with me to the book of Proverbs,
chapter 22. Proverbs 22. Proverbs 22, verse
2. The rich and poor meet together. The Lord is the
maker of them all. According to the Word of Almighty God,
God Almighty is sovereign. Psalm 31 says, The Lord reigneth He's clothed with majesty. The Lord is clothed with strength,
wherewith He hath girded Himself. The world also is established
that it cannot be moved. Psalm 135 verse 6, Whatsoever
the Lord pleased, that did He in heaven and in earth in the
seas and all deep places. All that God Almighty is pleased
to do is eternally stable. The counsel of the Lord standeth,
scripture says, forever and the thoughts of his heart to all
generations. God doesn't change. He doesn't change in purpose.
He doesn't change in His will. He doesn't change in His decree. Nothing that Almighty God purposes
is frustrated. Nothing is frustrated that God
is pleased to do. Now, the scripture that we consider
this morning is one that sets forth God's sovereign pleasure
and will to show all men, though all men may be different in some
things, many things, all men are actually in the same state,
the same boat, the same matter of being concerning eternal consequences. I'm going to show you that in
actually three different ways. The rich and the poor. First of all, speaking about
all men. Take all men that's ever lived.
All men, all women, all of them. When I say all men during this
message, I'm meaning men and women. I'm talking about every
creature. All men, humanly speaking, first of all, is set forth in
this scripture right here concerning their social state or their financial
state or their... the way they are in this world,
in this life, is according to God's sovereign will. Now, I'm talking about now just
humanly speaking. First of all, first point, the
rich and the poor meet together. That word meet right here, and
we're going to be looking at it three different ways now,
but the word still means the same. It means they encounter
one another. They're all, they're encountering.
They're together, even though they're doing separate things,
they all encounter one another and do it harmoniously. God has
ordained Both. I'm talking about rich in earthly
possessions or poor in earthly possessions. Rich or poor. Humanly
speaking, first of all, they all accomplish the will, wise
decree of Almighty God. The scripture says the Lord worketh
all things after the counsel of His own will. A person's station
in this life is according to the good will and purpose of
Almighty God. There may be a lot of different
diversities as far as the various stations or positions of men
in this fleeting world, but all of these differences, no matter
what, come about according to the eternal counsel of God. But though there may be different
stations or financial positions, I mean, you've got some people
that have got some money. They've got some money. They've
got that wealth. They've got social status. But though all men are different
on the outside concerning their social status or their bank account,
there's some things that are all common. No matter where they
are, they all meet together and are on the same footing on some
points. Now, it doesn't matter whoever
is the richest person in this room today, whoever's got the
most money, all right, and whoever's got the least. Let me tell you
this, in Adam's fall, We're all of the same birth. There's not
one person in here, no matter where you are socially, what
you've got, whatever you've got or whatever you don't have. I'm
telling you the truth, Almighty God has put you there for a reason. God has put you there for a reason.
But we're all of the same birth. We all, the rich and the poor,
meet together in their fall in Adam. We're all in that same
position being born in Adam, dead in trespasses and sins. And we all meet together being
helpless to do anything to recover ourselves from the bondage of
sin. It doesn't matter how much you
got. We're all subject to the same sorrows. I'm telling you money Well, possession
or the lack of it is not going to change anything concerning
our sickness, our temptations. In other words, we all meet on
the same playing field. We're sinners. before God Almighty
and we all suffer the same physical and emotional and personal trials. And according to that passage
of Scripture, the rich and the poor, humanly speaking, meet
together, the Lord is the maker of them all. That word maker
right there is going to mean the same thing in the next two
points too. It means He's appointed it. He's
the maker. God has appointed them all. So first of all, humanly speaking,
whatever you have or whatever you don't have, Almighty God
gave it to you or withheld it from you for His eternal purpose. He's the maker of it. He appointed
it. I'm telling you, some people
are just able to advance. Some people, no matter what they
do, The Lord is the maker of them all. Secondly, as the Lord
providentially places all men and women in different natural
states in life, some material have more than others, he likewise
is pleased as the potter to make one vessel under honor and another
vessel under dishonor. The scripture sets forth he has
