Let's take our Bibles and turn
with me to the book of Proverbs chapter 18. Proverbs chapter 18. I would like to consider verse
12. Proverbs 18 and verse 12. Before destruction, the heart
of man is hearty, and before honor is humility. That's what Brother Neal was
just talking about. Almighty God is gracious. No one is ever going to stand
before God and accuse him of being unfair. Deuteronomy 32, verse 4 says,
He is the rock. His work is perfect. That means His work is without
blemish. For all the ways are judgment. They're a right verdict. His ways are judgment, a God
of truth, and without iniquity, without wickedness. No matter what men say when they
read God's Word concerning what He's done, what He's purposed,
no one will ever say, you didn't do that which was right. They
may accuse Him of that, but it doesn't hold any water. His ways
are just, they're lawful, and they're right. They're straight. Right is He. You know, we love
the proclamation that Almighty God is right. He's right. Just. Now, He who is just and
right has given some instruction. And he's revealed the characteristics
in the passage that I'm going to look at for a few minutes
today. He's going to give the characteristics of those that
if they die in their sin, he's going to give the characteristics
of his justness to condemn them. And also he's revealed something
of the character of those that he's been pleased to show mercy
to. Now listen, I want to and I pray,
I do, I pray, I want to be short this morning. I want to be. I want to be to the point. Almighty God, has not left men
in the dark. The scripture sets forth that
Almighty God is right in His dealings with men. He's been
honest. God's been honest. Pharisees
said, John 10, John 10 24, they said, how long dost thou make
us to doubt? If you be the Christ, If you
say you are, tell us plainly. And the Lord said, I told you
and you believe not. The works that I do in my father's
name, they bear witness of me. The works that I do. Let me tell
you what he's done first. He made this world. All things were made by Him and
for Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made.
So we know that the heaven and earth was created by the Lord
Jesus Christ. We know that. And the scripture
says concerning what He's done, His works, it bears witness The
Scripture sets forth, Romans 1.20, for the invisible things
of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen being
understood by the things that are made, even His eternal Godhead,
so that they are without excuse. Do you know what God Almighty will justly
send a rebel against Him Do you know what God will justly send
a rebel against Him to hell for? Just looking around and seeing
the earth. Just looking. No excuse. No excuse. God Almighty sent prophets. God
who at sundry times and in divers manners spoke unto the fathers
by the prophets. God sent His Word. Hath in these last days spoken
unto us by His Son. God's prayer. He made this world
and He gave men eyes to see it. God's fair. Sent prophets, sent
His Son. We've got the witness of those
that actually were here on the earth when the Lord Jesus Christ
was on this earth. Peter said this concerning the
witness. 2 Peter, I'll read this to you. 1618, Peter said, for we have not followed
cunningly devised fables when we made known unto you the power
and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses
of his majesty. For he received, this is what
Peter said, he received from God the Father honor and glory
When there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory,
from heaven, and Peter said, God the Father said this, this
is my beloved Son in whom I'm well pleased. And then Peter
says, in this voice which came from heaven, we heard. Peter
said, we heard God the Father speak. We heard His voice. God is fair. But I'll tell you
this, we've got a more sure foundation. Now I just read that. And you
heard it. You heard that the Apostle Peter
said, we heard God the Father speak. But the scripture sets
forth that we've got a more sure witness. A more sure foundation
and evidence. We've got a more sure. I can
look outside, God says that right there, just looking at that tree
right there. And to not believe God, not to
bow, prostrate myself before God Almighty is enough to send
me to hell, just looking at it. There's the witness, you're without
excuse. God sent prophets years ago. We've got a record of it. He sent his son. We've got a
record of that. There were men that saw Him.
We've got a record of that. We've got men that heard the
Father speak. We've got a record of that. Peter
said we've got a more sure foundation. Now here's the more sure foundation. We've got these scriptures right
here. If you want to know the last word that we're ever going
to hear from God, this is it right here. This is it. There's
no other word. There's no other revelation.
This is it. 2 Peter chapter 1 verse 19, We
have also a more sure word of prophecy, whereunto ye do well
to take heed as unto a light that shineth in a dark place
until the day dawn and the day star arise in your hearts, knowing
this first, that no prophecy of the scriptures is of any private
interpretation. This is not, this didn't originate
with man. He says, for the prophecy came
not in old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spake
as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. God's Spirit. Now we've got this word right
here. Now back in Proverbs chapter
18, verse 12. This is what we have. Now write
this down. Write this down. This is the
way that it is. The scripture says, the final
authority, this is God's word. There's no other revelation from
here. Here's what God has to say. Before
destruction, the heart of man is haughty. Haughty. Now I got three questions. Three quick questions on that
part right there. Haughtiness. What is that? Before destruction,
before ruin, the heart is haughty. What does it mean to be haughty
before God? The word itself, interpreted,
means to soar. To soar. To be lofty, to be exalted,
to be proud, raised up high. haughtiness before God is to
adorn myself and it's to take credit to myself and to have a high
opinion of myself and it's to possess a low opinion of true
authority, God's authority. is to have a high opinion of
worthlessness. A high opinion of worthlessness. Mr. Webster just in the dictionary
says this is a word haughtiness. What does it mean? Arrogant.
