Jesus, The Sinner's Refuge

Pastor, teacher, and author Adrian Rogers has introduced people all over the world to the love of Jesus Christ and has impacted untold numbers of lives by presenting profound truth simply stated.

Thanks for joining us for this message. Here's Adrian Rogers. How are you doing?

How are you doing? When you found it, look up here and let me tell you something. Many of us today have failed to appreciate the Old Testament because we think that the Old Testament is about Israel and the New Testament is about Jesus. All of the Bible is about Jesus.

Now listen to me. In the Old Testament, the Bible says someone is coming. In the Gospels, someone has come. And in the book of the Revelation, someone is coming again. Jesus is the hero of the Bible. If you read the Bible and you don't find Jesus somewhere, you need to reread it. He is the hero of the Bible.

And the Bible has Jesus as a hero, salvation as a theme, Satan as the villain. So in this Old Testament story, we're going to find a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ and my prayer is that it will bless you and cause you to love him better than you ever have. And if you have not yet received him, that today you will receive him as your personal love.

The Lord and Savior. Now let's read here in Joshua chapter 20 verses one through three. The Lord also spake unto Joshua saying, speak to the children of Israel saying, I'll point out for you cities of refuge, wherever I spake unto you by the hand of Moses, that the Slayer that killeth any person unawares and unwittingly may flee thither and they shall be your refuge from the avenger of blood.

What on earth is this talking about? Well, in Bible times, they did not have the end court system that we have today. And a man were guilty of intentional manslaughter or he was careless or even somehow felt that what he did in killing another was justified in self-defense. There was something called the avenger of blood. The nearest relative was to avenge the blood of the person who had been slain and he was called the avenger of blood. But God, knowing that sometimes people are unfairly judged, somehow they need a place of refuge, a city to go to where they might be safe. God appointed some cities of refuge. Now we're going to say more about that in a moment, but just remember this, that Jesus Christ, point number one, Jesus Christ is our city of refuge.

Notice the saving nature of these cities. When we come to Jesus, Jesus is our refuge, he is our safety, and we can flee to the Lord Jesus Christ for that refuge. Now, the rite of Hebrews said this in the New Testament, put it in your margin. Hebrews chapter six, verse 18, it speaks of those who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us. Now, I have little doubt, but what the writer of Hebrews is talking about the passage we have before us. He's talking about those who came to Jesus and fled for refuge to the Lord Jesus. The Bible says that the name of the Lord is a high tower.

The righteous runneth into it and are safe. Now, the thing that I want to lay upon your heart is the saving nature of these cities. Now, we want to tighten the focus a little bit, and I want you to think of the significant names of these cities. Look, if you will now, in verses seven and eight. And they appointed Kadesh, underscore that, in Galilee, in Mount Nephilah, and Shechem, or Shechem, underscore that, in Mount Ephraim, underscore Shechem, and Kerjath-arba, which is Hebron, underscore Hebron, in the mountain of Judah. And on the other side of Jordan, by Jericho eastward, they assigned Bezer, underscore Bezer, in the wilderness upon the plain of the tribe of Reuben. And Ramoth, underscore Ramoth, in Gilead, out of the tribe of Gad, and now, and Golan, underscore Golan, in Bashan, out of the tribe of Manasseh. And so, here are six cities.

Now, I want you to notice not only the security in these cities, but I want you to notice the significant names of these cities. Because I believe by the providence of God and divine inspiration, they represent the character of the Lord Jesus Christ and what he does for us. Now, think, for example, about the Kadesh.

What is the Hebrew meaning of Kadesh? It means holiness, holiness. Now, friend, you will not be saved apart from a holy Savior. Jesus was the stainless, spotless, sinless Son of God. And because he is holy, he is the only one who can save us. You see, Confucius can't save you. Buddha can't save you.

