There's never a more truthful
request from a believer than that the Lord direct him and
pilot him. We don't know where to go, we
don't know what to do. We're just ignorant children
seeking God's direction. I'm gonna ask you to take your
Bibles and turn with me to Proverbs 29, Proverbs 29. You know, the wonderful thing
about going through a book is when you come to a passage of
scripture, next one in line, that's what you deal with. And
providentially the Lord orders and directs these things. We
just, we're just not going through a book. We're seeking God's instruction. seeking understanding from the
Lord. And the passage I'd like to deal
with today, verses five and six of Proverbs 29, is that which
we truly need to hear. I need to hear it, you do too.
This is what the scripture says. Proverbs 29, five and six. A
man that flattereth his neighbor. spreadeth a net for his feet. In the transgression of an evil
man there is a snare, but the righteous doth sing and rejoice. Flattery. I looked that word
up just to make sure I knew what it was. And in this context here,
it means to deal smoothly. That is to say, only that which
is agreeable to one's words or actions, always striving to make
one think well of himself. And according to the scriptures,
one that is continually doing this, flatter Flattering, flattering,
flattering. He's really not a friend. That's
all he's doing. He's just trying to flatter. Proverbs 28, 23, he that rebuketh
a man afterwards shall find more favor than he that flattereth
with the tongue. Generally speaking, The Spirit of God moved on Solomon
to say that those who indiscriminately are given to flattery, they have
an ill design in it. They wouldn't always be praising
if they didn't have some hope of gaining an advantage over
the one or ones that they're flattering. Now, I don't want
you to think that I'm saying that anything wrong with being
kind or being considerate, but wisdom, wisdom is exhibited when
we're careful. Those that are always flattering,
because according to the scriptures, A man that flattereth his neighbor
spreadeth a net for his feet. One that is indiscriminately
flattering is trying to trip you up. That's what he's trying
to do. You know, flattery is, according to this
scripture, it's the darkest side of treachery. This is just, it's
nothing more than hatred designed to give one or make one fall,
fail. That's what he's, that flattery.
Now I'm going overboard here on trying to nail down this point. Now again, I'm not trying to
say that it's not right to be kind and considerate, but I'm
talking about just no more than just continual, continual flattery,
smooth talking. Proverbs 26, 28 says, a lying
tongue hateth those that are afflicted by, and a flattering
mouth worketh ruin. I'm, you know, we all need to
hear this. I mean, again, I know I'm nailing
it down pretty hard, but I got a point to make here. We need
to consider, because it's so easy to think, when I first read
this passage of scripture, let me tell you where my mind went.
False religion, and there's nothing wrong with speaking out The scripture
speaks out against false religion. The Lord spoke out warning us
about false religion. It's so easy for me to look at
that and that's the first place I went. But I want to spend just
a minute here. This probably won't be a very
long message. I want to spend just a moment
here considering the much closer flatterer. than even false religion. False religion's horrible. It's
horrible. But let me tell you the greatest
offender of all. Right here. Beloved, we are our
own worst enemy because no one will flatter me like my old man. My old man is my enemy. There's an old man that is within
every believer, and that old man is bent on my, your demise. The old man cares nothing of
our eternal good. That carnal mind is enmity against
God. My old man will lie to me, distract
me. He's gonna labor to spread a
net from my own feet, trying to trip me up. There is a war
going on in me. And every believer in here has
got an old man that is a smooth talker. He'll try his best to
divert, to distract. You know how Paul described him?
Oh, wretched man that I am. Who shall deliver me from the
body of this death? David, I want you to hold your
place. Turn over to Psalm 36. Psalm
36. As I began to read this and contemplate
on this very fact, of the flatterer, he that flattereth his neighbor. I looked up neighbor, it means
intimate, intimate. And there is no neighbor to me
like me. Remember, every believer's got
two men in him, two. And they are at odds. And the
weapon of this old man against me, my old man against me. Flattery. He's not gonna speak in a convicting
way trying to steer me in the right way. Oh, no, no, no, no.
He gonna tell me, Marvin, you're doing everything so good. You're
so faithful. Oh, you're so faithful. Oh, I
wish everybody could just be just like you, Marvin. But for the grace of God, I believe
him. I got a new man that knows better.
