Let's take our Bibles and turn
with me to the book of Proverbs. Proverbs chapter 27. I'd like to look at verse 17
tonight. Proverbs 27, 17. Iron sharpeneth
iron, so a man sharpeneth the countenance of
his friend." The Holy Spirit moved upon Solomon
to pin a natural truth that illustrates a spiritual truth, a spiritual
truth that is absolutely vital to the salvation and eternal
good of God's people. Now here's the natural truth.
Iron sharpeneth iron. When it comes to having a knife
or sword that's dull, scripture bears out that can only be truly
sharpened by that which is of the same substance. It can only
be made at word. Sharpened means to be alert or
keen, fixed, what it should be. And likewise, spiritually speaking,
it requires a man. Here's what it says. It says,
iron sharpeneth iron. So a man sharpeneth the countenance
of his friend. A man alerts or makes keen the
countenance or the face or the person. When it says the countenance,
you know a man's countenance, that's his person, that's his
being. Oh, the mercy and wisdom of God
to reveal the need and the profit of not only fellowship and companionship
between friends, but when the Lord is pleased to reveal divinely
the spiritual need of a sinner. There's no doubt about it. I was reading some of the commentaries
on this particular passage and most all of them, a few with
exception, a few. But most of them, they were dealing
with the need that we all have for friends. We all need friends
to lighten the burden, to be an aid in the midst of the calamities
of this life. That's completely understandable.
I get it. I get it. We need friend. We
need each other. Friends. But all the blessing
and the grace of God to send us the friend. The friend of
sinners into this world to rescue a people. of His choosing from
the darkness and the bondage of sin. Now, I've got three points
concerning the sharpening, the countenance of a man, the person
of a man. I've got some different words
that I found, but here's the first point concerning the countenance
of a man. All men, all men created of God,
whenever God made Adam and Eve, all men, there was one, all men
were created of God and they were created with a countenance
which was upright before His Creator. Now concerning a man's
countenance toward the Lord, we understand that in creation,
His countenance, his face, when I talk about the face, his being,
his attitude, his demeanor, his respectful behavior was in the
beginning when God said man was created upright. When man was
created by God, he was created straight, upright. What it means? Correct, pleasant, fitting, and
proper. toward God. That's how man was
created. That's his countenance. The Lord
made heaven and earth. He made the animals. But when
he created man, man was created upright. Ecclesiastes 7.29. Lo, this only have I found, that
God hath made man upright. And the Lord created man in the
most honorable and blessed way that any creature was ever created. It was man, Genesis 126. Now
listen to what Scripture says about man's creation. And God
said, let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over
the fish of the sea, and the fowl of the air, and over the
cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing
that creepeth upon the earth. This is how man was created.
This was man's countenance. He was created straight. He walked with God, talked with
God, fellowship with God. And the Lord blessed man. Man was blessed to be God's servant. And Stuart, turn to Genesis 2,
verse 8. Genesis 2, verse 8. Man was blessed
of God to be God's servant. God's servant and steward of
the creation. Now listen to this, Genesis chapter
2, verses 8 to 15. And the Lord God planted a garden
eastward in Eden, and there he put the man whom he had formed.
warmed out of the ground, made the Lord to grow every tree that's
pleasant to the sight, good for food, tree of life also in the
midst of the garden, tree of knowledge, good and evil. And
a river went out of Eden to water the garden. And from this it
was parted and became into four heads. The name of the first
is Pison, that is, which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where
there's gold, and the gold of that land is good. There was
Debelium and the Onyx Stone, and the name of the second river
is Gihon. The same is it that compasseth
the whole land of Ethiopia. And the name of the third river
is Hittikel, which is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria,
and the fourth river is Euphrates. And the Lord God took the man
and put him into the Garden of Eden to dress it. and to keep
it. God made man, made him upright,
put him in the garden, and made him a steward of the garden. Man was to keep the garden. Now, man was created with a countenance,
a steward toward God of work. He worked. He worked, not in
order to be upright, but he was already upright. And that was
his countenance. It was a divine ordination of
God's glory and man's good that man would be a steward. He worked. Some say that work was the result
of the fall. No, no, work wasn't As a result
of the fall, man being created in the image of God was placed
in the garden to till, to watch over, to tend the garden before
man ever fell. But man was created with that
stewardship of work, his countenance, to serve the Lord, to do exactly
what God had created him to do, to fellowship with God to tend
to work. And before the fall, he did work. He kept the garden. But before the fall, it was without
the pain and the fatigue of the sweat of his brow. And God who
was said to work in creation and created man in his image.
