All right, let's take our Bibles
and turn to the book of Proverbs chapter 27. Proverbs chapter 27. I would like to look at the first
two verses of this blessed book of chapter. I've entitled this
message, The Stranger of Mercy. the stranger of mercy. The scripture
says, boast not thyself of tomorrow, for thou knowest not what a day
may bring forth. Let another man praise thee,
and not thine own mouth, a stranger, and not thine own lips. A careful reading of these verses
will immediately alert the believer in the Lord Jesus Christ to shun
that which he truly desires not to do. Boast of himself. Now just the first three words
of that first verse, boast not thyself. The word boast there
means praise. Don't praise yourself. Now, when you look at the second
verse, you'll see where I came to that conclusion. If there's
going to be any praise, let another man praise thee,
and not thine own mouth. a stranger, not thine own lips. So boast not thyself. Don't boast of yourself in any
area of your life. It's foolish, it's arrogant,
it's dangerous. There was a man named Goliath. The scripture through the words
of King Saul, said he was a man of war from his youth. And this
man, Goliath, stood before David out on the field of battle, and
there were two armies looking at each other. Goliath, the representative
of the Philistines, and he came out and he stood before David
and saw David just a little, you know, scrawny, I'm sure in
his eyes, man that was going to stand before this giant of
a man. And I'd say in Goliath's mind,
he probably thought that this is going to just be a minor incident
here, just another day of victory for him. And he boasted in his
strength. It says in 1 Samuel 17, 44, and
the Philistines said to David, Come to me and I will give thy
flesh unto the fowls of the air and the beast of the field. You
come to me, I'm getting ready to feed you to the animals. And
within minutes, Goliath was slain by the means of a stone. in the sling of David, and Goliath's
head was severed from his body with his own sword. Now he boasted
of himself and his strength. There was another man, a Roman
governor, his name was Felix, and he heard the apostle Paul
preach And Paul preached the scripture set of righteousness
and temperance and judgment to come. And Felix trembled. While he trembled, obviously
he reasoned in his mind that he had lots of time because after
he listened to Paul preach for a while, he said, go thy way
for this time when I have a convenient season, a time of opportunity. I will call for thee. But you
know the scripture never recorded that Felix's time of opportunity
ever came. He boasted or praised himself,
I've got lots of time. I've got a lot of time. I'm young, strong, got position. I got time. Don't boast yourself of your
riches. Hold your place. Turn to Luke
12. I'll read this, but if you want
to look at Luke 12, verse 16 to 21. Luke 12, verse 16. And he, the Lord, spake a parable
unto them, saying, the ground of a certain rich man brought
forth plentifully. And he thought within himself,
saying, what shall I do? Because I have no room where
to bestow my fruits. And he said, this will I do.
I will pull down my barns and build greater. There will I bestow
all my fruits and my goods, and will say to my soul, soul, thou
hast much goods laid up for many years. Take thine ease, eat,
drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, thou fool,
this night thy soul shall be required of thee. Then whose
shall these things be which thou hast provided? Don't boast of
yourself concerning your riches. I've made great investments,
stock market's up. James chapter 4, James 4 verses
13 to 15, the scripture Go to now ye that say, today
or tomorrow we will go into a certain city and continue there a year,
buy and sell, get gain, whereas you know not what shall be on
the morrow. For what is your life? It is
even a vapor that appeareth for a little time and then vanisheth
away. For that ye ought to say, if
the Lord will, We shall live and do this or that. But now you rejoice in your boastings,
and all such rejoicing is evil. Therefore to him that knoweth
to do good and doeth it not, to him it is sin. Don't say. This year, we're gonna go over
here, we're gonna open us up a building over here, we're gonna
do this, we're gonna have an opportunity. We got a great opportunity right
here. I'm gonna go over here and we're gonna buy and sell
and we're gonna make a killing. But rather say, if the Lord wills,
we'll do this or that. Don't boast in your riches, in
your smarts, in your ability. I've got a degree. I got a degree
in business, I can do this. You know, it's not that we're
forbidden to honorably and lawfully make preparation for tomorrow. That would be wise. If I could
give you some advice, I would say this. If you got a job, there's
not a thing in the world wrong. Open you up a savings account.
