It's good to see everybody this
morning. Let's take our Bibles and turn with me to the book
of Proverbs chapter 25. Proverbs 25. I'd like to look
at verses 6 and 7. I'm kind of torn between naming
this, put not forth thyself, Or, how does a sinner approach
God? I may just change the name, David,
Linda. Proverbs 25 verse 6 and 7 says,
Put not forth thyself in the presence of the king, and stand
not in the place of great men. For better it is that it be said
unto thee, than that thou shouldest be put lower in the presence
of the prince whom thine eyes have seen." Solomon, under the inspiration
of God's Spirit, gave these words of wisdom. This is what he said. He said, be not froward. Don't be self-assertive or boastfully
ambitious. in the presence of the King.
My margin says in that, put not forth thyself, put not, just
don't set out thy glory. Don't put forth your own glory. And stand not, Solomon said,
in the place of great men. Don't stand or place yourself
and claim honor that you don't possess. That's what he was saying. He said, because it's better
if it be said unto you, ascend up and come up hither, than that
you should be put lower and cast down, depressed or humbled in
the presence of the prince, that is the noble, the noble in rank,
the noble in mind, the noble in character, the one before
whom you're standing. Many of the writers said, and
I think they've got some reason to believe this, that this passage
of scripture right here was the text that the Lord took to teach
a group of people, among whom many that he was teaching, of
course, trusted in themselves that they were righteous. I want
you to just mark your place right there and turn with me to the
book of Luke. Luke chapter 14. That passage had to have sounded
familiar to you. Luke chapter 14. And I want to
just read the account. Verses 1-14. Of our Lord. Luke 14-1. It came to pass as
He went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat
bread on the Sabbath day, that they watched Him. And behold,
there was a certain man before him which had the dropsy. That
is, it's a disease where there's an accumulation of fluid, either
the heart or lungs or some dropsy. And Jesus answering, spake unto
the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath
day? And they held their peace. And
he took him and healed him and let him go. and answered them,
saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a
pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the Sabbath day?
And they could not answer him again to these things. And he
put forth a parable to those that were bidden, when he marked
how they chose out the chief rooms, saying unto them, When
thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, Sit not down in the
highest room, lest a more honorable man than thou be bidden of him. And he that bade thee and him
come and say to thee, give this man place. And thou begin with
shame to take the lowest room. But when thou art bidden, go
and sit down in the lowest room. that when he that bade thee cometh,
he may say unto thee, friend, go up higher. Then shalt thou
have worship in the presence of them that sit at meet with
thee. For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased, and
he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. Then said he also
to him that bade him, when thou makest a dinner or a supper,
call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen,
nor thy rich neighbors, lest they also bid thee again, and
a recompense be made thee. But when thou makest a feast,
call the poor, the lame, the lame, the blind, and thou shalt
be blessed, for they cannot recompense thee, for thou shalt be recompensed
at the resurrection of the just. The Lord had been invited to
a Pharisee's house, and not because of their love and for their respect
for him, but that they might, back in Luke 14.1, that they
might watch him. They just wanted to kind of inspect
him with a harmful intent. They just want to see, what is
he going to do? I'm going to try to catch him
doing something. And he exposed their arrogant,
self-righteous thoughts of being law keepers. You know, they were
the Pharisees and the lawyers, those that we know. We know what
the law says and we've kept it. And he knew of their intent to
discredit him, and so he was going to ask them a question.
He knew that They felt that they were qualified to answer whatever
question you might have for us. He knew they thought that. And
so the Lord, to rebuke their arrogance and expose their ignorance
of the law, he's going to ask them a question. Now, he taught
first, through the healing of this man, with dropsy, that water
retention. He's going to teach them the
God-pleasing attitude of God's mercy towards sinners. Now this man was a bit type of
every vessel of God's mercy. Now if you want to know about
the types in here, here's one right here. This man with dropsy.
He was sick and that sickness obviously was Eventually it's
going to be fatal. And he was like Mephibosheth,
lame on both his feet, spiritually sick, head to toe and nothing
he could do about it. And the Lord asked him a question
in verse 3. Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath
day? Here's the question. Is it according
to and honorable to the law of God to heal on the Sabbath day? Now, this Sabbath day is that
day that pictures Him. And He knew that they knew, you
know what the law says, keep the Sabbath, keep it holy, don't
do any work. Is it lawful? And the Scripture says they held
their peace. They didn't answer Him because they didn't know
how to answer it. They didn't know what to say. And the Lord healed the man.
