Let's take our Bibles and turn
with me to the book of Proverbs, chapter 25. Proverbs 25. I'd like to deal with the last
three verses of chapter 25 in Proverbs. Proverbs 25. Verses 26 to 28, a righteous
man falling down before the wicked is as a troubled fountain and
a corrupt spring. It is not good to eat much honey,
so for men to search their own glory is not glory. He that has no rule over his
own spirit is like a city that is broken down and without walls. A believer, one that has been
saved and kept by the grace of God, is not saved by works, but
rather saved by grace. And I'm going to deal with that
in the second service, Lord willing. I want to deal with how is a
sinner really saved? But this believer, he's not saved
by works, he's not kept by his works, he doesn't become more
holy, There's not a progressive sanctification. What does that
mean? That means He doesn't get better and better. Grows in grace
and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, yes. But our holiness
before God is in Christ. And that doesn't grow. But, though
He doesn't grow in holiness, He is truly zealous after a walk
that is consistent with what he professes. In Titus chapter
2, verses 11 to 14, the scripture says, for the grace of God that
bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men. Now, based on what
we know about the scriptures, we know that that does not mean
all men without exception. We know that. There's too many
scriptures that bear that out. But what it means is, Almighty
God in His grace has appeared to all men, Jew and Gentile. You know, the Jews thought at
one time, there's no such thing as the same Gentile. They're
just dogs is all they are. But the scripture bears out that
God saves whomsoever he will, Jew and Gentile, teaching us
that denying ungodliness, what does that mean? Denying a lack
of reverence toward God. God's people, they don't say,
well, I'm saved by grace and so it doesn't really matter how
I walk. Oh, I beg your pardon, it does
matter. The scripture bears out, teaching
us that denying ungodliness or that reverence toward God and
worldly lust or desires, we should live soberly. What does that
mean? Discreetly. Righteously or uprightly
and godly. God honoring manner in this present
world. Looking for that blessed hope.
or the fulfillment or the realization of the confidence that we have,
and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior
Jesus Christ, that is when we shall see Him as He is, will
be changed into His likeness, And the scripture declares, who
gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and
purify unto himself a peculiar people. What does that word peculiar
mean? It means, this is a quote, I
just looked it up. One selected from among the nations
for his own possession. That's pretty clear isn't it?
One selected from the nation, a peculiar people, zealous of
good works. Those who know, though they struggle
with indwelling sin, that body of death. That's what Paul the
Apostle called it, his body of death. They struggle with indwelling
sin. This is an amazing thing. The
Lord has paid the debt. of his people. He's paid their
debt before the law is paid. Sin doesn't have dominion over
it. It doesn't rule them. It doesn't rule them. They struggle
with it because it's still there. But though we struggle with it,
we don't agree with it, we hate it, we despise it. That's what
Job said, I loathe myself. But we desire to live for God's
glory. We want that. We're just, God's
people are at war within. They're just struggling. Well knowing that, knowing the
consistency that a believer desires, he wants that. And he sees himself
struggling, and he knows he's struggling. And he sees something
of his failures. Well, these three verses right
here deal with the walk of a believer. Verse 26 says, a righteous man
falling down before the wicked is as a troubled fountain and
a corrupt spring. Now here's the first thing I
note. There are men and women in this
world that are righteous before God. A righteous man. I know they're not righteous
in themselves. I understand. I believe that. Scripture says, Romans 3.10,
there's none righteous. No, not one. What does that mean?
In themselves. They've not made themselves righteous. They are found to be righteous
only in the Lord Jesus Christ. As I just said, having their
sin debt paid by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, they don't
owe anything to the law. Why? Because Christ finished. He's the end of the law for righteousness. They're robed in His righteousness. I can't even understand what
I'm saying truly, but in being in union with Him, the Scripture
declares that to be robed in His righteousness. And they're
righteous being the possessors of a faith, righteous before
God. And like I said, I know that
there are some righteous men. The scripture says concerning
Noah, Genesis 7, 1, for they have I seen righteous before
me in this generation. And when God says that, it's
so. Those made righteous, made righteous,
being one with Christ, are still liable or susceptible to stumble. Righteous before God. Was Noah a man righteous before
God? Yes. How do we know that? God
said he was. Did Noah stumble? Yes. Noah came out of the ark, planted
a vineyard, got drunk, drank the wine, got drunk. Ham, his
son saw him. Noah's drunkenness. God overruled
in Noah's actions, but his drunkenness was wrong. Abraham lied about
Sarah being his sister. That was his wife. And he was
afraid that they were going to kill him because of her. So he said, she's my sister. Moses He struck the rock twice. What did God tell him to do?