It just means arrogant. Exalted in nature. Pride. Haughtiness. is the very nature
of Satan. We've looked at this. Isaiah
14. If you'd like to turn, I'll read it. If you'd like to just
listen. But Isaiah 14. Scripture says
in verses 12 to 14. Isaiah 14, 12. How art thou fallen from heaven,
O Lucifer, son of the morning? How art thou cut down to the
ground which didst weaken the nations? For thou hast said in
thine heart... Now listen, when the Lord Jesus
Christ told some of those Pharisees, he said, you're of your father,
the devil. You're of your father, the devil. You know, only by
the Spirit of God can a believer call God Almighty Father. He is our Father in grace. Only
a believer can justly, rightly, truly call Him Father, Abba Father. Every unbeliever has a father,
and it's Satan. The Lord said, you are of your
father, the devil. And here is the heart of Satan. For thou hast said in thine heart,
I will ascend into heaven. I will exalt my throne above
the stars of God. I will sit also upon the mount
of the congregation in the sides of the north. I will ascend above
the heights of the clouds. I will be like the Most High. And the Lord said, yet thou shalt
be brought down to hell to the sides of the pit. Five times
the Lord revealed that Satan said in his heart, I will. I
will. Haughtiness is thinking that
I am able. that I have the right, that I
have the ability, and that my will trumps God's will. God may want to, but I can't. God may desire for me to, haughtiness
says, but I have the ability, and I can resist if I want to. I can accept if I want to. Haughtiness. Haughtiness according to the
thoughts of the heart of Satan. And the Lord said, you are of
your father the devil. Haughtiness is the thinking that
man possesses a free will. That's haughtiness. And let me
tell you what else. Haughtiness Thinking that a man
has a free will is to call God a liar. The Lord told Adam, in
the day that you eat, what did he tell him was going to happen?
You're going to die. You're going to die spiritually. You're going to die. And that
spirit in which communion is found with God and love for God
died. It died. It's not there. And to say that I have that ability
is to call God a liar. It's to say I didn't die. I have
ability. That's what haughtiness is. Second
question, where did it come from? Well obviously it came from the
fall in the garden. For as by one man's disobedience,
actually when it says by man's one disobedience, I mean, you
think about one act of disobedience before God, one sin plunged mankind
into death, disobedience, sin. Wherefore, as by one man's, by
one man, Wherefore by one man sin entered the world and death
by sin. So death passed upon all men
for that all have sinned. Adam's rebellion plunged all
mankind into spiritual death and haughtiness and pride and
arrogance and ruin. Not only am I a sinner by his
by imputation Because Adam sinned and I came from Adam and you
did too. We all were born with Adam's imputed sin, charged to
us. But I'll tell you this, it's
imparted too. The psalmist says, behold, I
was shapen in iniquity. And in sin did my mother conceive
me, so every person is born haughty. Every person is born thinking
that I am the final word. Thirdly, what's the end of haughtiness? What's the end of that? I can
tell you this, before destruction, before God sends a man to hell,
justly, the heart of man is haughty. The soul of the sinner is going
to die. We're in this world for just
a fleeting moment. And I'm telling you, we don't
realize by death, by spiritual death, we're walking around in
rebellion by nature, around in rebellion against God, in haughtiness
before God. And I'm telling you, the Lord
knows those that are His. And I can tell you for a fact,
I know for a fact, there's never been, God Almighty has never
been, we're not appointed, God's elect or not. We're not appointed
to wrath. So man chosen in Christ has never
been under the wrath of God. Never. We're not appointed to
wrath. But I don't know who the Lords
are. And I can tell you, And I tell
me, I'll tell all of us, man by nature is haughty. And if
we die in rebellion, I can tell you what the word of God says.
