I believe the Lord taught him
that. Let's take our Bibles and turn
with me to the book of Proverbs 17. I am convinced the Lord is here,
and I am not trying to sound anything other than honest. I
have his word on that. He said where two or three are
gathered together in my name, I am in the midst of you. I will manifest myself to you. I believe God's people are here, and I am thankful that the Lord
would allow me to be Proverbs 17, verse 19 and 20. The Scripture declares, He loveth
transgression that loveth strife. And he that exalteth his gate
seeketh destruction. He that hath a froward heart
findeth no good, and he that hath a perverse tongue falleth
into mischief." This passage of scripture begins
by telling us the fruit or the evidence of man's fall in the
garden. It is what it says, that man
foolishly loves to exhibit his rebellion toward God. Man foolishly
loves to do it. Here's the literal of the first
part of the 19th verse. Now, let's read it. Look at it. Read this. This is God's Word. This is God's Word. This is the
Word that the Lord has promised is not going to return void.
Now, I'm about to read something that the Lord has promised is
going to return unto Him and is going to accomplish the purpose
for which it's sent. Now God's going to bless this.
This is what He's going to bless right here, what I'm about to
read. He's going to bless what He says. He loveth transgression that loveth strife. A man that is loving, continually
loving, a quarrel is loving rebellion. That's what
he's loving it. I love it. He loveth transgression
that loveth strife. And man's grappling and wrangling
and holding a controversy with God's people. is wrangling and grappling and
holding a controversy with God. He said, when you've done this
unto the least of one of these, my brethren, you've done it to
me. Whoever takes controversy with
what a believer obediently says, agreeing with God. Those that
take controversy with what God has to say through the mouth
of His people, they've got a controversy with God. You remember this. Now, we're just, we're mouthpieces.
We're voices. Listen to this. Isaiah 45.9. Woe unto him that striveth with
his Maker. Woe unto him that holds a controversy,
that rebukes, that striveth with God. Let the potshoot, broken
pieces of pot, that's what we are, that's all we are. We're
just broken pots, pieces of broken
pot. That's all we are. In itself,
just rubbish. That's all we are. That's all
we're good for in ourselves. Let the potsherd strive with
the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that
fashioneth it? What makest thou? Or thy work he hath no hands? Let me explain that last part.
You understood pretty much everything I read until it came to that
last verse, last part. I'll say that. I did. Let me
say this. I read it. I could understand. It seemed to be understandable
to me. I understood this part. Woe unto
him that striveth with this maker. I understand that. Let the potter
strive with the potters of the earth. I pretty well understood
that. Shall the clay say to him that
fashioneth it, what makest thou? I understood that. But this last
part, or thy work he hath no hands? This is what he said. Or thy work, meaning those that
he's made, people like us. Thy work. Can his work, or does
his work have the right to question and say, he hath no hands except
mine? He doesn't have any eyes except
mine. He doesn't have a mouth except mine. Do we have a right
to strive with our Maker and ask Him, question Him, why have
you made me thus? You've heard this, Romans 9. What a revelation of God's sovereignty.
Romans 9.20, Nay, but, O man, who art thou that replyest against
God? shall the thing formed say to
him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the
potter power over the clay of the same lump to make one vessel
unto honor and another unto dishonor? Who has the right to strive against
his Maker? Back in Proverbs 17, he loveth transgression that loveth strife. Strives with God. The carnal
mind loves to question God's sovereignty. It loves to question
God's right to order all things. It does it foolishly. except the Lord deliver a man
and a woman from that thought, I'm going to tell you something,
they're going to perish. You're going to perish. Almighty God orders all things
according to His purpose. For the glory of His name and
the salvation of His elect, as we've said so many times here,
He has the right to show mercy to one and pass by another one,
and does it justly. He loveth transgression that
loveth strife. And he that exalteth his gate
seeketh destruction. Now, turn with me to Genesis. Hold your finger right there,
but turn to Genesis 4-7. Genesis 4-7. Here's the first
time this word gate is used. Two brothers, Cain and Abel,
and you know the story of how Abel was a keeper of sheep and
Cain was a farmer. He raised vegetables, fruits
and vegetables. And whenever Cain beheld God's
approval, of Abel's sacrifice. It angered Cain. This animosity started a long
time ago. This didn't start here recently. There has always been animosity
between the flesh and the spirit. And you know what happened. Genesis 4-7, here is the question
that God asked Cain, and use this word gate. If thou doest
well, shalt thou not be accepted? And if thou doest not well, sin
lieth at the door. That word door, right there,
that is the same word back in Proverbs 17, gate. He that exalteth his gate. We'll explain in just a second.
If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted. If thou doest
not well, send life at the door. Unto thee shall be his desire,
and thou shalt rule over him." Now, the Lord asked Cain a question. If thou doest well. That is, if your sacrifice be
offered. blood, it wouldn't be offered
to the honor of the Lord Jesus Christ. But if your sacrifice
be offered to the glory of Christ out of love toward Him, shall
thou not be accepted of God? If your heart be such that to
the praise and honor and glory of the Lamb Himself, shall you
not be accepted? If God had given you a heart,
to offer the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving unto the Lord,
thankful for that which God Almighty has done for His people. Is it
not evidence that God has done something for you and accepts
that sacrifice of praise? And if I'll do it's not well.
