The Christian journey begins with a look to Christ on the cross, symbolized by the serpent lifted in the wilderness, and is sustained by His provision, represented by the well. This journey, often through difficult valleys and wildernesses, is characterized by pitching tents toward the sunrise, signifying hope in Christ's return and the glory to come. The sermon emphasizes that Christ is the answer to sin, discouragement, and murmuring, and that a daily reliance on Him provides satisfaction and enables believers to overcome the world. Ultimately, the Christian life is a pilgrimage toward a heavenly home, marked by victory through faith in Christ.
Restored with Diffio
Audio restored with Diffio. Diffio processed the original archive recording to reduce noise and produce a cleaner listening version; the original stays available.
Speech quality score (model-estimated, SCOREQ): before 2.34 → restored 4.65
We're very happy to be here tonight, and I assure you sincerely that the attendance has far surpassed my expectation. You could well have enjoyed an evening or rest of home, but we do appreciate your being with us. You know, you're all tired after the conference, but it's a good way to get tired, isn't it? And there's little ones here tonight, so we'll try to be especially careful of our time and be through in good time. And perhaps if we let you out in good time tonight, you will be back tomorrow night. So let us turn now to Numbers chapter twenty-one. Book of Numbers please, chapter twenty-one.
And we shall read verse four. Numbers chapter twenty-one and verse four. and they journeyed from Mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea to compass the land of Edom, and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way. Now from verse five to verse nine we have the story that all of us are acquainted with, so we'll admit reading for the sake of time. Even you boys and girls know the story of the serpent in the wilderness, don't you? The serpents bit the people, and God told Moses, for the serpent and the Paul, and when they looked for the serpent and the Paul they lived.
So we'll resume now in verse ten. And the children of Israel set forward and pitched in Oboth, and they journeyed from Oboth and pitched at Eiji-Abarim, in the wilderness which is before Moab toward the sun rising. From thence they removed and pitched in the valley of Zerid, and from thence they removed and pitched on the other side of Arnon, which is in the wilderness. that come out of the coast of the Amorites. For Arnon is the border of Moab between Moab and the Amorites. Verse sixteen. And from thence they went to Beir. That is the well whereof the Lord speak unto Moses, Gather the people together, and I will give them water. Then Israel sang this song, Spring up, O well, sing ye unto it.
The princes digged the well. The nobles of the people digged it by the direction of the law-giver with their staves. And from the wilderness they went to Matana, from Matana to Nehalio, and from Nehalio to Beimoth and from Beimoth in the valley, that is in the country of Moab, to the top of Pisgah, which looked at our Jeshimon. And Israel sent messengers unto Zion, king of the Amorites, saying, Let me pass through thy land. We will not turn unto the fields or into the vineyards. We will not drink of the waters of the well, but we will go along by the king's highway until we be past thy borders. And Zion would not summon Israel to pass through his border, but Zion gathered all his people together and went out against Israel into the wilderness.
And he came to Jehaz and fought against Israel. And Israel smote him with the edge of the sword and possessed his land from Arnon unto Jabok, even unto the children of Ammon, For the border the children of Ammon was strong. And may the Lord bless his word. The typical teaching in the Old Testament is very beautiful indeed, interesting, and it is so closely associated with the teaching of the New Testament. In fact, the Lord Jesus Christ stamps the seal of authenticity upon this incident for In speaking in Nicodemus, as you know, he said, As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up.
But along with the typical teaching of Numbers twenty-one, there is what I shall call tonight's symbolic teaching that's very suggestive. For instance, we have, to begin with, a serpent upon a pole. Now, the serpent, of course, on the pole is A picture, a symbol, a picture, a type of the Lord Jesus Christ lifted up upon the cross to die for our sins, to meet our need. God's remedy and God's provision and the only provision to meet our need. We love to sing, Do we not, the serpent lifted up? Could life and healing give? So Jesus on the cross bids me to look and live. For whosoever will believe shall everlasting life receive. Now, later on in this chapter we have a well.
where they drank. We sang, I have a song I love to sing since I had been redeemed, and they got a drink of the well, and they began to sing, for it's very hard to sing when you're dry. And they got a drink at the well of beer, God's well, God's provision for their sustenance, for their satisfaction. And so, first of all, their journey began with a look, and then it was sustained by a drink. And I think over the weekend we got a drink at the well, didn't we? And our hearts were refreshed again as the Lord Jesus Christ was made so precious to us. Then, of course, you have the wilderness and you have the valley and you have the brooks and you have the streams.