God worked, that's what it says. Genesis 2-2, and the Lord ended
his work on the seventh day. So there was a stewardship in
man. So it was the calling, the countenance
of the upright man, created in the image of God, to serve the
Lord, serve the Lord according to God's word and God's will
and God's purpose. That was man's countenance. Well,
Scripture says, now secondly, this is my second point, the
sin marred the countenance And therefore, the alertness, the
keenness of man, of his attitude, his obedience, and his stewardship
toward God. Now, by one act of disobedience,
man's love and his respect and his uprightness toward God is
fallen. Man died spiritually in the garden. In the garden, back in Genesis
chapter 2, in the garden, the Lord wisely placed upon man one
restriction. This was the restriction. Genesis
2, 16, 17. The Lord God commanded the man,
saying of every tree of the garden, thou mayest freely eat. But the tree of the knowledge
of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it, for in the day
that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die. Satan, the scripture says, who
was more subtle than any beast of the field, beguiled, fooled. Eve, concerning the fruit that
God had forbidden. Eve listened to the lie of Satan. The scripture says that she saw
that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes,
a tree to be desired, what make one wise, and she took of the
fruit and did eat. And the scripture says, and she
gave unto her husband, And he did eat. And immediately the
eyes of them both were opened and they knew that they were
naked. Their countenance fell. Their countenance was marred.
Immediately man lost in himself because now he has died spiritually. He's lost in himself. He has no desire No ability,
no desire to fellowship with God, he hid himself. He didn't now desire anything
of God. He couldn't hear God. Turn to
Matthew 13, Matthew chapter 13. Matthew 13, verse 10, 15, this
is a passage we often consider when we're looking in
the Proverbs, which we're looking now. Matthew 13, verse 10, and
the disciples came and said unto him, why speakest thou unto them
in parables? He answered and said unto them,
because it's given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom
of heaven, but to them it's not given. For whosoever hath, to
him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance. But whosoever
hath not, from him shall be taken away, even that he hath. Therefore
speak I to them in parables, because they seeing see not."
This is what happened to Adam. Adam saw, but he didn't see.
Hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them
is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, which saith, by hearing
you shall hear and shall not understand, and seeing you shall
see and not perceive. For this people's heart is waxed
gross, and their ears are dull of hearing. In their eyes they
have closed, lest at any time they should see with their eyes,
hear with their ears, should understand with their heart,
and should be converted, and I should heal them. What happened
in the garden? Man could see, he could see,
but he couldn't see. He could hear, but he couldn't hear. He couldn't understand. What's
the problem with the world today? World. They see, but they don't
see. Here, people that know not the
God of this Bible, They don't see. I've said before, when the
Lord was pleased to reveal Christ to me, I remember saying when
I was living in a trailer there in Louisiana, I said, God's sovereignty
is everywhere. It's everywhere. It's all in
this book. It's everywhere. The glory of
God is everywhere. And it's given unto you. But what happened to the garden?
