Let's turn to the Word of God
now turn to the book of the Proverbs chapter 27 and we'll read verse
17 the book of the Proverbs chapter 27 and reading verse 17 Iron
sharpeneth iron so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend The proverbs give us very many
simple and straightforward words of instruction and words of direction. And in this particular verse,
we read that a man sharpeneth the counsel of his friend. And to illustrate that point,
The Word of God tells us that iron sharpeneth iron. Now, we're probably familiar
what that means. If you go to a butcher's shop,
we don't often see butchers about so much today, but you will find
them, they usually sharpen their steel knife on another piece
of steel. And by rubbing that knife on
that piece of steel, it sharpens it. And so we see this statement
that iron sharpeneth iron. And if that is not done, then
the effect is that the knife becomes blunt and it's not effective. And so there is that continual
need for a knife to be sharpened on iron or steel, as we really
refer to it. It's steel. It's a hardened iron. And as a steel knife is sharpened
on another piece of steel, so it brings a very fine and sharp
edge. Well, that's really the picture
that we have here, that iron sharpeneth iron. and it's necessary
that is continued otherwise it becomes blunt. And therefore
that's the example that we have to then direct us to this truth. So a man sharpeneth the countenance
of his friend. We may think, well, what does
this really mean? Well, it means, of course, that
there is a continual need for that sharpening one to another. And by sharpening, surely that
means by conversation, by speaking, by coming together to acknowledge
the blessings of the Lord and the word of the Lord. You see,
if we have Two pieces of iron which they just stay apart There's
no sharpening is that there's no effect the fact is that the
the knife has to be Moved across and onto the other piece of iron
to bring about any effect without that There's just the two separate
pieces of iron and there's no sharpening and so we read that
a man so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend There
is therefore that need that there is that coming together and not
just as it were standing side by side and being mum and not
having any conversation. But there is that need therefore
that there is that good and right spiritual conversation. Now we're
not speaking here just about a natural thing. Although perhaps
a natural thing can give us some kind of focus on this. Because
if two people come together and they have a common interest,
when they start speaking about that common interest, then you
see the countenance of one and the other is often brightened.
It may be some particular sport that they're both interested
in. It may be football, or golf, or cricket, or something like
that. Or it may be the theater, or something like that. And as
they speak one to another, they very quickly become animated,
because they are enjoying the conversation that they're having.
And it's something that pleases them. And it has a good natural
effect upon them. Well, that's all well and good. But the Word of God, of course,
is not directing us to a natural benefit. It's directing us to
a spiritual benefit. And it therefore is good if,
when there is that good conversation, there is that coming together,
and there is that spiritual conversation, there is a benefit from it. We
read in Malachi then, they that feared the Lord spake often one
to another. It wasn't just the odd occasion. When they came together, they
spoke about the things of God. It wasn't something which was
of no benefit. And there was a record made.
And in that third chapter in Malachi, in the 16th verse, we
read then, they that feared the Lord spake often one to another
and The Lord hearkened and heard it, and a book of remembrance
was written before him for them that feared the Lord and that
thought upon his name. There was that coming together,
there was that speaking, and the Lord hearkened and heard,
and there was a book written, a remembrance of those things
which they had spoken about before him for them that feared the
Lord and that thought upon his name. So we must conclude therefore
that it's not just a thinking, upon the name of the Lord. But
there is that coming together, and there is that speaking about
the things of God one to another, there is that contact one with
another in a spiritual sense, in a world sense. So a man sharpeneth
the countenance of his friend. Well, I suppose, if we're honest,
we live in a day when we need to be reminded of such a picture
like this. iron sharpeneth iron. And it's
very easy for us to come together and to speak of natural things
rather than spiritual things. And when we speak of natural
things, there is not really any real spiritual benefit. It may
be pleasant to recount various items which have occurred during
the past days, or the past weeks, or perhaps in the past year.
