I'm gonna ask you to take your
Bibles and turn with me to the book of Proverbs. Proverbs chapter
29. Proverbs 29. I would like to look at three verses
of scripture today in Proverbs. Proverbs 29 verses 19, 20, and
21. And I've entitled this message
from the scriptures, I'm gonna read in just a moment, Delicately
Brought to Christ. Let's read these three verses.
Proverbs 29, verses 19, 21. A servant will not be corrected
by words, For though he understand, he will not answer. Seest thou
a man that's hasty in his words, and more hope of a fool than
of him? He that delicately bringeth up
his servant from a child shall have him become his son at the
length. You know, a pleasant, willing,
faithful employee is truly a joy to any employer. That's a joy. A landowner that has men under
his authority who are trustworthy, dependable, Those who have character,
good character, and their motive is doing a good job. That's what
they want to do. Boy, that's a desirable employee. You've ever been in a situation
where you've had men working for you? I have. And I'm telling you, there's
nothing better than having some men, women, that you can depend
on. They gonna do what they say. Say what they mean, and they're
honorable, and you trust them. That's such a good thing. But
if there's one whose character is less than desirable, One who's not trustworthy, not
faithful. And that the boss can really,
truly put no confidence in because he has no interest in his position. There's no desire for him to
put forth an honorable effort because he has no heart for obedience. No love or respect for the company,
for his boss. No respect for the one that's
willing, that hired him, willing to pay him and treat him fairly,
meet his needs. Boy, that's a painful and a distressing
situation. Proverbs 25, 19 says, confidence
in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a broken tooth
and a foot out of joint. Well, considering everything
that I've just said, right now, I know what your thoughts
are. Certainly that unfaithful servant,
that employee that you can put no real trust in, Get rid of
him. Throw him out. Throw him out
in the street. Tell him he hadn't appreciated
one thing that's ever been done for him. He's worthless. And really, to be honest with
you, he'd learn a good lesson for being unthankful. What he
needs is a good semester in school of hard knocks That'll do him
some good. We all be right, you know, in
thinking that way, I'm sure. Let me ask you this. What if he's one that you love?
You love him. You love him. He's unfaithful, but you love
him. Brethren, this is the case. of every one of God's elect from
their fallen Adam. Lord, who has said concerning
his people, I've loved you with an everlasting love. I love you. And we come forth from our mother's
womb, liars, wrathful children against God. who loves us, loves
his people. I realize all men born in Adam
are like that. I got that part of it. But I'm
gonna tell you something. Out of the mass of humanity,
there's a people born just like everybody else, but here's one
blessed difference. There's a people that God has
been pleased to set his affection on and loves them. I want you to turn with me to
Genesis 6. Hold your place there in Proverbs.
Turn with me to Genesis 6. I want your eyes to look upon
God's mercy. Genesis chapter 6, verses 5 to
8. And God saw that the wickedness
of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of
the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually, and it
repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth. It grieved
him at his heart, and the Lord said, I will destroy man whom
I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast,
and creeping thing, the fowls of the air, for it repenteth
me that I have made them. But Noah found grace in the eyes
of the Lord. Oh, but for the mercy of God. Turn over to Isaiah chapter one. Isaiah chapter one. Isaiah one,
I'm gonna begin reading in verse six. Read a few verses here.
Isaiah one, verse six. From the sole of the foot, even
unto the head, there is no soundness in it but wounds and bruises
and putrefying sores. They've not been closed, neither
bound up, neither mollified with ointment. Your country is desolate. Your cities are burned with fire.
Your land, strangers devour it in your presence. It's desolate,
it's overthrown by strangers. The daughter of Zion is left
as a cottage in a vineyard, lodge in a garden of cucumbers as a
besieged city, except the Lord of Hosts had left unto us a very
small remnant. We should have been as Sodom,
and we should have been like unto Gomorrah. Brethren, while
we might be ready to cast the first stone, cut off all who
in our own estimation are deserving to be cut off. I get it. Let's remember the pit from which
we've all been dug. Let's remember our need of mercy. I want us to consider out of
these passages, these three verses out of Proverbs. I wanna deal
with three little points here. I'm gonna try to be very brief. Here's my first point. Man, and
especially I'm speaking of God's elect. We're all the same. Here's our problem. Here's our
problem. Verse 19. A servant. You know I got to
thinking about that servant. You know all men, all women are
going to serve God. We're going to serve God. We're
going to serve the Lord either in the demonstration of His justice
or we're gonna serve the Lord in the demonstration of His mercy,
but we're gonna serve God. We're gonna serve God. But I'm
looking at this primarily right now as a picture of God's elect,
born in Adam, unregenerate. Here's our problem. This is us
now. A servant will not be corrected
by words, for though he understand, he will not answer. Now, here's
the truth of man's adamant resistance against
authority. Just like that employee I was
talking about. All of the bad characteristics
he got, but he was one that was loved. Here's our problem. Because of being born in Adam,
dead in trespasses and sins. Man is born resistant because
he's dead. He's resistant. He manifests. He's not going to be correct.