He healed that sick man who again, as a picture, the man didn't
even ask Him to heal him. Which vessel of God's mercy ever
initiated His healing? None. If we cry unto the Lord and ask
Him to heal us spiritually, we call on Him because He called
first upon us, Mark. He called us. Saul, Saul, who
are you? Who are you, Lord? This man didn't
ask for the Lord's help. And in that act of kindness and
mercy to this sick man, the Lord of the Sabbath Himself exhibited
the reason that He came to save His people from their sins. This is the reason. This is why.
He healed that man to prove this is all men by nature. We're all
spiritually sick. Head to toe. And these Pharisees,
they would grumble and find fault with the Lord for healing a helpless
man on the Sabbath day. But the Lord asked them, He said,
if you had one of your animals, you had an ass or an ox that
was falling into the ditch on the Sabbath day. He said, which one of you would
not pull it out? And our Lord taught that it was
always lawful. He asked him, is it lawful? He
didn't ask if it was merciful. That's not what he asked him.
Yes, it was merciful. Was it compassionate? Yes, it
was compassionate. Is it according to the law of
God, is what he said. Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath
day? He taught that it was always
lawful. to do upon the Sabbath day that
which was necessary and merciful, and that he was the one who was
the law keeper. He was the law giver. He said unto them, I am and you're
not. That's what he said. The Lord
rebuked some Pharisees. Hold your place right there.
Turn over to Matthew 9. verse 10, Matthew 9, 10 to 13. Matthew chapter 9, verse 10. It came to pass as
Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners
came and sat down with him and his disciples. And when the Pharisees
saw it, they said unto his disciples, why eateth your master with publicans
and sinners? But when Jesus heard that, he
said unto them, they that behold, need not a physician but they
that are sick. But go ye and learn what that
means. I will have mercy and not sacrifice. For I am not come to call the
righteous but sinners to repentance. I will have mercy. I will have
mercy and not sacrifice. He quoted Hosea 6.6 is what he
did. And he was declaring to them
to have mercy upon sinners. is a righteous act pleasing unto
God more than the offering of sacrifices and the performance
of religious duties, religion and religious activities. I can
tell you this, without mercy is nothing more but self-righteous
hypocrisy. That's what they were doing.
They felt as though, because I don't walk this many steps,
I don't pick up sticks, I don't do this and the other, that I'm
holy before God. I'm keeping the Sabbath. And
He taught us here first how God alone saves His own. Mercifully is it lawful to heal
on the Sabbath. He does it graciously. He does
it compassionately. And does it in full compliance
with the dictates and demands of God's law, the law that He
completely satisfied. And secondly, He taught how a
sinner One made new in Christ comes to Him. Now I said that
exactly the way I wanted to say it. How a sinner comes to Him. How He does come. No sinner comes
in order to be saved. The Lord's got to do something
first. This man was healed by the Lord because the Lord was
pleased to have mercy on him. He was a picture, a type. And
he noticed. He noticed how those that were
bidden to the Pharisees' house, how they were acting. He was
going to teach them something about how a sinner comes to Christ. And how he comes to Christ as
the Lord has made him willing in the day of the Lord's power. The Lord, He asked them first,
first thing He asked them, is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath
day? They didn't say anything. So He healed the man, then asked
them, and He rebuked them is what He did. Knowing their thoughts,
I'm just, I'm kind of, I don't want to add to the scriptures,
I'm not, but He knew what they were thinking. He said, now,
which one of you? Which one of you would have had
an ass or an ox in the ditch and you wouldn't have pulled
him out? Which one of you? None of you. You'd all pulled him
out. Is it not lawful for me to do?
Show mercy to this helpless man? And then the scripture says,
starting in verse 7, he noticed how they were choosing out when
they got there to the house where he was, they were, how they chose
out the chief rooms. He marked how they were going
to take a place that in their opinion was worthy of them. And the scripture says in verse
8 and 9, he said, when thou art bidden to any man of any man
to a wedding. Sit not down in the highest room,
lest a more honorable man than thou be bidden of him, and he
that bade thee and him come and say to thee, Give this man place.
