Well, dear friends, dear congregation, I would invite you this evening once again to turn to the Word of God and that first portion of the Word of God that I read to you in your hearing. It's been a number of years since I preached from this passage of the Word of God. And it is a very powerful passage, a passage that can be understood by the Word of God. It is always the Word of God that interpret Scripture. Of course, the Holy Spirit gives us the interpretation, but of course all Scripture is given by the Holy Spirit. And we rely upon the Word of God to open up the meaning of these things. The Apostle Paul tells us in Romans 15, the verse 4, for whatsoever things are written aforetime are written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. These things that are written of aforetime in the Old Testament are written for our learning. These things pertain to the Lord Jesus Christ, for he said it in John 5. Ye search the Scriptures, in them ye think ye have eternal life, but it is they which do testify of me. These things speak of the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus is the Lamb. He is the sacrifice. He is pictured in the ark. And within even the ark of the covenant, there were three things that pictured him. The law. Christ Jesus is the law personified. In the ark, furthermore, was the manna, the bread in the golden censer. Of course, the Lord Jesus said, I am the bread, the manna, which is come down from heaven. And also, furthermore, in the ark was the budding rod of Aaron. Remember how Aaron's rod, as it were, lived. It bore leaves. And the other priests, well, their rods didn't come alive. Think of it, our Lord Jesus, that branch out of dry ground, when they put him to death, he said he would live again. The Lord Jesus is the great high priest, not Aaron. We have a high priest that has passed through the heavens, even Jesus Christ, the righteous. He has the power of an endless life. All of those images are fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ. He is, of course, the light of the world. In the tabernacle were the lamps. Of course, he said, I am the light of the world. He is all of those things. He is the altar. He is the sacrifice. He is our all in all. He is greater than the temple. The whole of the temple was speaking of this Savior. And there are many other things in the Old Testament that testify of the Lord Jesus. As he said, the scriptures do testify of me. And we will see once again this evening from this passage of scripture, as God had commanded Moses of old before they entered into the promised land, that six cities of refuge were to be appointed, not for the guilty, but for the innocent manslayer. For a man who accidentally, perhaps as we shall read, killed his friend. as he was working in the woods felling trees and the axe head comes off the handle and takes his companion's life and there's no witnesses but this man may run for refuge to one of these cities and they were scattered throughout Israel and they are indeed a picture of refuge as we read from Hebrews chapter 6, that the Lord Jesus Christ is the refuge. He's the refuge, not to innocent people, but to guilty sinners. Here, this in Joshua 20, God is showing his justice to keep safe innocent people. The Bible tells us that the wages of sin is death. But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ to guilty sinners. Not to people who think that they're innocent, but to sinners. Paul says the Apostle, he said, this is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Now we have set before us in this chapter the designation of these six cities. And the names, as we will think tonight, all speak of the Lord Jesus Christ. And of course, if you know biblical numerology, seven is always a picture of perfect. And Christ is the perfect refuge. And here what we have is just something setting forth God's, first of all, His justice concerning the innocent man. He's working with his friend and he kills his friend. We call it manslaughter. In other words, it was not intended. It was not here somebody who intends to kill somebody. It is not premeditated. Of course, that would really require immediate death if there were two or three witnesses. Now, if you turn with me, first of all, you'll see that this was commanded by the Lord to Moses. If you turn to Numbers 35, and there are various passages of Scripture that teach regarding to this matter. Numbers 35 verse 9, and the Lord spake unto Moses saying, Speak unto the children of Israel. Now of course you have to realize The people have not yet gone into the promised land. They're not in Canaan, but when they get there, this is what is to be done. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come over Jordan into the land of Canaan, then ye shall appoint you cities to be cities of refuge for you. Now notice that the slayer may flee thither, which killeth any person at unawares. So in other words, he was not aware, he was not doing this intentionally. It was not premeditated. It was an accident. And they shall be unto you the cities for refuge from the avenger. That the manslayer die not until he stand before the congregation in judgment. In other words, this man is going to be tried. This man is going to be tested by the congregation. He will be heard. And if there are any witnesses, they must come forward. There has to be a proper process. You see, God, my friends, is a God of justice. And justice is a good thing. It's a proper thing. God is holy and just. The innocent must go free. But the guilty, God says, in no wise shall he go free. here certainly in this life. Now notice, And until ye stand before the congregation in judgment, and of these cities which ye shall give six cities, shall ye have four refuge. Ye shall give three cities on this side, Jordan, and three cities shall ye give thou in the land of Canaan, which shall be cities of refuge. These six cities shall be a refuge, both for the children of Israel and for the stranger, and for the sojourner among them, that everyone that killeth any persons unawares may flee thither." You see, it's not for the guilty. If a man is guilty, he must turn himself in. I've done this. It was murder. And certainly if there were two or three witnesses, there is no ways he could enter into the city. It is for the innocent. Verse 16, and if you smite him with an instrument of iron so that he die, he is a murderer. That is deliberately. The murderer shall surely be put to death. And if you smite him with a throwing a stone, that's deliberate, isn't it? wherewith he may die, and he die, he is a murderer. The murderer shall surely be put to death. We believe in what we call lex talionis, which is exact retribution. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Murder is punishable by death. Now, of course, if somebody is a saved person and they die as a murderer, They go to be with the Lord. They go to heaven. They're forgiven. But punishment must ensue. This is for the sake of the land. Imagine the violence as it was in Genesis. The violence in all the earth was increasing because everyone did as pleased him. And a society can spiral into great Great chaos and wickedness, where there is no justice, where there is no law. Now notice as we move on, verse 18. Or if he smite him with a hand of weapon of wood, with he may die. You see this is deliberate. And he die, he is a murderer. The murderer shall surely be put to death. The revenger of blood himself shall slay the murderer. This is perhaps a family murder, remember. When he meeteth him, he shall slay him. But if he thrust him of hatred or hurl at him by slaying of weight, that he die. Or in enmity smite him with his hand, that he die. He that smote him shall surely be put to death, for he is a murderer. The revenger of blood shall slay the murderer when he meeteth him. And that of course is not an immediate case. There will be a hearing. We know from the Scriptures, as we'll see, that it is required that there be two or three witnesses. Whenever something is to be carried out, whether somebody is accused of adultery, it must be by two or three witnesses, says the Lord. By every two or three witnesses, a matter shall be established. But if you turn to Deuteronomy 19 very quickly, There are further details on this matter and we have to read all the passages in order to properly understand the teaching of this. And then we'll move to the names of these cities and we'll speak about Christ, Jesus our Lord. Deuteronomy 19, you notice here is a classic example and again here is the commandment to have thee six cities of refuge. Verse 1, Deuteronomy 19, verse 1. When the Lord thy God hath cut off the nations, those whose land the Lord thy God giveth thee, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their cities and in their houses, thou shalt separate three cities for thee in the midst of thy land, which the Lord thy God giveth thee to possess it. Thou shalt prepare thee a way, and divide the coasts of thy land, which the Lord thy God giveth thee, to inherit into three parts, that every slayer may flee thither. And this is the case of the slayer, which shall flee thither, that he may live. Whosoever killeth his neighbor ignorantly, whom he hated not in time past. And now he gives us an example, have a look, verse 5. As when the man goeth into the wood with his neighbor, to hew wood, and his hand fetcheth a stroke with the axe to cut down the tree, and the head slippeth from the helf, and lighteth upon his neighbour that he die, he shall flee unto one of those cities and live. Lest the avenger of blood pursue the slayer, while his heart is hot, and overtake him, because the way is long, and slay him. So a man could run for safety. And there are other passages here in the Old Testament. It was the responsibility of the Levites and the elders to make sure that there were signs on these long roads going to these cities, pointing to these various