I know just a little bit about myself. David was moved by the
Spirit of God to pen Psalm 36, verses one to four. The transgression
of the wicked saith within my heart that there is no fear of
God before his eyes. For he flattereth himself in
his own eyes until his iniquity be found to be hateful. The words
of his mouth are iniquity and deceit. He hath left off to be
wise and to do good. He deviseth mischief upon his
bed. He setteth himself in a way that's
not good. He abhors not evil. How quickly
we desire to lay the charge of treachery upon another. It's
their fault. And if they didn't, I wish that
those over there. David here says that the transgression
of the wicked speaks in his own heart. Carnal man will flatter himself
with self-righteousness until, except for the grace of God,
he's found to be hateful. in the eyes of God. He'll just,
unless God intervenes, I will go all the way to the end of
my life believing, believing what my old carnal nature tells
me, that I can please God, that I can walk rightly, that I've
found favor in His eyes because I've, every believer knows it
and experiences it. Oh, there's a body of death and
corruption that we carry around with us. The flattering old man
is one that will have a lifelong joy of setting a trap. We're so proud. We're so arrogant. He'll never instruct us in the
right way. I'm telling you that An unbeliever
has got that nature in him. And I know this because of the
scriptures. The deceptiveness of the flattering
old man is that he tries to compare himself with others. Here's the
deceit. We will pick out the worst example
of mankind and we'll compare ourselves to that, and we'll
come to the conclusion that we're really not that bad. But listen
to what the Apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians 10, 12. For
we dare not make ourselves of the number or compare ourselves
with some that commend themselves. Paul said, we dare not start
looking at others and say, well, I tell you what, I may not be
perfect. But I'm sure not like they are.
Look at those sorry suckers. But they measuring themselves
by themselves, Paul says, and comparing themselves among themselves
are not wise. My friend, this is the flatterer's
technique. Trying to make me compare myself
with you and you with me. Trying to elevate ourselves.
All he's doing is just setting a snare. He's setting a snare
for my feet, tripping me up. My friends don't look any farther
than ourselves to behold that there's no greater evil of flattery
than that which comes from within. Every one of us, we feed on this,
we feed on it. Somebody come up, they'll put
some on the internet and they'll make a comment. That was a great
message, Marvin. I wish I could tell you that
I didn't really want to read that. I wanted to read that,
Neil. In my heart, I wanted to. Yeah,
thank you. Thank you. I'm telling you, that
right there, can be the worst thing. It's the sweetest thing
for somebody to do it, and my flesh feeds on it. And but for
the grace of God, you'll start believing it. And there's a battle
that goes on. I'm telling you the flattery
of myself to me, that's my worst enemy. Oh, verse six says, in the transgression
of an evil man, There's a snare. Oh, but there's something else. There's a, there's a new man
there too. But the righteous, the sing and
rejoice every believer. Honestly, as I said, in closing,
he struggles, he struggles because he knows that new man knows that
he's struggling. And he listens to that old man,
pat him on the back and set a snare for him, trying to trip him up.
If I only realize that I'm trying to trip myself up and it's hard
to get away from me. Oh, but in the midst of my troubles,
there's a new heart there according to these scriptures, the righteous
to sing and rejoice. that which is created in righteousness
within. That which God has done for me.
I'm struggling. We're all are. If we're all honest,
I'm just up here saying it. I'm just saying what you think.
You that know Him. But I'm telling you, in the midst
of all these struggles, that new heart is singing the praises
that is due unto the Lord of glory and rejoicing in the mercy
and grace that's been shown this needy Senator, I want you to
turn to this in closing. Turn with me to Psalm 140. Listen
to the prayer of a believer. When we hear, and we all agree,
we all agree, we know, we know we pat ourselves on the back
and we love to be flattered. But I'm telling you, you can't
even touch the flattery that I could come up with for myself.
I can tell myself a whole lot more than you can. But listen
to what David said, Psalm 140, verses one to four. Deliver me,
O Lord, from the evil man. Preserve me from the violent
man. That man of violence is in my margin, which imagined
mischiefs in their heart continually. Are they gathered together for
war? They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent. Adder's
poison is under their lips. Keep me, O Lord, from the hands
of the wicked. Preserve me from the violent
men who have purposed to overthrow my goings. That's me. Lord, deliver me from me. Lord,
keep me. Lord, sustain me. Hold me up. I admit right now, Lord, that
in me, that is in my flesh, there dwelleth no good thing. Lord,
make me aware as you've set forth that I've got an old man that
is always trying to flatter me, flatter me, flatter me. Lord,
I realize it's nothing but a trap. Lord, cause me, keep me to continually
cast myself upon your mercy. And Lord, I ask you this, for
your glory and my eternal good. Amen. All right, let's just,
let's take a few minutes break.