Alright, let's take our Bibles
and turn with me to the book of Proverbs, chapter 24. Proverbs 24. A blessed and eternal conversation
was recorded in this The passage of Scripture was between the
Father and the Son, and it was concerning the work of the Lord
Jesus Christ given unto Him by the Father for the redemption
and salvation of God's people. And we looked at the first part
of that conversation. It was found in verse 27 of Proverbs
24. Here's what it says, prepare
thy work without and make it fit for thyself in the field. Now I've said this before and
you know this, whenever we look at the book of Proverbs, any
book in these scriptures, you can always find a natural conversation,
a natural reason, a natural saying of these things, but we never
get away from the truth that the Lord set forth to the two
on the road to Emmaus, beginning with Moses. And in all the Scriptures,
He expounded unto them the things concerning Himself. So we fly
to the Lord Jesus Christ to see Him in this passage of Scripture. And knowing that, we know that
we see these things aright. covenant of God's grace from
the Father to the Son. Prepare thy work, that work that
is given Him. It was a work that God the Father
gave the Son and the Son willingly submitted Himself unto that work. Now, in the preparation of that
work. What he's saying is everything
must be prepared before the foundation of the world. That was going
to be accomplished and manifest in time. Everything was done. Everything was finished. What
we're actually doing right now is we're watching the unfolding
of that which Almighty God everlastingly did. Hebrews 4.3, For we which
have believed do enter into rest, as he said, as I've sworn in
my wrath, if they shall enter into my wrath, my rest, I'm sorry,
although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.
What did the writer of Hebrews, what did he just say under the
inspiration of God's Spirit? He said this, we who have believed
and have trusted God do enter into his rest. What rest is he
talking about? from our labors, our labors,
to try to establish our own righteousness before God. That's what we rest
from. We don't do that. God has delivered us from that.
And we believe, in accordance with His Word, that those who
believe not, now this is what we believe. We believe, according
to God's Word, that those who believe not the gospel of salvation,
that salvation is totally of the Lord, that it's not of works. We that believe are convinced
that those who don't believe this don't enter into the rest
of Almighty God. What rest is that? If the rest
of whose works were finished from the foundation of the world.
So all that the Father chose in the Son, they were ordained
to eternal life. And the Father, based totally
upon the merit of the Lord Jesus Christ, He foreknew, or He knew
before, in mercy and in compassion, those that He was going to save.
He knew them. He knew. I know my sheep. He
ordained them, predestinated them unto the adoption of children
by Jesus Christ to Himself. He named them. He called them
sons of God. He justified them. What does
that mean? That means before the foundation
of the world, they were pardoned. They were accepted in the Beloved
before they were ever brought into being, before God ever created
man. God knew them. And He pardoned
them. He justified them in the person
of the Lord Jesus Christ. And not only that, They were
glorified. This is all found. This is what
we looked at last week. They were glorified, meaning
they're in glory. I can't understand the depth
of this, but this is what it is. It's finished. It's done. We're watching it. So all things
were prepared, made ready. That's what the Lord told them.
You make ready. Make it fit. You go in, go without, go out
from where you are into the field, into the world. And you finish
it. And it was done. So here we are beholding the
finished work of Almighty God in the redeeming and salvation
of His people before God ever made a world. His people in Christ
saved. It's biblically established that
the house of the Lord is to be built. First Peter 2.5 says,
he also as lively stones are built up, that is you're built
into a spiritual house, a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual
sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. the lively stones. Who are they? They're believers. God's elect. They're built up a spiritual
house. Now they were born in Adam just
like all men. They were dead in trespasses
and sins. But they were chosen unto salvation
by the sanctifying, the setting apart, the making new work of
the Spirit of God. And they are going to be saved.
All that the Father giveth me shall come to me. Him that cometh
to me I will in no wise cast out. And they shall, according
to the good pleasure and timing of God, they're going to be regenerated. Ephesians 2, 20-22 says, built
upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets. What does that
mean? What God taught them, those apostles
and prophets, what God told them and taught them concerning the
gospel, that's the message that is set forth upon which God's
lively stones are built. That's how God's going to call
them out of darkness. Jesus Christ himself being the
chief cornerstone in whom all the building fitly framed together,
that means harmoniously joined by the Spirit of God. That building that groweth unto
a holy temple in the Lord in whom you are also built together
for a habitation of God through the Spirit. That means God Almighty
has got a building. He's got a house. He's going
to build it. He's going to build it according to His will and
purpose by the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God is going to
call them out and they're going to all be fitly framed together.
We looked at that passage where Solomon was building the temple
of God and all the stones were cut beforehand and when they
brought them they just put them together. They all fit. That's
how God does it. That's how He builds His house. So the house of God is made up
of lively stones. Lively centers saved by the grace
of God and put together just like God Almighty eternally purposed. God's people are not outcast.