But particularly, I want to notice this, that they pitched their tent toward the sunrise or the break of day. And we just sign, oh, it will be a glorious morrow to a dark and stormy day. They look forward, if you will, to the morrow. They pitch their tent to the sunrise, waiting for the break of day. And I want to take these three symbols tonight, and we see a presentation, a portrait of the Lord Jesus. And furthermore, we see God's provision for our journey. Now, you see, it was after they got to look at the serpent that it says in verse ten they set forward. They began their journey from that which speaks of the cross. They got to look. They got to look. and then they began to walk and they began the journey toward the promised land.
And that's where our journey began at the cross. And that's why we love to sing at the cross when I first saw the light and the burden of my heart rolled away. You know, there are many people today in the world and unfortunately and sadly they are looking forward to being in the land of glory, the land of promise, the eternal heaven, and they've never begun at Calvary. They've never been to the cross. I was rather impressed the other day in looking again at Luke chapter twenty-three and it's rather interesting how you can read these chapters again and again and always see something that's precious to you. And I was looking at chapter twenty-three in Luke's Gospel from verse thirty-three to verse forty-three. Now verse thirty-three begins with Calvary when they were come to the place which is called Calvary and verse forty-three ends in paradise and they shall not be with me in paradise.
And in preaching the Gospel on this portion the other night I made this statement. You'll never end in verse forty-three if you don't begin in verse thirty-three. So in Luke twenty-three right in the center you have the journey from Calvary to Paradise. The place called Calvary, today shall not be with me in Paradise. And I think it's epitomized in the song we sing, The Way of the Cross Meets Home. Now we see that here. We don't actually have the cross but we have the symbol of the cross, the type of the cross. The serpent lifted up, a picture of Jesus Christ lifted up upon the tree and then they began the journey and they took their first step from that which typifies the cross and we take our first step to heaven from the cross and then they were journeying on to the land of God had promised and that's why they said to the enemy, we will not drink of the waters of the well, we will go along with the king's highway until we be past thy borders.
They didn't know the hymn, but if they had known it, they could well have sung, the glory shines before me, I cannot linger here. God had a land before them, a better land than the enemy's land. We have a better land, don't we, than that, which is around us today. We have something far better than the world, and we can well sing, this world is not in my home, I'm just a passing through. And so, to begin with, you have the serpent, a type of Christ in the cross, And then along the journey, the constant supply for sustenance and satisfaction, the well, and we love to sing about the Lord Jesus again, O Christ, He is a fountain, the deep, sweet well of love.
That's the daily provision. And then at the end of the journey, it's suggested here, they pitch toward the sunrise, and that's how we pitch our tent. Here in the body tent we sing, absent from thee I roam, yet nightly pitch my moving tent, the days mark nearer home, and we're waiting for the break of day. The mornings start appearing, and then the sunrise, the glorious sunrise, the glorious morrow, and Jesus will come. You see, the Lord Jesus Christ is all through the Word of God, and we must always look for Christ in our study of the Scriptures. I commend it to you, young folks, when you're studying the Bible, whether in the Old or New Testament, we'll always look for Christ. Some years ago, whether we would approve of the procedure or not, Mr.
Charles Spurgeon, who was called the Prince of Preachers, was in the habit of teaching young men how to preach. And these young men would be instructed, and then they would go and prepare a short message, not too long, and then they would have a gathering, a class, and they would stand up before the master, shall I call him the master preacher, although he would never take that... title, and they would give their little message, and then they would wait for his approval or disapproval, and for his constructive criticism, for criticism can be helpful and constructive. It was Mr. Spurs himself who said, it's the critic that it may be what I am. And one night a young lad got up, and my, he thought he was doing a wonderful job.