mercy on whom he will, And on whom He will, He hardeneth. The rich and the poor, spiritually
speaking, meet together. They are concurring, intertwined. The Lord is the maker of them
all. Now, concerning those who are
found to be the recipients of God's mercy and compassion, The
rich in this state, in this second point right here, it means those
who by the grace of God have been made rich. Those that have
been made to know something of their spiritual riches in Christ
by the good pleasure of God. Riches that this world knows
nothing about and cares nothing for. Those riches, those rich,
rich, truly rich, unlike the poor. fleeting riches of this
world, they're truly blessed. James 2 says, declares, God's
regenerated saints are rich in faith. Oh, the richness of being able
to know God and believe God. How little we thank the Lord
for that. But by the grace of God, the
rich and the poor. Now, poor in spirit. Those that
are theirs, who are possessors of the kingdom of God. Poor in
spirit. There's an amazing thing about
men that concur and they meet together. The scripture says
concerning, in Proverbs 13, 7, there is that, or there's some, which maketh himself rich and
hath nothing. Those that spiritually think
that they've made themselves rich by their own works, there
is that maketh himself rich and hath nothing, there is that maketh
himself poor, or realizes himself to be spiritually poor before
God, yet hath great riches. Man by nature thinks that he's
made himself rich before God, by his own works, but actually
the scripture declares him in Revelation to be wretched, poor,
truly poor before God, blind, naked before him, but the one
that's been made to see his spiritual poverty and admit it, and to
know by the grace of God, I need one God. who will answer for
me, one in whom I am rich, one in whom I believe by the richness
of faith. That man knows himself to be
unable to reconcile himself back to God and calls upon the Lord
Jesus Christ, the Savior of sinners. That man is truly rich before
God. Almighty God has justified him,
pardoned him, from his sin, he's an heir of God, he's a joint
heir with Christ, he's robed in the righteousness of the Lord
Jesus Christ. The scripture says the Lord preaching
Matthew 5, 3, blessed or happy are the poor in spirit, those
that are truly needy and oppressed and miserable, the ones that's
been made to behold the Lord by faith. Come unto me, he said. To all ye that labor heavy laden,
I will give you rest. He that cometh to me I will in
no wise cast out. These are the ones that have
had the eyes of their understanding to be opened by the regenerating
power of the Spirit of God, and they have a good hope. Their
confidence is in Christ. They look to Him, trust Him,
and believe Him. The Scripture says concerning
Moses, being that one that was rich in faith, poor spirit, writer
to Hebrews, said that at the age of 40, Moses, educated, he
was truly wealthy, groomed to be the heir of the throne in
Egypt. But by faith, the scripture declares
Moses to have refused the honor the prestige, the wealth of the
rejected nation of Egypt, and he esteemed the reproach of Christ. He considered the disapproval
from the world which is given toward those who truly love the
Lord, he esteemed the reproach of Christ. He esteemed that rejection
from the world to himself and to all God's people. He esteemed
that to be greater riches than the treasures in Egypt. For he
had respect unto the recompense of the reward. What does that
mean? He looked by faith beyond the present day and realized
that the eternal reward. in Christ Jesus, what God had
promised to those that know Him and love Him to be greater treasure
than the temporal gold and silver and wealth in Egypt. Now that's the heart of a believer.
The rich and the poor meet together. The Lord is the maker of them
all, the rich. Those rich in Christ, poor in
spirit, hungering for the bread of heaven himself. They meet
together. They concur. They're of the same
opinion of all other believers. They've been made to behold. And they know and they agree
the Lord is the maker of them all. They all realize the Lord
appointed me. to this state. They know that
they are what they are by the grace of God. The Lord Himself
has chosen. But now concerning, and I'm still
on this second point, those that truly are found to be poor, the
rich that think themselves we're increased with goods, we have
no need, you know, like those that lay out of sin. They thought
themselves to be, those that are sitting under a false gospel,
and think that they've made themselves rich before God. And they're
truly, they're poor. They're poor. They have need
of everything. They're blinded, they're naked,
and they think themselves to be rich in their doctrine. They
think themselves to be rich in faith, and they think that they're
increased with religious you know, wealth, therefore the Lord
said you're truly destitute. You're without knowledge, you're
afflicted, you're miserable and to be pitied. But the Lord is the maker of
them all. The Lord has appointed. Now listen,
we know, we never would say that the Lord is the author of sin.