He struck it the first time. Picture of Christ being stricken
by God. The next time the people didn't
have water, what did the Lord tell him to do? Speak to the
rock. Moses hit the rock again. Did
it have consequences? Yes, it did. You'll not go into
the promised land. He saw it, but he went in. David, a man after God's own
heart. Was David a believer? Yes, sir.
He was God's servant. God's man. What happened? He took another man's wife. Was unfaithful with her. Had
her husband killed. He was a murderer. He was an
adulterer. He was a murderer. Didn't have
any consequences whatsoever. Yes it did. What happened? Nathan, the prophet, came to
David and said, you're the man. Told him the story, you know
the story, you're the man. He said, you have given the enemies
of the Lord reason to blaspheme. The baby that was conceived by
that adulterous act died. And the sword never left the
house of David. Did it have consequences? Yes,
it did. Were these men believers? Yes, they were. Peter. The Lord
told him, he said, before the cock crows two times, you're
going to deny me three times. It ain't going to happen. It
ain't going to happen. I'll die before I disobey you
or embarrass you or deny you. And he did. So here's the scripture. The scripture says that a righteous
man falling, straying, wavering, that's the word, before the wicked
is as a troubled fountain and a corrupt spring. A troubled or a soiled fountain,
spoiled, loses its usefulness. Why? Because you don't trust
it. I got a creek that runs right
in front of my house. Water. But I don't trust it. What do you mean? I don't trust
to drink it. I don't know what's upstream. I don't want to swim
in it. I don't want to drink it. It's
unserviceable to me as far as drinking it. There's no refreshment
from it, enjoyment from it in drinking from a soil fountain. It loses its character. Now,
you know, I trust what comes out. I've got a filter on my
in my house. What does that mean? I really
don't even trust the water that's coming out of the, you know,
completely, I wouldn't put a filter on it. What? A righteous man,
wavering, falling, slipping, which is, we're all liable to
this, but here's the thing. It has consequences. It says
a troubled fountain and a corrupt spring. Here's the second word. It is not good to eat much honey. So, or likewise, for men to search
their own glory is not glory. Now, first thing, we dealt recently
with this subject of honey to the believer. Just, well, it
was, same chapter, verse 16. Just turn back if, Proverbs 25,
16. It says, hast thou found honey? Eat so much as is sufficient
for thee, lest thou be filled therewith and vomit it." Now,
obviously, honey, and I'm just going back, just making a couple
of statements of what we looked at a few weeks ago. Have you
found honey? Eat so much, there's permission. The Spirit of God is giving permission
to eat so much as is sufficient for thee, lest thou be filled
with it, and vomit it." And just to refresh your memory on what
we looked at, that honey right here, it's using honey, the actual
physical stuff made from bees as honey, but it speaks of the
pleasures of this life that in themselves are not evil. The things that the Lord has
provided for us in this life, those things that are not unlawful,
immoral, I'm not talking about those things. I'm talking about
pleasures, you know, of just being able to rest, being able
to do whatever, whatever. But things that are not illegal,
immoral. They're things in this life,
in themselves, that are not evil. They're honey. They're sweet.
They're pleasurable. But giving time and attention
to them at the expense of neglecting the gospel is the warning here.
What does Scripture say? Seek ye first. Bam. Seek ye first. Number one, the kingdom of God
and His righteousness. And all these things will be
added unto you. So, too much honey is what it's of. Too much
of the things in this life that are good, that's been given to
us for our pleasure and things that the Lord has provided. Too
much honey. When these things become overly used and the precedent
is set on them, then they become the cares of this world. Things
that choke out the word is what it's saying. So first of all,
the first part it says, it's not good to eat much honey. Be moderate. What is it? Be moderate.