He had prepared quite a special message, and his outline was good. His theology was correct. His Dixon was good and his homiletics were good and he thought, now I'll get a very, very special word of praise from Mr. Spurgeon tonight. You know, let me just interrupt with this. The amusing part about this thing is that some of these young men dared to call themselves reverends and Mr. Spurgeon wouldn't. He was just Mr. But anyway, that's beside the point. So this night the young lad preached what he thought was just a masterpiece. And after the thing was over, Mr. Spurgeon didn't go near him. And he couldn't stand it very long. He went to Mr. Spurgeon, he said, how did I do tonight?
He said, he didn't do well at all. He says, what was wrong? Said Mr. Spurgeon, there was no Christ in your message. Said the young preacher to be a Mr. Spurgeon, there was no Christ in my text. And Mr. Spurgeon kindly and in a fatherly way, laid his hand upon his shoulder. He says, my dear young man, wherever you find your text, he says, find Christ in it. And my, that's good advice for young men and all of us who try to preach, find Christ. We may not have the exact words, the exact mention of the Lord Jesus, but in the shadow and behind the scene and looking through the letters, my, there's Christ, Christ in all the, Christ in all the scriptures. In the city of Philadelphia where I lived, right in the center of the city, we have a very old building, but an interesting building, the city hall.
It's the tallest structure in the city. There remains still a city ordinance that no building can be built to exceed the height of the city hall. And on the tower, at the top of the tower is the statue of William Penn, the founder of our state. And if you were to come to Philadelphia and hope you do someday, on a clear day, we could take you all around that city for a radius of twenty-five or thirty miles if the day is clear. And I could say, look, and right in the center, you'll see that towering structure, and you'll see the statue of William Penn at the top. And this is the reaction of all. It just gives you the impression that the whole building was built and every stone was put in that building with one purpose to exalt William Penn at the top, to display and exalt William Penn.
It's a lovely picture of the church. Every child of God put into the church as a stone with one purpose to reveal and exalt Christ. And then I also think it's a lovely picture of the Word of God. Every chapter, every verse, every line built into the structure of Holy Scripture, for what reason? To exalt Christ. The Lord Jesus in the road to him is the expounder of them in all the Scriptures, the things concerning himself. And let us never fail to find Christ. We find him in the Old Testament. The book of Genesis, he's there in picture and shadow, in the Pentateuch, he's there, and the prophets, he's there, and the Psalms, he's there, and all the way through, you have Christ. And here in chapter twenty-one now, to get to our chapter, we have the Lord Jesus Christ, and I say as the serpent, we see him on the cross as our Savior.
As the whale, we see Christ as the one who satisfies. I have a Christ that satisfies since I have been redeemed. And then we have the symbol of the sunrise and that's the end of the journey. So you see it's Christ all the way through. And so I see it portrayed tonight. The journey of the Christian from the cross to the glory. For the sunrise would the remind us of the glory, the breaking of the day, when we bid farewell forever to this dark and dirty night. And it's Christ all the way through. Now we have a lovely picture of course of the gospel here. Should there be even one on stage, my what a picture. Here these people were in their desperate need and they were dying. The serpent bit them, picture of sin.
And as a result of sin we must die, the soul that sin is it shall die. And they were dying. And Moses cried to God and God gave the remedy. And the remedy was the serpent on the pole. And the interesting part of it was the cure resembled the disease. And by the serpent death came and by the serpent life came. Only that serpent in the pole was purified. It had been through the fire. No poison in that serpent. And so by the first man Adam's sin ended in the world. We read that Romans chapter five, and death by sin, and by the last Adam's sin was put away. It was a man who was nailed to the cross. Through a man's sin entered. Through a man's sin was put away. Through the serpent death came.
Through the uplifted serpent life came. Now, the chertner was lifted on a pole, and so Christ was nailed to a cross to a tree. But it isn't just a tree that saves, it's the Christ on the tree. We have sometimes suggested the pole is like the verse. And the verse is given to us to uplift Christ. The night God saved me, it was through that word in First Peter, who his own self bear our sins in his own body in the tree. It wasn't just the verse, but the verse was the pole that lifted Christ before my gaze. It was Christ. As we said the other night in Atlantic, make sure that we get to know Christ. Not just the verse.