He will not be corrected by God. Man by nature resists God's admonition. He resists his instruction. He
resists his discipline. The scripture says this earth
manifests the glory of God. Look around us. Look at these
seasons. Look at the order. Look at the stars. Look at this.
But man will not glorify God. He'll not glorify God in the
manifestation of God's power in nature. Man will resist. Every man has got a conscience.
We know right from wrong. Scripture bears that out. But
man resists even the convicting voice of God's holiness and his
justice in man's own conscience. But especially, man resists the
hearing of the voice of the great shepherd through the preaching
of the gospel of God's grace. This is what the scriptures declare. These are the words of wisdom.
Here's our problem. A servant, one left to himself
in his spiritual death, will not be corrected by words. Though he understand, he will
not answer. Now let me just kind of bring
it down to earth here so we all get it, what's being said. The
natural man, now I know that you're gonna be able to understand
what I'm saying here. You'll be in agreement with what
I'm saying. The natural man can hear God's word, God's promise
of life eternal in Christ. That man comes by the grace of
God through faith. That's what you just read there. It's impossible to please God. Now, man by nature can hear that. He hears what God has to say. Man can hear the promise of eternal
damnation, condemnation, for failing to bow to Christ. He can hear those words preached
as plainly as they've ever been preached. He hears them. He hears them. He hear them.
There's life coming to me, all you that labor heavy laden, I
will give you rest. Now what part of that, you know,
English did you not understand? You understood those words. Man
by nature hears them. But unless that word is effectually
blessed by the Spirit of God, they're going to hear those words,
they're going to intelligently understand what's being said,
and this scripture bears out that they will pay no attention
to it. He won't trouble himself to give
an answer. That is, he won't give an answer
of a corrected heart. He won't answer, bow. Whenever Saul of Tarsus was on
the road to Damascus, you know why he was going to Damascus?
He had letters of authority in his hand that he'd gotten those
in Jerusalem, to go to Damascus, and any that he found of the
way, following after Christ, he was to take them, he was going
to take them, bind them, bound, back to Jerusalem. That's what
he was going to do. That's where he was going. He was breathing out anger
and animosity. And when Almighty God stopped
him on the road to Damascus, Kosal, this is who I am, and
this is what you're doing. He said, he answered, and he
said, Lord, what would you have me to do? He answered, what would
you? The scripture says, a servant
will not be corrected by words, for though he understand, he
will not answer. I have them in my family, you
do too. They understand, and they can give you a good, they
can speak as clearly the truth of the gospel as you'd hear it. They don't have a heart for it.
They don't have a heart. The natural man may hear, intelligently
understand what's being said. Not answer. Now, I want us to
look at the danger of being left to ourselves. Now, here's my
second point. Here's the danger. I want to
look at the danger of one that Almighty God has everlastingly
loved in Christ. One that's yet to be called out
of darkness. Let me tell you the danger of
where they are. These are God's people. They're
the sheep. They're not called out of darkness
yet. They're still sheep, though.
They're still His sheep. Other sheep I have, the Lord said.
They're not of this foe, them I must bring. Were they sheep
then? Yeah, they were sheep then. But
let me tell you the danger. These sheep, everlastingly loved
of God, they're found among the wolves of this world, the wolves
that are ready to devour. in a way that is so subtle. Religious deceit. Now here's
God's people. I don't know where they are.