Be careful. Be careful. But also, for men
to search their own glory is not glory. Now, let me tell you
this, that the way that that scripture, and I've tried to
search it out, tried to seek the Lord for the understanding
of that passage of scripture, the way it's written there, it's
hard to be understood as we would naturally interpret those words. I mean for men to search their
own glory is not glory. For men to search their own glory
meaning as being those that have been the cause of their salvation,
seeking their own glory, seeking or being resting in their ability
to maintain their integrity or something like it. You know,
pride is all that is, and arrogance, and it's not so. We're kept by
the power of God. We're not kept by us. So when
it says for men to search their own glory is not glory, those
things are true. That's true. But that's not what
this means right here. The meaning from all the commentaries
and looking the words up and here's what it's actually saying. The investigation of weighty
matters, for men to search their own glory, that is the investigation
of weighty matters is not profitable. It's not good. Those things that
are more than a man can bear or understand. There's some things
in this book right here that is more than what we can completely
comprehend. More than we completely can understand. There's some things that has
been set forth. Hold your place right there.
Turn to 2 Corinthians 12. For men to search their own glory. 2 Corinthians 12. The apostle Paul is saying something. I'm going to read the first nine
verses here because it's dealing with exactly what this is. Now remember what the scripture
said in Proverbs. For men to search their own glory. Glory,
remember that word, glory, honor. For men to search their own honor.
For men to think too highly of their ability to find out things
that are not revealed is what he's talking about. He said that's
not glory. Paul said it is not expedient
for me doubtless to glory. I will come to visions and revelations
of the Lord. I knew a man in Christ above
14 years ago, whether in the body I cannot tell, whether out
of the body I cannot tell, God knoweth, for such an one caught
up to the third heaven. And I knew such a man, whether
in the body or out of the body, I cannot tell, God knoweth, how
that he was caught up into paradise and heard unspeakable words,
which is not lawful or possible for a man to utter. For such
in one will I glory, yet of myself I will not glory, but in mine
infirmities. For though I would desire to
glory, I shall not be a fool. For I will say the truth, but
now I forbear, lest any man should think of me above that which
he seeth me to be, or that he heareth of me. And lest I should
be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations
that was given me, given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger
of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For
this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart
from me. And he said unto me, my grace
is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly, therefore, will
I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may
rest upon me." Now, what did Paul say? Paul said, I knew a
man, Fourteen years ago, above that.
And he was caught up to paradise. And he said, heard utterances
beyond the power of a man to put into words. Words that are
not even able or permitted to be used. He said, I heard them. And then he said, should I desire
to boast? He said, if I start boasting
and start telling things that I heard, that I'm not permitted
to say, he said, I'll be seen as nothing more than a braggart. He said, so I'll abstain. And
to keep me from being puffed up because of the flesh, because
of the greatness of the revelations that were given me, he said,
the Lord gave me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to
buffet me, to keep me from being exalted. So the scripture says back in
Proverbs, it says, it's not good to eat much honey, and for men
to search out their own glory, for men to go beyond what is
revealed in the Word of God, or try to explain more than is
revealed in the Word of God is not glory. I've heard Brother
Scott say this how many times, I know y'all have too. He said,
I'm not here to explain it, I'm here to proclaim it. Even though Paul struggled with
the things that God had taught him, The Lord gave him a thorn in
the flesh, but do you know, still, and I've thought about this scripture,
turn over to Acts 26, 24, whenever Paul witnessed before Festus
and King Agrippa of the miracle of God's sovereign grace, to
show mercy and compassion to whomsoever he would, listen what
Festus says, Acts 24, And I'm sorry, Acts 26 verse
24. Here was Paul and he was preaching.
Now this is what God's revealed. He's telling what God's revealed. And in Festus the scripture says
in Acts 26, 24, and as he thus spake for himself, Festus said
with a loud voice, Paul, thou art beside thyself. Much learning
doth make thee mad. He said, You're a raven maniac. What you're saying... And these
are the things that Paul was stating that were revealed in
Scripture. What God had revealed concerning
His sovereignty. And the things that the Spirit
of God had taught him to give him faith to believe. And he
said it. And Festus told him, he said,
you're nuts. You're talking out your head.
Haven't any of you had people tell you that? God reveals something
to you concerning God's sovereignty and His electing grace? Somebody
said, explain to me why God has mercy on whomsoever He will have
mercy. You explain to me why. I said, I can't tell you that.
