Let's take our Bibles once again
and turn with me to Proverbs 18. Proverbs 18. I've entitled this message, The
Language of the Heart. Language of the Heart. Here's
what Proverbs 18.23 says, But the rich answereth roughly. The poor, the destitute, the
needy, those in lack, they useth. That is, they speak, they answer,
they commune with entreaties. That is, earnest prayer. or supplications. The poor, they stoop as an inferior and
they plead for mercy. I'm talking about those that
are truly poor, especially poor in spirit. but even the poor, naturally
speaking. And the reason they do is because
they don't have anything to bargain with. No bargaining chips. When Glenda and Rochelle and
I were in Mexico, we were coming down the road
We were in Mérida and there was an old beggar on the side of
the street. We were in the city, in the middle
of Mérida and this beggar, he was sitting in a wheelchair and
he had a little cup and it was tied onto a stick, sitting in
a wheelchair. He'd stick his cup out, like
that. And when I told us, she said,
that fella has been there for years. Been there for years,
been on that corner. Remember that? Made me think of old blind Barnabas,
you know, just an old blind beggar, beggar. And when I said this fellow years
and years ago, when his health was a little better, he could
stand and beg. But now he's gotten to where
he's got to be in a wheelchair. His family brings him to that
same spot. You see him there all the time,
she said. Poverty. poverty, just like that
Syrophoenician woman we just considered, poor woman. And the way she spoke, just like
scripture reveals right here, the poor useth in treaties, earnest
prayer, asking, asking. You know, this is the reason
that Almighty God brings a man, a woman, that He's going to show
mercy. This is why He brings them down. Shows them what they
are. Poor. He shows them that. They're poor. But see, the sad
part about it is a man, a woman, born in Adam, thinks he's rich. He thinks he's rich. increased
with goods, like the church at Laodicea. And the scripture says
about one that's rich. And this is, I mean, you get
somebody that's just filthy rich monetarily. I mean, you know,
they don't really care what they say to you. What are you going
to do about it? I mean, if they're just filthy rich. But a man that
thinks that he's rich spiritually. He's still got that haughty spirit. The man that's rich, he answers
roughly, harshly, hard. You feel as though that they're
in control. They have no need, they're proud,
lifted up, false sense of security. I found this to be the case. One that thinks himself to be
rich before God because of his work has an arrogant attitude. They're arrogant. They have this attitude, I'm
right with God because I whatever. You didn't, I have. The Lord sent Moses to Pharaoh
And the Lord told Pharaoh, through Moses, you let my people go. Now, Moses is talking to Pharaoh. He's talking to the absolute
monarch in Egypt. One whose word is the rule in
Egypt. But God's speaking to him, through
Moses, through the spokesman. It's like when God Almighty sends
any preacher. I realize that preachers are
sinners, God's preachers. And they know it. But they are
God's preachers. They're God's ambassadors. And
the Lord sent Moses to tell Pharaoh, Exodus 5, 1, Thus saith the Lord
God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast
unto me in the wilderness. And Pharaoh said, Who is the
Lord? That I should obey his voice
and let Israel go. I know not the Lord, neither
will I let Israel go. Yet. He will. Here was a man that
was void of any true knowledge of God. And what was his attitude? Well, his attitude was exactly
like the scripture reveals. The rich answereth roughly, harshly,
proud, arrogantly. The Lord spoke, turn with me
to John 8. John chapter 8. spoke to a group of self-righteous
Jews, John 8, verse 41. And he told them, he said, you
do the deeds of your father. Then they said unto him, we be
not born of fornication. We're not illegitimate. We have
one father, even God. Now see, here they are. They
think themselves to be rich in how they're speaking to the Lord.
And the reason they're speaking to the Lord like this is because
they don't know Him. That's the reason. You have the Lord reveal
Himself to somebody, and I'm telling you, they don't speak
like this. They speak with respect of the
Lord Jesus Christ. And Jesus said unto them, If
God were your Father, you'd love Me. You see, there's a real indication
right there of a believer. They love the Lord Jesus. And I'm not talking about this
Jesus that everybody's talking about that is trying to save
people. I'm not talking about the Jesus
that everybody's telling me died for everybody. I'm not talking
about that Jesus. That's a little J. That's a little
J, Jesus. That's one that somebody's made
up. It's a figment of man's imagination. He died on the cross and paid
for everybody's sins. Paid for everybody's sins. That's
what they say. But since he paid for everybody's sins, then if
God's just, he ought to take everybody to heaven. If everybody's
sins are paid for, if the debt's all paid for. They said, well,
no, but you got to accept it. Well, then you're saying that
salvation by works. No, I'm not saying that. No, you don't know
what you're saying. He said, if God were your father,
you'd love me. For I proceeded forth. I came
from God. The scripture bears out concerning
the birth of our Lord. That's what God said about His
birth. This holy thing. Holy thing. I proceeded forth and came from
God, neither came I of myself, but He sent me. Why do you not understand my
speech? Even because you cannot hear
my word. You think. Think what he's saying. The reason
you don't understand what I'm saying is because you cannot
hear. You cannot hear. How are they
going to hear? God's going to have to give them
ears to hear. New ears. Spiritual ears. New
heart. He said in verse 44, ye are of
your father the devil, and the lust of your father ye will do.