A verse is good. If you were led to Christ through a verse, don't despair and don't be discouraged, but oh, it's well to get to the Christ. It was in the pole. It was the serpent on the pole. And it was God's remedy. And so Christ was given by God who would never have entered into our hearts to ask for his Son. It would never have entered into the mind or thought of Moses to think of putting a serpent on a pole. It was God's remedy. A stumbling block to human reason. But it met the need. And it was for all. And salvation was by a look. And God was true to his word. God said when the people look, they'll live. And God is true to his word today. Look unto me and be safe. So we have a lovely picture of salvation.
Mind you're not saved tonight. Look to Christ. Then look, sit and look unto him who has died, unto him who has nailed to the tree. One look did it. It didn't take a second look. And it was a perfect healing. And it was an instantaneous healing. And the work was complete. And you know, when the sinner looks to Christ, the work is complete. And he's saved and he's healed. And he has life. There's life in the look of the crucified one. There's life in this moment for thee. It's not looking to the preacher, dear soul. It's not looking to yourself. It's not looking to your father and mother, boys and girls. It's not looking to your Sunday school teacher, though they will teach you how to be saved. It's looking to Christ. I wonder, have you ever looked to Christ? By we used to love to sing that hymn.
He looked on me. I looked on him. We were one forever. So their journey was begun by a look. and then it was continued and sustained by a drink at the well. Now, on the other hand, let's look at another picture here. The people here were already, if you will, constituted as God's people, but they had sinned against God by murmuring, and God had to lay His hand and discipline upon them. Now, murmuring is a terrible sin. We who are Christians tonight may not realize it. We may think it's a small thing, but murmuring is a very unfortunate thing.
Now, these people here were much discouraged because of the way, and you couldn't blame them for that. I don't think there's any particular sin in being discouraged. I was looking at just thinking this afternoon of that word in Deuteronomy where they said, Where shall we go up? Our brethren have discouraged our heart. That's worse, isn't it? Our brethren have discouraged our heart. That shouldn't be. But many of God's people, they are discouraged because of the way, but It was the murmuring, that's where the sin came. You know, there are some Christians, and they all seem to be on the mountain top, the hallelujah type. And I rather envy those people, although sometimes I'd like to be alone with them in their room. But they never seem to get down.
They never seem to get like Elijah. You know, it says about Elijah, he was down under. That's what it says in the Bible. He was down under the juniper tree. That's where we get, don't we, sometimes, down under. Sometimes in Discouragement and despair. I feel like saying to Elijah, Elijah, move over. Let me lie down there with you. Someone said there's a juniper tree in everyone's life. He was down on earth. Sometimes we get down and we get discouraged. Well, all right. We can encourage ourselves with the Lord, but let us not murmur and blame it unto God. And they murmured, and murmuring is a terrible sin. We learned that in the Old Testament. And it's very displeasing to God, the sin of murmuring. Indeed it is.
And God had to punish them. And God had to lay his hand upon them. But you see, again, they got to look to Christ. That is typically to Christ. To the servant which speaks of Christ. And you know what will cure our murmurings, dear Christians? Christ. Way back in Exodus they were murmuring. And God sent the manna. And that cured their murmuring. In chapters seventeen of Exodus they were murmuring and God cut down or told Moses to cut down the tree and that cured the murmuring. That's the cross. In Numbers chapter seventeen there was murmuring and you know what ended it? The rabid blooded. Christ the manna, Christ in his life.
Christ the tree cut down, Christ in his death. And Christ in resurrection. in number seventeen, the budding rod. Of course, it's preached to, but it's Christ all the way through. And you see, that cured their murmuring, and then they began to go forward and make progress. In the epistles of Paul's occurrence, we notice that the Church of Corinth, there were a lot of spiritual serpents that were sat in the life of God's people there, and some actually physically died. You know what the cure was? Here was the cure. It says, Paul, I determined that there was nothing among you saved Jesus Christ and him crucified. And in every chapter of First Corinthians, you have Christ. Christ is the answer and the cure for sinners and he's the cure for saints as well.
Get an eye on Christ and all the murmuring will cease. Will not murmur if our eyes upon Christ. And so here's the vision. And we love to sing, oh, joyous hour, when God to me a vision gave of Calvary. But beloved saints of God, we need the vision day by day. We need to live in the power and glory and light of that vision. And then they set forward and began the journey. And so we're on the journey. Now the journey took them through the wilderness here and into the valley. And it says they removed and they pitched and they removed and they pitched. You see, they weren't dwelling there. As we said yesterday, they were pilgrims and strangers.