Mohammed cannot save you. These are all sinners. There was only one sinless Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, and he is holy. And the Bible says this in Hebrews chapter 12 and verse 14. Put it in your margin and follow peace with all men and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord. It is God that makes us holy through the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, I said these other people cannot save because they're sinners.

You wash clothes in dirty water and they'll still be dirty. What can wash away my sin? Only the holiness of our Lord and Savior. Now, the next city, look at it, Shechem. What does Shechem mean? It means shoulder. It means support, and that represents again the Lord Jesus Christ, not only the Lord as Savior, but the Lord as strength. He is our strength. When you carry something on your shoulders, you are being carried along by another's strength.

The Bible says in Isaiah chapter 9 verse 6, and the government shall be upon his shoulders. The Bible tells us of a Jesus who went out after that one lost sheep and he laid it on his shoulders and brought it back to the sheepfold. Jesus is our Savior and Jesus is our strength. Now, some of you say, well, you know, if I were to give my heart to Jesus Christ, then I know my own weakness. I wouldn't be able to live the Christian life.

Friend, that's exactly true. You're not able, but the Lord will put you on his shoulders and carry you through. And that little weak lamb, that little lost sheep is on the shoulder of the mightiest shepherd who brings it back to the fold. Had it not been that God not only saves me, but gives me strength, I would never have made it, nor will you. But I promise you, friend, listen to me, I promise you on the authority of the Word of God, if you let Jesus be your Savior, he will also be your strength. And then look at who will, the next city in verse 7, Hebron.

Hebron means fellowship and it speaks of Christ, our satisfaction. Do you know what your heart longs for? Do you know what you yearn for? Oh, there's a need in your heart and in your life for fellowship with God.

Nothing else will satisfy you until you have fellowship with God. You're going to be a round peg in a square hole. You're going to be a fish out of water. You're going to be like a bird underwater. God made the fish to swim in the sea.

God made the birds to fly in the air. God made you to know him and worship him and fellowship with him. And until you do, you will never, no never, no never understand what you are meant to be.

Look, if you will, and put this in your margin. 1 John chapter 1 and verse 3, that which we've seen and heard declare we unto you. That's what the apostle says that ye also may have fellowship with us and truly our fellowship is with the father and with his son, Jesus Christ.

That's what we're doing here in church. We're having fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ, with the father and with his son, the Lord Jesus Christ. One of these cities is Hebron which speaks of fellowship.

What a fellowship and what a joy divine. Now the next city right there in verse 8 is Bezer and Bezer means stronghold and it speaks of Christ our security. We find security in the Lord Jesus Christ. Not only does he save us by his holy death for us on the cross, not only is he our strength and carries us on our shoulders, not only does he fill us with joy unspeakable and full of glory as we worship him and for the first time be in tune with the almighty, but friend, I tell you what else he does. He gives us security, Christ our security. That's what the name Bezer means.

It means fortification. I gave you that scripture before. The name of the Lord is the strong tower.

The righteous runneth into it and are safe. Do you think if you gave your heart to Jesus Christ today that he would ever let you go? He will not. He cannot.

He must not. When you run into the city of refuge, the Lord Jesus Christ, he is your fortification. He is your stronghold and I promise you on the authority of the word of God, the Christ who gives us salvation will give us security.

Isn't that good? It's wonderful news. Now, look if you will at the next city, Ramoth. What does Ramoth mean? Well, it means exalted and this speaks of Christ our sovereign. He is the exalted son of God. Acts chapter 2 verse 33 speaking of Jesus. Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted.

Exalted. And then Philippians 2 verse 9. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name. This savior who is holy, who saves us. This savior who is strong, who carries us. This savior who wants to fellowship with us and cause us to fellowship with one another. This wonderful savior is the one who is going to keep us and give us security. And because of that, we worship him. What a mighty God we serve. Because of that, we lift our hearts in reverence and praise to the exalted son of God with a name above every name. And then the last of these six cities is Golan.

And what does Golan mean? You'll find that in verse 8. It means separated. And that speaks of Christ, our sanctification. You see, not only did Jesus save us from something, he saved us to something. And we're separated from the world.

