I sat there listening to Lane singing, and I'll give you older ones advice. You make sure that you keep a place where when they come, they hear truth. Now, as they get older, they're going to be pulled in this direction and that direction. They will be told, some of them probably already, well, one church is as good as another. If that is so, then I see no reason why we should ever have opened the doors here. Watch over these. Teach and instruct and pray for them. Watch over each other. If you turn to Exodus 24, I've got one other place for you to turn. soon in Isaiah and then closing out in the New Testament. The text this morning is not drawn from Exodus 24. It is taken from James 4.8, draw nigh to God. I believe that all of you know that, and we won't read it. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to thee. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners, and purify your hearts, ye double-minded. Get close to the Lord Jesus. Would you bow as we together seek the Lord's face, grace, and help? My father, the words of a man can have absolutely no effect upon anyone. apart from the Spirit, thy Spirit applying them to individual hearts. I pray, Father, that you might this day draw us that we might find ourselves longing to be near unto God. longing to live there. And when the business of life takes us away, let us be anxious to get back to being near God. Though we are as near thee at the workplace as we are in the closet. But Lord, there's a difference to us. So have these direct, give wisdom, the Spirit of God to grant utterance. Father, apply these things to the hearts of your children here and glorify Christ, our Redeemer, and our Lord. In his name we pray, amen. Exodus 24, one and two. First, and he said unto Moses, come up unto the Lord. thou and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and 70 of the elders of Israel, and worship ye afar off. And Moses shall come near the Lord, but they shall not come nigh, neither shall the people go up with him. Now verses 15 and following. And Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud covered the mount. And the glory of the Lord abode upon Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud. You'll notice here that Moses sat there six days, the glory of God upon the mount. That's the same number of days that Noah and his family were in the ark before the first drops of water began to fall. Time of preparation you need. Sometimes it might be necessary for you to rush into the presence of God based upon the situation you're in. But when not rushed there because of no immediate danger to you, family, or need, prepare yourself to go to the closet, to the word of God, and to the house of God. On the seventh day, he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud, and the sight of the glory of the Lord was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel." Folks, you and I are headed into the visible presence of the one that John said, his eyes were like a flame of fire. they will pierce into our very soul and spirit. That sight, not of God, of the Lord's glory was like a devouring fire. Verse 18, and Moses went into the midst of the cloud and get him up into the mount. And Moses was in the mount 40 days and 40 nights. Moses later on chapter 33 asked, let me see thy face. And God said, thou canst not see my face, for there shall no man see me and live. But children, one thing for certain, this God in the Old Testament that said, come up, but you can't draw nigh, is the same God in the New Testament that says, draw nigh. The difference is you draw nigh unto God through His Son. God cannot change. I've heard many a people say, well, I don't like the God of the Old Testament, but I like Him in the New Testament. No, they're one and the same. It's impossible that God could ever change. I mean, can he become better than what he is? No. Can he become less than what he is? No. He would cease to be God if he was less. So he cannot change. And there's such a vast difference between a holy God and a sinful man that due to God's absolute holiness and purity, God cannot look on sinful man. Gotta be a go-between. And there's such a vast difference. between the holiness of God and the sinfulness of man. And God being just, he cannot say, thy sins are forgiven thee. He can't do that. If your sins have been forgiven, if your sins of the day will need to be forgiven, afresh and anew this afternoon, then someone paid for your sins. Now turn with me to Isaiah. Isaiah chapter 29. While you're turning, I quote what is said of God in Psalm 73. Lo, they that are far from thee shall perish. It's not optional for you to draw nigh God. Live at a distance from God, then you will eternally perish. Now Isaiah 29 verse 13. Wherefore the Lord said, for as much as this people draw near me with their mouth and with their lips do honor me, but have removed their heart far from me, And their fear toward me is taught by the precepts of man. They have no experience within their soul of the fear of God. They draw near God with their lips, with their mouth and honor Him. But they've been taught the fear of God. by the precepts of man. It sounds as though there is a double-tongued speech coming from the lips of God. They shall not come nigh. Lo, they that are far from me shall perish. Years gone by and reading the old Puritans and Reformers, it was nothing at all to find them speaking about it being a little taste of heaven, being near God. And in His presence, It is the highest, purest, sweetest bliss a saint of God can have in heaven. And the society of God on earth is the highest, purest, and sweetest mercy that a saint of God will ever know. Such language like that is very rare today, if heard at all. And one of the places that you can rest assured is that you will not hear that at a funeral. Die outside Christ and you depart into an eternal punishment and distance from Him. Today we hear, he is going home to meet his loved ones that preceded him in death. Though he hasn't been involved