before God,
who looks on my heart and not on my words, say, I'd be willing
right now for God to take me out of this world. The flesh
clings to the world. It clings to the earth. It has
an attraction, a relationship that is so difficult to break,
only the grace of God, the powerful, all-powerful grace of God. Simeon
said, Lord, let me die. Lord, let me depart. Something
that broke the ties that bound him to this earth. Something
happened that made everything around him lose its attraction
and made him see the real vanity of this world. And he wanted
to leave. He wanted to leave. The second
thing, that this flesh clings tenaciously to and is so reluctant
to leave it go. And only the almighty, powerful
grace of God can break the hole. And that is our self-righteousness,
our goodness. He says it's not so, preachers.
It is so. Human goodness is nothing but fiction. Human goodness is
mere fiction. It does not exist. You know what
fiction is? It doesn't exist. And that's
what human righteousness and human goodness is. It's fiction.
It does not even exist. There is no such thing as a good
man. That's what Christ said. There
is none good but God. There's none good, Paul said,
no, not one. They've all sinned and come short
of God's glory. Human righteousness is filthy
rag. Human righteousness is an abomination
to God, and yet we cling to our righteous rags till death do
us part. And even at the judgment, our
final words before God tells us to depart from him will be,
but Lord, we preach, and we cast out devils, and we did many wonderful
works. Men will hold to this earth,
they'll cling to this world, they'll hold to the vanities
of this world until God drags them screaming away. And then
finally when they stand before Him, they hang on to the last
shred of this world, and that's their righteousness. And they
boast even before a holy God of what they did in His name. Human righteousness is a hindrance
to salvation. Everything you've ever done for
God or men is a hindrance to your salvation. It's never a
help, it's always a hindrance. Human righteousness opposes the
grace of God. It's the sworn enemy of the grace
of God. It's the enemy of the mercy of
God by which men are saved. Human righteousness will keep
a man from Christ as long as it can. And human righteousness
finally will keep a man out of Heaven. These two things we ought
to pray about. These two things we ought to
seek deliverance from. But these two things can only
be broken by revelation of Christ. And that's what happened here.
This old man was in the temple waiting, the scripture says,
for the consolation of Israel. And Mary brought this child Jesus,
God incarnate, eight days old, in her arms to the temple to
do after him according to the law. And the Holy Ghost had led
this old man to the temple. And when she put the child Jesus
in his arms, he said, as he blessed God, Lord, now let me die. Mine eyes have seen thy salvation. A revelation of Christ by the
grace of God made him fit for heaven. A revelation of Christ
by the grace of God revealed the only way to God. A revelation
of Christ, by the grace of God, broke his confidence in the flesh
and loosened the cords that bound him to this world, and he was
ready to go. Simeon got a look at Christ,
and when he got a saving look at Christ, both of these miracles
were accomplished at the same time. He was redeemed and he
was released. The Son had set him free. Had
set him free from his righteousness and from his sins and set him
free from this world. And that's the only thing that
wins. Profession of faith won't do it. Morality of character
will not do it. Dedication of purpose will not
do it. Only a revelation of Christ. Our Lord said, if the Son shall
make you free, We shall be free indeed, free from sin, free from
the law, free from self-righteousness, and free from the fetters and
cords that bind us to this old sinful world which is under God
Almighty's curse. There are a lot of things in
this scripture worthy of our attention. It would take all
night, but I want to point out three. And to help you remember
these three things, I have worded them in this fashion. Number
one, Simeon's resolution. Number two, Simeon's revelation. And number three, Simeon's request. Let's look first of all at Simeon's
resolution. Now look at verse 25. Now most
preachers, when they begin their message on Simeon, they start
down here with his confession of faith. They start down here
when he saw the Lord. and what he had to say after
he saw the Lord. But there were some things that took place before
he saw the Lord. There was some resolution. The
first of which was this, Simeon was longing and looking for the
Redeemer. That's right, he was longing
and looking for the Redeemer. Men do not usually find salvation
by accident. They're usually looking for it.