I don't know where God's people are. They're scattered throughout
the world. When they preached on the day
of Pentecost, they were, you know, here they are from Cappadocia
and Bithynia and Cyprus, and they were here, Cappadocia, they
were there, all over the, and they all come together. They
were there. We don't know where they are, but they're in this
world, scattered. And there's danger, there's danger
out there. What is it? I'll tell you the
danger. The danger that they're in is
in these lion wolves of false religion, false prophets that
would do nothing more than devour them. Now that's what that second
verse deals with, verse 20. Seest thou a man that is hasty
in his words? There's more hope of a fool than
of him. Now what does that mean, hasty,
hasty? I looked that up, make sure I
knew what it was. It means to hurry or to rush. Now you've got men, women, born
in Adam, they're not gonna hear. They won't hear by word, they
won't be corrected. But in the subtlety of the prince of this
world, he's gonna go after them. And you know the tactics of Satan. We've read this before. I want
you to turn over to Revelation 12. Here's the tactics. Now here's
the danger. Here's the danger. Revelation
12. Oh, I think to myself, how many
times have I heard People say, you know, go to the church of
your choice, go, go, you know, don't matter where you go, you
know, just go somewhere, just go somewhere. Oh, the danger,
the danger, the danger of that. Revelation chapter 12, verse
13, when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he
persecuted the woman which brought forth the man-child, and to the
woman were given two wings of a great eagle that she might
fly into the wilderness, into her place where she is nourished
for a time and times and half a time from the face of the servant.
Now, I've said this before. This woman is being spoken of
here. This is the bride. This is the
church. This is the beloved of the Lord. And when Satan saw
her, he was cast out. He was cast out of heaven. Cast
out third of the angels with him. He's got one purpose in
resistance to God. God Almighty is going after his
bride. He's going after his bride. You
want to get a man off Top Dead Center? Let somebody go after
his wife. Now this done got personal now.
He's going after the bride. And here's how he did it. Here's
how he's going after her. The serpent cast out of his mouth
water as a flood after the woman. Oh, that flood of false religion. Lying. Works. Man-centered works
religion. I know something about this.
Some of you do too. Oh, it's so enticing. It just
makes you feel so good. Makes you so proud of yourself,
you know. I've done whatever it is, you're going to feel good
about it. Pride. Trusted in themselves that they're
righteous. And the serpent cast out of his
mouth water as a flood after the woman that he might cause
her to be carried away of the flood. And the earth helped the
woman and the earth opened her mouth and swallowed up the flood
which the dragon cast out of his mouth. And the dragon was
wroth with the woman. He went to make war with the
remnant of her seed. which keep the commandments of
God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. I'm telling you,
this world, and all of this false religion, they're everywhere,
and you know that, you know that. All this, this says this, and
this says this, and this says this, and they're all different.
There's only one message that's consistent, and it doesn't matter
if you're here, or you're in Lexington, or you're in Danville,
or if you're here, you're gonna hear the same thing over and
over and over and over. Here's the problem. Satan knows
that there's a remnant, and he's going after her. He's going after
her. And the way he's gonna trap her
is this. He's going after her with false
religion, lying, deceiving wolves. Keep clothing. She's going after
her, that's the problem. She's born and she won't be corrected. But Satan's gonna do everything
he can to get her, go after her. Tell her all you have to do is
just A-B-C or D-E-F, what have you gotta do? And the carnal
man, that's what it says, hastily. Seest thou a man, verse 20, that
is hasty in his words. He's gonna rush this thing. That's
what it means. He's gonna hurry this thing. Listen, listen. We
gotta get him down the aisle. I gotta get him in the baptismal
pool. I gotta get him sprinkled. I gotta get him this. I gotta
get him that. We're gonna hurry this issue. And he's trying to
hastily direct through the tactics of Satan. It's all man-centered. a profession, turn over a new
leaf, reform your life, get right with God, do something according
to the works of the flesh and give Him a false hope. Just give
Him a hope, give Him a job, get Him in the church and give Him
something to do. Keep Him busy. Brethren, not
by works of righteousness that we've done, but according to
His mercy. He saved us. You see, the problem is that
man is unable and false religion tells him you are, you are, you're
able. God said, you're not gonna die. Listen to Jeremiah 13, 23. Can an Ethiopian change his skin
or the leopard his spots? Then may ye also do good that
are accustomed to do evil. The scripture says, seest thou
a man that is hasty in his words, in his matters, in these matters
of correction. There's more hope of a fool than
of him. There's more hope for a simpleton,
a man that knows nothing, nothing, I'd rather talk to somebody that
knows nothing of anything about religion than to talk to somebody
or try to argue with somebody that's so steeped in their false
religion. There's more hope. That's what
Scripture, more hope. Oh, listen, Proverbs 14, 12,
there's a way that seemeth right unto man. There's a way that
seemeth right unto man. But the end thereof are the ways
of death. Oh, but bless God. Lord been
pleased to not leave his people to perish in their arrogant rebellion
or be devoured by the wolves of false religion. Do you know
why you or I'm sitting under the gospel? Loving it and rejoicing
it. You know why? We've not been
left to ourselves to just get somewhere in some hole in the
wall. Just, you know why? The grace
of God. That's the only reason we're
here. That's the only reason we're here. Oh, bless the Lord. Here's my last point. Here's the hope. Here's the hope
of life. He that delicately bringeth up
his servant from a child shall have him become his son at the
length. That word delicately, oh, it's
such a precious word. Here's what it means, to pamper,
to pamper. Oh, how the God of all grace
has been pleased to mercifully, compassionately pamper His people,
the people of His everlasting love, choosing. In closing, listen to this. According
to God's good pleasure, or the foundation of the world,
God was pleased to delicately pamper, show mercy, mercy, Don't
you enjoy being merciful to somebody you love, especially those you
love? What he did was he put his people
in the safest place that they could be. He delicately pampered them and
put them in his precious son, the son in whom he trusted. God
Almighty, the father was the first one that ever trusted Christ.