cities of refuge. So whether they're working in the woods around these cities, the one who innocently killed somebody knew where he could run. And this is telling us, friends, first of all, in the first place, that God is concerned for justice. The innocent must go free. It would be an abomination for innocent to not be punished. There would be eventually a trial. This man could remain in the city so long as we have read already in Joshua 20 that there was a high priest in that city. And that again is pointing us to the Lord Jesus Christ. The high priest would intercede But he was only interceding, we could say, for people who were not guilty of a crime. How much better is our Lord Jesus Christ, my friends, who intercedes for sinners, who shed his precious blood, who gave his life for guilty sinners? How much better is the Lord Jesus Christ than all of those priests? Why? Because he offered up himself, the scriptures say. Christ offered him up himself. When the high priest died, well, then he would have to face the, if not before time, the elders of the city. Witnesses would come forward, or no witnesses at all. But as I said, unless there are two or three witnesses, a matter could not be proven. It was essential. Well, we are given many instances of this. The Lord has said in his word, in Genesis 9 verse 5, surely your blood for your lives will I require. At the hand of every beast will I require it. At the hand of every man, at the hand of every man's brother, will I require the life of man. is also even, sadly, and we have to speak about this, the matter of abortion. It was murder in the Old Testament. If such a thing was heard, it was considered worthy of death. Of course, it is a life, premeditated, an awful thing. First degree murder Well, that is premeditated. We have these things today in our society. Second degree, however, is both intentional, but sometimes it can be out of rage, and yet it's still murder. And then there is third degree murder, which is manslaughter, unintentional. Now, today, I suppose if you were to kill somebody by accident, and these things happen, people do foolish things, drunk driving, all kinds of things. This would be a terrible thing to have to live with. The scars of life. There would be criticism, no doubt, upon you and what you were doing. I'm sure you would never forget it, if you took somebody's life. It must be so hard. But of course, It's reminding us of the sanctity of life. The sanctity of life. There was punishment, however. Even if there was carelessness, we're told there are many passages of scripture. In Exodus 21, if there was a killing and a man was very careless, why? Because God is setting forth the sanctity of life. That life is precious. and that we cannot just do as we will. We are not to be coarse and casual about things. God is setting forth the sanctity of life. That is very, very important. Now, we want to think here about these cities of refuge. And they speak tremendous things about the Lord Jesus Christ, dear friends. But let me remind you that these cities of refuge are places for the innocent. But the person that is being accused can take refuge. We hear of sanctuary cities, don't we, in this world right now. And very guilty people go in there. People that shouldn't be there. People that illegally went into those places. And now they're taking refuge and refuse to leave. That is not truly a sanctuary city, is it? When they're there illegally. But friends, I want us to think tonight, you and I, unlike the manslayer, you and I have broken God's laws in our life, have we not? If we look at our lives and we go through the list of God's commandments, what are they? Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, with all thy mind. And has anyone here today done that? Nobody. but only the Lord Jesus. When God made Adam, he made him perfect and upright and gave him all that he needed. And yet, he chose he and Eve, although she was deceived, to believe a lie. And the lies were many, when you think about it. The fruit is able to make thee wise. If you take it, you will be like God. God is withholding something from you. God is keeping you from reaching your potential. Take the fruit, and you will be as God, feeding Adam's ego. An Eve he took. He should have cared for his wife. He should have been the keeper of his wife. But he was not. He was desiring something. There was covetousness. There also, he was receiving false witness about God, believing a lie. All these things running through the heart now of Adam. And he took, and when he took, it was a great shock. Instead of being as God, he found himself naked and ashamed. And he began to run away from God. And that's us in this life, friends. David tells us, in sin, we were conceived. We were shaped in iniquity. And from our mother's womb, we began to speak lies. Children, did your parents teach you how to lie? No. It comes from your heart. Because you and I are born in sin. The Bible tells us