I'm gonna ask you to take your
Bibles and turn with me to the book of Proverbs chapter 28. Proverbs 28. I'd like to look
at two verses today. Verses 14 and 15. Proverbs 28.
Verse 14, happy is the man that feareth all way. But he
that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief. As a roaring
lion and a ranging bear, so is a wicked ruler over the poor
people. Now, there is a fear of God that is possessed by all
men by nature. It's a fear that is a torment
to the natural man. I want you to hold your place
in Proverbs. Turn to Acts 24, Acts 24, verse 24, 25. Acts 24.
Here was a verse of scripture that perfectly sets forth what I just
said about the natural man, a fear that the natural man has. Acts
24, 24, after certain days when Felix came with his wife, Drusilla,
which was a Jewess, he sent for Paul and heard him concerning
the faith in Christ. And as he reasoned of righteousness,
temperance, judgment to come, Felix trembled. He was terrorized. And answered, go thy way for
this time. When I have a convenient season,
I will call for thee. Now, I looked up that word. It means he was thrown into fear. He heard the apostle Paul talk. about the truth of who God is. God, just God. And the judgment
of God, the judgment to come. And this man was terrified. He knew by a conscience. All men, women have a conscience
and they know right from wrong. And therefore they know, they
know. that there's going to be a judge,
there's going to be an answering before all men are going to stand. And this fear has no power whatsoever. You think you could scare people,
you know, into repenting. No. One way is a man and a woman
made to be repentant. Psalm 110 verse three, thy people
shall be willing in the day of thy power. Only God by his power
can move an unrepentant sinner to be one that is repentant.
He grants them repentance, a change of mind, what it is, change of
heart, puts a new heart in them. And when that happens, The scripture
says in 1 John 4 18, I'll read this for you, it says, there
is no fear, that is there's no dread or terror in love. I'm gonna try to explain this
verse in just a second, let me just read it. There's no fear
in love, but perfect love, that is the Lord's love for his people,
perfect love, casteth out fear, that tormenting fear, dread of
having to stand before an avenging God. Because fear hath torment. He that feareth, or struck with
fear to be seized with alarm, now listen to this, is not made
perfect in love. Now you're thinking just exactly
what I'm thinking. When I first read that, I thought
okay, Now you may have to explain that one to me. Let me read it
again. There's no fear in love, but
perfect love casteth out fear because fear hath torment. He
that feareth is not made perfect in love. Now as, as, and I do
understand as hard as it is to understand, I want to, I want
to try to set forth what is being said and the comfort that God's
people have in them. When by faith, one is made to
behold by true faith from above, behold how God, who has everlastingly
loved his people, how that repentant sinner, when one by faith is
made to see, they've been regenerated, and they've been made to see
by faith, that God's love for them by giving of the Lord Jesus
Christ to live for them and die for them, God's people believe,
they know this, they know what 2 Corinthians 5.21 says. It says,
for he, that is the Father, hath made him the Lord Jesus Christ. for us, for his people. You know
that the Lord laid down his life for the sheep. That's John 10,
15. Who did he die for? Well, the world says he died
for everybody. That's not what the Bible says. Let God be true
and man a liar. Who did he die for? He died,
John 10, 15, he died for the sheep. I died for my sheep, laid
down my life for my sheep. Now, when a believer is made
by faith to behold that the Lord has through the blood, the sacrifice
of the Lord Jesus Christ has paid his debt. Put away the debt. There's no condemnation. There's
still the presence of sin. We still struggle with it, but
it's been paid for. There's no debt for me to pay
before God. So when they see that, there's
no fear, there's no dread or terror in love. The love of God. There's no fear. But perfect love casteth out
fear. God's people know that they're
still struggling with the presence of sin. You know that? But let
me ask you something. Is there not the peace of God
that passeth all understanding? You, you that know him, you know
that the Lord's put away your debt. You believe that. God's
word, how do you know it? I believe him. He that believeth
on the Son hath life. So I believe it. So there's no
fear. There's no dread or terror of
condemnation in love. Perfect love casteth out fear. But it says, He that feareth
is not made perfect in love. Now that last word, feareth,
right there, there was three times the word fear, fear, just
fear, was used in that verse. And it means terror, just like
when Paul stood before the king Agrippa, was it Agrippa? I just
read it, whoever it was, thank you. And he said, he was terrorized. And that fear is the fear of
judgment. That I don't have any peace,
I don't have any comfort. So there's no fear, there's no
terror in love. Perfect love casteth out that
terror, because fear, that terror, is torment. But he that feareth
is not made, he that feareth. That last word, feareth, now
that's a different word. It's a different word. It means,
that it means to be seized with alarm, but I'll tell you what
it's talking about. That's talking about the, there's
a, there is a, there's an alarm that every believer has. Let
me tell you what that is. That convinced heart knows that
God is just and he's the justifier of them that believe in the Lord
Jesus Christ. And there they rest. They rest. in that. And God Almighty has
been pleased to reconcile his people unto himself through the
person of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so, therefore, peace is found
in the vessel of God's mercy. They don't fear standing before
God and wondering. They believe God. Paul said,
I know whom I have believed. I'm persuaded that he's able
to keep that which I've committed against that day. So the fear
of the curse of the law and the condemnation of God is removed.