Man was created upright. His countenance was straight
and right and keen toward God. But by one man's disobedience,
man fell. Many were made sinners. He fell. And now man is born spiritually
dead. His countenance toward God. It's dead. His countenance toward
men, he sees himself as something, but he's nothing. He's separated
from God in his countenance, his affections, his judgment,
his disposition, his spirit toward God. It's dead. Ephesians 2.1,
and you hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins. Listen to Psalm 10.4. Psalm 10.4,
the wicked through the pride of his countenance will not seek
after God. God is not in his thoughts. That's the countenance of a fallen
man. That's the countenance of an
unregenerate. The pride of his countenance. of his person, his being. He won't seek God. He don't seek
God. The Lord's not in his thoughts.
And here's my third point, final point. But there is a people
in this world who have ever been loved of Almighty God. And they
are God's friends. Now in their mind, born in Adam,
they're fallen creatures. They're wrathful toward God. But God's attitude toward them
is this, Jeremiah 31, 3. I've loved you with an everlasting
love. I've always loved you. I lay down my life for who? Sheep. You're my friends. You're my
friends. God has a people born into the
mass of humanity that all fell in Adam's transgression. Their
son, friends of God according to his good pleasure, and their
countenance because of God's eternal will and purpose to show
mercy and compassion to whomsoever will, their countenance God shall
sharpen. God's going to make them alert
and keen unto him. Though fallen in Adam's transgression
by their own willful, sinful self, rebellion, the remnant
of God's choosing are not going to be left to perish in their
sins. All that the Father giveth me shall come to me. Him that cometh
to me, I will in no wise cast out. Thou hast given him," it's
John 17, 2, power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life
to as many as thou hast given them. given him. So their countenance,
their face, their attitude, that respectful demeanor is going
to have to be sharpened by one who is accepted of Almighty God
and on his own merit by the Lord Jesus Christ, he who is the divine
friend of sinners. But listen to this, before the
sheep, and the Lord's sheep are always His sheep. All the sheep
I have, they're not of this fold. Them I must bring. They don't
become sheep in regeneration. They're always sheep. They've
always been His sheep. They were given to the Lord Jesus
Christ. They're His sheep. Now they may
be unregenerate sheep at one time, which they all are, but
they're all his sheep and he's going to have them. But now these
sheep, before their countenance can be sharpened, the Lord's
gonna have to do something for them. He gonna have to do something
for them. He was made flesh for the sheep. He came into this world, made
of a woman, made under the law. He lived under the law, obeyed
the law of God for them. Why? Because their countenance
was fallen in the fall. They disobeyed God. Well, he's
gonna do something for them. As their friend, accepted of
God, he go come into this world, which he did. And he lived before
the law of God in absolute obedience and earned the righteousness
in which they shall be robed. Because they fell in Adam's transgression,
the wages of sin is death. What's he gonna have to do for
his friends? He's gonna have to bear all of their guilt. buried
in his own body, make their sin his own. And he's gonna go to the cross
and he's gonna willingly lay down his life before God as their
representative, as their substitute. He was made them and God judged
him and put away their sin as far as the east is from the west.
carried into the wilderness, behind the back of God. Gone. Gone. That's what you're going
to have to do for them first. Now having done all that, here's
what you're going to have to do to sharpen their countenance. Turn with me to Ezekiel 36. To
sharpen their countenance. What are you gonna have to do
first? They were created upright in Adam's loins, but their countenance
fell before God. They died before God. But the
countenance of a man gonna be sharpened by his friend. Here's the countenance of God's
people gonna be sharpened, made king, made alert by their friend,
the Lord Jesus Christ. First thing you're gonna have
to do to sharpen their countenance Well, you're gonna have to fetch
them. You're gonna have to get them. Fetch them. Fetching power. Ezekiel 36, 24. For I will take
you from among the heathen and gather you out of all countries
and will bring you into your own land. Now here's what God's
gonna have to do. To sharpen the countenance of
his people, of his friends. He's going to have to fetch them.
He knows where they are and he comes to them in mercy. Here's the next thing he's going
to have to do. He's going to have to give them
a new countenance. He's not going to reform the
old countenance. That which is flesh is flesh. It's always going to be flesh.