I can tell you it's so, because He said it is. He told Moses
that. You explain to me how That being
put in Christ before the foundation of the world. I know God's people
were. Why? The Spirit of God said it
through the Apostle Paul in the book of Ephesians. Ephesians
1-4. Having chosen us in Him before
the foundation of the world. Tell me, explain to me why the
potter has the right out of one lump of clay out of the faint,
same lump, one vessel under honor and another under dishonor. You
explain to me why. I can't tell you that. Why? Because
the Lord has not revealed the whys of all these things. We don't know. The secret things
belong to God. That's what Deuteronomy. Secret things belong unto the
Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong unto
us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words
of the Lord. There are some things that the
Lord has not revealed. I can't explain to you, I know
it's so, because We're seated with Christ in the heavenlies
right now. All God's people are in Him. Well how in the world
can God's people be seated with Christ in the heavenlies right
now and we're on the earth right now? I don't know. I don't know. So for a man to search his own
glory and be able to say things that God has not revealed to
him, that's not glory. Brother Henry used to say to
the students, some of the students that sat under that Bible class,
he said, you preach what you know. And don't get into what
you don't know, because you don't know. But there's some things
that we do know. And the Lord has revealed them.
And if He doesn't reveal them, it's for His glory and our good.
Whenever the disciples were with the Lord, John 16, 12, he said,
I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear
them now. Well, the flesh would say, well,
I wonder what they are. It doesn't matter. The Lord has
not revealed them to them. So let me ask you this, and we'll
look at that last verse in just a second, and I'll be done. Who
can plumb the depth of God's wisdom, electing Grace. To choose out
of every nation and kindred and tribe and tongue of people. That's
what scripture says Revelation 4. That's what the Lord did. He chose whom He would. I can't explain it. He did it according to the good
pleasure of His will. That's all I can tell you. That's
the truth. Particular redemption, what does
that mean? It means that Christ died only
for the elect. Someone says, well, I don't understand
that, or I don't believe it. Well, I can understand you not
understanding it, but not believing it is soul damage. He that believeth
on the Son hath life. He that believeth not hath not
life. That the Lord said in John 10, 15, I laid down my life for
these sheep. That ends it. done. For whom did Christ die? He said
he laid down his life for the sheep. Well brother so-and-so
over here says that he died for everybody. Well brother so-and-so
is wrong. And God's right. Let God be true
and every man a liar. That's it. It's not good to eat much honey
and for men to search their own glory is not glory. For men to
seek to think that they know more than God revealed. That's
not glory. And then lastly, he that hath
no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down
and without walls. Now in this last verse, here
I see the conclusion of the result of the two verses that we just
looked at. Verse 26, It says, a righteous man falling down
before the wicked, and the last verse says, because he that hath
no rule over his own spirit. And the scripture says for men,
in verse 27, to search out their own glory, the investigating
of weighty matters that are beyond the revelation of God, or the
ability of man to comprehend, him trying to figure this out.
trying to figure out more than the Lord has shown. It's like
a city that is broken down and without walls. It's the conclusion
of what was just said. So a man or a woman trying to
go further in what the Lord has been pleased to teach, further
than God has given revelation. further than what the Lord has
bestowed upon us to rest in. We believe God. It's like a city
unprotected. It's open to harm. It's open
to error. Can you imagine somebody trying
to explain something that God has not revealed? You're like
a city that, you know, you're broken down. You don't have walls.
You have no protection. You know, this is the only protection
that I got. This is only it. This is it right
here. Somebody said, I don't know where
you got that. I said, well, I can show you right here. This is
the only protection that a believer has, the word of God. So what
do we do? We walk by faith. We walk by faith. striving to
walk before men as we walk, seeking the Lord, seeking His honor,
being consistent with His word, believing Him, trusting Him,
knowing that His counsel is going to stand and His word is not
going to return void, but you're just ready. It's going to accomplish
the purpose for which it was sent. This is all we want to
deal with right here. I don't want to get into the
things that are not needful or not eternal. Somebody says, it
seems like to me you're just a broken record. Thank you. Thank
you. To say the same things to you.
Paul says, not grievous to me. For you it's safe. We need to
hear this over and over and over. Ephesians 5, 1 and 2, Be you
therefore followers of God. as dear children and walk in
love as Christ also has loved us and has given himself for
us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling Savior. We rejoice in those things that
the Lord's taught us. We thank the Lord and pray that
God's pleased to reveal them to our neighbors, our kids, our
spouses. We pray God to have mercy. And
we know this, that He's gonna do what He's pleased to do. We
know that, and so therefore we bow to it. And we thank Him for
His good pleasure to keep us here. One more time. I pray God
bless this to our hearts, to His glory, our good. Amen.