It's cast out. But there's still a battle that
is raging within. And John was moved to give us
some understanding about that battle that we're still having
to deal with right now. The flesh warth against the spirit
and the spirit against the flesh, they're contrary one to the other,
but the spirit of God moved on John in 1 John 4. To write that
last part right there, but he that feareth, he that is seized
with alarm, not the terror of judgment, but it means seized
with alarm, is not made perfect in love. What did he mean by
that? Well, while we're resting, in
the revelation of our sins being purged by his blood, we're still
seized with alarm by the holding, the presence of sin that's in
us. We still struggle with it. That's
what the word means. We're still... Paul said in Romans 7, 18, for
I know that in me, that is in my flesh, There dwelleth no good
thing, for to will is present with me. But how to perform that
which is good, I find not. A believer is not terrorized
at the thought of having to stand before God and hear the words,
depart from me. God's given him his rest, he's
got some peace in his heart. But while we're walking in this
world, And we're living with the knowledge of the love of
God that's put away our guilt. We're still slow of heart to
believe it. And when we find ourselves, as
we often do, always do, we lose sight of that peace that we would
desire to will is present with me. I want to, but how to perform
that which I would. That when we find ourselves and
we know what's going on, we know it, we know the doubts we have,
the fears we have, the attitudes we have, that alarm raises its
head. Brethren, we're not yet delivered
from the occurrences of the body of death. That Paul said, who
shall deliver me? from the body of this death.
When shall I be delivered from this? So truly, we're being kept
by his perfect love for us. And we're not looking and resting
in our love for him, though we love him. Peter, lovest thou
me more than these? What time did you ask him that?
And he said, Lord, he was grieved. The Lord asked him, grieved why? He was alarmed. I know that you
know. That's what he said. I know you
know. Lord, thou knowest I love thee. Lord said, you feed my
sheep. Feed my sheep. We're not looking
and resting in our love for him, but in his perfect love for us.
That's our comfort. And I'm struggling right now,
and every believer in here is too. We rest only in him. So when he says, And he says,
fear hath torment, he that feareth, he that struck or seized with
alarm is not made perfect in love. That means basically we've
not arrived yet. As long as we're in this world.
We're going to struggle. We're gonna be alarmed at what
we see. Alarmed at how little we know
about prayer, how little we know about loving each other, how
little we know about faithfulness. I was thinking about that song.
