Take your Bibles and turn with
me to the book of Proverbs chapter 21. I stopped Gary just then
and showed him the title of my first
message. The first message is entitled
Victory in Christ. And I didn't even tell him before
just then. I thought about it. I said, I'm
going to ask him to sing that Victory in Jesus today. I was
running around here like a chicken with my head cut off and I didn't
get to tell him, so that's okay. Oh, the glorious victory that
God has wrought for His people. Proverbs chapter 21. I'd like to look at verses 27
through the end of the chapter. The sacrifice of the wicked is
abomination. How much more when he bringeth
it with a wicked hand? A false witness shall perish,
but the man that heareth speaketh constantly. A wicked man hardeneth
his face, but as for the upright, he directeth his way. There's
no wisdom, nor understanding, nor counsel against the Lord.
The horse is prepared against the day of battle, but safety,
that word safety, there's victory, is of the Lord. Now the Spirit
of God, throughout the scriptures, ever reminds God's people, I started when I first started
writing these notes, I was going to say the Spirit of God ever
reminds all men, but only a believer hears what God has to say. Only
a believer cares about what God has to say. So the Spirit of
God ever reminds the believer, God's people, of the contrast
between the carnal heart and the heart of one that has been
born from above, one made new in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now,
concerning the heart of the carnal man, the scripture says, verse
27, the sacrifice of the wicked is abomination. What that means
is the gift, that which is done, that which is given, that which
is purposed in the heart, that which is done by the wicked,
one that tries to appease God by his own works, is what he
is saying. That is an abomination, that
is despised of Almighty God. And that wicked thought began
in the Garden of Eden. That's when Adam and Eve tried
to hide their rebellion against God. How? With fig leaves. That's all in the world. But
that came out of his heart. Why? He was dead. Adam, at that
point, was dead spiritually. And he tried to hide themselves
and that thought, that thought of nothing more than man's ability,
man honoring free will, religion, is despised by Almighty God. There is no rebellion. There's no rebellion higher or
lower, any way you want to say it, than that thought that man
has a free will. A will that is free from God. The thought of that free will. Actually what it is, it just
calls God a liar. That's what it is. I mean you
tell somebody that they have a free will. And what you're
doing is you're calling God a liar. Now let me read a verse of scripture
we've read before. Romans 3.20. Now the Spirit of
God wrote this. Therefore by the deeds of the
law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight. For by the law
is the knowledge of sin. What the law does, it reveals
what we cannot do. It reveals what God demands and
what we cannot do. Therefore, by the deeds of the
law, you tell a man that he can do something, you tell a man
that he has a hope in his faith, in His ability, in His decision,
and you're refuting what that verse of Scripture right there
says. Therefore, by the deeds of the law, doing something,
trying to obey God and think that God will justify you. Now, we have to remember what
the word justified means. By the deeds of the law, shall
no flesh be justified? Somebody could say, well I did
something and so therefore now the law looks at me and says
absolutely no record of any rebellion against God. Understand what that word means. Absolutely no guilt. No charge. See, man thinks he can just lower
the bar so low down to his own level that God will accept it. Well, according to Scripture,
the sacrifice of the wicked is abomination. Trying to approach
God and be accepted of God by our works is exceeding disgusting
to God. That's what it is. Now listen.
The sacrifice of the wicked is abomination. But now look at
the latter part of that 27. How much more when he bringeth
it with a wicked mind. Now the sacrifice of the wicked
is abomination. How much more Do you know what
he was saying? There is something that is more
aggravating, more disgusting, more abominable before Almighty
God than the sacrifice of the wicked. It's when he tries to
bring it and present it before God with a wicked mind. What do you mean? A wicked plan
or evil counsel. Let me say it like this, when
he's been warned about it, I relate so many times to my trips and
visits down to Mexico and I'd go down and visit the Groovers
and we'd go and I told you about going to those temples is what
they were, I mean evil, wicked temples. and they would have
sacrifices. They would capture, you know,
an enemy and stuff like this and they'd bring them back and
sacrifice their enemies unto their gods. They would sacrifice,
they'd cut their hearts out, present their hearts, you know,
they knew that blood had to be shed, they knew a lot of stuff.