Now you stay with me, this is so. I know this from God's Word
and I know this from experience. Men do not usually find salvation
and redemption who have no interest in it. Men usually are blessed with
a revelation of Christ who have an interest in Christ and who
have an interest in God Almighty's mercy. A man doesn't accidentally
run into the mercy of God. We see in verse 25, Behold, there
was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and the same
man was just and devout, waiting, waiting for the consolation of
Israel, waiting for the Redeemer, waiting for the Messiah, waiting
for that prophet of whom Moses spoke. He was waiting for God's
revelation of redemption. And I'm saying this, that people
who have wandered in tonight into this congregation with no
interest in Christ and no desire for his mercy and no interest
in his saving grace will go out the same way. But men who have
come here, men and women and young people who have come here
with an interest, who have come here with a desire, who have
come here with a longing for God's grace and God's more than
likely they'll leave blessed in that fashion. Now that's so. Those who feel their guilt and
their sin usually find the one who has mercy for the guilty. The woman who had the issue of
blood. She'd spent everything she had. She was no better. She'd
wasted everything she had. She was so sick. Twelve years
of hunting a cure. Finally she said, if I can get
the hymn, if I can get the hymn, And if I can touch but the hem
of his garment, I'll be made whole." And she did get to him. But she came with a need. She
came with a hunger. The scripture says, "...Blessed
are they that hunger and thirst for righteousness, they shall
be filled." The publican came to the temple. The Pharisee came
to brag on himself. The publican came to seek the
Lord. The Pharisee came to recount before God all the good deeds
he had done. The publican came hunting mercy.
The Pharisee came to the temple to tell God how great he was,
and the publican came to the temple to tell God how sinful
he was. Which one of them went home with
the knowledge of Christ? Which one of them went home justified?
Well, the publican did. He said, O God, be merciful to
me, a sinner. Those who seek him, find him. He says, Seek ye the Lord while
he may be found. You will seek me and find me
when you search for me with all your heart. Turn to the book
of Malachi. Listen to this. Malachi, and
this fits so beautifully. Malachi 3.1, with this illustration
before us tonight of Simeon. He says in chapter 3 of Malachi,
verse 1, Behold, I'll send my messenger. That's the Lord Jesus. And he shall prepare the way
before me, and the Lord whom you seek shall suddenly come
to his temple." The Lord whom you seek shall suddenly come
to his temple. Even the messenger of the covenant,
in whom you delight, behold, he shall come, saith the Lord
of hosts. And that's who Simeon was looking
for. He was looking for a Redeemer. He knew his guilt, he knew his
sin, he knew his inability, he was seeking the Lord. And he was fond of him. Simeon
was longing for the Redeemer. And then notice the second thing,
verse 27. And Simeon was led by the Spirit
to Christ. Now, there are three important
things here under this first point, Simeon's resolution. First
of all, he was longing and looking for the Redeemer. He was waiting
for the consolation of Israel. He was looking for the One upon
whom the Father had put the power to deliver. He was looking for
the one who was ordained and anointed and appointed and sent
to redeem Israel, the woman at the well. She was looking for
him. She said, I know when the Messiah comes, he'll tell us
everything we need to know. I'm looking for the Messiah.
And then in verse 27, And he came by the Spirit into the temple. No man ever comes to Christ by
his own wisdom. He comes by the Spirit. No man
ever comes to Christ by his own wit. He comes with the Spirit
of God. No man ever comes to Christ by
his own will. Turn to John, chapter 1, and
let's read that. In John, the first chapter, you
know, Paul wrote that, he said, it's not of him that willeth,
it's not of him that runneth, it's of God that showeth mercy.
