Turn with me to the book of Proverbs,
chapter 29. Proverbs 29, as we were singing
that song, I thought, you know, we see through a glass darkly.
We believe it, we know it, we know it's finished, work's done. But truly, one of these days,
one of these days, We're gonna see him as he is. I said in the first service that
I wanted to preach out of John 10 before I preached this. The Lord told these Pharisees,
all that came before me were thieves and robbers. The sheep
didn't hear them. They were thieves and robbers. Proverbs 29, 24, whoso is a partner
with a thief, hateth his own soul, heareth cursing, and bereath
it not. Solomon was moved by the Spirit
of God to pen the danger of being found a partner. That's what it says. Whoso is
a partner with a thief, a partner, one who is smooth, that's what
it means, or deals with a thief, a thief. You know, there is one Thief. There's one true thief. Satan. He's the thief. There's a roaring lion seeking
whom he may devour. But obviously he's got a lot
of partners. He's got a lot of partners. Those
that align themselves with the lying of Satan. In the garden, he questioned
God's word. He disputed God's word. Hath God said, you shall not eat of the fruit. Eve said, we can't eat it, we
can't touch it. lest we die. That thief said to her, you're
not going to die. Brethren, there is one door. And if anyone proclaims any other
way of salvation except by the free grace of Almighty God. Anybody that proclaims that salvation
is by something you do, something you do, and I'm telling you, anybody that proclaims that salvation
has anything to do with a man finishing making it a factual. He's a partner with the thief.
He's in alignment with him. And here's the danger of that
horrible attitude. That man hates his own soul.
Hates his soul. Can you imagine hating your own
eternal soul? And the end result, except the
Lord be pleased to show mercy, is this. You know what it's going
to be. It's eternal death. Whoso is a partner with a thief,
hateth his own soul. Now listen to this. He heareth cursing. Now what he's just said right
there, he's heard the pronouncement of judgment that is due the crime. Let me tell you what, if any
man, any woman, any man, any woman leaves this world without
Christ, let me tell you what the end result is. You will be
cast out. of the presence of God, and you
will be cast into hell. You say, well, you don't have
to say it like that. Well, I'm going to say it again. If you
leave this world, here's the cursing. Here's the pronouncement
of judgment is what this is. That's what he's saying. He heareth
the cursing. He heareth the judgment of God
that's going to be on it. Those that align themselves with
a thief They hear it, and they bereath it not. What does that
mean? He doesn't disclose it, he doesn't
agree with it, he doesn't bow to it. His silence makes him
guilty. But with theft, so prevalent
in this world, we know what theft is, it's somebody comes in and
takes something that don't belong to you. It's to come in and to steal
something. With theft being so well known
in this world, what act of thievery would be so heinous, so foolish,
so soul damning, that the Spirit of God would move Solomon to
set forth such arresting words? Now those are arresting words
right there. I mean, when you understand what Solomon was moved
to say, here's what he's saying. You align yourself with the thief
himself, Satan himself. And I'm telling you, every pastor,
preacher, whatever, that stands in pulpits today, you know, now
don't judge. I'm not judging, I'm telling
you the truth. Every man that stands in a pulpit today, and
proclaims that salvation is anything other than by the free grace
of God is a partner to the thief. He's a liar. He's a liar. And
the Lord warned us of him. He warned us of him. Man has one purpose except God
give him a new heart. He wants to rebel against God.
We're all born rebels. Man by nature, children of wrath. He robs God by disbelieving His
revelation of covenant mercy. Now did Almighty God set forth
that He's got a people chosen before the foundation of the
world? Did God say that? In Ephesians 1, 4, did God say
that He chose a people in Christ before the foundation of the
world? He did. I can tell you right now, He
did. Did the Spirit of God set forth that Christ died for those
sheep? I quoted that in the first one.
It's John 10, 15. I lay down my life for the sheep.
Does God have an elect? Did Christ die for only the elect? Does He impute righteousness
to His people that believe? Does, has all that the Father
given the Son, John 6, 37. All that the Father has given
me shall come to me. Is there any chance that they're
not gonna not come? No, there's no chance that they're
not coming. And who does Christ pray for? John 17, 9. Look it up, John 17. He said,
I pray for those that you've given. I don't pray for the world.