Are you separated from the world? If you're not, it's because you haven't trusted the Lord. You can't say that you're a Christian and continue to live in this world. Wherefore come out from among them and be ye separate. Saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you and will be a father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. Now, you cannot hold onto God with one hand and onto the world with another hand.

This Jesus, this Jesus who is your savior, this Jesus who is your strength, this Jesus who is your satisfaction, this Jesus who is your security, this Jesus who is your sovereign is the Jesus of your sanctification. Now, he will make you, he will make you different when you allow him to do so. And a Christian in this sinful world is gonna stand out like a diamond in a coal mine. You're going to be different. You say, well, I just, I don't have what it takes.

That's the point, of course you don't have what it takes. Jesus in you, Jesus in you is the one who will make you what you ought to be. And those who already know the Lord Jesus will have to say amen and amen for that. All of these special names of this city, these cities speak of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now here's the third thing I want you to notice today. I want you to notice this strategic nearness of these cities. God wanted anybody who needed help to have a city nigh at hand, very, very near. So what God did, God made the roads very wide so there would be plenty of room. And then God removed all of the obstructions on that road. He had the priest to do that.

Any fallen limb, any tree was to be removed and all the stones taken out. And then what God did was to build bridges, had them to build bridges over any stream. And then what the Lord did at the crossroads going to these cities, he would have a sign pointing. And if you come to crossroad and not know which way to go, there would be a sign posted, miklept, which means refuge.

So here's a man running. Here's a wide road. There's no obstructions. And it's best the road is leveled and it's very wide. And when it gets to the crossroads, the thing says, go this way. And not only that, the road was open always. No one should shut the road. The priest would go out and examine the elders and the priest would go out and examine the road to make sure that the roads to the city of refuge were always open.

Now, what am I saying? I'm talking about the strategic nearness of these cities. Anybody who needed to flee to the city of refuge could easily do so. And a wayfaring man, though a fool, should not err therein. If he needed to get to the city of refuge, he changed it that he could and would get to the city of refuge. Now, what does that speak about?

Well, I talked about the strategic nearness of these cities. That speaks to me of Jesus, who is very, very near to you today. Now, if you're not a saved person, I want to tell you how close Jesus Christ is to you. He's closer than the person sitting next to you. He's closer than the clothes on your body. I'll tell you how close he is. This is going to sound foolish at first, but he is in your heart and in your mouth. You say, well, I'm not a Christian. How could he be in my heart?

Well, he's there. What do you mean he is in my mouth? Well, let me give you a scripture. Write it down, Romans 10 verses 6 through 9. But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise. Say not in thine heart, who shall ascend into heaven? That is to bring Christ down from above. Or who shall descend into the deep? That is to bring up Christ again from the dead. But what sayeth thee?

Now, listen, we're talking about the nearness of these cities. What sayeth thee? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth and in thine heart, or in thy heart. That is the word of faith which we preach, that thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead. Thou shalt be saved. Now, let me try and explain that passage to you because it's a key passage in the Word of God.

Paul says, look, you want to be saved? You don't have to make a pilgrimage to heaven and say, oh, God, send us a savior from above to bring Christ the Messiah down from above. He said he's already come.

You don't have to do that. You don't have to go into the netherworld of the grave and say, oh, God, raise up your crucified son to come and save us. He's already been raised. He's already present. He came from above. He died.

He is raised from the dead. Now, listen to what he says. The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, the word of faith which we preach and in thine heart. Well, how did it get in my mouth? I put it there. How did it get in my heart? I put it there.

You say, I don't understand that. The word of faith which we preach. What I'm doing right now, right now, the word of faith which we preach is putting Jesus Christ in your heart and in your mouth. That doesn't mean you're saved, but it means your Jesus is very near to you, even so near that he's in your heart and in your mouth. Now, here's what the writer says, that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth and believe in thine heart that God has raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. All you have to do is believe what's already in your heart.