Let my eyes, my hand, let me walk like a believer. Let me
be found faithful in him. So what did the spirit of God
set forth through the pen of Solomon mean when he said back
in our passage, Proverbs 28, 14, happy is the man that feareth
always. What do you mean by that? Well,
it's not that slavish, terrorizing fear that we're speaking of,
that fear of punishment, but fear to revere and to stand in
awe. to be dreading or alarmed at
what we see in ourselves, and struggling with that. Paul said,
I see, I see in me. It's a respectful fear. Blessed
is the man that respectfully fears. While we see our struggles,
we're still believing. While we see our failings and
our inabilities to do that which we would, we love Him, we still
love Him. We walk looking unto Him. And we know that the Lord is
working all things after the counsel of His own will, but
it's a fear that knows that, that all things are working for
our good and His glory. And it's this reverential fear
that's resigned to the truth that whatsoever the Lord does
is right. It's right. It's that fear that
desires to shun everything that would dishonor Him. It's that
desire to flee from self-reliance and confidence in me. There's an alarm that goes off
when a believer sees that which he knows is within. I see, Paul
said, it's that fear of reverence and awe that's convinced that
if he didn't keep us, we're gone. We'd leave. It's this fear that
knows that whatever God is pleased to cross our paths is According
to his loving chastisement, happy is the man that feareth, that
has reference, that has respect for the Lord. You come here this
morning, why? Because he's here, that's last
Wednesday, he's here. God's people are here. We're
glad we're here. But you wanna be here because
his word is preached. I don't want anybody's opinion. I don't want to hear anybody's
opinion. What saith the Lord? What saith
the scriptures? The believer must be kept in the fear of the
Lord. Kept from finally falling away. He who is able to keep you from
falling. If the Lord doesn't keep me in
that reverential fear, I'll tell you what I'll do. God doesn't
keep me. And shun the thought, well, I've
been a believer for all these years, and I've done this, that,
and the other, and I'm a prayer warrior. I wonder what a prayer
warrior is. Scripture says we don't even
know what to pray for. I talk about prayer warriors, I mean,
like they're a big deal. I'm telling you, a struggling
sinner He's honest, he doesn't even know what to say. But he
knows this, he knows if God doesn't keep him, that here's what he's
gonna do. He knows what he's gonna do.
The scripture says, in the latter part, he that hardeneth his heart
shall fall into mischief. He that hardeneth his heart,
like Pharaoh did. And all in the world, that God
has to do for a man to harden his own heart. Just leave him
alone. Just leave him alone. Leave him to himself. One that
hardens his heart is one that sees himself as having truly
no sin to confess, no sin to forsake. He's one that stands
in defiance before God. And we know that the scriptures
relate that which has happened to others concerning falling
away from what they professed at one time. I know people you
do too. I remember people that I had close contact, fellowship
with. I thought it was fellowship.
Not only, you know, friends and preachers, preachers. I'm thinking
of one right now that was, he preached here. I was in his assembly
preaching for him. Gone, he's gone. They went out
from us, but they were not of us. For if they had been of us,
they would no doubt have continued with us, but they went out that
they might be made manifest that they were not all of us, 1 John
2, 19. And brethren, listen to me. I'm talking to me first. Listen
to what I have to say, Marvin. As brethren, we consider those
who have left and never returned. Do we not consider the profession
that they once gave was one that appeared for a while to be consistent. I don't doubt that for a while
they considered themselves to be faithful. And if they left
and never returned, now here's something I want to make sure
I bring out. They never returned as the prodigal. There was a prodigal son, David,
King David, Peter. Peter was an apostle. David was
a man, scripture says, after God's own heart. What happened?
You know what happened. But let me ask you this. If God doesn't keep a man, keep
a woman, you think they wouldn't do the same thing? And justify
it. They'll justify it. If someone
leaves from the hearing of the sound of the gospel, write this
down. It won't be their fault. It'll
be yours, mine, yours, yours. It'll be your fault. It wasn't
something they did. It's something we did. They went
out from us, John said. They were not of us. One that
the Lord has called and received unto himself is one that is constantly
examining himself to see if he'd be in the faith. He will, he
will. He's one that fears all way. Respect, respect. He's never
satisfied to be idly complacent. He's in a perpetual state of
casting himself upon the Lord. He's ever coming to him who is
his only hope of glory. He shuns the thought of having
confidence in his flesh and he's found in heart to seek the Lord
as he sought him at first. Here's how every believer in
here, let me tell you what your attitude is right now. Lord, I'm as helpless as I ever
was. Hold me up. I'm just a lamb,
just a little, frail, weak lamb that hadn't got sense enough
to get out of the rain. I'm in the midst of wolves. Lord,
preserve me, help me. That's a believer. That's a believer. Not somebody that just feels
I'm so stable. I'm so stable. I've never known.