And thou begin with shame to take the lowest room." Now, this
is the heart of our passage. I'll just go back in Proverbs
and I'll read. Listen to our proverb. Put not
forth thyself in the presence of the king and stand not in
the place of great men for it's better that it be said unto thee
come up hither than that thou shouldst be put lower in the
presence of the prince in whom eyes thou seem. A believer is
one that knows something of his insufficiency. He knows something
He knows that he'd been brought down by the grace of God. Before
God called him by His grace, he stood, he was like that Pharisee
in Luke 18 that he stood and prayed thus with himself. He
said, God I thank Thee, I'm not as other men are. I'm not an
extortioner, I'm not unjust, I'm not an adulterer, I'm not
like this public. I'm not like that thief right there that steals. from his own countrymen. He pockets
the difference and he gives what he's got to the Romans. I know I'm not like him. I fast
twice a week, I give tithes of all I possess, and I deserve,
I deserve the best room in the house. Now, people say I don't think
like that. Yes, we all do. I deserve it. because of my faithfulness, because
of my work. But he said back in Luke 14,
he said, but rather, but instead, when you're bidden, you go and
sit down in the lowest room, that when he that bade thee cometh,
he may say unto thee, friend, go up higher. Then shalt thou
have worship in the presence of them that sit at meet with
thee. For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased, and
he that humbleth himself shall be exalted." Now here's our Lord,
and He's not teaching manners. Now I don't want to, under any
circumstances, take away the kindness and the respect of good
manners. I mean, it's always right. It's
always right to be kind and considerate and hold the door for somebody. But this is not the message of
our Lord. He's not setting forth our attitudes
and manners, but rather the heart and the attitude with which a
sinner does approach God. When God Almighty gives that
man, that woman, a new heart, let me tell you what he's going
to do. Now, first of all, let me preface what I'm about to
say by saying this. We all got an old man. We all got an old man. And let
me tell you what the old man's going to do. He's going to do
just exactly what these Pharisees did. I want the respect. I'm deserving of the respect.
I'm deserving to sit in the best place. I want a good place. I hate to go somewhere, go to
a movie or something like that, and I can't see. I can't see. Let's go get a better place. Let's get a place. I want to
be able to see. You know, he said, look, you
go to the lowest room and this is the heart of the new man.
The heart of the new man esteems another better than himself.
I am what I am by the grace of God that I'm here. That I'm here
is by the grace of God. If you had to sit last Wednesday
night, Bear, I'm not going to embarrass you, but if I do, I
apologize. Last Wednesday night, we all started getting together.
And I told Bear, I said, Bear, I'm sorry, buddy, but I said,
I need to put you over there in the study so I can get everybody
placed like I need to. I said, he told me, he told me
first that he would do it. And Mark, I took him up on it.
And I put him over there in the dark. He came up to me after
the service. He said, that's the best place
I could have sat, right there. He said, I could sit right there
and sleep. He said, when you're bitten,
take the lowest place. Be like that publican. But he
stood, the scripture said he stood far off and he wouldn't
even lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven smote upon his breast.
God, be merciful to me. I'm just so thankful that I'm
here. That I'm here, that I have a
heart to be here. That God Almighty would have not left me. I could
have been that car that just drove by. Just as easily. But this they said, not in order
to be saved, but because the Lord had done something for them.
That publican was abased by God to take the lowest place, and
God exalted him. He said, I'm telling you, when
he smote upon his breast, he wouldn't even lift his eyes to
heaven. The Lord said, I tell you, this
man went home justified. Not because of his attitude,
his attitude reflected what God had done for him and brought
him down. and took that lowest place and God lifted him up. God blessed him. Pride is the
cause of a man exhausting himself. I tell you though, pride will
also, here's an enigma, I don't even know if that's the right
word. Pride will cause a man to take the lowest place just
in order for somebody to come to him and say to him, no, no,
no, no, you come over here. I tell you what, that old man,
that heart is deceitful. Lord, keep me from that. Keep me from myself. Lastly,
the Lord declared the character of those that are effectually
bidden to the marriage supper of the Lamb. Look at verses 12-14.