I mean, just, you know, make preparation. You got some kids?
I'd be thinking about college if I were you. I'd be doing some. There's nothing wrong with making
preparation, but we're warned against boasting of tomorrow
in our own strength, in our own time, in our own wisdom, without
seeking or giving honor and glory and praise unto the Lord. That's
what the Apostle James was saying. Why? Because we don't know what
a day is going to bring. If the Lord wills, we're going
to do this. The man, the woman that counts
on tomorrow with presumption, foolishly thinks that I'm going
to do this or that or the other, as if his life is in his power
to do what he will, when he will. He's arrogantly blind to his
frailty, blind to God's right and God's power to do and to
order things according to God's will and God's counsel. Trusting
in oneself for tomorrow concerning anything is foolishness. This world is temporal. It's
dangerous. But for the grace of God to intervene
is fatal. So that's the natural. I always
like to tell you, that's what that means. Boast not thyself
of tomorrow, for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth. But let me just add this before
we go any farther. There's one boasting that every
sinner must be admonished to flee, to shun. And it says, boast
not thyself of tomorrow when it comes to your salvation. Boast
not yourself. of yourself, praising yourself. Don't boast of yourself. Don't lay praises upon yourself
or upon your works when it comes to your standing before God.
Boast not thyself of tomorrow. Don't boast yourself. These other
areas, it's foolishness. Boasting of yourself when it
comes to your standing before God, praising yourself is fatal. eternally fatal. John chapter
1, the gospel according to, is penned by John. The scriptures
declare John chapter 1 verses 11 to 13. The scripture says, he came unto
his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received
him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even
to them that believe on his name, which were born, not of blood,
nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of
God. Boast not yourself of tomorrow. Salvation is of God. Salvation, Jonah said, is of
the Lord. A man must be born again, born
from above. Boast not yourself. The Lord spake this parable unto
certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous and
despised others. You remember that, a publican
and a Pharisee. The Pharisee spoke, you know,
God, he said, prayed with himself. God, I thank thee. that I'm not
as other men are. I'm so thankful. I'm so thankful
that I'm so spiritual. I'm so holy. Spoke of one that
trusted in his works. And the scripture says that man
died unjustified. He trusted in himself that he
was righteous. But the publican, on the other
hand, wouldn't even lift up his eyes to heaven. beat upon his
breast. God, be merciful to me. Be merciful
to me, a sinner. So if there's any boasting to
be done, don't let it be of yourself. You don't know what tomorrow
brings. But then back in Proverbs chapter
27, verse two, it says, let another man praise thee. and not thine
own mouth, a stranger, and not thine own lips. Now, let another
man, a foreigner is what that means, let a foreigner praise
thee, and not thine own mouth, a stranger, that is, an unknown
or unfamiliar, and not thine own lips. Let another not like yourself, one who's not found among the
ranks or the masses of men born in Adam. Don't praise yourself, boast
not yourself. It's going to have to be a foreigner,
an unfamiliar. And the reason Because all men
born in Adam are sinners just like you and me. We're all cut
out of the same lump. All have sinned and come short
of the glory of God. We've all missed the mark. Listen
to what the Apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians. I want you
to turn to this in 2 Corinthians 10-12. 2 Corinthians 10-12. Listen to what he said concerning not boasting of yourself, finding
confidence. Second Corinthians 10, 12, he
said, for we dare not make ourselves of the number or compare ourselves
with some that commend themselves, but they measuring themselves
by themselves and comparing themselves among themselves are not wise. Paul said, we dare not. compare
ourselves with somebody else. God's people, they don't boast
or commend themselves in their faithfulness or their righteousness
before God by comparing themselves with other men. I say, well, I tell you what, I'm
not that bad, I'm not, well, I'm not perfect, I'm not perfect,
but I tell you what, I'm a whole lot better than this one is.