But they were doing something that was an abomination before
God. They thought that they could
please their God. That's an abomination before
God. But there was something that's
even more abominable than when it's done even in ignorance. I don't know until the Grovers
were down there. I don't know if the gospel was
ever preached there in the Yucatan. I don't know. I know after Walter
and Betty got there 50 something years ago, that the gospel was
down there, but until then, I don't know if they ever heard it, but
it was still what they were doing was an abomination before God,
thinking that you could appease God, their little G-God. But there's something that's
more abominable than that. It's whenever someone has heard
the gospel Oh, Chorazin, Bethsaida, if the mighty works that were
done here had been done in Sodom and Gomorrah, it's going to be
more tolerable, the Lord said. Now you look those words up,
I'm telling you how much more, more tolerable the scripture
sets forth that Almighty God is telling us that there's something
when a man presents His sacrifice with an evil, wicked mind. A plan or an evil counsel of
his heart. I can do this. I don't care what
God has to say. I remember someone, Brother Henry
Mahan told me one time someone came in, a woman came in and
wanted to know if she could ask him something. And he said, well,
let's see what the scriptures have to say. She said, I don't
care what the Bible has to say. He said, well, okay. We don't
have anything else to talk about. Almighty God has set forth that
by the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified in his
sight. And men that will pick up this
Bible right here, and they've been warned, they've been told,
it's more abominable. It's much more when it's brought
with an evil, wicked mind. Now this, this, this, clearly set forth. Turn to Genesis
4, 1-5. Genesis chapter 4, verses 1-5. The scripture declares Adam and
Eve had a couple of boys and it says, Genesis 4, verses 1-5,
Adam knew Eve, his wife, and she conceived him, bear Cain,
and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord. And she again
bare his brother Abel, and Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain
was a tiller of the ground. And in the process of time, it
came to pass that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an
offering unto the Lord." Now, Adam had been taught by God. He'd been taught of God. He taught
these boys, obviously. They didn't come up with this
by their own, you know, smart Cain brought up the fruit of
the ground, an offering unto the Lord. Abel, he also brought
to the first thing of his flock, of the fat thereof. And the Lord
had respect unto Abel and to his offering. Abel brought that
which gave honor unto the Lord, a sacrifice that pictured the
death of the promised Messiah. But Cain brought that which gave
no glory unto the Lord. He brought probably the best
vegetables that he had. I don't doubt it was the first
fruit. I don't doubt that they were the best that he had. And
God had no respect unto it because what Cain did, it was an evil,
wicked attempt to give that which was contrary to what Almighty
God demanded. He brought the best of the fruits
of the ground. Abel brought a lamb and the fat,
that which was pleasing unto Almighty God. Someone would say,
yeah, but there's a possibility that maybe Cain didn't understand. Maybe he just missed it. I want
you to look at verses 6 and 7 of Genesis chapter 4. The scripture
says, and the Lord said unto Cain, buddy, you talk about relieve
all of the, you know, excuses that a man might have. God spoke
to him and said, why art thou wroth? And why is our countenance
falling? If thou do us well, shalt thou
not be accepted? And if thou doest not well, sin
life at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire,
and thou shalt rule over him." Now, what in the world was he
saying? The Lord told him, he said, now if you do well, Cain,
if you repent of that which you've committed, that sin you've committed,
if you repent by faith, bring the accepted sacrifice. If that which I demand is brought,
I'll accept. But if you have no heart to honor
me, sin lies at your door in the secret places of your heart. And your mind is now readily
opened and revealed to be what it is. It's evil and rebellious
against me. Cain knew. He knew. Therefore, the scripture declares
that the sacrifice of that wicked man was an abomination. How much
more when it's brought with a wicked mind, a rebellious mind. God had spoken to him. The Pharisees, they made these
long prayers with great show of devotion. Why did they do
it? The Lord said they did it to
be seen of men. They did it to bring honor to themselves. The
wicked honor the Lord with their lips, but the Lord said, your
heart is far from Me. So they do what they do for the
praise and the glory of men. And because the wicked heart
has no desire for God's honor and glory, the end is death. That's what the Lord has set
forth. So that sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination. Done in ignorance, it's an abomination. How much more? When it brought
with a wicked mind in light of God's Word. I'm telling you,
no one in this world really has an excuse. They've got a conscience,
they've got nature, they've got this Word. Somebody said, well
what if they can't get a hold of it? You know, that's no excuse. That's no excuse. God has spoken. He's spoken to the prophets.
He's spoken by His Son. And that's the last word. Man
leave this world without bowing to Christ? There's no hope. Scripture says in Proverbs 21-28,
a false witness shall perish. This word, This Word is going to stand.
God's Word is going to stand. Heaven and Earth are going to
pass away. But you know what the Lord said? My Word is never
going to pass away. Now listen to what I'm saying.