But the truth is, will it actually be of benefit to our souls, and
will it sharpen us in the things of God? Or will we remain in
a blunt condition? If there's no natural sharpening,
there is gradual blunting. And obviously if a knife is used
and it's not sharpened, then the more it's used, the more
blunt it becomes. And there is a need then for
sharpening in this way, iron sharpeneth iron. And so it is
in a spiritual way. If there is not that coming together,
If there is not that spiritual speaking, then there is a bluntness
in the things of God. And the less speaking of the
things of God, the more blunt it becomes. And we might say
in a spiritual way, the farther off we become and the more lukewarm
we become. So there is therefore importance
in such words as this, to consider it as it applies to us today. Iron sharpeneth iron, a speaking
together of the things of God. We live of course in the motor
car age, don't we? and when journeys are carried
out from our homes to the place of worship very often in the
cars and therefore we don't perhaps walk along together and speak
about the things of God whereas in years past When there were
not those facilities, people used to come and they would listen
to the sermon, and they would then take a journey together,
and they would speak about the things of God. And not only was
that a benefit to the people that were speaking about it,
but also to those perhaps who were seeking, they wanted to
hear, they wanted to understand. what had been spoken in the sermon. And to hear, therefore, godly
people speaking about the things of God, the things they'd heard,
was a benefit. to those who were seeking to
know the things of God. They wanted to understand. They
wanted to hear. Well, sadly, you see, today,
to a large extent, we've lost that facility. We've lost that
benefit. And we should therefore try to,
as it were, resurrect that situation by making an effort, perhaps,
to speak to one another. Remember, iron sharpens iron,
it must come together, there must be that effect of one thing
upon the other, otherwise there's no true benefit and it won't
be a benefit unless there is that speaking one to another,
how perhaps we find today there is silence in the things of God. Silence in the things of God.
And you would almost think sometimes that people never listened to
a sermon. You think they'd been deaf and
they hadn't in actual fact heard anything. There was no conversation. There was no comments. There
was no speaking like this, so a man sharpeneth the countenance
of his friend. There was no recalling or recounting
perhaps that which God had done for them in the last week. Well,
there may be many casual comments about natural things, but there's
no sharpening in our spiritual life. That's a bluntness. how
important it is then that we recognise that God gives us such
words like this to arrest us and to direct us to the importance
that there is, that we have the illustration of iron sharpeneth
iron and so we may be concerned in our own lives that there is
this sharpness, this sharpening and the countenance of his friend. It's directed in this way, I
believe. It's speaking of friends because, in a spiritual sense,
the people of God, as they speak one to another, will understand
what is being spoken about. Whereas, if we were to speak
to the unconverted person about the things of God. Now, I'm not
saying anything against that, of course. It's right that we
should speak to the unconverted. But there won't perhaps be that
sharpening one to another, as really comes down to this, doesn't
it? It means that Christ is exalted. when we can speak about what
Christ has done for us, what Christ has spoken to us, what
has been revealed to us about Christ. And these are things
which will be of true benefit, and these will sharpen our countenance. Whereas everything else, by comparison,
will really not benefit us, and it will blunt our spiritual life. And so if we are honest today,
we live in an age where there is much bluntness in the things
of God. There's not very much sharpness
in the things of God. And sometimes there isn't that
response to the word of God, to the truth of God, to the conversation
of godly things. There's not the response. because
there is so much bluntness. There is not that acknowledging
of the great truths of God. Well, what a blessing it would
be if the Word of God comes to us to make us concerned in our
spiritual life. And of course this Word speaks
to every one of us. We can't say, well, it doesn't
apply to me. It applies to every one of us. So a man sharpeneth
the countenance of his friend. We should be concerned to sharpen
each other in the things of God, in the knowledge of God, so that
Christ is exalted in our hearts. And we should be sad and ashamed
if this is not so. And we should recognise then
that perhaps we are far off from God, far off from God. Remember what Malachi said, then
those that fear the Lord spake often one to another. Now that
was right at the end of Malachi's prophecy, right at the end of
the Old Testament. There was to be then those 400
or so years without any open prophecy. And it was really a
sad time in the history of the world, a dark time. But the Church
of God had such words to remember. and to be encouraged by, and
to be concerned. They may be a follower of such
a word as that, that they that fear the Lord. And so if you
and I are amongst those who fear the Lord, our concern should
be to speak and to encourage one another in the things of
God. Remembering the illustration,
iron sharpeneth iron. Well, it's a good thing if if
it is so. And perhaps we can remember certain
illustrations in the Word of God when there was that wonderful,
blessed conversation. Of course we will not forget
that account when those two went on that Emmaus road. And the
Lord Jesus came alongside them and joined in the conversation
and spoke to them. Now We may not have that today
in a physical way, when the Saviour actually came in a physical presence
and walked with them. But nonetheless, I believe there
is those occasions when, as we may be on a journey, or perhaps
we may phone somebody up, or speak to somebody, and we may
then speak about the things of God. What were they doing? What
were they speaking about? The things which had recently
occurred. Things which they'd seen and
observed. And they were puzzled about them.