And then in closing, continuing with the thought of our great
need for the Lord to keep us and sustain us. That's what he
said. Happy is the man that feareth, that respects always. But he
that hardeneth his heart against the Lord shall fall into mischief. But that next verse, I want to
make a couple of comments on verse 15, and then we'll stop
for this first one. And it's a confirmation about
he that hardeneth his heart. That roaring line, that's a roaring
line, and a wrangling bear, a roaring lion and a rushing about, running
around, always. One, as a roaring lion and a
wrangling bear, so is a wicked ruler over the poor people. Now, I know this, if the Lord
doesn't keep a man, He's gonna fall into mischief. That is,
he's gonna fall away, is what it means. He's gonna fail, he's
gonna waste away, he's gonna prove himself to have fallen
short. But this roaring lion and ranging
bear, that wicked ruler over the people, the people that are
low and weak, and here's the bottom line. All of us are born
like that. We're all weak, we're all poor.
Blessed are those who are made to be poor in spirit, that know
themselves. I mean, everybody's born weak.
Just religion tells everybody that they're not. You can, and scripture says,
no, you can't. They're all born that way, but
to be made to know it, that's a blessing, that's a blessing
of the Lord. But that wicked ruler, that wicked
ruler that's over the poor people. For all in Christ, that's sin. Sin. He's been, the power of
him has been removed. Before, I had no ability. Because of the presence of sin,
I'm dead in trespasses and sin, but now that wicked ruler over
All men, all women in Adam, for that belief, that vessel of God's
mercy has been removed, and that sin has no more dominion over
them. It doesn't lord, it doesn't rule,
it has no power to condemn over the believer. Sin shall not have
dominion over you. That's Romans 6, 14. Yes, sin's
dominion is gone. but it still lurks within. And
that old spirit of the flesh may appear to be quiet for a
while. That roaring lion and that wrangling
bear, that spirit of rebellion is never
going to be reconciled to God. And that corruption may seem
to be under control or held in check, but our flesh is always
waiting for the right moment to rush forth from its quietness. There's a new man within that
wars against this, but that old spirit, that old spirit of flesh
is there and it's a body of sin. The apostle Paul, I'm gonna turn
to Romans 7 as I complete this, Romans 7. Here's a man, now listen, the
man that penned this, I'm about to read, this man right here
was converted on the road to Damascus. He was stopped by God
himself. God spoke to him. Saul of Tarsus asked the Lord
Jesus, who are you? Saul was a Pharisee. He was a
religious man. Who are you? And he said, I'm
Jesus, the one you're persecuting. Hard to kick against, not safe
to kick against the pricks. This was a man that was converted.
He spoke with the Lord on the road to Damascus. The Lord taught
him the gospel. That was a requirement for an
apostle. They learned the gospel from
the Lord. The apostle Paul said that he
labored more than all of the other apostles. He was caught
up to the third heaven. He went to paradise. He said, whether I was in the
body or out of the body, I don't know. God knows. He was caught
up to the third heaven and he heard unspeakable words. But this highly favored, this
highly blessed vessel of God's mercy said this about himself. Romans 7, 24, O wretched man
that I am. You think he was alarmed at what
he saw in himself. O wretched man that I am, who
shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through
Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind, that new
mind, that new mind, I myself serve. I yield to, I yield to
with my new mind. I serve the law of God, but with
the flesh, again, just going back to the same word, he's serving the law of sin.
You mean to tell me, Paul the apostle, You know, I've heard
people say, I tell you what, if there was anybody that ever
saved, it was my grandma. She was in church every time
the doors was open. This man right here, God used
him to pin a major portion of the New Testament. He was a man
that knew God. God knew him. And this is what
he said about himself. I'm a wretched man, wretched
man. That corruption, is still there. The presence of that sin is still
there. Can we not find our place there
and see ourselves like that? Happy is the man that feareth
always, who knows by faith that God's done something for him
that he could not do for himself or would have never done for
himself. Jeremiah 32, 40 says this, and
I will make an everlasting covenant with them, an agreement. God
himself, Father, Son, Spirit, made an everlasting covenant.
I will make an everlasting covenant with them. I will not turn away
from them to do them good, but I will put my fear in their hearts. that they shall not depart from
me. Happy, happy, blessed. Blessed is the man that feareth
always, because God keeps him. I pray the Lord bless you for
his glory and our good, amen. All right, let's just take a
few minutes break.