And here in John 1, verse 12, as many as received him To them
gave he the power, the privilege to become the sons of God, even
to them that believe on his name, which were born not of blood,
not of the will of the flesh, not of the will of man, but born
of God. Our Savior said, No man can come
to me except my Father draw him, and they shall all be taught
of God. Every man that learneth, that heareth and learneth, every
man that is taught by God, he'll come to me. The Holy Spirit led
Simeon to the temple. First of all, Simeon had a need. Simeon had a desire. Simeon was
looking and longing for the Redeemer. And then the Holy Spirit brought
him where he would have an encounter with the Savior. He met the Savior. The Holy Spirit brought him there.
Now watch this, verse 26. It was revealed unto him by the
Holy Spirit that he should not see death
until he had seen the Lord's Christ. Here's the third thing. God had purposed to reveal Christ
to him. God had purposed to reveal Christ.
And there you have the three elements that are always present
when a sinner comes to a saving knowledge of Christ. There you
have the three elements that are always present when a sinner
is brought by the Spirit of God to a knowledge of Christ. There's
the purpose of God and the work of the Spirit and the desire
in the heart of the sinner. Now I know that today they teach
the soul winners go out and knock on nine doors and win five to
Christ. Or knock on twenty doors and
the average year win three or four to Christ. But I don't believe
it. I believe men who come to Christ come to Christ like Simeon.
The purpose of God ordains it. The Holy Spirit of God performs
it, and that sinner in his heart is seeking the Lord. He may not
know the one whom he's seeking. He may not know what he needs.
He may not know how God performs the miracle. But he knows one
thing, he's lost and he needs help. He knows he's blind and
he needs sight. He knows that he is sinful and
he needs forgiveness. He knows he's guilty and he needs
grace. He knows that and he's seeking
the Lord. So that's the second thing. We
have there Simeon's resolution. He was seeking the Lord. He'd
never seen the Messiah. He'd never seen the Savior. He'd
never seen God's redemptive purpose in Christ Jesus, God incarnate.
But when he saw Him, he recognized Him. And I believe this, that
men whom God has purposed to save, And men whom the Holy Spirit
is leading to Christ, when they hear the gospel, they'll recognize
it. My sheep, Christ said, will hear my voice, and they'll follow
me. A stranger, they will not follow.
Another voice, they will not hear. I know Satan is subtle,
crafty, and he'll deceive, if it were possible, the very least,
but it's not possible. They'll hear God's voice, because
God has purposed to save them, and because the Holy Spirit is
opening their ears and their eyes and their hearts, and the
Holy Spirit has given them a desire for Christ, a hunger for Christ. As one hymn writer wrote, give
me Christ or I die. Now Simeon's Revelation, verse
29. Lord, let thy servant depart
in peace according to thy words, mine eyes have seen thy salvation."
Now my friends, all believers have seen God's salvation. In
John chapter 6, turn over there a moment, and this is a very
important point here, and I hope you'll listen to it very carefully.
I hope you won't hide behind a profession of faith or denomination
or affiliation or doctrine or theology or anything right now.
I hope you hear this. All believers have seen the Christ. In John 6, verse 40, this is
the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the
sun, which seeth the sun, and we're not talking about with
these natural eyes. Abraham saw his day before it
dawned, right? Christ said that, Abraham saw
my day, Abraham believed and it was counted to him for righteousness,
he saw my day and he believed. You and I look back and see his
day the same way Abraham looked forward, believing the word of
God, believing the promise of God. Simeon saw Christ incarnate
in human flesh, that's right. The centurion saw him die on
the cross and said, surely this man was the son of God. But all
who see Christ in saving faith see him with an inner sight,
but not an actual physical sight. They see Christ with their hearts.
How do they see him? They see him three ways. Now
watch this. Christ is salvation, and this is where the world is
missing. I hear people all the time saying this, just trust
the finished work of Christ. Now I don't want to shock you,
and I want to be very careful about what I say. I wouldn't
wound the Lamb of God if I could help it. You'll miss salvation
if you look to the finished work of Christ, and if you cling to
the finished work of Christ. You'll miss salvation. Salvation
is in a person. And salvation is not only in
a person, salvation is a person. Now listen carefully to this.