I think the Lord prays for all of the world. Men say, no, the
Lord said, I don't. Now, let me ask you this. Do you know
that a man robs God when he does not believe the revelation of
Almighty God concerning his covenant mercy? He robs God by not believing
that salvation is by the free grace of Almighty God, the Lord
Jesus Christ. And he robs God by trusting in
his own works and self-righteousness. I gave my heart to Jesus on June
the 11th, 213 in the afternoon. It was a Thursday. Men say that's
an example. I didn't mean that. You just
robbed God. You robbed God. Why? Why? What do you mean? I gave my heart
to Jesus. I was converted because I Men
will get on TV and they'll say, now pray this prayer. And they'll
give you a few little words just to, you know, I'm thinking, if
that's all it takes, why did the Lord come into this world?
Why did he suffer and die? Why, why? If all I gotta do is
just quote this to me. The Lord Jesus Christ, I want
you to turn to Matthew 21. Here's the scripture we're looking
at. Whoso is partner with a thief, hateth his own soul, he heareth
cursing, and bereth it not. Matthew 21, verse 12 and 13. Matthew 21. And Jesus went into the temple
of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple,
and overthrew the tables of the money changers, and the seats
of them that sold doves. And he said unto them, it is
written, My house shall be called the house of prayer, but you've
made it a den of thieves. The Lord entered in to a place
where divine worship was to be had. And all that was found there
was that which had degenerated into a sham. It was a show. It was just, there was a semblance,
there was a presence of worship. But the Lord drove them out.
He said, you've taken this place that's to be a house of prayer,
and you've made it a den of thieves. Thieves. Beloved, There is no
room in the house of God in that place where the Lord is to be
honored. There's no place for anything
except the worship of God. Worship involves the faithful
hearing of the preaching of the gospel. Faith cometh by hearing. and hearing by the Word of God.
Worship involves the faithful, prayerful reading of God's Word,
asking, beseeching the Lord to bless it, singing of His praises. If the Lord's pleased to call
His people out of darkness, They confess the Lord in believer's
baptism. That doesn't save them. That
is the confession. That's the outward confession.
The Lord's already done something for me. And the taking of the Lord's
table. This, when we come together,
let me tell you what we're here for. We're here to worship God. I want to hear what God has to
say. I need to hear that whoso is
a partner with a thief hates his own soul. I need to hear
that. These scriptures right here, they're given for instruction,
reproof, rebuke, instruction in righteousness. I need to hear
this. We're here today to honor our
Lord. And anything else that is tried
to be entered in, is an attempt to take away his
honor. David said, Psalm 122.1, I was
glad when they said to me, let's go to the house of the Lord.
Lord's people rejoice that they want to be where the Lord has
been pleased to raise up a place where needy sinners can come
and hear the gospel of grace and mercy. A place where they look forward
to being with each other. That's what they did in the book
of Acts. But I'll tell you what's good to be here. It's good to
be here because the Lord's here. where two or three are gathered
together. We hear that all the time. A place where he's been
pleased to call his people unto himself out of that yard of sin
and unbelief and call them together just to be able to worship and
to sing praises to him and pray to him and ask him. The Lord
speak to me today. Lord, give me understanding today.
Lord, help me today. God, keep me. God, keep me. Lord, thank you that you didn't
leave me. I can tell you for a fact, I
know something about being a partner to a thief. I know something
about it. When the Lord calls his people
out of darkness, they're glad. I'm glad, I'm glad, thankful. Being in the Lord's house is
a joy that many care nothing for. I understand that. But for
those who by the grace of God have been made to see their need
of Christ, they're thankful. I pray that he'll bless this
word today. I knew I was gonna have to be
in Proverbs 29, 24. It's one of those verses of scripture
that sets forth this truth right here. partner yourself with a thief,
you hate your soul. Lord, show me what the thief
is. Who is the thief? What's he want
to do? Steal God's glory, steal God's
people. Lord, thank you for saving my
soul. For Christ's sake, I praise and bless you.