That's already there. All you have to do is confess with your mouth that which is already there because he is there. Believe him enough to confess him as your personal Lord and Savior for what's in the heart, the mouth is willing to tell, and God says you will be saved. You will come into that city of refuge. Now, the sad thing is that there are those who miss the Lord Jesus Christ. There are those in that day and in this day who do not come to the city of refuge.

I want you to take your Bibles this time and fast forward, if you will, to 2 Samuel and look with me, if you will, in verse 3 or chapter 3. And before we read this, let me give you the background. Now, remember the avenger of blood was an irrelevant who would chase and cut down the person who had committed the dastardly deed of killing a relative. So this person, though perhaps unwittingly had done that, he's still guilty in that sense, and so he flees for his life to the city of refuge.

But here's what happened. There was a man named Abner who killed a man named Azahiel. They were in a battle, but Abner killed Azahiel. Well, Azahiel's brother was Joab. Joab was David's commander in chief of his army.

And so upon a time, David and Abner and Joab were just outside one of the cities of refuge, which was Hebron. And there Joab said to Abner, come over here. He smiled at him as if he would tell him a secret.

He said, come over here. I have something I want to tell you, Abner. And like a lamb to the slaughter, Abner went over to Joab. Joab put his arm around Abner and then took a dagger and put it under his fifth rib. And he died.

He was killed by the avenger of blood. Let me give you the Scripture here. 2 Samuel chapter 3, verse 27.

And when Abner was returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside in the gate to speak with him quietly. And he smote him there under the fifth rib that he died for the blood of Azahiel, his brother. Now, where did he die? He died at the very gate of the city of refuge.

Can you imagine that? But he was on the wrong side of the gate. Now, David, when David heard that Abner died and that Joab had killed Abner, David was heartbroken. Look, if you will, in 2 Samuel 3, verses 32 and 34. And they buried Abner in Hebron. And the king lifted up his voice and wept at the grave of Abner. And all the people wept. And the king lamented over Abner and said, "'Died Abner as a fool dieth.'" That is, Abner, you died like a fool.

You didn't have to die. Look in the next part of this verse. "'Thy hands were not bound, nor thy feet put into fetters. As a man falleth before wicked men, so fellest thou, and all the people wept again over him.' Now look down, if you will, in 2 Samuel 3, verse 38. And the king said unto his servants, Know ye not that there is a prince and a great man fall in this day in Israel?"

Now, what's all of this about? Here was a man right outside the gate of the city of refuge. And he is put to death. And David is weeping for his friend. He said, you didn't have to die that way.

You were not chained and handcuffed. Nobody dragged you there before Joab. You were so foolish to listen to this one. And he wept over his friend Abner. And then he said to all the people, don't you know that this man who died was a prince and a great man in Israel? This was not an ordinary man. This was a great man. And he was gifted in many things.

But he made a tragic mistake that he did not go into the city of refuge. He's like so many people in the world today. I mean, these are great scientists, great politicians, wealthy entrepreneurs, men of medicine, men of law, men of entrepreneurial success. But they don't get right with God. And they die like a fool.

Now, I don't want to hurt your feelings. But if you have not prepared for death, if you've not given your heart to Jesus Christ, if you have never come into the city of refuge, when you die, you'll die as a fool. Jesus talked about a man of great success.

And he was talking about many years. And God says, thou fool. This night shall thy soul be required of thee. Not a mother's child in this building knows for certain that you'll see the sunset today. What is your life but a vapor that appears for a little while and vanishes away? You think all of your knowledge and all of your success and your automobiles and your business and your house and your lawn and your clothes, do you think that's all that important?

Not as important as preparing for eternity. What if a house were on fire and the mother in that house has her baby in the crib? And so she's going to take her belongings out of that house. She goes into the kitchen and gets her dishes and her pots and pans and sets them outside. And then she goes and takes her precious pictures from the wall and her scrapbooks and puts them outside. And then she goes into the closet and begins to get bundles of clothes and carry them outside the whole time the house is burning and the baby is sleeping there in the crib.