that by one man sin has spread to all. So all have sinned. Through Adam. Job says, can anything clean come out of that which is unclean? From our parents, from my parents, your parents. And people try to blame their sin on their parents, their upbringing. No! We are born in sin, shaped in iniquity. And we come forth as liars and deceivers. And we despise God. And we begin our lives by running away from God like Adam. And God calls, Adam where art thou? And of course God knows where he is. But God in mercy calls him. And this is what the Lord does for all of his sheep. He calls by his word. And he calls not innocent people, but guilty sinners to himself. Why? Because Christ is the refuge for his people, because God swore on oath to Father Abraham to give him a people out of this world, as vast as the sands of the seashore, a people out of every kindred, tribe, tongue, and nation, that Christ will be the city, he will be the refuge of all that run unto him, that he will save to the uttermost all who come unto God by Christ Jesus. My friend, tonight, without the Lord Jesus, there is no refuge. There is no peace. It is through the blood of his cross. And it is by the work of His Holy Spirit that He calls His people. They hear the word. He said, my sheep hear my voice. They come unto me and I give them eternal life. They come and they believe upon Him. Now again, I've expressed here the difference between these cities. The cities are for men who have accidentally killed someone, broken the law, and they can take refuge there. And it would have been a safe haven. You can imagine the family, the avenger, and the grieved families who have lost somebody. But there is going to be a court date. There is going to be a hearing. And so it is, you know, many people will get away with things in this life. And the Bible does tell us it is appointed unto man once to die. And after that, the judgment. And we're told that one day the books will be opened. And men will be judged by their works. There is nothing that a man has done in this life that will not be known on that day, friends. There is a day of judgment. There is a day of wrath. But for the Lord Jesus, there was a day of wrath. It was the day of Calvary. when he bore the sins of his people, when he suffered, so that they now who run to Christ may know that there is no judgment. Paul says, there is now therefore no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. Why? For Christ has satisfied divine wrath on their part. Now I want us to look at these cities here, friends, tonight. And before I get to this, let me say life is very cheap, isn't it? We're sadly living in a day and age where we've recently seen and even heard what's happened in our parliament, how these abominable laws now are being put forward. The proposed law on assisted suicide now is to be read in the House of Lords. And really this is what is the case that men do not value life. Whether you're young, whether you're old, you're an inconvenience. You see, the epitome, it's the epitome of sin, isn't it? Sin is at the heart of it. This little one is inconvenient for me. This elderly parent is inconvenient for me. I can have an early inheritance. The heart of man. It's too much for society. But where is compassion? Where is love? Solomon tells us of man, there's one event that happens to all. But he says, but while they live, there is madness in their hearts. There's madness in people's hearts. That is often they think that there is no day of judgment. There is no day of wrath. But my friend, the Bible says it is appointed unto man once to die. And after that, the judgment. Now I want us to look at these cities because this is the most important of all. Because these cities point us to Christ, who is the refuge of his people. These Hebrew names are very telling. The first city you notice in Joshua 20 verse 7, and they appointed Kadesh in Galilee, in Mount Naphtali. And the name there, Kadesh, means holy. The holy city. And I want you to think about this. How is the Lord Jesus Christ able to save? Because he is holy. If my Savior committed one sin in his life, he could never bear away my sin. The Holy One of Israel, Jesus Christ the righteous, came into this world, my friends. He was holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners. He was the Lamb of God, spotless. Peter tells us, Christians, that we were not bought or purchased with silver or gold. with the precious blood of the Lamb, without spot, without blemish, holy, a holy city. And let me say, the Lord Jesus, who is holy, will take his people to a holy heaven. What does he do in the life of the believer? He works holiness. The Holy Spirit comes to live in his people. He calls us, the Lord says, Be ye holy, for I am holy. But friends, it is because He is holy. In Isaiah we have these words, Who is this that cometh from Bozrah with dyed garments? And the Lord Jesus speaks and says, It is I, I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. That