And again, don't we sing? As pilgrims and strangers, we plainly declare our home is in heaven, our home is not here. They were journeying through the land to get through to God's promised land, and that's where we are tonight. And they began the journey. Now, I suppose, down in the valley was a bit dark, and the shadows were there. And sometimes that's where our journey lies in the valley. But you know, it's down in the valley you see the beauty and know the sweet fragrance of the lily of the valley. You don't get that in the mountain top. On one occasion here they were at Mount Pisgah. And sometimes, of course, it's nice to get at the mountain top and we can have mountain top experiences.
But so often and so much our journey is through the wilderness and through the valley and they were pitching the tents and Moving onward to another land just passing through. I say it's in the valley that we have these wonderful revelations of the Lord Jesus. There's an expression in the prophecy of Isaiah that rather interests me. It speaks of the valley of vision. Usually you think of a vision, you think of the mountaintop. But it's very often down in the valley, isn't it, of the spawn, of discouragement, and sorrow, that we have these lovely visions of Christ. Christ is so precious to us.
You know, I suppose that we chose our path, we would choose the path of sunshine and sunlight. But isn't it true that all sunshine makes a desert? I think it is. We need the rain. I remember some years ago I was out in California and hadn't had rain for months and apart from the irrigation, everything was parched and burnt and the boiling sun come up every morning. And I thought once, I thought after a week or two or three, what wouldn't I give for a cloudy day? And one, in a day or two, it was a Sunday morning we got a cloudy day. And it was just so beautiful to get a cloudy day. I thought, I wonder what the natives or the folks that live here will think about this.
And they were all very pleased with the cloudy day. There was a change, you see. When I arrived home, I came home on an overnight plane and got off the plane to Philadelphia. It was the beginning of December, a few flakes of snow began to fall. My wife said, oh, dear me, there comes the snow, let's hurry home. I said, that's a beautiful sight to me to see moisture. After the, I guess I wouldn't get a job on the Chamber of Commerce out in Southern California, would I? But anyway, you know what I mean. And it's the same in our lives as Christians. All sunshine makes a desert. I read a story about two ladies who were neighbors who bought a certain plant. and they thought we'll take care of these plants and compare them in a couple of weeks and they compared them and one was flourishing and beautiful and the other was drying up and half dead and one said to the other well what did you do she says I kept my plant in the dark this plant has to be kept in the dark which is the other I had mine out in the sun all the time so these valley experiences are so often a blessing to us and we learn the sweetness the fragrance the lily of the valley, but remember there were streams there and there were brooks there.
Refreshment in the valley. But just let me bring this thought in passing. They pitched toward the sunrise. You know, I was contrasting this this afternoon with Lot. It says that Lot pitched toward Solomon. And these people pitched toward the sunrise. Now you answer the question. I'll answer it for myself. Am I pitching my tent towards Sodom or am I pitching my tent toward the sunrise? You know what I mean? During the days of the war, last war, a young lad of Christians going forward with his company to the front lines and they were pitching their tent one night. And this fellow is a great big strapping fellow with mighty arms and muscles and he was pounding on the stakes and the corporal of the sergeant came along and tapped him on the shoulder.
He says, Buddy, don't pound those stakes in too deep, he said, we're moving on in the morning. Let us not get the stakes pounded in too deeply, we're moving on in the morning. This world is not our home, we're just a passing through. They were waiting, you see, for the break of day. That's the symbolic teaching. And so they were pitching their tent and they were journeying and moving onward to the land that God had provided for them. And you and I are moving onward to the glory Why, I think when we go home tonight, we should just get down on the floor of God and say, Lord, am I pitching my tent towards Sodom or am I pitching my tent toward the sunrise?