And they couldn't really understand them. But they were therefore
speaking about these things to one another. And we shouldn't
be ashamed, or perhaps we might be, but we should be still willing
to speak about the things of God even when we can't understand
them. We shouldn't say, well I can't
speak of that, I don't understand it. Because in their position,
they were speaking together, they couldn't really understand
the things that had occurred when the Lord Jesus was crucified
and that it was going to be the third day that something was
going to happen and they really couldn't comprehend what it was.
And then you see Jesus himself drew near. And he opened their
understanding from all the scriptures. Now I believe in a spiritual
way sometimes the Lord comes and draws near to us and, as
it were, helps one to address a certain aspect and the other
perhaps to address a different aspect. And therefore there is
that coming together and the rejoicing. And what happens?
Well, there is the sharpening of the countenance because the
result is the Lord Jesus Christ becomes real and becomes precious,
and their souls are, as it were, on fire, like those two on that
emerged road when they came back and recounted that blessing to
the disciples. Their statement was this, did
not our heart burn within us? There was the evidence of God's
work in their hearts. There was that movement of the
Spirit. There was that burning. There was something within them
which had risen up and therefore they were able to declare what
it was. What it was was the truth that
Christ had come and met with them. And so today, what a blessing
if you and I are able to come together, to speak together and
that Christ comes and joins with that in that conversation as
it were. And His name is lifted up and
His name is honoured and glorified and our countenance is sharpened. Yes, because we're drawn to the
Lord Jesus Christ and He is exalted and He is lifted up. Well how
important in short it is for us today to note these things
and to be aware that the Word of God encourages us in spiritual
health. in spiritual sharpness, not in
spiritual bluntness, not in forgetting about the things of God, not
in turning away from the things of God, but encouraging one another
and speaking often, not just on the odd occasion. how sad
it is today when we speak so seldom really about the great
truth of God, and the great knowledge of God, and the great blessing
of God, and we find ourselves earthy. We find ourselves just
speaking about the poor things of this world. Well, when the
Apostle Paul, he wrote to the Hebrews and he told them Words
which are very encouraging to us really he says let us Draw
near with a true heart in full assurance of faith having our
hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and Our bodies washed
with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession
of our faith without wavering for his faith that promised,
and let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good
works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the
manner of some is, but exhorting one another, and so much the
more as ye see the day approaching." Well, this word was necessary
for the Hebrews in the day in which Paul lived, It's always
been a necessary word, down through the ages, and it's still a necessary
word for us today. And it's good to realise that
the Word of God speaks to our hearts, to encourage us in our
spiritual life. And so, he says, let us hold
fast the profession of our faith without wavering. We're to hold
fast those things which God has revealed to us, and then we are
to consider one another. to provoke unto love and to good
works. Well, how are we going to provoke
one another unto love and to good works? Well, surely it can
only be by referring to the Word of God and speaking often one
to another, and not forgetting these important considerations,
but to encourage one another. We are to consider one another. We're not to just consider ourselves,
lock ourselves up in a room and shut the door. I know that's
right and good sometimes to commune with our God, but nonetheless
there is the blessing of conferring and provoking and encouraging
one another in the things of God. Consider one another to
provoke. What? What's the reason for this
provocation? It's to provoke unto love, love
one to another, and love to our God, as we may be able to exalt
Him and demonstrate His great love toward us. Does that not
provoke us to love him because of his love to us? And sometimes
it's good to be just reminded of that. We may think, well,
of course, that's obvious. Well, we need to remember that
we need perhaps to sometimes provoke one another to this situation,
to this condition, and to remind each other of the great love
of God, the amazing love of God, and to therefore be drawn to
Him in that love towards Him. unto love and to good works. Good works, you know, we are
encouraged in good works and we are to therefore encourage
one another in good works. We are to do good unto all men,
especially unto the household of faith. And again, it's good
that you and I remember and provoke one another to remember such
truths and to encourage each other in our work. And so here
the Apostle speaks and he says, let us consider one another.