The Lord had instructed those, and He said to the ones that
actually had the supper, Then said he also to him that bade
him, he said, now listen, when thou makest a dinner or a supper,
call not thy friends nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen
nor thy rich neighbors, lest they also bid thee again, and
a recompense be made thee. But when thou makest a feast,
call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind, and thou shalt
be blessed, for they cannot recompense thee, so thou shalt be recompensed
at the resurrection of the just." You know, whenever the Lord was
telling these that were there taking the best seats, He said,
don't take the best seat, take the lowest seat. Let me ask you,
what did our Lord do when He came to this world? The scripture says He humbled
Himself, made Himself of no reputation. And God exalted him. Come up
here, you sit at my right hand. Until I make all of your enemies
your footstool. The Lord Himself, this is the
attitude. This is the attitude of a believer
that by the grace of God has been called out of darkness.
This is the attitude of our Lord in His humility that came into
this world took his disciples, took a towel, washed their feet. The Lord of all, God who spoke
this world into existence. Peter said, you're washing my
feet, I'll wash your feet. He said, if I don't wash your
feet, if I don't cleanse you daily of that taint of this world,
he said, you're washed, you're washed. The only thing we need,
we need to have our walk cleansed daily, moment by moment by moment.
And he does it himself. But then he told those, he said,
when you make a supper, don't invite those. Don't invite those,
your rich neighbors. He said, but rather call the
blind, and the poor, and the maimed, and those. Let me ask
you this. Who does the Lord call out of
this world? The foolish things. God calls
those that the world considers to be the dregs of the society. You know, the poor, the spiritual
beggars and paupers, poor in spirit. That's who God's pleased
to call. Those maimed, crippled in the
thought, unable to support themselves. Those that lame-hault like Mephibosheth,
like Jacob after the Lord touched him in the hollow of his thigh,
and the blind, spiritually blind, I mean those that are spiritually
blind, born that way, but even after the Lord has called them
out of darkness and given them sight, they still see through
a glass darkly, And they still take the lowest seat. Lord, I
believe, help Thou my unbelief. Lord, I see, but oh, how little
I see, how little I perceive. Lord, I know, but oh, that I
might know Him and be found in Him. Oh, the Lord Himself, He told
them that latter part, He said, Verse 13, when thou makest a
feast, call the poor, the lame, the lame, the blind, and thou
shalt be blessed, for they cannot recompense thee. What are we
gonna give unto the Lord? The sacrifice of praise, that's
all we got. Lord, thank you. Thank you for
saving my soul. Thank you, Lord, for making me
whole. Thank you, Lord, for giving me thy great salvation, so rich
and free, thank you. Heal those 10 lepers, how many
came back? The Lord said, wasn't there 10?
Is there but one came back to thank him? Lord, thank you. I'm just a sinner saved by the
grace of God. He told them though, he said,
thou shalt be blessed. They cannot recompense thee,
for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.
I think about that blessed promise of being rewarded, rewarded. rewarded in the day of great
judgment when Almighty God is going to settle all the accounts.
Let me tell you the greatest reward that I can possibly think
of. A reward that is only ours by
the grace of God because we didn't earn it. Listen to this reward. He said, when you come, don't
take the best seat and let the one that bid you have to come
to you and say, no, no, you go down here. You go down here and
take that lower seat that he says, come up hither. Then, then
that's when you'll be rewarded. Come. Ye blessed of my Father, inherit
the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Can you ever, I can't. I can't
even imagine the joy. We walk by faith right now. We
believe God. We rest in him. We say like the
thief on the cross, Lord, when you enter into your kingdom,
would you remember me? Remember me, a Syrophoenician
woman. You're right. It's not right
to give children bread to dogs, but the dogs eat the crumbs.
Can I just get a few crumbs from you? By faith, we walk. We have a good hope, a good confidence
in Christ. But in that day, to hear Him
say to me, Marvin, come. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Thank you. Come, you
blessed of my father. Inherit the kingdom prepared
for you from the foundation of the world. What a reward. If
I don't have that, Fred, I don't have anything. I pray God bless
this to our hearts and to the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ.