First, I want you to turn with
me this morning to the Old Testament book of Proverbs, chapter 6. Proverbs, chapter 6. God says in this book, this book
that we call the Bible, to humble yourselves therefore under the
mighty hand of God that He may exalt you in due time. You know,
true humility brings future exaltation. Humility is a beautiful, beautiful
thing in the eyes of the Lord. Pride, on the other hand, is
not. Sadly, we all have it. I know folks that take pride
in their humility. Did you know that pride is the
first thing on a list of several things that God hates? Here in
Proverbs 6, verse 16, we read, these six things doth the Lord
hate, yea, seven are an abomination to him. And I'd have you notice
that the first thing mentioned is a proud look, a lying tongue,
and hands that shed innocent blood, and a heart that deviseth
wicked imaginations, feet that are swift and running to mischief.
A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord
among brethren." Now here we have a list of things, as I said,
that God hates. And I'm interested in the things
that God hates. Aren't you? I don't want to do
what God hates. I don't want to be one that God
hates. And I don't want God to hate
me. But God hates a lying tongue, he says here. and I have done
my share of lying. Let's just be honest. We've all
done our share of it. Notice God also hates the shedding
of innocent blood. Now I'm not going to try to explain
God. That's not what preaching is.
I'm not going to try to understand God. His ways are past finding
out the Scripture said. It says here that God hates the
hands of those that shed innocent blood. The problem is this, that
men's hands are attached to their hearts. Their actions reveal
the heart within. In verse 18 we're told that God
hates men and women who devise wicked imaginations in their
hearts and with that wickedness run to mischief. God hates that. We don't hear much today about
things that God hates. In verse 19 we see that God hates
a slanderer. One who speaks lies and brings
false accusations and constantly spreads discord. That word discord
there means strife. Constantly spreading strife.
Always causing trouble. We all know people like that.
Constantly stirring up discord and strife. Let me tell you,
God hates that. Yet at the top of the list of
things that God hates, a proud look. Those who walk in pride, He,
God, is able to abase. Solomon, the wisest man that
ever lived, other than the Lord Jesus Himself, said this, he
said, Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a
fall. And anyone who has seen the truth
of God in the Bible knows that God is a sovereign God. Well,
what does that mean? What do you mean by God is sovereign?
God is God. He's not trying to be God. He
is God. He doesn't want to be God. He is God. He's never tried
to do anything. He's never wanted to do anything.
Not God. Not the God of the Bible. The
Lord of hosts hath sworn, saying, As I have thought, so shall it
come to pass. And as I have purposed, so shall
it stand." Now does that sound like the little helpless and
hopeless Jesus that many people preach today? Preachers ask folks,
won't you give your heart to Jesus? Won't you let God have
His way in your life? I've got a rude awakening for
you. God's already having His way in your life. You better
believe He is, because He's God. He works all things after the
counsel of His will. He does all things according
to His own will and purpose. In the army of heaven and among
the inhabitants of the earth, and none can stay His hand, are
saying to Him, what are you doing? And that's just the God you're
going to have to deal with. You're going to deal with Him
now or you're going to deal with Him one day in eternity. God
does what He wills. People, especially preachers,
have been lying on God. They made him out to be a beggar.
But it's you and I that have the great need. It's you and
I that are beggars, and we're beggars of mercy. Man-made religion
tells folks to make a decision, exercise your will, oh come on
down front, confess your sins, and you know what happens? Men
and women perish trusting in a decision they made, a walk
that they walked, a work that they worked, and a free will
that they exercised in a joint collaboration with God. And they
never trust in Christ, the one mediator between God and me.
As we saw last week, God's not going to share His glory with
another. If a man or woman is ever saved by the grace and mercy
of God, the first thing that that person will tell you is
that it was God that saved them. David said, our God's in the
heavens. He's done whatsoever He hath pleased. Is that your
God? whatsoever the Lord pleased.
That did He in heaven and in earth and in the seas and in
all deep places. Is that your God? Where are the
men and the women and the churches that are telling men and women
the truth about God? Most folks today have such a
low opinion of God and way too high opinion of themselves. And
the reason is because proud men and women in their minds and
in their hearts try to bring God down on their level. Because
their God doesn't resemble the God that's declared in this book. We go wrong from the start thinking
God to be like unto us. God said this, you thought that
I, God, the omnipotent creator, was altogether such a one as
you are. Big mistake. Big mistake. No comparison. God asked this
question in the book of Job chapter 38. Listen to it. He said, Where
was thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Where were you
when I spoke the worlds into existence? Declare, if thou hast
understanding, who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou
knowest, or who hath stretched the line upon it. Who did all
that? Who's got a tape measure big or long enough to measure
the work and the creation of God? Oh, the depth of the riches,
both of the wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable are
his judgments and his ways past finding out, Romans 11.33. Men and women today have too
high an opinion of themselves and not a high enough opinion
of God Almighty. God said, my thoughts aren't
your thoughts. And neither are my ways your ways. What do people
think this book is about? God is the creator of this vast
universe and it is he that gives us our next breath. He deserves
our adoration. He deserves our devotion. He
deserves our worship. But men by nature have too much
pride to do so. Too much pride. Pride's something
that God hates. But he gives grace to the humble,
the scriptures say. I want you to turn with me to
Luke chapter 18. I'm not going to keep you long
today. I want you to see this though. Very familiar passage
of scripture. Very familiar story. Luke chapter
18. In these verses before us, the Lord
Jesus tells us a parable. A parable in the Bible is just
a simple story. used to illustrate a moral or
a spiritual lesson. It's always a story with a lesson
attached. Our Lord often spoke in parables. Yet in this particular parable,
we find the Lord speaking to a specific group of people. Look
at verse 9 with me. Luke 18, look at verse 9. Got
it? And He, speaking of Christ, spake
this parable unto certain. He spoke it unto a specific group. Who was this group? Well, it
says here that they were those which trusted in themselves that
they were righteous. They trusted in themselves that
they were righteous and despised others. This story, this parable
that the Lord told was intended for those that trusted that they
were in, of, and by themselves righteous or right in the sight
of God by something that they had done to make them worthy
of God's notice. There's still a multitude of
people in the world today that are trusting in themselves instead
of God. They are trusting, they're depending,
they're relying on something that they've done or something
that they're doing or something that they're going to do that
will make them righteous and acceptable in the eyes of God. Most of religion revolves around
it. Working for Jesus. There's a
life and death difference in trusting in God that you're righteous
and trusting in yourself that you are. And the Bible is very
clear on the matter. Anything that you and I offer
God must be perfect to be accepted. God Almighty, the holy and righteous
God, the God of this book, will only accept something if it's
perfect. It's got to be perfect to be
accepted. If it's not perfect, God won't accept it. Leviticus
22-21 declares just that. Must be perfect to be accepted.
And the problem is, we cannot do anything perfect. Why? Well, I can give you a bunch
of reasons. One, for all have sinned and come short of the
glory of God. The Bible doesn't say, do the
best you can and God will accept you. It says you must be perfect
to be accepted. Romans 3.10 says, as it is written,
there is none righteous, no not one. Man's not born righteous.
Folks think that man's basically born good and then he goes astray,
but that's not what the Bible teaches. Man is not born righteous,
but born condemned according to John 3. And I suppose everyone
in here, maybe in this town, is familiar with John 3.16. For
God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting
life. But have you ever read the verses
following that? For God sent not His Son into
the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him
might be saved." Now listen to this. He that believeth on Him
is not condemned. But he that believeth not is
condemned already. Born condemned. Because he hath
not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And
this is the condemnation. that light is coming to the world
and men love darkness rather than light because their deeds
read. Paul said in Titus 3, 5, not
by works of righteousness that we've done. No sir, we can't
do any works of righteousness, they're all filthy rags. The
believer, like the Apostle Paul, the believer concludes and says,
I know that in me, that is in my flesh, Well, it's no good
thing. And you tell me if this is so
with you. I want to do what's right. But I very seldom do. I want to do what's right, but
it's hard for me to do it. What's wrong? Something's wrong. I want to believe, but help thou
my unbelief. There's something broken within.