We should consider each other. We can be, and we are often very
selfish in our own lives. And we perhaps don't consider
one another as we should. That's perhaps why the Word of
God is directed to us in these words. that we are to consider
one another, to provoke and to love and to good works. And he goes on And it gives us
an encouraging statement, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves
together as the manner of some is. Now it's very easy of course
to forsake assembling together. There's very many excuses which
we can produce which we think justifies our absence from the
assembly of ourselves one to another. But here the Apostle
is speaking, remember these words are not harsh words, they're
words in love, because the Apostle is concerned about the spiritual
state of the Hebrew Church. And surely we are concerned about
the spiritual state of the Church of God today. And so we have
here The Word of the Lord speaking directly to each one of us. Again,
none of us are exempt from the Word of God, and we shouldn't
think, well, I can pass that over, it doesn't apply to me.
It applies to us all. Not forsaking the assembling
of ourselves together as the manner of some is. And it gives
the reason why that should be so. But exhorting one another. We are to exhort, we are to encourage
one another. We are to speak about the things
of God. And if we're not assembling together,
then what are we doing? Well, we're apart, and there's
no opportunity to exhort one another. But if we come together,
there is the opportunity then to exhort one another and we
shall be concerned that we do follow the Word of God in this
pattern and do exhort one another. And as the Apostle says, and
so much the more as you see the day approaching. Well, of course
there are many days to consider. There is of course the day of
our death. There is, of course, the end of all things. And both
those things are approaching, and we don't know how soon. But
because they are approaching, we do want to be healthy and
lively in our souls when such a time would come. We don't want
to be found lacking in spiritual life. We want to have the evidence
that we are amongst the Church of God and that we do possess
the life of God in our souls. And so how important it is that
we remember the Word of God. And the Apostle, he goes on and
he says, for if we sin willfully, After that we have received the
knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for
sins, but a certain fearful looking-for of judgment and fire-ending nation
which shall devour the adversaries." Well, we must not forget we face
Almighty God. Almighty God is the one that
directed Paul to write such a letter to the Hebrews. And that is still
the Word of God which the Lord directs to his people today.
And it is beholden all of us to observe and to follow the
Word of the Lord. Because there are solemn words
which the Lord speaks to those who do not follow the Word of
God. And so if we do not follow the
Word of God, what is it? Are we sinning willfully against
God's Word? Well, it's true, isn't it? If
we're not obeying God's Word, what are we doing? Are we not
willfully walking in an opposite way? Are we willfully ignoring
the Word of God? It's right that we should have
a careful thought about the truth of God's Word, because we perhaps
often think that we are exempt from such condemnations, and
that we are not sinning willfully. Well, we are sinning willfully
if we do not observe the gracious, encouraging exhortations that
the Word of God directs us to. We are, in reality, sinning willfully. And that's a very solemn thought,
isn't it? But the Word of God is here for
our instruction, our encouragement. And don't forget, the Word of
God is in love to our souls. In love to our souls, so that
our souls may not be blunt, but they might be sharp in the things
of God. And so the point is very clearly
made here, For if we sin willfully after that we have received the
knowledge of the truth, after that the word of God has been
pointed out to us, then we are without excuse. When the word
of God is directed to us, it's pointed out to us, and we do
not follow it, what are we really doing? We're opposing God. What
are we doing? We're sinning willfully after
we've received the knowledge of the truth. Well, we should
be so grateful that we do receive the knowledge of the truth. What
a wonderful blessing it is. to have the word of God. The
Lord Jesus himself said when he prayed to his father, thy
word is truth. And so it is. And bless God for
it. But you see, because it is true,
you and I, my friends, have a very solemn responsibility to listen
to and follow and obey the gracious words of God. They are not harsh
words. They are gracious words for our
encouragement. and encouraging us in our spiritual
life. Sometimes we may of course mourn
the deadness, well we can use the word again, bluntness in
our spiritual life. We can think, well I'm really
not what I would be, I'm really not what I want to be. Is it
because we are very simply ignoring the word of God and we are being
lulled into sleep by our great adversary the devil who would
direct us to many other avenues and would produce In our minds,
many other excuses which we think are valid before Almighty God. Well, of course, our excuses
are only valid before Almighty God if they stand up to scrutiny
under the direction of God's Word. And that's why it's important
for us today to recognise that the Lord has graciously given
us a Word like this to speak to our hearts. Iron sharpeneth
iron. There's the illustration. It's
very simple, it's very obvious. And then he goes on, so a man
sharpeneth the counsel of his friend. And how necessary it
is therefore that God gives us grace to be concerned about the
sharpness of our spiritual life, so that there may be that continual
sharpening. A sword in a butcher's shop,
a knife in a butcher's shop, needs to be continually sharpened.