He was a murderer from the beginning, a bow not in the truth, because
there's no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh
of his own, for he's a liar and the father of it. And because
I tell you the truth, you believe me not. He does nothing but speak lies. Whenever anybody stands up, Galatians
1.8 says this, if an angel from heaven, if we are an angel from
heaven, preaches any other gospel than
that which we've preached, and God Almighty leaves him in
that state, He's going to hell. Let him be accursed. He's going
to hell. A false preacher is a preacher
who is the mouthpiece of his father the devil. That's what
the Lord said. God Almighty is going to speak
and he's going to speak the truth through his people. Lord, keep
me from the deceitfulness of myself, from these spiritual,
so-called spiritual riches that men think they have. Especially, may I be found by
the grace of God to be made poor before him. The poor useth entreaties,
earnest prayer, asking. I want you to turn to Luke 18,
about two different men that went to pray. We've read this
so many times, but this is where my heart was drawn when I looked
at that passage of scripture. Luke 18. Luke 18, verse 9. He spake this parable unto certain
which trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised
others. They trusted in themselves that
they were righteous. Two men went up into the temple
to pray, the one a Pharisee and the other a Republican. The Pharisee
stood and prayed thus with himself, I thank thee that I am not as
other men are. Now, let me say this. Before
I go any farther, everybody born in this world is represented
by one of these two men. Every one of them. Everybody.
Everybody is going to be one of these two fellas as being
representatives. Either a man or a woman is a
believer or they're an unbeliever. Either they're lost or they're
saved. Everybody's going to be found
in one of these. Every man is born, I'll tell you this, a Pharisee. Every man born in Adam who seeks
acceptance with God either in part Or totality, a lot of them
will say, well I believe in salvation by grace, but what I had to do
to, you know. Anything that you add or think
you add to your salvation, means that that's works, and
it's not by the works of righteousness that we've done. You know, it
seems as though, Neil, that you understand that. It just seemed
like everybody could hear that. Everybody hear that. Not by works
of righteousness that I've done. And men will say, I believe in
salvation by grace, but you've got to be baptized to be saved. You know, it just seems so to
me that that would be a work of righteousness. That's what
I think. You've got to walk down. You've got to come to the altar. You cannot be saved. If you're
not circumcised, you can't be saved. Every man born in Adam
is a Pharisee because that's the nature. of a dead man before
God. And every man, woman that has
been called out of spiritual darkness is a publican, spiritual publican,
who has been heartfully taught of his own deficiency and inability
toward God. Here's how you can tell. Here's
how you can tell. whether what you believe is of
God or if it's of man. Here's how you can tell. Here
it is. I heard somebody say this one
time. This is a good answer. Who gets the honor and the glory
for your salvation? Totally. Totally. Now if you
have any part in it, then that means you get part of the glory.
Who gets the honor? Who gets the glory? If salvation
is all of grace, it's all of grace, and it's taught you through
faith, that's how you know it. That's of God. If you believe
that heartfully, if you believe that part of your salvation is
about what you've done, then you're a Pharisee. Every man, woman born in this
world is one of these two. The Pharisee stood and prayed
thus with himself, standing before others to be heard of men. And
what he did was he disqualified himself with his words. He disqualified
himself for mercy. He evidenced by what he said
out of the abundance of his heart, this is what he said. God, I
thank Thee that I'm not as other men are." Well, how are other men? Well,
the scripture says, all have sinned. All have sinned and come short
of the glory of God. Now, how many does that include?
Everybody, all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
And this man says, I'm not as other men are, extortioners,
unjust, adulterers. I'm not even like this turncoat
right here. I'm not a traitor. That's what a publican was. He
was a Jew working for the Roman government collecting taxes.
God, I thank you that I wasn't born a publican. God, I thank
you that I'm not a sinner. When I say he disqualified himself, here's what 1 Timothy 1.15 says.