No man is ever going to blame God for his own rebellion. But
the scripture declares in Romans 9, if the Lord is willing to
show his wrath and make his power known, enduring for a while,
the vessels of wrath fitted or made up to destruction. Romans
chapter 9. He is, if he's pleased to leave
some to their own rebellion and destruction. He has done so justly. He's done so wisely. And He's
done so sovereignly. That's why I started this message
and I said I'm going to start off by saying that God Almighty
is sovereign. He does as He will. It matters
not what men say, what they set forth The way they think. Exodus chapter 9 and verse 16
declares that Pharaoh, God told him, was raised up. Why was Pharaoh
put on the throne in Egypt? God said, I raised you up. And I might show my power in
you. And that his name. might be declared
throughout all the earth as being God. God does as He will. In the army of heaven and among
the inhabitants of the earth, if He's pleased to show mercy
and compassion, it's because He was pleased to show mercy
and compassion. And if He leaves one to themselves,
if He leaves a rebel to himself to die in his trespasses and
sins, That rebel is left without excuse for his rebellion. Concerning God's people, if they
behold in themselves that God has been pleased to show mercy,
this is what they're going to say. I am what I am by God's
grace. And that's it. All men meet together. They come in contact with one
another as to their human station in this life, the Lord appointed
it. They all come together, secondly
intertwined amongst each other as to their spiritual state in
this life before God, as to God's good pleasure and God's good
will to either show mercy or to harden. The rich and the poor
meet together. The Lord is the maker of them
all. And then lastly, The rich and
the poor. And here I speak of the objects
of God's mercy. They meet together. They concur. That's one of the words in the
definition. They concur. Or they're on the same footing. Or they're in harmony with. Or
they're of the same opinion as to the price of their redemption. The Lord is the maker of them
all. has appointed them all. I want
you to hold your place right here before I conclude. Turn
to Exodus chapter 30. Exodus chapter 30. I took some of my notes and I
actually put them in the bulletin this morning in that article
that I've written. Those words right there are just right out
of my notes. I wanted to make a special note. Exodus chapter
30 verses 11 to 15. The Lord speaking, the Lord spake
unto Moses, verse 11, chapter 30. When thou takest the sum
of the children of Israel after their number, then shall they
give every man a ransom for his soul unto the Lord when thou
numberest them, that there be no plague among them when thou
numberest them. This they shall give. Everyone
that passeth among them that are numbered half a shekel after
the shekel of the sanctuary. A shekel is 20 giras. A half shekel shall be the offering
of the Lord. Everyone that passeth among them
that are numbered from 20 years old and above shall give an offering
unto the Lord. The rich shall not give more. The poor shall not give less
than half a shekel when they give an offering unto the Lord
to make an atonement for your souls. Now, Scripture sets forth that the
individual in Israel, it didn't matter how much you had. If you
were the richest man on the block, you gave a half a shekel for
that offering. If you were the poorest of the
poor, if you're the bottom line, you give a half a shekel. Now, we know that money does
not purchase our atonement, our covering before God. For as much
as you know that you were not redeemed, with corruptible things
as silver and gold from your vain conversation received by
tradition from your fathers. But what was being set forth
is that the individual value of a soul for each of God's elect
is the same. Israel all gave the same offering. It didn't say one was above the
other. The rich doesn't give, the poor
doesn't give less. That money represented the value
of the atonement. That value of that half shekel
represented the immeasurable value of the blood of the Lord
Jesus Christ. That blood that was equally needed
for each soul. In the redemption of God's elect,
the price that was paid to redeem Abraham and Moses All the prophets,
Peter, James, John, me, you, was the same to redeem that repentant
thief, that murderer that was hanging on that cross. It was
the same price, the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. The rich
don't give more. They're not going to say, I paid
more for mine. The poor is not going to say, I didn't have enough
to pay for mine. It was the same amount. The rich
and the poor meet together. The Lord is the maker of them
all. Almighty God has been pleased
in this world to give some, humanly speaking, more. Held responsible
what they have. Some, less. They have to walk,
you know, according to their prophecy. The Lord's the maker
of them all. There's some in this world that
are the recipients of the mercy and grace of God. And they have
nothing in themselves to boast. And there's some that Almighty
God's been pleased to leave to themselves. The rich and the
poor, they meet together. The Lord's the maker of them
all. But when it comes to the redemption of God's people, Price
is the same. They all meet together. Being
bought, paid for, redeemed by the blood of Christ. I pray that
God bless these words to our heart for Christ's sake. Amen. All right.