If your sacrifice, if the sacrifice of your lips be according to
man's best and man's work. If your heart is looking to your
own supposed obedience, Cain could say, listen, I brought
the best of what I had just like Abel did. I worked just as hard
to raise these vegetables as Abel did that animal. I have just as much right to
be accepted by God as anybody else. If thou doest not well,
if your sacrifice of your lips, if the sacrifice of your heart
be such that you are looking to self, looking to me, looking
to my, he said, then sin. Life at the door, at the gate
of your heart. This is what is happening, the
Lord told Cain. Sin and its dominance lies secretly
in the chamber of your mind and of your heart. If you suppose
that your acceptance with God is going to be based upon your
work, sin lies in your heart. Rebellion against God. And you
love it. You love that transgression.
You love strife. And back in Proverbs 17, he that
exalteth his gate, he that exalteth his heart, he that exalteth himself,
here's what he's doing. He's seeking destruction. You're
running after it. Let's just turn over a few pages
to Proverbs 29-23. Proverbs 29-23. Proverbs 29, 23, a man's pride
shall bring him low, but honor shall uphold the humble in spirit. Man is going to bring himself
to destruction. God lifts him up. God keeps him. And since these things be so,
and the opposite of these these truths, a man's rebellion, a
man seeking after destruction. The opposite, he that hates transgression
against God. Now let me ask you this, you
that know Him in truth and mercy and grace. I know that you see,
as the Apostle Paul, we've quoted this so many times, I see in
me, that is in my flesh, I know there dwells no good thing. I
know that. O wretched man that I am! Don't
you find yourself hating transgression against God? Don't you find yourself
hating the presence of rebellion that I know is in my flesh? I
know it's there. I put a little article in the
bulletin. When Almighty God calls a man, a woman, out of darkness,
absolutely nothing changes in the flesh. This same heart of
rebellion that I was born with is still there. But in that same
regeneration, there's a new man that's put there. And that new
man loves God. He loves God. And that new man
does not sin. Now, if I didn't have the Lord's
Word on that, nobody could say that. But I know this, that which
is born of God, sin is not. It's born of God. It's created
in righteousness. It does not sin. So here you've
got two streams. You've got absolute purity and
holiness, and you've got absolute rebellion. And there's no middle
ground. We don't compromise. There's
no compromise on it. A believer hates what he sees
in himself. He hates that rebellion that
he sees in himself. Just like Brother Scott would
say that. In the coming of time, there is going to be no more
sin, no more rebellion, no more darkness. Man hates sin found within himself. He hates that which questions
God's sovereignty. And believer, Don't say, I never
questioned God's sovereignty. Don't say that. If we say we have no sin, we'll
make God a liar. I'm telling you, whenever God
providentially orders things for our good and His glory, I'm
telling you the first thing that flesh is going to do is it's
going to raise its head of rebellion against God. What's going on? Why? And that
war is there. God's people, they have that
old heart that rebels against Him and they have that new heart
that bows to the Lord of glory. And it's a battle that absolutely
is going to be with us until we leave this world. Look at Luke 18. Let me show you. Luke 18. We've read this. It's
a parable. It's a parable. The Lord taught
in parables. Luke 18, starting in verse 9. Luke 18. He spake this parable,
this proverb. unto certain which trusted in
themselves." Now listen to who he was talking to. He spoke this
parable unto certain which trusted in themselves. That they were righteous. They
trusted in themselves that they were righteous. And they despised
others that didn't think like they did. Now there's, by the grace of
God, there's some that don't trust in themselves. And those
that trust in themselves despise them. The world will hate you. And the Lord in this parable
said two men went up in the temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the
other a publican. And I thought this was real interesting,
verse 11, the Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself." How would you that know him,
how would you like to think that you stood with yourself? You're going to stand with yourself.
Boy, that's a scary thought. The Pharisee stood and prayed
thus with himself. God, I thank Thee that I'm not
as other men are. I'm not an extortioner. I'm not
unjust. I'm not an adulterer or even
as this publican. I fast twice in the week. I deprive. I deprive myself. I deprive myself. so that I can think upon God? No. Those who trust themselves,
they fast twice in the week so they can tell somebody else what
they've done. I fast twice in the week. I give tithes of all that I possess. are givers. God's people are
givers. They are faithful givers. They
support. But I am telling you, to do it
to be seen of men, you have your reward. And the publican, standing
afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven
smote upon his breasts, and God be merciful. to me a sinner. I don't have anything to brag
on. Anything that I would do is not
worth bringing up. I tell you, this man went down
to his house justified rather than the other for every one
that exalteth himself. And that's every man born in
Adam that's going to brag on himself, that loves rebellion,
strives with his Maker, every one that exalteth himself shall
be abased, he that humbleth himself shall be exalted." Back in Proverbs
17 verse 20. And he that hath a froward heart
findeth no good. He that hath a perverse tongue
falleth into mischief. He that possesses a perverted
or crooked A false heart. A heart ruined in the fall, and
that's all he's got. As I said, I know we all have
it. But that's all he's got. That heart that loveth transgression,
loveth strife, it findeth no good. It doesn't acquire it. It can't take hold of good. That
which is for his good. A false heart. Dead in trespasses
and sins cannot find God in mercy. It just can't do it. John 3, 3, Jesus answered and
said to Nicodemus, said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto
you, Except a man be born again, that is, born from above, he
cannot, he cannot, he cannot see by the eyes of faith the
Kingdom of God. He cannot do it. He cannot do
it. And man will stand and he will
say, if you will do something first, then God
will... The Scripture says, except a
man be born again, unless God makes you alive first, You cannot
see. Blind. A dead heart cannot be
taught. A dead heart is dead. The Lord said, as I wrapped this
up, Ezekiel 36, 26, this is what the Lord said He was going to
do. I tell you what, once you turn
to 2 Corinthians 3, and let me read you out of Ezekiel while
you're turning to 2 Corinthians 3. This is what the Lord said
He would do. Ezekiel 36, 26. A new heart also
will I give you. A new spirit will I put within
you, and I'll take away the stony heart out of your flesh. I'll
give you a heart of flesh. Now, we've read that. What the
Lord said is, I'm going to regenerate you. I'm going to put something
into you that you are not born with. I'm going to give you a
new heart. I'm going to give you a new will. I'm going to give you a new love.
I'm going to give you a new man. I'm going to rebirth you. I'm going to be your God. You'll
be my people. Now here's my question. How? Do you know that? How do you know it? 2 Corinthians
3, verses 1-3. The Apostle Paul asked this question.
Do we begin again to commend ourselves? Or need we, as some
others, epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation
from you? Ye are our epistle, written in
our hearts, known and read of all men, forasmuch as ye are
manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ, ministered
by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living
God, not in tables of stone, but in fleshly tables of the
heart." How does a man or woman know that God Almighty has given
them a new heart. Paul said there is an inscription
written in that new heart of God's mercy and grace to you,
and others know it by what you believe. Do we need Epistles of commendation
to you or letters of commendation from you. Scott told me one day,
years ago, he had gotten some ordination papers from a local
church up the road. And after they heard what he
was preaching, some of you know what I'm about
to say. After they heard what he was preaching, They came to
him and they said, we want those back. We want that letter back. I want that certificate back.
I want that ordination back. He said, I don't need this from
you. I don't need a piece of paper
from you saying that I'm a preacher of the gospel of God's free grace.
Why? Ye are our epistle, written in
our hearts, known and read of all men. Forasmuch as ye are
manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ, ministered
by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living
God, not in tables of stone, but in fleshly tables of the
heart, that new heart manifests itself in belief of the truth. walking after God, listening,
hearing, declaring the truth. He that hath a froward heart
findeth no good. He that hath a perverse tongue
falleth into mischief. But Almighty God, He gives a
man a new heart when God in grace comes to a sinner. Let me tell
you the first thing that's going to happen. Now, I'd go back and
I could read Philippians 3, but for the sake of time, if you
want to read it, go back and read it. Paul said, he said,
you think you had something to trust in. You didn't have anything
to trust in. Man, I was born to the right
parents. I was in the right group of people.
Man, I was zealous concerning the law. I was blameless. But when Almighty God came to
that man in grace and power and truth and stopped him, let me
tell you the first thing he did. Things that were gained to him
were counted lost, were counted done. every ounce of confidence that
he had in his flesh, the Spirit of God removed it. And God gave
that man a new heart. And he immediately believed God. He knew that salvation was all
of grace. It didn't have anything to do
with keeping the law. It didn't have anything to do
with these outward manifestations of works God Almighty calls His people
out of the darkness of unbelief, and He crosses their path with
the gospel. In the proclamation of the gospel,
I've told you this before, there are three things that are going
to be woven into every message of the gospel. Number one, man
is ruined in the fall. Man is ruined in the fall, and
he cannot of himself do anything. He cannot do anything. Secondly,
Christ redeemed everyone that the Father gave Him in electing
grace. That will be woven into the very
fiber of that message. And thirdly, God Almighty is
certainly, effectually going to call His elect out of darkness.
And He is going to keep them. And they are going to believe
God. Does a man have to believe? This
gospel, yes. Yes. Galatians 1.8 says that. If we
are an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel than that which
we preach, let it be accursed. This is the gospel that Paul
said, I'm not ashamed of. It's the power of God on salvation. It pleased God through the foolishness
of preaching. Save them that believe. And I
can tell you, based on the Word of God, that all that the Father
has given the Son is going to come. I pray God calls one of His own
today. If the Lord has given you a heart that believes this gospel, you
believe this gospel. You believe this gospel. If you
believe what I am saying, if God has given you a heart to
believe it, then confess Him in baptism. Confess Him. Almighty God is going to save
His people. Who knows? It may be one of us
today. For Christ's sake. Amen.