in church in 20 or 40 years, but when he was young, he got saved. Or she, or as a child, I remember her making that profession of faith. How sweet that little girl was. as she walked down the aisle. We haven't seen her in a long time, but she got saved that day. You know what the preacher is saying to an audience when he speaks like that? You can live anyhow you want to, as long as you were saved in your early years. Nobody would dare come out and say that, but that's the language in their teachings. I am not saying, and you already know, that there will be many days from the moment of your conversion that you will not experience the nearness of God. Sometimes it might be to your coldness or indifference, your lack of prayer or lack of seeking Him in His Word. Sometimes it's just due to the sovereignty of God teaching you Like the mother of that little toddler, that every time there was a fall, she went and picked him or her up until they began to get a little older and careless in their walk and he would stumble and fall. Mother wouldn't come that time. It's time he learned how to pick himself up. Sometimes God will do that to all of us. but I've never found one that would say anything different to you about the presence of God and what a sweet foretaste of heaven that is if it was not for being near God. Even the man after God's own heart, one that delighted much in the presence of God, read his Psalms. And yet I also read from that man, so foolish was I. I was so ignorant. I was as a beast before thee. And then at the time, after fleeing for years from Saul, just trying to stay alive, and that man that knew the bliss of being in God's presence, he said, it's nothing better for me to do than move into the land of the Philistines, for I'll perish one day living here. In Psalm 22, David, though it has much to do with the greater David there, but three times, David had to experience that in a small degree of what his savior would later on in the fullness of it. Three times he said, be not far from me, let me walk near thee. Wouldn't you like to be so close to God that you could hear his heart beat with your head lay on his breast? There in Psalm 22, David was experiencing his Lord's departure. longed for him to be there near him. But our Lord Jesus, that you might be nigh God, went all alone from the garden to the cross. If you'll let me If you'll let me depart from this for a few minutes and bring up the topic of the different personalities, you say, well, that psychology has nothing to do with Christianity, has nothing to do with psychology today, nothing. In society, Some have said there are three different personalities in mankind. Others say there are four. I have read of one that said there were hundreds, but I like to stick with the three or four, just general personalities. But if you turn to science, they say that it was our genes. our upbringing that gave us the personality that we have. They might be true. The same scientist would say the rotation of the earth on its axis brings about day and night. Well, they're true, but this, this is the day that the Lord hath made. You have the personality that you have from the hand of God. There's a lot you probably don't like about your personality, same here with me, but we can work on that that we do not like. Beyond science, where day and night comes because the earth turns, Or you have your personality because of your genes. Beyond all that, there's the sovereign hand of God controlling all things. Now you as an individual, just like a snowflake, never been two exactly alike. Same with people. You might be classified under one of the four different personalities. But even there you are different from anyone else. Now it might not show me coming up here every Sunday or having, in years gone by, spoke at different places, it might not appear that actually my personality is one never to push myself to the forefront of a crowd. A friend asked me to ride with him. We were going somewhere in North Georgia. And he said, if you go, then I'll make sure that we get back to this church to hear Dr. Kanoy that had been with us previously and he liked him. And we got there late. And the singing had already completed. And they were giving the announcements and introducing Brother Billy. Myself, I would have taken one of the back couple of seats where there were places for two or three. This man was totally opposite of me. And he said, no, up front, very front, there's a place for two. That's just his personality. I didn't want to be seen. I wanted to stay at the back. Now, my personality does not make me humble. and his does not necessarily make him proud. We just have that. And because I would take the back seat, I could not say, everybody look at me. how humble I am that would dare not go to the front when the service had already started. But that'd be pride in my humility. Simon Peter, the first disciple called by nature was a very bold and positive man. Even when the Lord told him that all of them would forsake him, Peter said, not me, I'll go all the way to death. That's how positive he was in himself. When God saved Simon, he did not take away his personality. Nor would he ever remove it completely while Simon Peter remained on the earth. It would be subdued more and more as Simon Peter grew in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus. even when the Lord was washing the disciples' feet and he got to Peter, not mine. Probably just thinking there was, I will show my humility and I will show the greatness of my Lord and what I think about him. He's not washing my feet. And Christ said, well, Simon, if I do not wash your feet, you have no part with me. And Simon, very bold, once again, well then, Lord, wash me all over. No, Simon, he that is washed need not be washed all over, only his feet. That's the only thing about him that gets dirty traveling in this old world. Well, wash me all over, Lord, just as found out something in his nature. I won't deny you. But here you see his pride. Humility