And the baby perishes. She must be insane. She must be a fool.

I agree. You know, we're so busy collecting our things, trying to gather our things, and Jesus said, what should it profit a man if he should gain the whole world and lose his own soul? What should a man give in exchange for his soul? David said that Abner was a great man and a prince, but he died like a fool. You know, there are a lot of great men in this world and some of them in this auditorium. And the most foolish thing that you can do is to fail to prepare for eternity.

I read the other day somebody asked Bill Gates, a multi-billionaire, one of the richest men in the world, if not the richest, do you go to church? He said, no. Why not?

Because it is a waste of time, a waste of time. Here's a man that all of his riches will not get him into the city of refuge, and you can be a great man and die and go to hell. You can be a noble woman and die and go to hell if you die on the wrong side of the gate of refuge.

Here is Abner right at the very gate. What about Judas who betrayed Jesus? The Bible says that Judas kissed Jesus when he betrayed him.

Now, you think about that. Jesus said, I'm the door. By me you shall enter in. Here was a man, Judas, who kissed the door of heaven and went to hell. You can be in a church like this. You can hear preaching like this. You can say amen like this.

You can, you know, all of these things, but unless you give your heart to Jesus Christ, I'm talking about in a personal way, unless you come into him, you're going to be a man, a woman, deceived. If you go to hell, it's not because chains are on you, not because you've been dragged into hell. It is because of your own sinful neglect.

You cannot say, I never heard the message. Well, why would a great man and a prince do such a foolish thing? Why would he die as a fool?

I'll tell you why. He was a victim of a cunning deception. Joab deceived him. Joab said to him, come over here, Abner.

I want to talk with you. Put his arm around him and pretended he was his friend when he was really his enemy, and he had one thing in his mind, and that was to kill Abner. Now, many people, some in this auditorium, are being deceived. Satan is showing you the good life.

You think that Satan is your friend, but all Satan wants to do is to bring you to death, and he never wants you to get into the city of refuge. Here was Abner deceived. Can you see Joab with a smile on his face?

Hey, Ab, come over here, buddy. There's something I want to tell you, and then slips in the knife. Satan is that way. He is a liar.

He is a deceiver. No wonder that David wept. Look, if you will, in 2 Samuel chapter 7, verses 32 and 34 again. And they buried Abner and Hebron, and the king lifted up his voice and wept at the grave of Abner, and all the people wept. Now, they wept over this man, but their weeping was too late. They needed to weep before he died. They needed to pray before he died, and they needed to guide Abner before he died. Some of you have loved ones who are going to die, and listen to me. I'm going to go to hell, and oh, how you will weep, but no tears can bring them back.

No tears could bring Abner back. In another church, I had a woman who called me on the phone, and she was hysterical. She said, oh, pastor, pastor, pastor, pastor, pastor. I said, hold it. Get hold of yourself.

You're acting hysterical. What is wrong? She said, pastor, my daddy is in hell. My daddy is in hell. Her daddy was a medical doctor, and her daddy died somewhat suddenly. And she said, my daddy is in hell.

He died without Christ. I said, your daddy's not in hell. She said, why do you say that? I said, a few days ago, I went by to visit him. I asked him if he were a Christian. He said, no. I asked him if he understood how to be saved.

He said, no, I don't. I explained the gospel to him and asked him if he wanted to be saved. He said, yes, I do, and we prayed, and Jesus Christ is his personal savior.

Now, I asked this lady this question because I thought it was time for a rebuke after the good news. I said, your daddy is not in hell. Your daddy's in heaven, but I want to ask you this question. Did you ever witness to your daddy? Did you ever tell your daddy how to be saved? Did you ever plead for a soul that he might give his heart to Jesus?