Christ is salvation. He is more than a Savior. He
is salvation itself. Now listen to the scripture.
David said, The Lord is my light and He is my salvation. Isaiah
said, Behold, God is my salvation. Now it's wonderful to read about
and believe in the birth of Christ. God came down here to this earth
and clothed himself for a while in human flesh. It's wonderful
to look to and believe in the work of Christ, his obedience
to the holy law of God. He obeyed the law perfectly.
It's wonderful to look to the life, the perfect life of Christ,
which was without sin, and to the death of Christ on the cross,
where he shed his blood for the remission of sin. But we must
never forget, listen to this, that the essence of it all is
his person. It is who died on the cross that
gives virtue and power to what he did on the cross. This is
so important. It is who came to the manger.
It is who walked the streets of Galilee. It is who went to
the cross and shed his blood. It is who was buried and rose
again. It is the man who sitteth on the right hand of God. It
is in his person that we are redeemed, not just in his work. A man may look back to the blood
shed on Calvary and say he trusts the finished work of Christ and
not walk with the Lord of Glory. It's possible. It's possible
for a man to read a book on theology and say, I agree with all of
this. I agree. I know that Christ died on the
cross with Barrett and Rose again. And I rest in what He did and
yet still not love Him who did it. I don't know about those who
are always arguing over the theories of the atonement. But I say this,
Christ is the atonement. Christ is the sacrifice. All
else is theory. We talk about the theories of
the atonement. Christ is the atonement and everything
else is theory. He's truth. He's fact. Christ is our surety. Christ
is our representative. Christ is our substitute. Christ
is our mediator and Christ is our king. Salvation is in a person. That's how Abraham was saved
before Christ ever died on the cross. When Abraham was saved,
the work wasn't finished. Hmm? Now think about that. He wasn't saved trusting the
finished work of Christ. He was saved trusting the one
who finished the work. You think this is not important?
What did he say to Peter when he sat down beside the fire?
Do you love me? Do you love me? This is what it is. Isaiah, his
work, Isaiah talked about his work. But when Isaiah believed
and was saved and trusted and believed God, his work wasn't
finished. He trusted a person. And this
is the thing that I'm trying to preach, and this is the thing
that is so important, and this is the foundation of this whole
thing called salvation. And it is the reason people are
running in the church and running out, joining the church and disappearing,
getting baptized and fading away, is they come to confidence in
and faith in a work and not a person. Because when you come to be united
vitally and living in a living relationship with a person, you
can leave him. You can leave a theory. You can
leave a profession. You can leave a decision. You
can leave a theology. You can't leave a person. Christ
in you, that's the hope of glory. Not his work somewhere written
on a book. Christ in you, that's the hope of glory. Paul said,
when Christ who is our life shall appear. Christ is your life,
not your profession, he's your life. Paul said, I travail till
Christ be formed in you. Not to believe in facts, resting
in finished work, but till he personally becomes formed in
you. And when he does, Paul said,
that's salvation. And this second thing, first
of all, Christ is salvation. Simeon said, and his work wasn't
finished when Simeon saw him. Simeon saw him as an infant.
Simeon didn't know anything at that time in a concrete manner
about a cross. But his faith and confidence
was in a person. Now you think about this. In
a person. And whatever that person did
was alright by Simeon. Whatever that person accomplished.