said, you shall not wash my feet. Pride said, well, wash me all over. And although his old nature was greatly subdued after he was filled with the Holy Ghost, the Lord did not remove it completely. He used it in many ways and many times in the spiritual sense now. Acts 2, Simon, he'd always jump out front, but after filled with the Holy Ghost, he stood at the forefront that day. and delivered one of the most powerful messages that's ever been delivered. In Acts 3, Peter and John went up to the temple door. There was a crippled man there, and again, and again, Simon always out in front. But here it's Peter, Peter talking to him. He saw, man, silver and gold have I none. but such as I have, give I unto thee in the name of Jesus of Nazareth. Rise up and walk. You see how God used Simon Peter's personality and Simon Peter's nature that he was born with, refining it now, but not removing it completely. And now Peter, can be sanctified for the master's use. I told you my nature is reserved. Simon Peter was one of that that would be out front. Not because I say to others, you go first. Not because I wanted everyone to see how humble I was. It had nothing to do with humility. Now, Do you know how difficult it was for me to stand in front of others as a junior high that had been shoved into a speaking contest at a 4-H show? I tried, I begged, I pleaded, but Mr. Burnside would not take no for an answer. But even worse than that was the time that I had to stand to declare the word of God. And now I come to a passage such as this, draw nigh to God and he'll draw nigh to thee. And if you live far from me, you shall perish. Knowing a little about my personality that I've told you now, do you know how difficult it is for me with a partial realization of how sinful I am? I couldn't know all of that, it would destroy me. And also knowing partially the holiness of God and the purity of Him. Can't know much, that also would destroy me. And yet God said, you better get near. And I see in all the children of God that I've gotten to know over the years, they're dedicated. I see in them much more of which puts them to the forefront rather than me. Last Lord's Day, I told you of your place of safety during perilous times. And that is you looking into the face of the Lord Jesus and seeing reflected in the face of that God man, his very heart. That's difficult. Just knowing who I am by nature. I know there will be others and many probably that will say you ought to be different than that, seeing we are commanded to look to Jesus, to get near God. Oh, I love living there, but there is a fear in getting there. I probably, if God left alone, pride beginning to develop, I'd become very related to the old Israelites that were bitten by a serpent. Told that they had to look. Never a consideration of what that serpent on the pole represented to them. I could become like that. The old poison from that venom that poisoned mankind when he tempted Eve. It flows through all of our veins. No thought to the Lord Jesus being made like a serpent. John talking about seeming to be blasphemy. How about this? Becoming that that poisoned us. And Jesus himself in John 3 told you about that. As the serpent was lifted up in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up. And whosoever seeth him If the Lord left all of us alone, we'd all get careless looking at Jesus. We'd all become somewhat proud of our growth and development in Christ. Become somewhat proud of our dedication to him. when we see others far from this, as far as being fully dedicated. Even our good deeds. Without the help of God, it would build us up in pride. Don't care how humble you are. Don't care what personality you were born with. If God left you alone, then your good deeds would be that that would lift you above all other Christians. You're helping all others that you could would be that that would lift you up. There's a million and one things against us in being conformed to the image of God. There's a million and one reasons I have why I should not draw nigh God. But it sure does outweigh the consequences of not drawing nigh. All that are far from me shall perish. If you draw nigh to God, there's only one beginning point. Jesus Christ was made your sin bearer and every sin committed you came to Christ, after you came to him, everything was taken care of at Calvary. God forbid that there be one sitting here bold enough to say, if my sins were forgiven at Calvary, all of them, then I can live like I want to. You will perish. To draw nigh God being far from him, I die in my sins. I gotta go my way. of that old, old hill, just outside Jerusalem a little bit, where he was lifted up physically, but more so as our sin bearer. I gotta go to Calvary. And as I look up from beneath that old wooden cross, I see there as best as I can make it out, I see the face of a man. Oh, he looks twice as old as he actually is. Those lines and those wrinkles and that worn face because of long, long days and long nights. I see a man, worn, body completely exhausted. You remember I quoted to you what David said, I was as a beast before thee. That's what Jesus Christ appeared to be on that cross. Or you could identify the thief on the right and the thief on the left. But if you didn't know, and you came to Calvary that morning just to see, you couldn't know what it was hanging on that middle cross. Luke. Luke eight, we'll close here. I told you in hope that My spending a few minutes on personalities would just help you to see how I am in approaching God. But it could have been completely different. And now to get nigh God, I go by Calvary. And now that the Lord is saving me, everybody here, there's not a one of you today saved. Not a one of you, including the preacher. We in the process of being saved. And that process will not be completed until you draw your last breath. Then you go there to be in that, in that sweet environment, refreshing environment, even able to look upon the Lord Jesus. That's a little bit beyond me right now. Well, I've