I know him. You'd never catch me doing that. I'm a sinner, but I'm not as
much of a sinner as this one is right here. And all I'm doing
is I'm trying to get you down so I can get me up in my eyes. That's all I'm doing. Boast not thyself of tomorrow,
and let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth, a stranger. Isaiah 65, I know this is a lot
of scriptures, but this is necessary. Isaiah 65, listen to 1 to 5. The Lord said, I am sought of them that ask
not for me. I'm found of them that sought
me not. I said, behold me. Behold me
unto a nation that was not called by my name. I've spread out my
hands all the day unto a rebellious people which walketh in a way
that was not good after their own thoughts, a people that provoketh
me to anger continually, to my face that sacrificed in the gardens
and burneth incense upon the altars of brick. which remain
among the graves and lodge in the monuments, which eat swine's
flesh and broth of abominable things in their vessels, which
say, stand by thyself, come not near me, for I'm holier than
thou. These are smoke in my nose, a
fire that burneth all the day." Don't compare yourself with somebody
else. Why? Because in your eyes, you'll
be holier than them I'm not perfect, but at least
I'm here. At least I go to church. I don't know about y'all, but you
know, Paul said, we don't commend ourselves by comparing ourselves
to other men. But if there can be no praise
or boasting that is to be accepted of God, except that of another
man, a foreigner or a stranger, Who, and you know this, you know
what I'm getting ready to say. Who could this be except Him
who is the stranger, Son of God? He who is a stranger to this
world, but not a stranger to the Lord Himself, the Lord God,
and not a stranger to those that know Him in regenerating grace. Who is this stranger? Well, it's
our precious Savior, the Lord of glory himself, Christ Jesus,
our Lord. I want you to listen to the words
of our Lord and the submissive and obedient servant of Jehovah
as he expressed the passion in the book of Psalm 69. Turn to
Psalm 69, one to nine is what I'm gonna read. Psalm 69, listen
to his words now. While you're turning to Psalm
69, I'm getting ready to read verses one to nine. Now here's
what it says. Boast not thyself of tomorrow, for thou knowest
not what a day may bring. Don't, don't, don't elevate yourself.
Don't boast yourself, no. Let another man praise thee,
not thine own mouth. Let a stranger, a stranger, somebody
that's not born of this world, born in Adam, A stranger that's
not cut out of the same lot that me and you are cut out of. Who
is this stranger? Well, listen to Psalm 69. Psalm 69, verses 1 to 9. Save me, O God, and let me tell
you what this is. These are the words of our Lord
as he expressed the passion and the unequaled sorrows and afflictions
that he endured from his birth to the cross. He was a man of
sorrows. He was acquainted with grief.
The suffering servant of Jehovah. Listen to what he says concerning
himself. Psalm 69, save me, O God, for
the waters are come in unto my soul. I sink in deep mire where
there is no standing. I am come into deep waters where
the floods overflow me. I am weary of my crying. My throat
is dried. My eyes fail while I wait for
my God. They that hate me without a cause
are more than the hairs of my head. They that would destroy
me being my enemies wrongfully or mighty, then I restored that
which I took not away. Who can say that but the Lord? Oh God, thou knowest my foolishness
and my sins are not hid from thee. Oh, the bearing of our
guilt. Our Lord to say this. Would you
or I ever say this of him? No, no, no, no, no, no, no. But
listen to what he says, O God, thou knowest my foolishness,
the what he bore of his people, and my sins are not hid from
thee. Let not them that wait on thee,
O Lord God of hosts, be ashamed for my sake. Let not those that
seek thee be confounded for my sake, O God of Israel, because
for thy sake I have borne reproach, Shame have covered my face. I
am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my
mother's children. For the zeal of thine house hath
eaten me up, and the reproaches of them that reproach thee are
falling upon me. Who could say that? Only the
Lord, who declared himself to be the stranger, As he suffered
in the finishing of the work of redemption for his own, he
was regarded and treated as a stranger, but by those that knew him not,
a stranger, a foreigner. He confessed himself to be the
very embodiment within his people The stranger from heaven, stranger
to the world and to false religion, yes, but found to be in blessed
fellowship with his people. A people now who are strangers
and pilgrims on this earth because of their oneness with him. He
said in Matthew 25, 35, he said, for I was hungered. Now here
is the Lord. speaking to those that He's getting
ready in the Day of Judgment to say, you know, enter in. Enter in. Enter in for that which
was prepared for you from before the foundation of the world.