She said, no. I said, lady, if it had been up to you, your daddy would be in hell. You'd weep, but you weep too late.

They wept over Abner, but it was too late to weep over him. Jesus, Jesus is our city of refuge. I want you to understand that today, and I want you to give your heart to Jesus. Now, what truths can we learn from Jesus, our city of refuge? Jesus, who is such a wonderful savior, the holy one, the strong one, the fortification, the sanctification, all of these things.

What can we learn from all of this? Well, first of all, precious friend, if you're already in the city of refuge already, you need to love Jesus. You need to praise him for your salvation, for your redemption.

Give him the glory. Never lose the excitement of being a child of God. I was sitting there this morning listening to the music, and I was saying, Lord Jesus, you are so wonderful, so wonderful to praise him. If you know that you're saved, rejoice in your salvation. You have something absolutely gloriously wonderful. Now, second thing, if you have never given your heart to Jesus Christ, if you're still on the outside rather than on the inside, come in today.

Come in today. I would not go without Jesus 24 hours no matter what you offer me. If you could stack this building from floor to ceiling and wall to wall with gold, all you have to do to get all that gold is to do without Jesus 24 hours. I wouldn't do that.

Why? Well, number one, I might die in that 24 hours. Number two, I love Jesus more than I love gold, and I would not betray the Lord Jesus for a ton of gold or anything else. Listen, you say, are you telling the truth?

Oh, as sure as I'm standing here, I'm telling you the truth. I would not betray my Lord 24 hours for all the wealth of this world, but many of you are not going one day. You're going two days, three days, four days, weeks, months, years, putting it off when the Bible says, Boast not thyself of tomorrow, for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.

The wisest thing, the safest thing that you can ever do is to come into the city of refuge. Listen to me today. Today, the Bible says, behold, now is the day of salvation. Today, if you'll hear his voice, harden not your heart. The next thing I want to say is this, church, we need to learn to weep over the lost, to weep over the lost.

You know, sometimes we have sort of a casual take it or leave it attitude. Never lose your burden for lost souls. Never, ever, ever, ever fail to be concerned for the lost. Weep over the lost. They that go forth with tears bearing precious seed shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing their sheaves with them. When's the last time you ever shed a tear for some soul that is mortgaged to the devil? If you don't have a compassion for lost souls, I suggest that you get alone and wait before God until he gives you a passion and you see a world as he saw them. The Bible says when Jesus saw those people in his day that he was moved with compassion. The word compassion means the deepest feelings.

Jeremiah said, oh, that my eyes were a fountain of tears that I might weep over the slain of the daughters of Jerusalem. Next, those of you have friends and you have associates, you need to inform them of the deceiver who is the devil. He is a liar. He is a liar. He is a liar. He wants to deceive your children. He wants to deceive your neighbors and he's doing a good job at it. And you need to warn them that Satan like Joab is a deceiver. He is not a friend.

He is an enemy. He doesn't want you to be saved. He wants you to go to hell because he wants you to die in your sins. Now, those of you who are not absolutely certain that you're saved, let me tell you something. Jesus Christ is so close to you this morning, he's already in your mouth and in your heart.

What you need to do is confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead and you will be saved. Jesus is so close to you right now. You are right at the gate of the city of refuge and I want to invite you to come in. I want to lead you in a prayer.

Now, forget anybody else is here. I want you to pray sincerely this prayer if you want to be saved. Now, religion can't save you. Church membership can't save you.

Behavior can't save you. Baptism can't save you. Only Jesus can save you. Pray a prayer like this. Oh God, I'm lost and I need to be saved. Jesus, thank you that you are the holy Son of God that shed your blood on the cross that my sin debt would be paid.

I believe that. I confess it with my mouth. I believe in my heart that God has raised you from the dead. I trust you now to save me and Lord Jesus, give me the courage today to make it public.

Help me not only to believe in my heart, but to confess with my mouth, with my mouth. In your name, dear Savior. Amen. Amen.