He trusted him. God had a people. He had a people
of his choosing, his love. The father loved him. He loved
him. And he was going to have him. So what did he do? He put
him in a safe place. Put him in Christ. And according
to the covenant of God's grace, covenant mercy, covenant mercy,
covenant mercy. Christ, for those that the father
had given him, he pampered them. He, in covenant agreement, would
be their surety. I'm going to take care of you.
I'm going to take care of you. I'm going to redeem you from
the curse of the law. I'm going to be made a curse
for you. I'm going to come into this world and I'm going to save
you. I'm going to save you by my power,
my grace. I'm going to be your God and
you're going to be my people. Boy, isn't that, that's the sweetest.
How delicate, how delicate. Think how fragile we were and
are. And I'm going to do all that
is necessary to earn righteousness. I'm going to do, I'm going to
do for you what you can't do for yourself. I'm going to, as a man, I'm going
to be made like, like unto your sinful flesh. And I'm going to,
I'm going to walk before God in this world. And I'm going
to please Him. I'm going to honor every jot
and tittle of the law that you broke. And I'm going to earn as a man
righteousness for you. And I'm going to clothe you in
it. I'm going to pay your debt. I'm going to robe you in my righteousness. I'm going to keep you. I'm going
to teach you. I'm going to shed my blood for
you and wash you, cleanse you, there'll be no condemnation.
And every infraction that you commit every day, I'll wash it
away, and I'll wash it away, and I'll wash it away. And I'm
going to tell you about it. I'm going to send pastors after
my heart I'm going to teach them. I'm
going to choose them, call them, I'm going to teach them. And
then I'm going to powerfully direct your steps and I'm going
to put you under the sound of my mercy and compassion. And
when it pleases me, I'm going to come to you by my spirit and
I'm going to remove your heart of stone and I'm going to give
you a heart of flesh. And I'll write my law, law of
love, on your heart. and you're going to know me." Almighty God was pleased to delicately,
delicately save His people from their sins. He didn't drive them
by the law. He gave them a new heart and
made them willing in the day of His power. Gave them faith
to believe and He just Pampers him and pampers him and pampers
him. Even in chastening grace, chastening mercy, even in the
chastisements, even when he's got to take us out behind the
woodshed, it's always in love. Always love. Whom the Lord loveth,
he chasteneth. And then he promises her, because
he knows the frailty of his flesh, that don't be afraid. I'm not
gonna leave you. Isaiah 43, five, fear not. I'm
with thee. I will bring thy seed from the
east and gather thee from the west. Come unto me, all ye that
labor heavy laden. I will give you rest. And then that last part of that
21st verse. He that delicately bringeth up
his servant from a child shall have him become his son at the
length. Kind of hard to understand the
way it's written, but I can tell you based on the interpretation
of the words is what he said. He delicately brings up his servants,
his willing servants from a child. He made them new in regenerating
grace. He rebirthed us from heaven. Created new. And He brings us
up and He teaches us. And it says that they have become. They have Him become. That is, they realize that they
exist. That's what that word means.
They exist. And see where it says His Son
That last one, he delicately bringeth up his servant from
a child, shall have him become his son, his heir, his heir. He teaches him. You're my heir. You're an heir
with my son, joint heir with my son. And he's going to have
them that way, the scripture says, at the length. It means
expecting the rights of a son afterward. Based on his word. God's people are born into this
world, haters of God. But God's not going to leave
them to themselves. He's not going to leave them
to the wiles of the devil. He's not going to leave them
to the deceitfulness of false religion. He gonna powerfully
pull them. I'm gonna bring you to myself.
And then I'm gonna delicately bring you up. And I'm gonna teach
you. Because I love you. I pray God
bless this to our hearts for Christ's sake. Amen.