It's called sin, folks. And we all inherited it from
our father Adam. You know, none of us ever had
to teach our children how to be selfish and greedy. It comes
to them very naturally. No one ever took a course in
high school or college that trained them in envy and jealousy and
arrogance and pride. It just comes natural. No one
had to teach us to lie, no one had to teach us to hate, no one
had to teach us to grumble and complain. We're quite good at
that on our own aren't we? But every so often something
happens. A man or a woman takes sides
with God against themselves. Have you taken sides with God
against yourself? The Lord Jesus called that Syrophoenician
woman a dog. I wonder how that'd go over in
most religious circles today. He called her a dog, and you
know what she said? She said, yay Lord, a dog is
what I am, but even the dogs get the crumbs from the master's
table. I'm just a dog looking for some
crumbs, but I'll take them if they're from the Lord's table
and they're crumbs of mercy and grace. This parable before us
is very relevant today. It's full of truths that seem
to be unknown in most circles in modern day religion. This
parable is rich though with profitable information. It was told to or
for those who, as we saw in verse 9, proudly trusted in themselves
that they were righteous. Are you trusting in yourself
to obtain the righteousness that God required? Now, verse 10. Let's get into the story. Two
men went up into the temple to pray. The one a Pharisee and
the other a publican. Now, I'm going to make this message
very simple. I don't think anyone here this
morning will misunderstand what it says. Some may not like it,
some may not believe it, but I don't think you'll mistake
what I'm saying. But this parable is about two men. It's about
two men that went up to the temple to pray. One of them was a Pharisee. Now a Pharisee was one of the
most highly respected and honored religious sect among the Jews. These pomp religious leaders
with their fancy robes walked through the streets for everyone
to make a fuss over. They had a little square box
called a phylactery that was to hold parchments of Scriptures. And they would stuff there so
full that that little bag would be busting at the seams. And
the reason they did that was so that everyone thought they
were holy. Look how holy this man is. Look how righteous this
Pharisee is. His phylactery is busting at
the seams. He's a man of God. It was all
a show. The Pharisees were actually the
ones behind the murder of Christ. And then the second man in our
story was a publican. Now publicans were the most despised
people among the Jews. Publicans were actually Jewish
men that worked for the Roman government. And they collected
taxes from the Jews. And most of them were dishonest.
There were more dishonest than there were honest. Most of them
took more than what they should have. whether it was just common
taxes or custom taxes. Somebody would come in to their
country with something, and they'd go, oh, that's worth this. Here's
the tax on it. And they'd always value it for
more than what it was worth. They were just thieves. They
were dishonest. So again, we have two men, two
men that went up to the temple to pray, and they prayed two
very different prayers. Look at verse 11. The Pharisee
stood and prayed thus with himself. Did you notice that? This Pharisee
stood to pray. He wasn't standing to lead prayer
in a public assembly like most people who stand so that folks
can hear them. That's not what this guy is doing.
That's not what this Pharisee is doing. This man is standing
and he stands for one reason and one reason alone. He stands
to be seen and heard by others. He should have been quietly and
secretly praying. And he's displaying the kind
of hypocrisy that the Lord talked about in Matthew 6. The Lord
said, When thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites
are. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the
corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily
I say unto you, they have their reward. But when thou prayest,
enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut the door, pray
to the Father which is in secret, and thy Father which seeth in
secret shall reward thee openly." You know, I think that's one
of the reasons that I don't like to pray in a restaurant. We can
thank God quietly in our hearts for His provisions. This religious world likes to
draw attention to themselves, hold hands, pray aloud so that
all around them might see. I think God hates that. I can't
find anywhere in the Bible where men and women stood in a circle
or sat around a table and prayed together holding hands. It just
kind of screams, look at me, to me. And when traced to the
heart, it's just pride that seeks the glory of others and not God.