is how the Lord Jesus is able to save. because no one else was able to bear sin. As we know, it had to be a perfect lamb. It had to be the Son of God. I lay down my life for the sheep. Now the next city you notice there, as you read on in verse 7, and Shechem in Mount Ephraim. Shechem means shoulder. And we think of what the Lord Jesus is. He is the good shepherd and he bears upon his shoulder his lambs. And the government shall be upon his shoulder, we're told. He is the only one who is able to shoulder our sins. He is the only one. For he is mighty God. He shall lead his lambs and carry them upon his shoulder. Oh, my dear friend, when the Lord Jesus also becomes our city of refuge, we can lean upon him. Who is this coming out of the wilderness, leaning on her beloved? He's my savior. He is altogether lovely. We're told of our Lord Jesus in Isaiah 53, 6. All we like sheep have gone astray, each one has turned to him his own way, and the Lord has laid upon him the iniquity of us all. Think about it. As he was suffering there upon the cross, his arms spread, and his body wracked, his face bruised, lacerated, buffeted. What was he doing? He was bearing the sin of many. My righteous servant shall justify many, says the Father, for he shall bear their sin. These are tremendous names, aren't they? Holy. My friends, he is holy. Men of this world, it could never be said of any man in this world that he is holy, apart from Christ. We are to be holy. Confucius is dead. Muhammad is dead. But Christ is alive. Because Paul tells us the grave could not hold him. He suffered for the sins of his people. And he is raised for our justification. Why? Because he was sinless. Thou will not leave. Find Holy One to seek corruption. He could not. It would be against the law of God to leave his son in the grave because he did no sin. Holy, harmless. My dear friend, look at the religions of this world. Look at them. I don't mean to point out individuals, but they folly. What are these men? What are these movements? Sinful, and they're asking you, to work your way up to God. There's no hope in man. Cursed is the man that trusteth in man, but blessed be the man that trusteth in the Lord. You know, when Isaiah, we're told, saw the glory of the Lord in the temple, Isaiah 6, I saw the Lord high and lifted. What did he say? Holy, holy, holy. Holy Father, Holy Son, and Holy Spirit. All three are one, and yet one, holy, glorious God. And John tells us, he saw Christ in the temple. Holy. And he came down, friends, from heaven. The other name, you notice, Antkirjavarba, which is Hebron. That means fellowship, and you think about it, The Christian, he now has fellowship with God because of this Holy One, because of this One who has borne the sins of His people. John, he writes, he says, we have fellowship with the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. What peace Christ brings us. We are brought nigh by the blood of His Son. And we're brought into fellowship now and forever. And forever God will tabernacle with his people. You see, in these cities, you might tabernacle with a priest. And he might be wondering, because the priest couldn't read the mind, is this man guilty or not? But friends, though we have sinned against the Lord and the Lord Jesus, He fellowships with us despite our sin. When Peter in the boat said to our Lord, remember when the Lord said to him, cast the nets, Peter, in the water? Peter said, I'll cast the net, singular. And Peter brought in that great draft of fish. Peter fell down in the boat, overwhelmed, confronted with the very fact that before him was very God who sent all the fish into the net. And he said, depart from me, for I am a sinful man. But the Lord Jesus never departed from him. He never said, get away from me, Peter. But he said, Peter, I will make thee fishers. I will make thee a fisher of men. How gracious the Lord is. It is all because of our refuge in Christ, friends. Vile and worthy sinners brought nigh by the blood of Jesus Christ. And friends, if we walk in the light, we have fellowship with one another and with the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. Isn't it wonderful? When you become a Christian, we don't go around telling people what good people we are. People know we are sinners, and we have friends with sinners, although we do not like sin anymore. In the city, you could imagine people very suspicious of this man. Did he kill somebody? Well, in heaven, we'll all know that we're guilty, but we're forgiven through Jesus Christ. What fellowship we have. No dark secrets. He has borne our sorrows. He has borne our grief. He has suffered for us. And the praise will be to Christ forever and ever, my friends. Forever! Though we have sinned, we are justified by faith. Through the Lord Jesus Christ, we have peace with God through his shed blood. Now the fourth city. You notice here, Beza. which means defense. Yes, that's what the name means. And that's