Lot lost everything, didn't he? That was of true value. This is the challenge to our hearts tonight. But now for a little while, I want to talk about the well. You see, in verse sixteen and seventeen, they were brought to God's well and got a drink at the well's beer. And then Israel sang this song. It's a lot easier to sing when you get a good drink, isn't it? A good drink of water. But now, I want you to notice you have a second well in verse twenty-two. And I want to apply a little less than this may help you young Christians. Verse twenty-two. Let me pass through thy land. We will not turn into the fields or into the vineyards. We will not drink of the waters of the well, but we will go along.
by the king's highway until we be past thy borders. You see, there was a steadfast journey, a steadfast march along the king's highway, and that's where God has put us in the king's highway. But there were the vineyards and there were the wells. It says we don't want them. Now, I'm going to make a statement, and for a moment it's going to sound ridiculous. When I read this chapter, I'm always very glad that verse sixteen comes before verse twenty-two. Well, you say, Mr. Rieger, all of us know that. The youngest here tonight knows it. Sixteen comes before verse twenty-two. Well, that's true numerically, but it's true in the moral teaching here.
Supposing now that they were marching along and they were tired and thirsty and hungry, and all of a sudden they saw these vineyards, they belonged not to them but to the enemy, to the world around them, if you will. And Moses thought, now I better get busy. And Moses stopped them. Now we're going to have a little conference. And Moses got pounding away. Now whatever you folks do, don't go near that well over there. Don't go near those wells. Don't touch them. Don't, don't, don't, don't. Well, I think as soon as this bat was turned, they'd be over there at those wells. But wait a minute. Moses, on the direction of God, got them to another well first.
In verse sixteen and seventeen, got them to God's well. You see, this is positive separation. You know, I think over these two wells I can write the word to him. Take the world, but give me Jesus. You see, they got to God's well first, that which speaks of Christ. And you know, beloved Christians, if you and I are enjoying the Lord Jesus Christ, we'll be able to sing and say, take the world, but give me Jesus. They got their drink first. I think this is how to keep our young Christians from the world. Give them a drink. Get them to God's well. And why it was so... It was so cheering to see our young Christians at the conference. And you know, if you allow me to express my personal opinion, I like to see the young folks mingling with the older folks.
Now, I'm not a fanatic or a crank, and I know young people can have their nice times together, but I believe much of the trouble in our assemblies today is due to too much segregation. We're dividing them up and getting them off and all the rest. There may be times when there could be a special message for young Christians, but they need the word of God the same as we do. I remember a statement Mr. John Dixon made once, and I thought it was very good, and I'm beginning to realize it more. I think I told the folks yesterday I'd been in the Lord's work forty years. Someone back home said, be sure to tell the folks you were only nine years old when you were now preaching, or they think you're an old man. But anyway, Mr.
Dixon made the statement. He says, when I was a young man, he said, I enjoyed being with the older Christians. He said, now that I'm old, I like to be with the young Christians. I thought, that's good. That's good theology. And I like to be with the young folks, too. Now, there are activities for young Christians, and it's nice for them to get together and have a good sing-song and a nice time together. But I'll tell you, one of the sweetest sights to me is to go to a conference and see the young folks sitting right down with the older folks. It's nice to see the sheep grazing with the lambs, isn't it? I like that and I think it's good for them. And here we have now the well and I think the way to keep our young Christians from indulging in the world is to get them to the well and feed them, feed them with Christ and the things of Christ and let them get filled at God's will and getting back to an earlier statement that's what we enjoyed.
over the weekend. And furthermore, you know, I think as we gather around the Lord's table and Lord's day morning, we're at the well in a special way, that we should be at the well every day. But in a special way, we gather around the Lord's table and we remember the Lord. Oh, I know we give to him, but he imparts himself to us. And I believe that particular meeting, though we don't want to be SMO Christians Sunday morning only, but I believe being at the Lord's table is the preservative. And I think one of the things that has preserved the assemblies, is that weekly remembrance feast for we're brought to the well to enjoy our portion in Christ and has the preservative effect and as I said on your platform the other day I don't like to see any activity in the assembly this place or take the place of or supersede that gathering where we gather unto and around the Lord Jesus Christ there are other meetings there are gospel meetings and there are prayer meetings and there are ministry meetings and Sunday school work all necessary all good Nothing should ever crowd in or crowd out that remembrance feast where we're brought afresh to Christ.