In regeneration, the old man is not cleaned up. The Spirit of God reveals that
he's going to do something for them. He's going to make a new
countenance. He's going to make a new man.
He's going to give them a new mind. Ezekiel 36, 25, 26, then
I will sprinkle clean water upon you and you shall be clean. from all your filthiness. They're
washed in his blood. From all your filthiness, from
all your idols will I cleanse you. And a new heart also will
I give you. A new spirit will I put within
you. And I'll take away the stony
heart out of your flesh. And I'll give you a heart of
flesh. He's going to make a new man. He's going to make a new man
created in righteousness and true holiness. The old man, again,
is not reformed. He's not reformed. A new birth from heaven is what
it takes. John 3, 3, Jesus speaking to
Nicodemus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto
thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of
God. And now having gathered his own
and having created a new man, new man in Christ, now He sharpeneth,
continually sharpening, sharpeneth, continually sharpening their
countenance. He's sharpening the countenance
of the person, the beings of his affection, his friends. Philippians 2.13 says, for it
is God which worketh in you, both to will and to do of his
good pleasure. He lovingly sharpens our countenance,
our persons. Here we are this evening. Believers,
everyone that knows Him, we're believers who are sinners saved
by the grace of God. That's what we are. We're sinners. Nothing but sinners saved by
God's grace. And the Lord sharpens the countenance,
the persons of his friends. That's what's happening right
now. Here's what's happening right now. We're sitting here
and we're listening as the Spirit of God opens the Scriptures to
us. And we see in that little one
verse right there, iron sharpeneth iron, so a man sharpeneth the
countenance of his friend. He sharpens what He makes, creates
life. That old flesh of stone doesn't
rule anymore. I put a new man there, a new
mind, a new spirit in you. And here we are, and we're listening
to the Scriptures, and the Lord is honing us. As iron sharpeneth iron, it takes
God. to sharpen the countenance of
his friends. We hear the gospel preach, and he sharpens our countenance
through intimate fellowship with him in prayer. And when you pray,
go to your closet and pray to your Father in secret. The Father
who heareth in secret, he hears. He shall reward you openly. And he blesses and sharpens his
people, truly. Oh, I said at the beginning,
we all need friends. Yeah, I'll tell you what I need. I need brethren. I got a lot
of acquaintances in this world. I got a lot of acquaintances,
you do too. Got a lot of acquaintance, we know. And we do, we do love
them. But this is family right here.
This is family. We meet together and I think
about that passage of scripture there in Malachi right there
toward the end. I think about those that spoke
together. Malachi 3.60, they that feared
the Lord, those that respected and had reverence for Jehovah
spake often one to another. Isn't it wonderful when we can
fellowship in the Lord together? That's what we're talking about.
The Lord told that demoniac, you go back home and you tell
your family, you tell your friends what great things the Lord's
done for you. They that feared the Lord spake often one to another,
and the Lord hearkened, and he heard it. And a book of remembrance
was written before him for them that feared the Lord and that
thought. Upon his name, they shall be
mine, saith the Lord of hosts. In that day, when I make up my
jewels, I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that
serveth him. So the Lord, he sharpens, he
sharpens hones, makes keen and alert. As you hear the gospel
being preached, the Spirit of God teaches. as we seek the Lord
in prayer, and as we fellowship together, that the Lord is graciously
sharpening our countenance through these things. But I'll tell you
another way he sharpens us in closing, with loving chastisement,
loving chastisement, trials that he sends to prove, to prove the
genuineness of our faith. He proves it. Faith given is
going to be faith tried. I can tell you that. Prove it.
Prove it. It shows us His faithfulness. Oh, David said, how good it is
for me. I've been afflicted that I might
learn. He's sharpening. He's keen. Alert. Oh, how blessed. is the blessing, how much of
a blessing we receive as the Lord sharpens our countenance
day by day, as we've met together, fellowship together, read together,
heard together, prayed together. Oh, that the Lord might sharpen
us fresh tonight for His glory and our good.