Whatever that person had to go through. Whatever that person
was called upon to bear. Whatever it pleased that person
to do. He's my hope. I've seen your salvation. Simeon
never saw the cross. Never saw the blood. Never saw
the resurrection. He saw a person. He saw the Lord. Christ is salvation. Christ is
God's salvation. Simeon said, My eyes are seen
by salvation. The Catholics have one way, the
Baptists have a way, the Methodists have a way, everybody's got a
way. Men have a number of ways and plans and all these things
and call it salvation. But Simeon said, I've seen God's
salvation. He'd seen Christ, the promised Savior, all the
way through the Old Testament, the provided Savior, God gave
his Son, the perfect Savior, he knew no sin, the punished
Savior, he was wounded for our transgressions, the pleading
Savior, he ever liveth to make intercession, the preeminent
Savior, every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess
that he's Lord. That's who Simeon saw. He saw
not only salvation and God's salvation, but he saw the only
salvation. Now you think about this. Simeon
was no stranger to religion. Simeon was no stranger to the
law. Simeon was no stranger to the sacrifices and the tithes
and the holy days and the feasts and all these things. But he
had never found any comfort in any of these things. Simeon was
an old man. He probably had snow-white hair,
and he probably had a long beard, and he probably had bent shoulders
and a wrinkled face. He was probably way up in years,
and he was a priest, and he had ministered about that temple
all these years. He had read the law over and
over again and never found salvation in it. The law can't save you. I don't know why preachers insist
on preaching the law. The law can only shut the mouths
of sinners. The law can only say guilty.
The law can only say judge him. The law can only say condemn
him. The law can speak no comfort. And Simeon never found any comfort
in the law. He never found any release from
his misery in the law. And he went about all the sacrifices,
the blood of animals. And he read the Scriptures and
he kept the feasts and the holy days and the Sabbath days. Yes
sir, one day out of seven, he didn't walk but so far. He didn't
eat but certain things. And yet none of these things
ever met his need or gave him peace till he met Christ. And
one look at Christ, he said, I've seen thy salvation. I've
seen thy salvation. Other foundations can no man
lay than that which is laid, Christ the Lord. None other name
given unto heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved,
Christ the Lord. My hope is built on nothing less. and Jesus' blood and His righteousness,
I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus'
name. His oath, His covenant, His blood
support me in the whelming flood when all around my soul gives
way. My experience? No. My goodness? No. He is my only hope and stay. Christ is salvation, a person. a person. Christ is God's salvation. He is the salvation that can
make God just and justified. He is the salvation that can
meet not only God's attribute of love, but God's attribute
of righteousness. He is the salvation that can
not only satisfy God's truth, but God's mercy. He's God's salvation,
and he is the only salvation. And then we see thirdly, Simeon's
request. Lord, now, now. He never wanted to die before.
He never wanted to leave this earth before something was missing.
But now, now that God had revealed Christ to him, he said, I'm ready
to die. Lord, now, now, let me depart. Every fetter is broken. every
tie that has bound me. I'm not tied to life any longer.
Christ is my life. I'm not tied to the comforts
of this world. Christ is my peace. I'm not tied
to home and family. Christ is my mother and my father,
my brother and my sister. I can now rest in his will and
his purpose either here or there. Most of us must confess we're
tied in one way or another And we find it hard to break loose.
We find it hard to cut loose from this world. And I know that
only Christ can make us free. Where Christ is not valued above
all things, gold can become an idol. Where Christ is not valued
above all things, health can become an idol. Where Christ
is not valued above all things, families can become idols. Where Christ is not valued above
all things, the fleeting fame and recognition of men can become
idols. But something happened to Simeon.
He'd seen the Lord. He'd seen the glory of God. He'd
seen the redemptive glory of God. And when he did, all of
these ties just turned loose. And he said, let me depart. Let
me depart. There's nothing here to keep
me. There's nothing here to attract me. There's nothing here to hold
me. Let me depart." Well, notice this word carefully. He said,
Lord, now you let me depart. My friends, the departure of
any believer is only by divine appointment. Only by divine appointment. Now, you can sit around and argue.
People usually do. They miss the point in Scripture
and argue over Something that doesn't matter. They sit around
and say, well, I could neglect my body and die sooner. I could
run out in front of a truck and all that foolishness, you know.