It's the well and our souls are refreshed and we sing, oh Christ, he is a fountain, the deep sweet well of love, the streams on earth I've tasted, more deep while I drink above. And now as they're passing through, they said, we don't want your vineyards, we don't want your wells. Again I think of the words of song, for I do love singing. I found the I've heard a sweeter story. I've found the truer gain. You see, they had been to a better well. They had been to God's well. And I say again, if you and I are enjoying Christ and the things of Christ and the will of refreshment and satisfaction, then comes the negative.
Take your wells. Take your vineyards. We've got something better. They say, we'll just go along to the King's Highway. until we be past thy borders. They were sojourners. They were going through the land of God's promise. And so our journey begins with the vision. And then, of course, there's the venture. They set forward. And then in the closing verses, you have the victory. And they were sustained by a drink at the well. So it's Christ to begin with. And Christ to go on with. Then it's willing, at the dawn of the morning, the break of day they pitched toward the sun, rising as Christ went with.
Now a little later in our chapter, the enemy came upon them to defeat them, but God gave them the victory. God gave them the victory. You know what John tells us? He says, this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith. And as you and I by faith grasp all of this thought, I have a better country. I have a better portion. Christ is far more to me than all this world. The measure that we live in that attitude, we'll have the victory. They smote the enemy with the edge of the sword. If the well is Christ, the living word, the sword could symbolize the written word. They use the sword.
And God has given us the sword of the Spirit, the word of God. But you see, it ends with victory. It ends with victory. And in the measure that we recognize we are pilgrims and strangers, In the measure that we maintain our pilgrim character, and as we learn in all of the Old Testament, in the measure that we are separated from the world in that measure, God will give us the victory. He will indeed. He will give us the victory. He will give us the victory again and again. And you know, our life is going to end with victory. A final victory for us as God's people is when the Lord comes and we're gathered safely home.
So the Lord blesses and messes to our hearts. Here's the picture. Here's the journey from the cross symbolized by the serpent. The land of glory, the land of promise. Began the journey of that which speaks to the cross. Through the wilderness, through the valley, sojourners pitching their tent. The whales are satisfied day by day. and then they pitched toward the sunrise. What is it? Jesus may come in the morning. They look for the break of day. Again, I say, Lot pitched towards Solomon.
This is your choice and mine. Shall I pitch my tent toward the sunrise? Should I live in the power of that day or pitch toward Solomon? Oh, that we might increasingly be humbled of God. Summing our little message tonight, to live and to walk in the power, in the glory, in the value, in the vision of the world to come. If you're not saved tonight and look to Christ, look, sinner, look unto him who is nailed to the tree. And when you do, you'll know your sins put away. You'll be saved from eternal death by looking to Christ and receiving him.
And you too will start, even tonight, on the journey that leads to heaven and home. The Lord bless us. Little picture from Numbers twenty-one, shall we pray. Our Father, we thank thee for thy precious word, and we thank thee for these thoughts, portraying to us symbolically the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. We thank him for his sufficiency. First of all, we proved him as a sufficient Savior when we looked to him as the one who died on the tree, who was lifted up for our sins and for our need as our remedy. Now, God, we would like to prove his sufficiency all along the journey.
We thank that he is the deep, sweet well of love. There is enough in Christ to satisfy our hearts. There is enough in Christ to fill our hearts, and enough in Christ to separate us from the world around us, to which we do not belong, to which we have no part. We thank you soon. It will be the break of day. May we ever pitch our tent toward the sunrise, living our lives in the power and glory and vision of the world to come. Now we thank you for thy goodness to us. We thank you for the happy time over the weekend.
Precious season together in the enjoyment of thy word and its rich varieties. And our God, we would thank thee for thy blessing last night. And for some of these dear young folks who receive and confess Christ as their Savior. We thank you for this and pray to bless them and keep them day by day. And we thank you for the privilege of being together these few nights. We trust that we'll further enrich our souls with the ministry of thy word and cheer and encourage us along the way. For thou knowest there are many discouragements because of the way. Lift our hearts, we pray, and give us ever that vision of the sunrise, the break of day.
Part us with thy blessing, we pray. Thank you for the dear young folks here tonight. God bless these young people. If they have trusted Christ, we pray. to enable them to live for him. There's any here tonight without Christ. May they look to him and receive him. We pray thy blessing as we close this meeting in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. I will not sing tonight.