Enter in. And He's telling them in this
passage of Scripture, Matthew 25, verse 35, He's talking to
them. And He's telling His people,
He said, I was hungered. and you gave me meat. I was thirsty,
and you gave me drink. I was a stranger, and you took
me in. According to the words of our
Lord, love for those who are strangers. In this world, being
one with Him who is the stranger to the world, that love For his
people is love for him. He said, in that you did it unto
the least of one of these. You did it to me. What did he
tell Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus? Saul, Saul, why
persecutest thou me? Who was Saul persecuting? Those
who were of the way. Who did the Lord say he was persecuting?
He said, you persecuted me. a stranger. Christ is a stranger
to everyone, even to his own, until they know him in regenerating
grace. I was, John, but one thing, he
was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world
knew him not. This stranger, This self-confessed
stranger, the one who confessed himself to be a stranger, and
the blessedness of us being able to behold that and to preach
it. And this preaching of him who
is a stranger and those that know him, he's not a stranger
to you. You know him. He revealed himself
to you. But this stranger to the world,
this stranger to false religion, was sent of God the Father according
to the everlasting covenant of God's grace for a specific purpose. He's a stranger in this world.
Yes, he's a stranger. Like I said, he's not a stranger
to God and he's not a stranger to God's people when they're
called out of the darkness of sin and unbelief. This is what
he was sent to do. Luke 19.10, for the Son of Man
is come to seek and to save that which was lost. The people of
God that were lost in Adam's fall, thou shalt call his name
Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. This
stranger, he lived the life of obedience before God, as the
federal head of God's church and his obedience is imputed
to everyone that believeth on him. How do you know that they're
robed in the righteousness of Christ? Because they believe
it. They believe it. Abraham believed
God and it was counted unto him. It was imputed unto him for righteousness. Romans 4, 6 says, even as David
also describeth the blessedness of the man unto whom God imputeth
righteousness without works. I told you that the evidence
of those that God has imputed righteousness unto, the evidence,
they believe that their acceptance with God, is not based upon themselves. They don't boast of themselves. And I'll tell you whom they boast.
They boast in Christ Jesus the Lord. Galatians 2.16. I'm going
to wrap this up here. Galatians 2.16. Here's the confession
of a believer. Here's the confession of a believer.
Galatians 2.16. that a man, Galatians 2.15, knowing
that a man is not justified. Again, justification. The declaration
of innocence. No charge. No charge. Never been
a charge. No record of a charge. No record. Not that new man born in Christ
Jesus. not that man created in righteousness and true holiness, justified before the law of God.
The law observes and says, no infraction, no charge, no charge,
just. Knowing that a man is not justified
by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ. Not my faith. Paul says, even
we have believed in Jesus Christ, God's given us faith to believe
Him, believe in Him, that we might be justified by the faith
of Christ. And not by the works of the law,
for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. Because we can't keep it. God's
people are justified by the faith of him who has declared himself
to be the stranger. The stranger. The stranger sin
of God. Stranger to this world. The world
knew him not. Came into his own. The stranger,
those loved of God, chosen of God, redeemed by God, called
of God, kept of God, their boast is in Him. This is our boast,
Him. Psalm 34.2, My soul shall make
her boast in the Lord, in Jehovah, the humble, shall hear thereof,
and be glad. Be glad. Last verse, Jeremiah
9. Jeremiah 9, verse 23, 24. Jeremiah. Jeremiah 9, 23, 24. Thus saith the Lord, let not
the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory
in his might. Let not the rich man glory in
his riches. Is that not what we've just been
looking at here? But let him that gloryeth glory
in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me. that I am the
Lord, which exercise loving kindness, judgment, and righteousness in
the earth, for in these things I delight, saith the Lord. The scripture declares, boast not thyself of tomorrow,
for thou knowest not what a day may bring, let another man praise
thee, and not thine own mouth, a stranger, and not thine own
lips. I pray that the Lord bless the
words to our heart. Realize that all of our boasting
before God and ourselves is arrogant, it's presumption, and it's fatal. If any man boasts, let him boast
in the Lord. In that, God's well pleased.
Amen. All right.