drifted a bit. Luke eight, would heal and he never turned one away. And there'll not be anybody in hell that said, I went to the Lord and I wanted to be saved. But I just figured out that I was a reprobate because God wouldn't save me when I asked Him. There's not a one in hell that's got an excuse that they can blame, lay on anybody other than self. Long days, all right? Luke 8, verse 44, following. talking about this lady with this infirmity. She came behind him and touched the border of his garment and immediately her issue of blood stanched. And Jesus said, who touched me? When all denied Peter and they that were with him said, master, the multitude thronged thee and pressed thee and sayest thou who touched me? Jesus said, somebody has touched me for I perceive that virtue. The word is translated power in one place, strength in one place, mighty work in another place. Those of you in physical labor, When you start as soon as it is light, and sometimes you don't finish until it is dark, you know how worn out your body is? Totally exhausted. And then again, I also know this, that you are in better shape than those that come in with a mind totally exhausted. You know what rest did for you, at least when you were young. When Jesus touched or was touched, virtue went out. Long days with virtue flowing from him to others. Now long sleepless nights where he could be refreshed and strengthened by the fellowship of his Father. Now you see on that cross where we were told it was Jesus and he was a man hanging there, but he favors a beast more than a human being. There me having to go back time and again There on that face, there's blood dried that's been there for some time, flowed from that wounded head. There where they jammed three to four-inch thorns into his head, there's still some blood dripping out. from those wounds because he had no physician to help him. As a matter of fact, he said the crowd would say to me, physician, heal thyself. They saw him heal others. Well, he can't heal himself. There was no possibility of him being healed in the least degree. He wouldn't even take a drink of that wine that might ease the pain just a bit. He had to pay the full price for our sins. And I see him there, but I put him there knowing that our life is in the blood flowing His had to continually flow through his veins until the last bit that would sustain him as a human being had dropped to the earth. But he wasn't going to die a martyr. He wasn't going to die a natural death. It's my life, I have power to lay it down. and take it up. And when the payment was made completely, he cried out, Lord, it's finished. And that came after six long hours, laboring physically just to get a breath. blood. Oh, if virtue flowed out here in other times when he healed, how much here? He remained there suffering until The last sin of the last sinner that would come to him was paid. And then he could cry out, it is finished. His last words, Father, in thy hand I commend my spirit. Now, being near God is not a duty that I take lightly. It's not a command that I don't consider much. No man took his life. He laid it down for the sheep. For me, he died if I have the possibility of the faintest hope in my soul. I've got to acknowledge for me he died, and my sins he took into that own body of his. There, instead of God cursing me at the end of life and throughout eternity, there he was cursed by his father. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law. Be made a curse for us, for it is written, cursed is the man that hangeth on the tree. Galatians 3.13. You have hope of entering glory. When you exit this old world, right here is the beginning point. beneath the cross of Christ. It's not a little decision you made, it's a birth. And in your journey on that narrow pathway, you will drift many a time being seen in your drifting to go back to the cross. Go back there. Every day you draw nigh to God. You draw nigh to your father through his only begotten son. Time and again you will visit. I've seen God said, you better get near me, because if you live far from me, you perish. I say, Lord, in myself, I know I am not worthy. And you say, get near you. He said, yes, you better get near me, for if you live in a distance from me, you shall perish. Time and again, you'll go back. Many, many, many. in our day rest their eternal hope upon one look at Calvary. One look, that's good enough. Again, I'll remind you of the man after God's own heart. His plea with God after he'd walked with God for some time, purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean. Well, what's the hyssop going to have on it, David? It's going to have the blood of the coming redeemer into the world one day. Purge me, Lord, and I'll be whiter than snow. Hide thy face from my sin. If God does that, then he had to have somebody that would pay your sins. And so the only place David could hope for was looking to that old cross. Oh, the Israelites, they had put up a lamb, 14 days, and then they had slaughtered the lamb when they brought it to the priest, laying their hands on that lamb, which was a sign of the transferring of my guilt to something that's innocent. Those Old Testament saints knew it wasn't the blood of bulls or goats that took away sin. This one said, Lord, I know you don't desire sacrifice. I know that. If that's all you desire, I could easily bring that. But purge me with a hyssop and I shall be clean. The only place David had hope was looking ahead to the cross. Now to you. place you got hope, looking back to the cross. But I believed. Good for you. But I repented. Again, good for you. But has there been no repentance since that day you got saved? Has there been no believing since that day you said you got saved? Has there been no going back to God? Purge me, wash me and I'll be whiter than snow. Well, every saint of God that's been in this way for just a little short while knows I gotta lay my hands on that sacrifice. my guilt to his head. Draw nigh to God and he will draw nigh to