This is a faithful saying. What does that mean? This is
what God has to say. Here's a faithful saying, worthy
of all acceptation, Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners,
to save sinners. It thrills my heart just to hear
a believer speak of himself as being one unworthy, unfit in
himself, one incapable of himself. That song we sing all the time
by John Newton, "'Tis a point I long to know." Man, I read
those words or sing those words and I think, you know what, I
truly believe exactly what that man is saying. I look within,
I don't see anything except that which is dark and wild. Can I
deem myself a child? Is this how a believer truly
is? According to God's Word, it is.
You read Romans chapter 7 and you listen to the Apostle Paul
speak of himself. Oh, wretched man that I am. This
Pharisee prayed with respect to himself. I am not like everybody
else. Did not ask for mercy, didn't
need mercy. I'm not a sinner. I don't need
a Savior. I am my own Savior. And I do
everything just exactly right. Not only do I not do those things,
let me tell you what I do. Verse 12, I fast twice in the
week. I give tithes of all that I possess. There's one answering roughly,
harshly. Let me just look, in closing,
at a spiritually poor man. Here's one that as he came to
the Lord Jesus He continues coming just this way. This is how every
believer speaks. And the older he gets, he's more
convinced of this. You're more convinced, you that
have, the Lord has revealed himself to you and you've gone in years
and you've listened and heard the gospel and you see of the
frailty inside. This is how you are. The publican,
verse 13, standing afar off, he would not lift up so much
as his eyes unto heaven. He had no self-worth. That Pharisee lifted up his arrogant
pride, lifted up all of his works, thanked God that he wasn't a
sinner, Thank God that he did all these marvelous things. Thank God that God didn't make
him like this rebel here and that publican guilt laden, sin
heavy on his heart. Thinking how can God show mercy
to ones like me? How could God show mercy? You
know, I kind of read these words and I kind of wondered, you know,
Here, that Pharisee said, I'm not like other men are, and that
Republican sitting there thinking, I am. I'm not an extortioner, or unjust,
or an adulterer. He said, I know I am. Maybe not
outwardly, but in my heart. I've committed every one of those.
Just laden with guilt. Couldn't even
look up. I think to myself, Lord, help
me to see myself truly like this. There's so much pride and arrogance
in our hearts. We'll read that and think, well,
I mean, he was really bad. I'm that way. Lord, teach me
that. And with shame, he smote upon
his breast. Just absolutely beating to the
very point of his problem. My heart is my problem. You know, I'm convinced of this. Every man born of God got two
natures. He's got an old nature and a
new nature. And as I've said this before, and I mean this.
Let me ask you that believe, let me ask you what you see most
clearly. Most clearly, what do you see? I see that old man. I see the
effects of that old man. I know as surely as I'm standing
here, more surely, because God said so, that which is born of
God sinneth not. And I'm telling you, if you ask
me, say, Marvin, tell me one thing that you are assured of
today in which you didn't sin. He smote upon his breast, and
he said, God, seven words. It was the length
of his prayer. You know, Scripture says that
the Lord said that men, they think they're heard for their
much speaking. Seven words. Total prayer. God, be merciful. To me, a sinner. There was a man that spoke with
an entreaty. There was a man that was made
honest. I know what I am. I'm a sinner. I'm a sinner. That Pharisee compared himself
to others and he found no fault. That publican right there, by
the grace of God, saw himself measured against the plummet
of God's holiness. And he knew something about himself. It's what I am. I'm a sinner. If I compare myself to you or
you compare yourself to me, well, as I've said before, that's just
a maggot comparing himself to a maggot. Both of us are maggots. But when we consider the one
before whom we must all stand, what else can you ask but mercy? Mercy. You know when a man asks
for mercy, you know what he's doing? He admitted it. I'm guilty. I'm guilty. Be merciful to me. Congratulations is what the Pharisee
wanted and thought he deserved. And I wish I was like you. I
wish I could fast twice a week and give tithes of all I have.
Mercy is what that publican needed. And the Lord gave the sum of
these two men, verse 14. The Lord, speaking of that parable
that he told, he said, I tell you, this man, that publican,
went down to his house justified, rather than the other, for everyone
that exalteth himself, everyone that exalteth himself, speaking
of his worth, his works, his efforts, his goodness, his faithfulness,
his steadfastness, everyone that exalteth himself shall be abased. and he that humbleth himself,
and that by the grace of God, because no man will. As Almighty
God gives a man a new heart, he will not. Everyone that humbleth
himself shall be exalted. The poor useth in treaties, but
the rich answereth roughly. Lord, by your mercy, by your
grace, according to your will, make us poor. For Christ's sake.