Now look at verse 11 again. The Pharisee stood and prayed
thus with himself, God, I thank Thee that I am not as other men
are. Extortioners, unjust, adulterers
are even as this publican. And I can just picture Him standing
up in front of the church there pointing to the man. Can't you?
And especially not like this public. Especially not like Him. Verse 12, He said, I fast twice
in the week. And I give tithes of all that
I possess. And the Lord tells us here in
this parable that this good religious Pharisee was not praying unto
God. He was praying unto Himself.
He was praying that others would hear Him. My mom used to say,
oh, so-and-so, they just talk to hear themselves talk. You
ever heard that saying? That's what this guy was doing.
He was just talking to hear himself talk. He wasn't praying, he was
boasting. Boasting in all that he had done.
And not only that, he was boasting in all that he had not done.
He dressed to be seen of men. He prayed to be heard by men.
He wasn't thanking God for His love and His mercy and His grace
to Him. He was thanking God that He was
not like other men. Lord, I thank You that I'm not
like other men. I'm not an extortioner. I'm not
an adulterer. I'm definitely not like this
publican. And that's exactly what self-righteous
men and women do. They compare themselves to the
worst of men. You might call me a good man
when put up beside Charles Manson, but how about put up next to
God? I'm not like him. I fast twice a week. I give tithes. He talked about all that he was
doing for God. Look what we're doing for God.
You know what? God hates that. Now let's consider
for a moment the prayer of the public and look at verse 13.
And the publican standing afar off would not lift up so much
as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying,
God, be merciful to me, the sinner. What a much different prayer.
The Pharisee prayed to himself. This publican prayed to God.
Did you notice the posture of the publican? Did you hear when
I read that he was standing afar off? He was way in the back in
the corner somewhere. He has no desire to be seen of
others. He's ashamed of what he is. He doesn't speak about
himself. He's come to seek mercy. He's
a mercy beggar. He's not praying to be heard
of men. His heart's desire is to be heard of God. He wouldn't
lift up His hands as many do. Everybody raises their hands.
He wouldn't even lift up His eyes toward Heaven. There with
His head hanging low. He's humbled. There's that word
again. Humbled. He's humbled with the
sense of His sin, with the sense of His unworthiness. And He calls
on the true and living God This self-righteous Pharisee was proud.
But this publican, this man, was broken and humble. The Pharisee's
bragging, but this man's begging. Big difference. Big, big difference. So what have we seen? One of
these men was a religious man. He was a churchgoer. He was a
Pharisee. The other was a publican. A dishonest man. One who had
wronged others. And one who had once cared only
about himself. But now, he's a publican. He's
still a publican. But he's a publican that sought
forgiveness. And he's a publican that sought
righteousness. And he sought the only one that
could provide both forgiveness and righteousness, and that's
the Lord Jesus Christ. Two different men, praying two
different prayers, praying two different ways, from two different
walks of life, with two completely different attitudes, and in the
end, they have two very different outcomes. I love the way that
verse 14 reads. After all, it's Christ Himself
that is speaking here. That's why I love it, I'm sure.
But verse 14, the Lord said, I tell you. I can remember when
my dad often wanted to get my attention about something. Something
was bothering maybe that I was doing or in my life out of concern.
I always knew it was serious when he said, I'll tell you,
son. I knew to listen. I'll tell you,
son. I'll tell you, you better listen
to me. I'm going to tell you something about this man, the
Lord says. This man went down to his house
justified. That word justified simply means
to render innocent. To be made righteous. Are you
trusting in yourself that you are righteous? That's a very,
very serious question. Folks have made the gospel about
what they do for God, but it's never been about that. It really
hasn't. It's never been about that. Matter of fact, God said
in Psalm 50 verse 12, He said, if I was hungry, I wouldn't tell
you, for the world is mine and the fullness thereof. God doesn't
need us, but we certainly need Him.