They separated themselves from God, but God Almighty eternally
loved them. He's going to bring them back
together. Who is this house? They are, according to Revelation
21-2, the holy city. They're the new Jerusalem, prepared
as a bride, adorned for her husband. So, the Lord Jesus Christ has
a work. And then back in Proverbs 27, The latter part, after the Lord
said, prepare thy work without, make it fit for thyself in the
field, and afterwards build thine house. Now, here's where we're
living right now. We're beholding that which was
eternally purposed by Almighty God, and we're watching the Lord
build His house. Everything that's coming to pass
today, all things have been ordered by God. All things are done in
accordance with His will. He worketh all things after the
counsel of His own will and purpose. So we're watching. Everything's
going on. Every bit of this, all this stuff
is going on. It's being brought about for
God's glory and the good of His sheep. Every bit of it. Politically, economically, whatever
it is, God's order. That's comforting right there
to me. So the Lord himself, he sets
forth. I want you to turn over now to
Matthew chapter 16. Matthew 16. And I want us to
look at what the Lord says on how his house is built. This is what God said. I mean,
what man has to say is just irrelevant unless it's in agreement with
God's Word. So here we are, Matthew 16. Here
the Lord is going to teach us something concerning how He builds
His house. I want you to look at Matthew
16, look at verse 13-14. When Jesus came into the coast
of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, whom do
men say that I, the Son of Man, am? And they said, well, some
say that thou art John the Baptist, some say Elijah, others say Jeremiah,
or one of the prophets. Now, in the days of our Lord,
there were, as there is today, there were just many opinions.
concerning who the Lord is. Is he a good man? Nicodemus said,
we know that thou art a teacher sent from God. No man can do
the works that you do, lest God be with him. Did he come just
as a good example? Did he come as somebody that
died on a cross just to so that somebody could die to make salvation
possible, so that men, you know, might exercise their free will
and whether they accept his death or reject his death. Who is it? Well, the disciples said, they
say this and that and the other one. But then the Lord said in
verse 15, He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? Who do you say? Now that's the
question of all questions right now. I'm going to tell you this.
That's the question that must be answered and that answer in
the day of judgment from the heart is going to be the answer
of all answers. What think ye of Christ? Who
do you say that He is? What do you say? What do you
say? Peter gave the answer that is given and believed by every
regenerate only by the grace of God. If anybody can give an
answer that Peter gave, it's by the grace of God because it's
going to take a new heart to give the answer that Peter gave. Peter said, In verse 16, Simon
Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the
living God. Now, what did he say? He said, You are the anointed
Messiah. Now, in saying that, what he
was saying is, You are the one that before the foundation of
the world, was anointed of God, Jehovah,
Father, to be the one sent into this world to answer God's demand
for righteousness and justice. What he's saying is this, you're
the one that God set apart that would live for, to earn righteousness,
for a people of God's choosing. God's got an elect. This is what
Peter said. When he said, you're the Christ,
somebody said, well, everybody can say that. Not with a new
heart. Because nobody can call Jesus
Lord except it be by the Holy Ghost. Nobody can say from the
heart. You're the one chosen of God
to save God's elect, to establish their righteousness because they
couldn't. You're the one who came to answer the demand of
the law for justice. That law that the elect God had
broken and would be justly deserving of hell. You're the Christ. Thou
art the Christ, the Son of the living God. The Lord said in
verse 17, Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou,
Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto
thee, but my Father which is in heaven. Now, he called him
something that was very significant. He didn't call him Peter, he
called him Simon Bar-Jonah. Why? Because Peter and all of
us are going to be reminded, that was Peter's His daddy's
name was Jonah. Bar means son of. Simon son of
Jonah. That's what he said. He said,
you're a man. You're a man. A fallen creature
of the dust. But you're a blessed man. fallen
creature of the dust, because flesh and blood, what you are
by nature, your daddy's name was Jonah, you're the son of
Jonah, that you came from just exactly what your daddy is. He
was a sinner too, and that's where you came, but you're blessed,
you're blessed. Flesh and blood didn't reveal
that to you, but my father, which is in heaven, And verse 18, and
he said, I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon
this rock will I build my church, and the gates of hell shall not
prevail against it. Now I know what a lot of people
say. They say that the church is built upon Peter. That ain't
so. I may not be good English, but
you know exactly what I mean. That's not right. When he said
you are Peter, Let me tell you what the word Peter means. You're
a little rock. He's a stone, just a little stone.