And if you go there and watch a butcher, he'll cut a piece
of meat and then he'll sharpen his knife. My friends, that's
how you and I need. We need to be continually sharpening,
as it were, our spiritual life with conversation, one to another,
to encourage each other in the things of God. And so let us
not be amongst those who have sinned willfully after we've
received the knowledge of the truth. You see, the word of God
is very direct. The word of God is not wishy-washy.
And it says, he that despised Moses' law died without mercy
under two or three witnesses of how much sorer punishment
Oh, it's getting a bit hot now, isn't it? Of how much sore a
punishment. Suppose ye, shall he be thought
worthy who has trodden underfoot the Son of God and counted the
blood of the covenant wherewith he was sanctified an unholy thing
and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace. Just ponder
those words, meditate upon those words. It's in Hebrews 10 chapter
29. You can go home and you can just
meditate upon it and think about the reality and the truth and
the solemnity of such words as that. Because I'm sure that we
do not desire to tread underfoot the Son of God, or to count the
blood of the covenant of no value or an unholy thing. But we need
to evaluate our spiritual life in accordance with the Word of
God to be able to ascertain whether we are truly sharp in the things
of God, we are truly encouraging one another, we are really exhorting
one another in the things of God, or whether we are just passing
things by now. Let's remember, nothing is easy
in spiritual life. Nothing is easy. Let us also
remember, the devil wants to shut your mouth. The devil wants
us to say nothing about the things of God. He doesn't want the name
of Christ to be He wants to obliterate it from the earth if he can.
And it's obvious today as we see the warfare in so many parts
of the world and so many attempts by atheists and by false religions
to exterminate Christianity from this earth. It's always been
so. It will always be so. And it
seems that the devil today is doing all he can to exterminate
any thought of Christianity and any conversation with regard
to spiritual things and especially any conversation as we are directed
to what the Lord Jesus Christ has done and what he has said
and for his glorious work and finished work and the blessed
salvation which he's brought to pass. And that's what the
devil doesn't want to hear. And he tries to stop it. And
he's pretty successful in the day and age in which we live.
Well don't forget then, again reverting to Malachi, then those
that feared the Lord spake often one to another. Yes, not just
on an odd occasion. But you see, often, often. Iron sharpeneth iron. Again remember,
the butcher often sharpens his knife. He doesn't do it once
a year. He doesn't do it once a month,
once a week, once a day. He does it often. He needs it
to be kept sharp. And bless God, my friends, if
the Spirit of God moves us in this dark age in which we live
to be concerned about the sharpness of our spiritual life, whether
there's a keen edge on it, whether there is the evidence that our
religion is the most important thing in our life and in our
religion Jesus Christ is the most important person. Well,
we often think of those words, what think ye of Christ, is the
test to try both your work and your scheme. You cannot be right
in the rest unless ye think rightly of him." We'll be blessed with that right
view when the Spirit works in our heart and may we know the
work of the Holy Spirit within us, generating that real desire
that Christ might be exalted, that he might be lifted up. It's
not our concern today that Christ might be exalted, that he might
be lifted up in our hearts and in our voice, through our tongue,
that we declare what we think of him. Yes, what do we think
of Christ? What think ye of Christ? is the
test to try both your work and your scheme. So it is, my friends.