But I'm telling you this. Simeon knew what he was talking
about. He knew that the departure of any child of God was only
by divine appointment. That I am immortal till God sees
fit. Now you let me depart. I'm in
your hands. My time is in your hands. The
server stands before his master. The master sits at the table,
and the servant has brought in the food, and he's brought in
the coffee, and he's brought in the dessert, and he's brought
in the bowl for the master to wash his hands, he's brought
in the towel, he's brought in all the things, and the people
are still sitting, and the servant's standing by his master's side.
And finally he turns to his master and he says, May I leave? And the master may say yes, he
may say no, but that servant waits on his will. And I'm saying
that God must give us the grace to do that too. Lord, let thy
servant depart. Let him depart. And thank God
he added this, let him depart in peace. And my friends, without
a knowledge of Christ, a man can't die in peace. No man can
die in peace who has not lived in peace. No man can die in faith
who has not lived in faith. I don't care what the preachers
say, they can take these sermons at funerals and preach people
into heaven if they want to, but I'm telling you this, no
man is going to die in peace who has not lived in peace. No
man is going to die in Christ who has not lived in Christ.
And no man is going to die in faith who has not lived in faith.
And no man is going to rejoice in the glory, eternal glory of
God who has not rejoiced in God's earthly glory. And no man is
going to fellowship through eternity with the redeemed in heaven who
has not fellowshiped with the redeemed on earth. That's so. Let me depart in peace, peace
made with my Father, peace ruling in my heart, and peace about
his providence. How I depart is God's business.
When I depart is God's business. But the desire to depart, that's
God's business too. He gives it to me. Only a revelation
of Christ can do these two things. My flesh queens to this earth,
and to its idols of clay, and to all, as Solomon said, to all
of its vanities. The only thing that will break
the whole, and I can talk with my mouth all I want to, but my
heart, if I justify myself, my own mouth would condemn me, Job
said. The only thing that will really honestly and eternally
and in reality break these ties or make them to take on less
importance for me is a revelation of the glory of God. When I see
the glory of God, the glory of the earth fades. When I see the
glory of his family, the glory of my family fades. When I see
the glory of his love, all this other fades into insignificance. Only a revelation of Christ can
do that. And only a revelation of Christ can break my confidence
and my hold in my righteousness. I am nothing, I know nothing,
I have nothing, never have done anything, and never will, to
please a holy God in the flesh. In the flesh no man can please
God. The only person who has ever Heard God say, this is one
in whom I'm well pleased is the Lord Jesus Christ. The only one
who rests today under divine approval is the Lord Jesus Christ. All the rest of us, without Christ,
are under the wrath of God. He stood for me in eternity.
He died for me on the cross. He stands for me at the right
hand of God. He's coming for me. And when
I stand before the judgment, my plea will not be what I've
done or given or even believed. It'll be Christ is my salvation,
because he's God's salvation, and he's the only salvation.
Our Father in heaven, teach us thy way and thy will. There's
a way that seemeth right unto this flesh, but it's wrong. and the end of its death and
destruction, and how prone we are to go our way and rest in
our traditions and our customs and our thoughts. O Lord, our
thoughts are not thy thoughts, and our ways are not thy ways.
Reveal Christ to us as you did to Simeon. Let us with the inner
eye of faith behold him in whatever phase of his From eternity past
to eternity future, our hope and our confidence is in Christ. He is our refuge, and he is our
foundation. He is our rock, and he is our
righteousness, and he is our eternal salvation. Turn our eyes
by the power of thy Spirit upon the Lord Jesus Christ, and lead
men and women, boys and girls, who are here tonight to seek
the Lord. like a Simeon of old who waited
and longed for the consolation of Israel. O God, lead us to
seek Thee, and seeking Thee to find Thee, and binding Thee to
love Thee, and loving Thee to enjoy Thy presence and Thy fellowship
eternally. In Christ's name and for Christ's
glory we pray. Amen.

Learning to Look to Christ Alone

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Learning to Look to Christ Alone

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