it, isn't it? If Christ is our surety, if Christ is our refuge, Paul says, who can be against us? If Christ has died, who shall bring a charge against God's elect? Justice was met upon the Savior. Can justice meet now the justice that he faced for the guilty? Can it be met on his people? No. And he even makes his angels, we're told, as ministering spirits to them, who are the heirs of eternal life. God is my defense. David says, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning, for thou hast been my defense and refuge in the day of my trouble. Unto thee, O my strength, I will sing, for God is my defense and the God of my mercy. Psalm 59, verse 16 and 17. Christ is our defense. Paul says, it is God that justifies. You know, maybe we've done wrong things in our life. We've heard of a story of a man. I think it was in Wales recently, another man up in the northeast of England. For many decades, for many decades, the murder that he committed was undetected. But then all of a sudden, the DNA was discovered in a perfect match. And it's quite clear that this man was guilty. Let me say this. There is not one sin that will be undetected in the day when Christ shall come. Not one. But for God's elect, what will they do? They will say, God is my defense. Christ has died. What will you plead on that day? I've been a good person. What a fool to plead your merits. What a fool to plead your works. Paul said, it's not by works of righteousness that we have done. Think of the man dying on the cross next to our Lord Jesus Christ. And he said to his friend, we are receiving our just reward, and he was right. One minute that man was hurling insults against Christ with his friend, but then all of a sudden there's a turn of his heart and he says to his friend, does thou not fear God? But the Lord Jesus said today, thou shall be with me in paradise. Christ was going to be his defense because Christ was dying for his people. And that man, the cross, saved in his last hour. What matters, friends, are you saved. Doesn't matter what you've done. All of us have sinned. Various kinds of sins in our lives. Some greater than others, but sin is sin in the eyes of God. And there's no hope for the sinner. Apart from Christ, God must be the defense. And the one who is humbled by God will see that there is no hope in himself or herself. It's self-righteousness to promote yourself before an infinitely holy God. How could you, friend? The scriptures say, he is of purer eyes than to behold any iniquity. But thank the Lord, he has said, of his people, as far as the east is from the west. No more shall I remember thy transgressions. He will not bring up a charge against his people. He died, and therefore he is our defense. There's a lovely verse. We're told in Isaiah 32, when a man shall be for a hiding place. Christ is that hiding place. Christ is that refuge. Isaac Watts in his lovely hymn said, a guilty and weak and helpless worm into thy hands I fall. Be thou my strength and righteousness, my savior and my all. My dear friend, is he your savior? Or are you floating on the raft of self-righteousness? You will sink, friends, to the depths of God's judgment, if you are. There's no hope in man. We're told in Isaiah 8 that he shall be for a sanctuary. That is Christ. This one who is the stone of stumbling to so many, he shall be for a sanctuary. A sanctuary is a place where you run in and take refuge. There is the other city here, you notice, And verse 8, and Ramoth Gilead. You know what that name means? It means highly exalted. Highly, but Christ is he not highly exalted? Has the Father not given him a name above every other name? He's blessed. And blessed is the man that trusteth in him. There's no one more exalted than Jesus Christ tonight, my friend. So that when Thomas touched his hands and his feet, he said, my Lord and my God. We're told in Hebrews 1.8, The Father says to the Son, O God, thy throne is in the heavens. The Father says to the Son, God, thy throne. The Father calls the Son God. Very God, begotten, not created, but the God-man. The one who is between God and man. The one who is the last Adam, has been exalted to heaven. Paul tells us it behooved him to take to himself our nature. He must suffer as a high priest to become our refuge. The high priest offered up himself. Ramos in Gilead. The next is Golan. You notice Golan in Bashan. We've heard of the Golan Heights today. Perhaps a familiar site maybe. It comes from the root of the band of exiles, their captivity. Golan means lead captivity, captive. That's what Christ did. Zechariah 9, we're told, the Father says to the Son, by the blood of thy covenant, I was set prisoners free from the pit from whence there is no water. Captive. He came to set the prisoners free. We were under the curse of sin and Satan, as it were, had a claim on us because Satan knows the law of God. Maybe even better than some of us. What is it? The wages of sin is death. There is Joshua the high