And so may we be concerned, therefore, to be a true follower by the
word of God which directs us to such a simple illustration.
So a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend. And just going
back for a moment to of that Emmaus road, when those two journeyed
on that road. What really filled our heart
with joy and thanksgiving was when Christ was exalted. The
Lord Jesus spoke about himself in all the scriptures in the
Old Testament. Yes, right from, of course, Genesis to Malachi. There was no New Testament about
the Lord Jesus. He spoke to those two about himself
in the Old Testament, and how good it is when you and I find
Christ in the Old Testament. How encouraging, isn't it, to
our faith? As we find Christ there, and
we realise there, He was prophesied right back from Genesis, right
through the Old Testament, right up to Malachi. There are those
references to the Lord Jesus Christ. Sometimes it's put in
this way, as the Word of God describes it, a depth which couches
beneath, that means underneath the surface, we can observe what
it is about the Lord Jesus Christ. How good and how important it
is then for our souls to be led in this way, to search the Scriptures. Search the Scriptures perhaps
together. And search the Scriptures by speaking one to another about
the truth, about Christ in the Old Testament. It's good to search
out Christ in the Old Testament. And it's good to find Him. And
it's good to rejoice in the truth of Him. We have, of course, some
very wonderful books and chapters which speak, and we can think,
can we not have the 53rd of Isaiah, just a case in point, which is,
of course, full of Christ from beginning to end, how it describes
the Lord Jesus Christ in that prophecy of what would come. And we know it came to pass.
It was fulfilled in every detail. And so as we read that in the
Old Testament, to believe that that was written hundreds and
thousands of years before, and yet it came to pass, are we not
encouraging our souls today to realise, yes, this is the true
Word of God. This is what our souls are relying
upon. It's not a false gospel, it's
a true gospel. It was prophesied and it's come
to pass. And today we can look back and
we can rejoice in it. Is it not good then to remind
each other of these great truths, to be encouraged by them and
to bless God for them? You follow through the Hebrews
that we refer to. You read through that epistle. What does the Apostle direct
us to? Direct us to, over and again, the Old Testament sacrifices. What do they portray? As he illustrates
to us, the Lord Jesus Christ, the need there was for that one
sacrifice for sin. It's spelled out so beautifully
and so wonderfully, and how needful it is for us today. to know in
our hearts and rejoice in the truth that Christ gave his life,
a sacrifice for our sin, directs it to ourselves. And we realise
then that the Lord Jesus Christ, he died, that we might live. He shed his blood, that our sins
might be washed away. clearly demonstrated in the epistle
to the Hebrews, points back to all the Old Testament dispensation,
all the ceremonial law. It was so necessary, and it's
spelled out there so beautifully, to direct us in the New Testament
to the great truth of it, so that we might be encouraged.
Well, here we have an illustration, do we not? To speak one to another
of these things, what will they do? I believe they will make
our countenance to shine. We shall rejoice in the truth
of the gospel and it may be that we need to be perhaps reminded
of it again and again. Don't forget we live in a dark
world, a world of death, a world the devil wants to keep us silent,
keep us in darkness. And there's no light, you see,
in the things of the world. There is light in the things
of Christ, because the Lord says, I am the light of the world.
There's the light, my friends. It's in Christ. There's nowhere
else. And so may you and I be encouraged today to hear the
word of God as it speaks to our heart that we might be found
sharp and not blunt. sharpen the things of God and
encourage one another. Iron sharpeneth iron. Remember
the illustration? Very simple, isn't it? Very good
for us. What a blessing it is that the
Lord brings to our minds. Simple illustrations to encourage
us in our spiritual life today. Iron sharpeneth iron. So a man
sharpeneth the countenance of his friend. And may God give
us grace, therefore, in our spiritual life to follow this pattern so
that we might encourage each other in the journey of life,
as we journey through this world, that there may be many opportunities
and many occasions when it is carried out so that we are blessed
to have heavenly conversation, one with another, and may the
result be, as it was in Emmaus Road, our hearts burn within
us when we are able to speak of Christ and He is lifted up
and he is honoured and glorified, and our souls are encouraged
and blessed. Iron sharpeneth hearth, iron,
so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend. Amen.