You're just a little stone. A lively stone by the grace of
God, but you're just a little piece of a rock. You're just
by the grace of God what you are. But he says upon this rock,
one rock, that you're the Christ. The Son of the Living God. That's
the rock. Christ Himself. That truth that
God is sovereign and has a people that He's going to save. Little
Rock, you're a blessed rock. Blessed of God because God Almighty
taught you that your hope is in Christ alone. Your hope, the
Lord said, is in Me. The capital R. Rock. That rock himself upon which
the church is built. Now you go, the Lord had told
him eternally, now you go build your house. Here's what he's
going to build his house on. He's going to build his house
upon the truth of himself. Who do men say that I am? You're
this, that, and the other one. Who do you say I am? You're the
Christ, Son of the living God. That's who you are. Peter, you're
a blessed little rock. I can tell you this, buddy. because
you're built upon me." The cornerstone himself. And he said, I say that
the gates of hell shall not prevail against this house that's being
built. That church that's being openly
manifest right now, he said, even the gates of hell are not
going to be able to thwart what God Almighty Back in Proverbs,
Proverbs 24, turn back with me there and we'll try to finish
up these scriptures. Matthew 24, when the father said
unto the son in verse 24-27, afterwards build thine house.
Here's what the scriptures declare that the Lord did. The scripture says in verse 28,
now here's still instruction. This is instruction. The Lord
had told him, after which build thy house. Now listen to this
instruction. Be not witness against thy neighbor
without cause, and deceive not with thy lips. Again, I'm not
even going to, for the sake of time especially, but it's no
need. There's no need in me going to the natural understanding.
You can read that. Naturally speaking, you understand
what it's saying. But the thing is, Let's look
at the glory of God in Christ and let's see the gospel in this.
Then we'll benefit from it. He said, when you come, when you build
your church, don't be a witness against thy neighbor. I was looking at that. I love
looking up these words. But when you understand what
that word neighbor means, that word right there, this whole
verse right here, this whole passage just blossoms into magnificence. When the Lord came into this
world, He came with a purpose. He came not to be a false witness
against his neighbor. Be not a witness against thy
neighbor. That word neighbor right there
is from a root word that means a keeper of sheep or one that
pastures. It means an intimate friend. Now you know when we think of
neighbor, you know I got people that kind of live down the a
mile down the road. And I said, yeah, just a neighbor
of mine, just down the road. He said, I don't know him. I
mean, really. I mean, I pass him by, you know.
He said, well, hey, neighbor. You know, or across the creek
or something like that. But no, not this word. This word, neighbor,
that means just what I wrote. From one, a root word that means
a keeper of sheep. Now, we don't even need to go
there. We know where that's going. Don't
be a witness against thy neighbor without a cause. The Lord came
in here with a cause. He didn't do it without a cause.
He came into this world to seek and to save that which was lost.
He had a people that He was going to have to save from their sins. And deceive not with thy lips. Man is deceived already. The
Lord came into this world not to deceive with His lips. He said, I'm the way, I'm the
truth. Here's the faithful witness that
came into this world to save His people who had fallen for
the lies of Satan. Satan lied to them. Christ didn't
come to deceive them. Brother Scott said, somebody
said, don't tell them that gospel, you're just going to deceive
them. Man, Scott said, they're already deceived. Tell them the
truth. The only thing that's going to
set a man free is the truth. So the Lord, when He came into
this world, He came in the building of His house as the true and
faithful witness of God, as the trustworthy. witness who faithfully
gave witness of God's sovereign will and salvation. Let me tell
you what we need right now. You tell me the truth. Because
we're going to stand before God and the only thing that's going
to matter is what God has to say. So don't leave me in deception. Be not a witness against thy
neighbor without a cause. Don't go in there and be a witness
to get him. There is a cause. Your neighbor
is lost. Your sheep are lost. They're
wandering. They're helplessly lost. Don't go in there without a cause.
