our Bibles and turn to the book
of Proverbs. I'd like to speak out of verses
6 to 10 of the 18th chapter of Proverbs. And I've entitled this
message, to the strong tower. I want to end in that 10th verse,
the name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous runneth.
They're always running. After the Lord's called them
out of spiritual death, they're always running into it and it's
safe. But I want to deal with verses
6 to 9, showing and setting forth the necessity of running to the
strong tower. So I plan to end with that 10th
verse, but I'm just going to touch on it. And Lord willing,
next week, I'm going to pick up right there in verse 10 and
speak of He who is our strong tower. This actually will be
in two messages. This will be the first. Only
in the scriptures can we, do we, know and behold the truth. The truth concerning who God
is. Who God says He is. The truth concerning who the
Lord Jesus Christ is. God in flesh. God incarnate. God incarnate
right now. He who ascended into heaven,
remember the angel says, you men of Galilee, why stand ye
here gazing into heaven? This same Jesus that you see
ascending into heaven shall ascend in like manner, the one that
they saw. He is the manifestation of the
triune God, the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And thirdly,
we know the truth about man. Only in the scriptures would we ever know what fallen man has been brought
to. In God's Word, we know the truth
concerning creation. All things were made by Him and
for Him. And without Him not anything
was made that was made. We know the truth of providence.
This verse that we quote all the time out of Ephesians 1.11,
He worketh all things after the counsel of His own will. Almighty
God is doing that which is right according to purpose. His will. He worketh all things. And we
know the truth about salvation. We know and we stand assured. Salvation is of the Lord. We
know that. We know that salvation is not
by man's will. We know that man is dead and
trespasses and sins. We know that. Only in the scriptures
We behold the Lord Jesus Christ as God's mediator. How would
we know that the Lord Jesus Christ ever liveth to make intercession
for us, his people? How would we know that? How would
we know of electing grace before the foundation of the world?
Only in the scriptures Do we know the truth? We know this. God Almighty is God. The Lord
Jesus Christ is the one mediator between God and men. The man, Christ Jesus. We know that. We know that there
is no approaching God apart from Him. He is the way. Now we're going to consider for
just a few minutes a man. A man. These scriptures, I was going
over my notes this morning and I thought, you know, the scriptures
are so pointed, truthful, concerning what a man is. Man. Scripture says just a groveling
maggot, one born unto trouble as the
sparks fly upward. That's what Scripture says. One
who's every imagination, man by nature, thinks. I think I
am. Kevin was telling me a minute
ago about a guy he was talking to one day. And this fellow told
him, he said, I haven't sinned, was it five years, Kevin? He
said, I haven't sinned in five years. Five years? You that know him,
you know better than that. Every imagination and thought
of a man as he's born in Adam, and listen now, we still have
this old man in us. Every imagination and thought
of his heart is only evil continually. That's man. One, the scripture says that
does not understand, does not seek God, and does not do good. Only a believer will attest,
say, I'm that guy. That's me. I'm it. And you know the list could go
on and on and on. Psalm 8 verse 4 says, What is man that thou
art mindful of him, and the son of man that thou visitest him?
How truthful does the Spirit of God express the nature of
fallen man? This is why, Lord willing, if
the Lord allows us to go through this whole message, I'm telling
you, when we get to verse 10, man, you that know him, You just,
in your heart, I did, I think, oh, bless his holy name for verse
10. Because I'm telling you, the
next few verses, I'll just be honest with you, they are straightforward. Verse six, a fool's an unbeliever. One, born in Adam, One that doesn't
understand, one that doesn't seek God, one that doesn't have
no interest, I'll not have that man to rule over me. A fool,
a fool's lips enter into contention and his mouth calleth for strokes. A fool's lips, a rebel against
God, one left in his own blood, born in Adam. The scripture says
a fool, a fool's lips enter into contention. Only a fool would quarrel or dispute God. Only a fool would enter into contention with
God Almighty. Only a fool would look for a
fight. That's what he's talking about,
enter into contention. Only a fool would stand before
God and confess his own merit when
the scripture says, Every imagination is evil. You've heard this, how holy must
a man be to enter into heaven? The holiness of God, the righteousness
of God, He must be accepted in the beloved. He must be as Christ
is, His body. When the head enters in, the
body enters in with him. Wherever I go, wherever this
head goes, this body goes. There were one. Accepted only in Christ. A fool's lips provokes strife. And when strife is provoked,
you write this down, the one that provoked it, is the one
that enters into contention. Who started it? Who started the
alienation between God and man? Who started it? Man. Who started contention between
man and man? Man. A fool's lips enter into
contention and his mouth calleth. or summons, strokes. His mouth invites the blows,
the stripes that he's going to get. He's asking for it. That's what
he's saying. He's asking for it. And stands
in his own ignorance and is going to contend with God and invite
God's blows and strokes. You think right now, we all know,
we all know those that we love, we love. I've told you before,
I've got in my family, I've got those that despise the gospel
of God's grace and think that they have some merit before God. The scripture says their very
lips enter into contention with God.
I don't have to be what you say I have to be. I'll stand on my
own merit. I'll answer for myself. Scripture
says his mouth summons for the strokes of God. It's natural for the carnal man
to enter into contention. That's natural. He does it. It's natural for the fool to
enter into contention with God's people. It's natural to the fallen
man, natural to the fool, to hate the gospel of God's grace. It's natural for the fallen fool
to despise God's right to do as he will with his own. It's
natural, it just comes naturally. But as tempting as it is to want
to do something, say something, though the fool's mouth is deserving
of stripes, pray that Almighty God give us
a heart to wait on the Lord. Listen to this. Turn with me,
Romans 12. Just put your finger right here
where we are. Turn to Romans 12. I want to be truthful. I want
to be truthful. But I can tell you this. Well,
just read these scriptures and you'll know what I'm about to
say. Romans 12, 19. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath.
For it is written, vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith
the Lord. Therefore, if thine enemy hunger,
feed him. If he thirst, give him drink. For in so doing, thou
shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil,
but overcome evil with good. I cannot I cannot talk somebody,
number one, out of their rebellion and I cannot convince them of
life. You can't do it. I don't want to argue. I don't
want to argue. I mean, times that I could, I
could argue and times that I have argued. But I need to just settle
down. The Lord himself is going to
deal with all rebellion. Suffice it to say, and this flies
right in the face of man by nature, to tell him you're contending
with God. And what you believe concerning
man's free will and man's right, your very lips, your mouth is
calling for strokes. What you're confessing that you
have the right to do, the will to do, and the power to do is
inviting, calling for judgment. Yes, a fool's mouth deserves
strokes. I heard Brother Henry say one
time, be as kind as you can to those that oppose you. And I
know we all have people that do. I know you do. I know you
have them in your family. I know you do. I do too. I know
you do. Be as kind as you can. Because
unless God Almighty calls them out of darkness, this is the
best they're going to have. This is it. This is it. There was
a rich man and Lazarus. The rich man fared sumptuously
every day. Lazarus just scraped himself
with pieces of broken pottery. The dogs licked his sores. Both
of them died. One man lifted up his eyes out
of hell. Lazarus went to the bosom of Abraham. And the scripture
says that this man lifted up his eyes out of hell and spoke
to God. and said, Father Abraham, would
you send Lazarus? And all I'm asking is that he
just stick his finger in water one time, just touch my tongue
one time. No. Would you have Lazarus, can
you send him back from the dead and go to, I got some brothers,
and I don't want them to come to this place. No. Be as kind
as you can. Verse 7 says, a fool's mouth
is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul. These scriptures set forth the
evidence of Almighty God being just in
the condemning of the fool. God is just. A fool is in contention with
God and his mouth is going to reveal it. Out of the abundance
of the heart the mouth speaketh. A fool's mouth is going to prove
to be the justification of his destruction. What a man says, every idle word,
every vain, useless word, men are going to give account for.
Aren't you glad that the Lord Jesus Christ, you that believe,
has paid the debt of every useless, vain, idle word that came out
of your mouth, my mouth? Can you imagine having to give
an account for every word that you said? Every thought that
you thought? Not what you did, bad enough. But how about my attitude? Every attitude that I've had. Remember, God Almighty is not mocked. Whatsoever
man sows, he don't reap. Oh, Lord Jesus Christ, answer
for me. I'm coming to that strong tower
that the righteous runneth to. There was a man named Shimei. You can turn over. It's found
over in 1 Kings chapter 2. 1 Kings. Chapter 2. There was a man named
Shimei. Now this man Shimei was the fellow
when David came into town one day. This fellow Shimei started
throwing rocks at David and cussing him. Listen to the count. 1 Kings
2. Verse 36 to 46. The king sent and called for
Shimei. And I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm
getting just ahead of myself. Shimei had thrown the rocks at
David, cussed David. And you remember one of David's
strong men said, you may go over there and take his head off of
you. And David said, no. The Lord sent him. The Lord said.
I curse David. You leave him alone." Well, years
later, now, Solomon has raised up. David's son, Solomon. That's what Shimei had done.
David told him. He said, no, just leave him alone.
The Lord sent him. Years later, here's the account.
1 Kings. Chapter 2, verse 36. And the king sent and called
for Shimei and said unto him, build thee a house in Jerusalem
and dwell there, and go not forth hence any further. For it shall
be that on the day thou goest out and passest over the brook
Kidron, thou shalt know for certain that thou shalt surely die. Thy
blood shall be upon thine own head. Shimei said unto the king,
the saying is good, as my lord the king has said, so will thy
servant do. And Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem
many days. It came to pass, at the end of
three years, that two of the servants of Shimei ran away unto
Achish, son of Maachah, king of Gath. And they told Shimei,
saying, behold, thy servants be in Gath. Two servants ran
away. Now David told him, said, you
leave him alone, the Lord sent him to curse me, throw rocks
at me. Now Solomon's son tells Shimei,
Solomon's the king, he said, now Shimei, I'm going to put
you in this house and you stay here. You get out of this city,
and he said, I'm going to kill you. Two of his servants ran away.
Somebody came and told Shimei, I said, your servants are over
here. Verse 40, And Shimei rose, and saddled his ass, and went
to Gath, to Achish, to seek the servants. And Shimei went, and
brought his servants from Gath. And it was told Solomon that
Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and was to come again.
The king sent and called for Shimei, and said unto him, Did
I not make thee to swear by the Lord, and protested unto me,
saying, No, for a certain on the day thou goest out, and walkest
abroad any thither, that thou shalt surely die? And thou saidest
unto me, The word that I have heard is good. Why then hast
thou not kept the oath of the Lord and the commandment that
I have charged thee with? And the king said moreover to
Shimei, Thou knowest all the wickedness which thine heart
is privy to. that thou didst to David my father. Therefore, the Lord shall return
thy wickedness upon thine own head, and King Solomon shall
be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before
the Lord forever.' So the king commanded Benaiah, the son of
Jehoiada, which went out, and fell upon him, and he died, and
the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon." Let me
ask you this. Did Solomon give Shimei a warning? Yes. When Shimei disobeyed, did Solomon
make good on his promise? Yes. I'll tell you this, there's one
greater than Solomon here among us. And I'm telling you, At a
fool's mouth, back in Proverbs 18, verse 7. A fool's mouth. Shimei said,
what you're saying is good. That's good. Solomon told him, he said, don't
get out of this place. You get out of this place, I'm
going to kill you. Shimei said, it's good. It's
good. What you're saying is right.
What you're saying is right. Shimei's mouth was the Evidence was the
foundation of his own destruction. He agreed. A fool's lips enter
into contention, his mouth calleth for strokes. A fool's mouth is
his destruction. And his lips are the snare of
his soul. Scripture says in verse 8, the words of a tail bearer, or
his wounds, they go down into the innermost parts of his belly. Tail bearing was forbidden by God, Leviticus
19.16. Love rejoiceth not in iniquity. 1 Peter 4, verse 8 says, charity,
love shall cover the multitude of sins. But a tail bearer is
one that acts out of pure selfishness to destroy the character of another. Tail bearer. He wants to build
himself up by tearing another down. Shall a man contend with
God? Shall a man speak in such a way
to attempt to lower God and have a form of godliness and
deny the power thereof? People say, I'll tell you, I
believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross for everybody. Now he's got a form of godliness
there. You know, he died on the cross. That part was true. But
he denied the power thereof. A tailbearer, tearing down another. Contending with God Almighty
that said, I lay down my life for the sheep. All that the Father
giveth me shall come to me. A tailbearer. One that contends
to lift himself up and tear another down. The scripture says that
the tail bearer's words, their wounds, they go down into the
innermost parts of his heart. These words, they're cruel. And they're justified for their
destruction. He also, verse 9, that is slothful
in his work is brother to him that is a great waster. Scripture deals with man doesn't
work, doesn't eat. But this goes a lot deeper, a
lot deeper. Not merely physical work. He
that is slothful in his work. Let me ask you this. You remember
the guy that came to the Lord and said, good master, what must
I do to work the works of God? You remember what the Lord said
to him? This is the work of God, that you believe on him whom
God has sent. Abraham believed God. This is
the work of God, the work that only God can rot within a man's
heart. Give him a new man. Give him
a heart to believe. Give him a heart made willing.
The scripture says, he that is slothful in his work, not just
a fool's work, in God's work. This is the work of God that
you believe. He that is slothful in his work
is a brother to him that is a great waster. A waster of his very soul. What's a man going to give in
exchange for his soul? A waster of his life that he
threw away. You know why? Because he wanted
to. His very lips justified Almighty
God. He's a great waster. Now in closing, I'm just going
to make a few practical statements here. Every man, every woman,
normally speaking, I know some are born with physical frailties. I know this. But by and large,
most people are born in this world with two ears. And they will not, by nature,
hear the gospel. They're born with a mouth. that is wasted on speaking and
singing the praises unto God of all grace. Wasted. They're
a waster. Wasting of the gifts that God
has given Him. Two eyes. Listen. You that know Him not. Here's
a Bible. A man or a woman that refuses,
I will not read that, I will not believe it. You're a waster. Wasting that which Almighty God
has given you. See the need of a new heart,
you that hear the truth. And you waste God's time. You hear the truth. and you will
not come. You're not promised another minute. By the grace of God, the believer
is truly made aware of his need of a Savior. I'm going to touch
on verse 10, because I cannot leave without verse 10. We're
going to end right here. The name of the Lord is a strong
tower. A believer says, I know this,
in Adam, this is the way I am. I know I'm born, back in verse
6, I'm born with lips that enters into contention with God. I know
I am. Go back and read, Paul said,
you know, he said, before I was a blasphemer. I was a blasphemer. I persecuted those of the way.
He thought he did God service. All of his self-righteousness,
he said, was dung. A fool's lips enter into contention
with God. And the very words of my mouth,
as born in Adam, calleth for strokes. Thanks be unto God that
the Lord Jesus Christ, who made himself of no reputation, laid
down his life for this sinner, right here. My very mouth, verse
7, would be my destruction. My very lips, the snares of my
soul. I'm one that would lie on God,
be a tail bearer. Wounds go down into the very
innermost parts of my being. I'm the one, I'm the man, born
in Adam, slothful in believing God. I was the great waster and you
that know Him, you know you were too. But the name, the character,
the goodness, the glory of the Lord, the glory of God is Christ. set forth my strong tower and
by the grace of God that he give me a heart to run to him and
run to him because you will know why he's the only safety I've
got. He is my stronghold. He is my haven of rest. I know what I am in myself. I know something of it. Who do
men say that I am? Now some say you're Jeremiah,
some say you're this prophet, that prophet. Who do you say
I am? Lord, you're my strong tower. You're the Christ. You're the
Son of the living God. And we don't have any other place
to go. Lord, I must be found in you. Lord, save me. Save me for Your
name's sake. Lord, in all that You've purposed
to do, I'm like the psalm, pass me not, O gentle Savior. I know You're going to call Your
sheep out. I know that. Lord, call me. While on others Thou art calling,
Lord, don't pass me by. Isn't it amazing? that it takes a new heart to
say that. It takes a new heart. You leave
me to myself and I will argue with God. And I know it. I know it. And you that know
Him know it too. You would too. And you wouldn't
care. You would not care. Lord have mercy on us for Christ's
sake.