I'm going to tell you, I'm going to tell us. Let me tell us what
the Lord has to say. A false witness shall perish. A witness of lies. When you talk about someone that
is a false witness, what they're saying is, you're lying. You're
lying. Again, we have the scriptures. We have God's word. God has sent
preachers, pastors after his heart. and has told. We've gone into all the world. We've preached the gospel. I'm
so thankful for all the means that we have now. I'm thankful
for sermon audio. I'm thankful. But I'm telling
you, every Sunday morning, every Wednesday evening, it's 7 o'clock.
And this just didn't start this week. In the community of Katy,
West Virginia, God raised up a church as he has in other places. And for over 60 years, on Wednesdays,
on Sundays, on Wednesdays, on Sundays, same time, same time,
got an ad in the paper, got an ad in the Times, West Virginia.
And it tells, this is when we meet. We've got, here's the Times,
and here's where we are. And we've set forth. This is
when the gospel is going to be preached. This is what we're
going to do right here. We're going to tell men what
God has to say. Men are without excuse. A false witness shall perish. Now, I do understand that this
world is prone to accept all that, you know, men say, you
know, they call themselves a preacher and they claim to be spokesmen
for God and to be right and that they are deserving of respect. But the Scriptures are explicit
concerning a false witness. They will die in their sins. Now listen, what is the standard? How do you know Now this is important
to me. How do I know? What is the standard? Marvin, you're standing up there
and saying that they're lying. What's the standard? How do I
know? Alright, Isaiah 820. I'll read this to you. To the
law and to the testimony. If they speak not according to
this word, it's because there's no light in them. if they speak not according to
this word. Well, I think that man has a
free will. Well, let me tell you what this
word says. I've read this to you before. I'm going to read
it again. As many as received him, I'm going to explain this word
received. A glass of water, an empty glass is here and I got
a pitcher in my hand and I pour water into that glass right there. The glass did nothing. The glass
received it. That's all it did. To as many
as received him. It doesn't mean that the glass
made a decision to allow me to put the water into it. That's
not what the word means. It means that the water was put
into the glass and it became the receptacle of. That's what
the word means. To as many as received Him. How
did they receive Him? God Almighty gave them a new
heart. Like Lydia, He opened her heart
and she attended to the word that was spoken of Paul. That's what the word receive
means. If somebody says, well that means
if you receive. No it doesn't mean that. No it doesn't. It
means as many as received Him that God Almighty did something
for. As many as received Him, to them
gave He the power to become the sons of God, even to them that
believe on His name, which were born, which were born, not of blood. You know what that
means. That means just because your
mom and daddy were believers, that doesn't mean that you're
going to be a believer. Not necessarily. Not of blood. It doesn't run
in bloodlines. Nor of the will of the flesh. Salvation is not because I would
desire my children. I want my children. Nor of the
will of man. It doesn't mean that I have a
free will. How are they born? But of God. They're born of God. They're
born through the preaching of the gospel. The Spirit of God
blesses this. So, to the law and to the testimony. If they speak not according to
this Word. So the next time somebody tells
you something like that, they're lying. They're lying because
the Word of God refutes it. Man's offense is not only that
what he says is contrary to God's Word, but if he doesn't say that
which is in agreement to God's Word. Boy, I've read a lot of
things, and you know when I read these articles, and when you
first read them, I can't find one thing in what they said,
Carl, that was wrong. We ought to love God. I believe
you. We ought to be, you know, we
ought to love one another. I agree with you. There's a lot
of things that were said, but it's what they didn't say, Baram.
It's what they did not say. That right there, there's the
kicker, right there. It's not necessarily go into
all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. So let this question be settled
by God's Word. You search the Scriptures, and
if they don't speak according to God's Word concerning man
and his fallen and depraved state, if they don't speak of salvation
totally by the sovereign grace of Almighty God, totally by electing
grace, totally by particular redeeming grace, and totally
by absolute preserving grace and regenerating grace by God's
Spirit. If they don't speak according
to these words, it's because there's no light in them. A false witness shall perish,
but the man that heareth, faith cometh by hearing, hearing by
the Word of God. That man that heareth speaketh
constantly. A man that hears from God, that
hears with spiritual ears, that the Lord has given him, hears
what the Lord has to say, and doesn't listen to the inventions
of man, his own carnal heart. Paul the Apostle, he said, Oh
wretched man that I am, I see in me, that is in my flesh, there's
no good thing. My flesh will lie to me, my heart
will lie to me. A man that heareth, speaketh
out of the abundance of his heart, his mouth speaketh constantly. What does that mean? It means
with a goal. With a goal. A G-O-A-L. A goal. He's got a
goal. What's his goal? God's glory. I know I don't as I want to or
as I shall. But I'll tell you this, I do
not want to dishonor God. I don't want to. And the Lord
knows the frailty of this flesh. I don't want to do that. He speaks
constantly. He speaks with a goal. He speaks
that God's glory be magnified and he speaks with confidence
and he speaks truthfully. That's what those words mean.