There is a cause. Scripture says in verse 29, say
not. I will do so to him as he hath
done to me. I will render to the man according
to his work." Oh, how thankful we are that the Spirit of God
would tell us why the Lord Jesus Christ came into this world. Don't go there to do to him what
he did to you. No, aren't you glad he didn't? Oh, what I've done to him. I've
lied, I've hated, I've despised him. Lord, don't leave me. Don't do to me what I did to
you. Lord, the Scripture sets forth John 3.17, God sent not
His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world
through Him might be saved. He didn't come to give back to
man according to man's work. We'd all perish. We'd have no
hope whatsoever. But he came to have mercy and
compassion unto whomsoever he would. Men and women chosen of
God out of all nations and kingdoms and tribes and tongues. Those
according to his love that they might have life through him. And he did this by being made
what we are. Seeing that we might be made
what he is in him. the righteousness of God. He came to fulfill and honor
the law of God on our behalf. We didn't. We didn't. He recompensed to no man evil
for evil. Romans 12, 17. It is by the grace
of God that we are saved through faith, and that faith which is
not of ourselves. And then the scripture It says
in verse 30 what he saw when he got here. I went by the field
of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding. The scripture declares he came
into the field. The Lord had set forth in the
parable about the wheat and the tares. He said the field is the
world. I looked up the word field in
this passage right here just to make sure. I want to make
sure. It means the country, the ground,
the land. He came into the field and this
is what he saw. They were slow to fall. The vineyard of the man was void
of understanding. Spiritually lazy, neglecting
their very souls. Void of understanding of their
end without a Savior before God. As I said a moment ago, sheep
without a shepherd. Now, we know that's so. That's man by nature. And it
says in verse 31, And lo, it was all grown over with thorns
and nettles covered the face thereof and the stone wall thereof
was broken down. Where were we? Found to be dwelling
in the place that was cursed because of our father Adam's
transgression. Here we are. What did you find? They're all spiritually slothful,
lazy, living in a place that's cursed, dead, trespasses and
sins. Then I, verse 32, saw and considered
it well and looked upon it and received instruction. Now, I'm going to be honest with
you, that 32nd verse right there is one that I read and read and
looked and looked at the words Ask the Lord, Lord give me some
instruction on that. It's hard reading it right there
for me. Very, very hard. But I believe
the Lord has given me some light on it. And I pray that He has. I believe He has. Like I said,
it's a little hard to perceive. But here's what the Lord reveals
which He beheld. And this by experience. Now,
remember, He was sent into this world. as the Savior of His people. He was made like unto His brethren
and this is what He saw. Then I saw, that is by experience,
He saw being made flesh and He considered it well. He knew the
frailty of His people. He knew it. I considered it well. He knew. He knew. It wasn't that
he guessed. He knew. He saw. And he knew
the frailty and was touched, the scripture says. He was touched
with the feelings of our infirmities. He knew it. He experienced it. He looked upon it and received
instruction. Now here's just the absolute
meaning of those words as I looked at them and tried to get the
heart of the meaning of those words. It's an amazing statement,
but it means to attain instruction or wisdom by observing the gross
idleness of another. You know, if you want, you can
watch and you might behold something that someone possibly is doing
that is very negligent, irresponsible, you know, and you glean some
understanding from watching something that is being done wrong. I have
so many things, you know. I mean, we probably start talking
about our government. Let's talk about, you know, sin
in man. What men do because of sin. And you learn something. What
you're saying is this. I don't think I want to do that.
I think I see the end of that. Well, that's the meaning. For
the Lord, He came into this world by experience. He knew it. He learned it. That's the only
way. He learned it by experience.
That's the only way I can say it. But He who knew no sin, made in the likeness of His people,
experienced because He was made like us, yet without sin, and
he understood. He understood. He felt it. Then
I saw and considered it, what my margin says, set in my heart.
I considered it well. I looked upon it and received
instruction. He knew the feelings of our infirmity
by experience. And this is what he knew. This
is what he understood, verse 33. He had a little sleep, a
little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep. That is
at the end, those left to themselves that he beheld by experience. This is what I see. You leave a man to himself and
he will say, I got time. Maybe tomorrow. Things will be
the same as they are today. Man born in Adam is slow full. He's lazy. He's going to procrastinate. I'm telling you that's what he's
going to do. He's going to leave it for another day. I have and you have. I'm sure many
of you. We've watched people die. Just die. And you leave this world without
Christ and it's over. It's done. It's done. Verse 34, So shall thy poverty
come as one that traveleth, and thy want as an armed man. What is that saying? Spiritual
poverty of the soul if a man is left to himself. shall come
upon that spiritually slothful man quickly, irresistibly, while he wasn't
suspecting, that's the word I'm looking for, that it would come,
like an armed robber. That's what he's saying there.
So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth and thy want
as an armed man. It's going to come when you least
expect it. Leave a man to himself. There's a sense of urgency. The
Lord is not going to leave His people to Himself. But for His
people, what He's told is today is the day of salvation. Come
to Christ. Cast yourself upon the mercy
of God. But all knowing where we were,
and He came by experience and saw, and saw the plight of man. My heart was moved in closing
to Ephesians 2, 4, and 5, while we were yet in unbelief. The scripture says, but God who
is rich in mercy, For His great love wherewith He loved us, even
when we were dead in sin, that quickened us together with Christ,
by grace we are saved, we are rescued. Oh, the blessing of
knowing that the house of His building, the bringing forth
of His body, His bride, the work that had been prepared and made
fit for Him before the foundation of the world is a work that is
surely going to be brought out. I know that. It's going to be
through the preaching of the gospel. It's going to be through
the preaching of telling men what they are and what is left
if they leave this world without a Savior until there is a Savior.
That which He prepared everlastingly and set His heart to finish It's
going to be brought to fruition. It's going to be for His blessed
honor and glory and praise and it's going to be for the good
of God's sheep. May the Lord bless these words
to our hearts, His sake and our good.