priest. in Zechariah 3, standing before the angel of the Lord, looking to Joshua, saying, and ridiculing him, resisting Joshua and the angel of the Lord. What does the angel of the Lord say? Take away his filthy garments from him. Put on him a fair raiment and a fair mitre. It's a picture of righteousness. He has taken us captive. He has set us free. He whom the Son sets free is free indeed. And he puts a new spirit in our hearts to serve him. And now we become slaves of righteousness. Yes, that's what my Bible teaches me. Romans 6. We were once slaves to sin. But now we are set free. What a wonderful thing to be liberated from the power of sin and to find life in Christ. My friends, Jesus Christ sets the prisoner free. He said when he began to preach, remember when he went into the city and the people were incensed in there in Luke 4, it says as he was expounding The scroll of Isaiah, it says of the Lord as he picks up the scroll, he began to read the scripture. The spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted and to preach deliverance to the captives. He didn't come to liberate the Jews from Roman occupation, my friends. But he came to set sinners free. He said, my kingdom is not here below, but it is above. And unless our hearts have been set free, we cannot go above. You must be born again. And when you're born again, you know a liberating power. You know the overcoming of sin. The Christian by no means is perfect. He will be the first to tell you that he's a great sinner. But he is set free. And he has the power of God now to call upon for help. That when we feel captive to our sin, we cry out and say with Paul, O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? And he says, I thank God through Jesus Christ. There's my help. He is an ever-present help in time of need. And are we not always in need? We're always in need. Well, that is the sixth city. But let me say, Christ is the perfect city, isn't He? We read in the book of the Revelation of the bride coming down from heaven, which is the city of God. That is His people. And the greatest thing is we will be with Him. He will be our sunshine and our glory. Heaven would never be heaven without Christ. Oh, to thank Him forever for all that He has ever done for us and for making a new heaven and a new earth wherein dwells righteousness. How we long for that day to be set free from this world and how we will ever thank Him for those pierced hands and feet But above all, the soul that was made an offering for sin for us, that he might take our guilt, that he might take our punishment. Friend, we're guilty, not innocent. But Jesus Christ came to save guilty, unworthy sinners. He will humble them. He will draw them to himself. My sheep hear my voice. They come unto me and I give them eternal life. I close with this, friends. Turning back there to Hebrews 6, we're told that he is an anchor for the soul. What an anchor he is this night for the believer. The refuge in which all who have fled to him Take great comfort in this night. My friend, you can take no comfort in that day of wrath that is coming without Christ. Hope is only in Him. God has sworn that He would give His Son as a refuge. to guilty souls. He said to Abraham, verse 14 of chapter 6, Surely in blessing I will bless thee. Abraham was a guilty sinner, wasn't he? And he looked to what? A city, his builder and maker is God. Not to an earthly city, but to a heavenly, where Christ is. And so after that he patiently endured, obtained the promise, For men verily swear by the greater, an oath for confirmation is to them to the end of all strife. Wherein God, notice, willing more abundantly to show the heirs of promise. And heaven is about a promise. It's not about your works. It is about mercy. It is about grace. The immutability of his counsel, that is the unchangeableness of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath. that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation. Notice, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us. Now what is this hope? Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil. That's where Christ is. He has entered into the heavenly of heavilies. before the very throne of God, whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek." Melchizedek was a priest and a king, and that is who the Lord Jesus is. Far excels all other priests. King of all the earth and Lord of glory. He has entered into the veil. We have him as an anchor. An anchor is only good, my friends, where it is in its proper place, at the bottom of the sea bed, where it is lodged. And where is Christ lodged? He's not on the top of a ship as an anchor, but he is lodged in heaven. sat at the right hand of the Father, taking his proper place as High Priest and King, and he intercedes for all who come unto God by him. There's my hope. My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name. On Christ the solid rock I stand. All other ground is sinking sand. Amen.