He speaks constantly. He speaks with a goal for God's
glory with confidence and truthfully. I want to be truthful. I want
to be truthful. Somebody said, well, what if
you make people mad? I don't want to unnecessarily
make people mad, but I'll tell you, I don't want to dishonor
God. I don't want to not say that
which the Lord has said. Verse 29, a wicked man hardeneth
his face. He's stubborn, unyielding, self-willed. When it comes to God's Word,
he hardens himself against all correction of error. God is going
to have to do something for him. God is going to have to give
him a new heart. What is he going to have to do? A wicked man hardeneth his
face, but as for the upright, he directeth his way. Now I know that when you first
hear that, you say, well, I didn't think a man could direct his
way. Well, he can't. He can't. He can't order His
way. But again, that's not what the
word means. The meaning is that He considers. That's what the word means. And
when it says He directeth, He considers. He considers His way
with some regard for His walk before God. Let me just read
this for you. 1 Timothy 4. 1 Timothy chapter 4 and verse
12. Paul says, let no man despise
thy youth, but be thou an example of the believers. Now let me
ask you to believe. Do you not desire to be an example
of the believers? What kind of example, Paul? Well,
in word. In word. In conversation. In your walk. In charity. In love. Love for God, love for
one another in spirit, in faith, in purity. Is that not the desire? Let us
be seeking that which becomes, gives honor to the doctrine that
we believe. I want to be. I don't want to
be one that is disrespectful before God or you. I don't want
to be. The upright He directeth, He
considers, He has some concern about His way, considers that
the Lord orders His steps, that whatever the Lord's pleased to
bring His way, it's for God's glory and His goods. Verse 30,
there's no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the Lord. There's no, you know, God's counsel
is going to stand. Psalm chapter 2. Psalm 2 verses
1 to 4. Let's see if I can turn the pages
here. Psalm chapter 2. Why do the heathen rage and the
people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves
and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against
His anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder and
cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens
shall laugh. The Lord shall have them in derision. The scripture
says that no wisdom, understanding, counsel against God is going
to stand. There's no human schemes. formed
against God. Remember the former things of
old. I am God. There's none else. I'm God. There's none like me
declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times the things
that are not yet done saying my counsel shall stand. And I
will do all my pleasure. The gates of hell They're not
going to prevail against God. What does that mean? The gates
of hell are not going to shut things out where God can't do
what He wants to do. No. Almighty God is going to
do that which Almighty God is pleased to do. Back in Proverbs
now 21. Let's look at this last verse. The horse. is prepared against
the day of battle. But safety, victory, is of the
Lord. The horse here refers to anything
that carnal man places confidence in. Listen to this scripture. Woe to them that go down to Egypt
for help, and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because
there are many. Horsemen, because they're very
strong. but they look not unto the Holy
One of Israel, neither seek the Lord. God's judgment is toward
all those who are constantly going down. Listen to this. Woe
to them that go down to Egypt. It always speaks of a downward
trend. Seeking help anywhere else but
in the Lord Himself. Safety. Safety. Victory is in the Lord. That word safety right there,
it does mean victory. You may have it in your margin
there. It's a marginal interpretation. It means victory, it means salvation,
it means deliverance. But I want to just bring out
one little word in closing. But safety It doesn't say, is in the Lord,
though it is. It doesn't say in. I love this, look. See that little
word? Of. Safety is of the Lord. You know, you could have said,
safety is in the Lord, and it would have been right. But oh,
how the Spirit of God moves to write these scriptures. They're
perfect. is of the Lord. Salvation is of God. Salvation is by Him. He has ordained, ordained our
safety, safekeeping. He who has everlastingly loved
us. placed us in the haven of rest
himself, our city of refuge, our only hope of safety and final
perseverance, preservation. He is our sleepless watchman. Behold, he that keepeth Israel
shall neither slumber nor sleep. He's our faithful, constant companion. I'll just read Genesis 28, 15,
and behold, I am with thee and will keep thee in all places
whither thou goest and will bring thee again into this land for
I will not leave thee until I have done that which I have spoken
to thee of. Salvation, victory, safety, is
of the Lord, purposed by, procured by, and administered to God's
people, totally of God. May the Lord bless these words
to our heart for Christ's sake. Amen.