This word that's the final authority, God's going to destroy us. He's
going to put us in hell and he's going to do it justly. Because
man by nature deserves it. Pride goes before destruction. The end of pride found in every
man born in Adam, the end of that pride is final destruction. Every unbeliever, everyone that
believes himself to be the final word in salvation, thinks that
he is above God. He's above God because haughtiness
says God wants to but I have the ability. The last half of
this verse back in 1812 and before honor is humility. Before destruction, haughtiness. Before honor, is humility. Before a man is going to be taught
who he is in the Lord Jesus Christ, if Almighty God is pleased to
show mercy, before God Almighty shows a man who God is, I tell
you what he's going to do. He's going to do just exactly
what he did to Saul of Tarsus. He's going to knock him off his
high horse. Now I know just a little bit.
I came up, I've told you this before, I came up in false religion.
I came up and believed. I absolutely believed that I
was right before God. because of my ability, because
of my decision, because of my faithfulness. Almighty God is going to bring
his people down according to this word before honor is humility. There's the authority on that
word. Now, I've got the same three
questions. I said three questions about
haughtiness. Now I've got three questions, same three questions
about this thing of humility. Number one, what is it? What is humility? What is it to be prostrate? What is that? I read it, I read
the word, I see the word. Humility. What is it? Alright?
Very quickly. Proverbs 15.33 Proverbs 15.33 The fear, the
respect of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom and before honor is
humility. Humility. Humility is to be made
to see myself as helpless. Helpless. It is to have a right
indication of who I am. I'm telling you no believer has
a problem admitting I am a worm. I'm a worm. I'm dust. I am less than the dust that
settles on the scale to be measured. There is in me no good thing. Humility. It is to be taught
of what I am before God as a rebel. Listen to the Apostle Paul, Ephesians
3.8. Unto me who am less than the
least of all saints. Now let me ask you this. Now
I'm talking to all of us. Look around. Here's a group of people I'm
convinced, the major portion, that know God. God help me to
look upon you, the objects of His mercy, and with a right heart
to say, I am less than the least of any of you. That I'm, I'm,
I'm the bottom of the barrel. And Lord help me to be truthful. That's, that's humility. That
I am a wretched sinner saved by the grace of God. Humility. To find myself by God's revelation
to be what God Almighty says that I am. I am a sinner. I'm a sinner. Secondly, where
did that humility come from? Well, I can tell you this, I
wasn't born with it. I wasn't born. I was born haunted Humility is the evidence of a
new heart. This old heart that I was born
with, and you're born with, let me tell you what it is. It's
haughty. It's haughty. We still have it. Paul said,
I see in me. I see in me. That is in my flesh,
in my old nature. There dwells no good thing Ezekiel
36, how many times have we read this? I tell you what, we ought
to just underline this and score this one right here. Ezekiel 36, 24 to 27, the Lord
says, for I will, remember what Satan said? I will exalt myself,
I will be as the most high. I'll be as the stars above, I
will. The Lord says, I will take you
from among the heathen. and gather you out of all countries,
and will bring you into your own land. Then will I sprinkle
clean water." According to Hebrews 9.13, if you want to go back
and read that, it's talking about the blood of Christ. I will sprinkle
clean water upon you, and you shall be clean, cleansed, washed
white in His blood. cleanse from all your filthiness,
from your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I
give you, a new spirit will I put within you, and I will take away
the stony heart out of your flesh. I'll behead it, dethrone it,
and I'll give you a heart of flesh. I will put my spirit within
you and cause you to walk in my statutes. You shall keep my
judgments and do them. How do we do them? We believe
God. This is the work of God, that
you believe on Him whom God has sent. So how did we get that
spirit of humility? God gave us a heart. He gave
us a new heart. Last question. What's the end
of humility? The scripture says that the end
of haughtiness is destruction. What's the end of humility? And
I'm telling you, I did not humble myself first before God. God's people do have a spirit
of humility. They do bow and they struggle
with it, not as they shall have a spirit of humility, but they
do. They do. They know something. They see
through a glass darkly. What is the end of humility. John chapter 5 verse 44, John
5 44 says this, how can you believe which receive
honor one of another and seek not the honor that cometh from
God only? What's the end of humility? Honor. Where did it come from? It came
from God. It came from the Lord. To hear
Him say, well done. You know, believer, we hear that
and we think, Lord, only as you say that you
consider us in the substitute. Only as you say Lord, that we
are what we are. Only as you say, because Lord,
I don't see it in me. Well done. How can that be? Because we're
saved by the grace, by the faith of Jesus Christ. His faith charged to us. only in the Lord. His righteousness
imputed to this sinner, robed this sinner in His righteousness,
and God Almighty looks upon me in Christ and says concerning
His faithfulness toward me, well done. Well done. Salvation is by grace. It's all of grace. And no believer
will ever lay claim and say, I am what I am by my own merit. They will say, I am what I am
by the grace of God. Lord bless these words, our hearts.
Amen.