Let's take our Bibles and turn
with me to the book of Proverbs, chapter 17. Proverbs 17. I'd like to read one verse, verse
16. Proverbs 17, 16. The Holy Spirit of God moved
upon Solomon to pen this question. Wherefore is there a price in
the hand of a fool to get wisdom, seeing he hath no heart to it? Here is what he asked. Why is there hire or value in
the hand of a fool to get wisdom, the wisdom of God's grace and
mercy to all mankind? And there's not a heart for it. Why is there at every man's hand. Why? Why is there value in a fool's hand to get wisdom? Wherefore is there a price in
the hand of a fool to get wisdom, seeing he hath no heart to it? There's two great truths set
forth here. And the first great truth is
discovered in this question. Why does man have access to the
means of God's grace to obtain wisdom? That's what he's asked. Why does man have access to the
means of God's grace? The means to wisdom? Here's the answer. Because God
is good. The Lord has set forth His power, His wisdom, His mercy,
His goodness in the exhibition of nature. Look at 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 power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse. Why, Chuck, can all men, everybody,
why can all men look around and see the trees and the sky and
the mountains and the seasons change? And why can men look? Why is the price, is the value
in the hand of a fool to get wisdom? Men can look around. That guy that just passed right
there, he can look around. Why does all men see? Because God is good. God Almighty, Romans 2.14, has
given every man with a rational mind A mind that can think rationally
is giving him a conscience. Listen to Romans 2.14, For when
the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things
contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law
unto themselves, which show the work of the law written in their
hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts,
the mean, while accusing or else excusing one another. You know
what he just said? All men by nature with a rational
mind, they know what's right. They know what's right and what's
wrong. Man by nature will say either, you know, you take the
most backward group of people in this world, within their conscience,
right and wrong, they know what's right and what's wrong. They
either accuse that of being wrong or excuse it, saying that's acceptable. God Almighty set forth in Acts
17. Turn to Acts 17. Acts 17, verse
30. The Lord has absolutely commanded
all men to repent. Acts 17, 30. 31. And the times
of this ignorance, Paul had gone over there to Mars Hill and there
was a group of people and they had these Statues all over, monuments
all over. They found that one over in verse
23 with this inscription on it, to the unknown God. Paul said, this is God I'm going
to tell you about. Paul said in verse 31, the times of this
ignorance, that is of the ignorance of the Gentiles, God winked at,
but now commandeth all men, Jew and Gentile, everywhere to repent
because he is appointed a day in which he will judge the world
in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained whereof
he hath given assurance unto all men in that he hath raised
him from the dead. Why is it that men can look around,
have got a conscience, They've got God's Word and commandment
to repent. Why is it that there's the value,
the price in the hand of a fool to get wisdom? Because God's
good. Look at Mark 16.15. Mark 16.15. The Lord, in commissioning His
apostles, He said unto them, Go ye into all the world and
preach the gospel to every creature." You know why God has raised up
the gospel in Katy? You know why God Almighty has
set alight here since the mid-fifties? Because God's good. He's good. He sent the gospel here. God is good. Look at Romans 16.25. It is of power to establish you
according to my gospel in the preaching of Jesus Christ, according
to the revelation of the mystery which was kept secret since the
world began, but now is made manifest and by the Scriptures
of the prophets according to the commandment of the everlasting
God made known to all nations for the obedience of faith to
God only wise be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen. Do
you know why you can go anywhere and buy a Bible? At least in
this country. You can go to the dollar store
and buy the Scriptures, Don. You can buy them. Wherefore is there value in the
hand of a fool to get wisdom? He can see nature as a conscience. God has commanded him to repent.
God Almighty has sent the Scriptures. Why is there the price in the
hand of a fool to get wisdom? Because of the goodness of God. Back in Proverbs 17, here's the
second question. Why does man not make use of
these blessings of God's grace and mercy? Here's the answer.
He doesn't have a heart for it. Wherefore is there a price in
the hand of a fool to get wisdom, seeing he hath no heart to it? Man was ruined in the fall, and
his heart and his will and his love for Almighty God died. Man has no heart means of God's grace because
he has no heart for God. Man by nature does not care what
these Scriptures say. Man by nature doesn't care that
the mercy and power and grace of God is declared. Man doesn't care. He has no heart For the God of
all grace, He has set His wicked heart on the things of this world,
and He has no concern for His eternal soul. I don't care. That's what man by nature says. Are they all like that? Is all
of them like that? Well, according to Psalm 14,
1 to 3, They are all like that. Psalm
14. The fool has said in his heart,
no God. They are corrupt. They have done
abominable works. There is none that doeth good.
The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men to see
if there were any that did understand and seek God. They are all gone
aside. They are all together become filthy. There is none
that doeth good. No, not one. Man by nature has
no heart, and all men, God's elect included, were born just
like that. And you have he quickened who
were dead, dead in trespasses and sins, but in the midst of
this dark, dead world, that is in total rebellion against God. Turn to Isaiah 55. In the midst
of everything that's going on, in the midst of darkness and
rebellion against God, here's a cry of hope. Isaiah 55, 1. Ho! Everyone that thirsteth, Come
ye to the waters, and he that hath no money, come ye, buy and
eat. Yea, come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price." Now this message right here,
and here with all the means of God's grace, Carl, with your
conscience, with your ability to look around with these Scriptures
that all of us by nature had no interest in. Here comes a
cry to a specific people. Oh, anybody out there that is thirsty,
thirsty for righteousness, thirsty for reconciliation with God,
thirsty for peace with the Lord. If there is anybody out there
that is suffering and needy and sees himself in their own state,
Perishing. Come. Come. Where? To that Jordan you
just read about, Neil. Come ye to the waters, to the
water of life. Come ye by wine and milk, by
the wine of cheer, by God's Spirit, the milk of nourishment, The
bread of heaven Himself. Come. This voice that cries, come ye
to the waters. Anybody that is thirsty. And
do what? Buy and eat. Purchase and dine. How? By faith. By faith. But what do I come with? The
Scripture says without money. You can't buy it with your ability. Come without money and without
price. There's no price revealed. But
I thought, I thought I could A-B-C. No, there's no price. Faith. Faith alone. In fact, all that you had considered
gain to a believer, everything that a believer trusted in before
he was a believer, all of his abilities, whatever, all of that
that was gain at one time, now is dung. Paul says it's loss. Life eternal is free to all who
have nothing in themselves. If you know yourself, I am a
helpless, empty sinner. I can't think for myself. I can't
do for myself. I can't speak for myself. I don't
even know how to pray. I don't even know how to ask. Everyone that knows that they
have no ability. I can't keep myself. I didn't
establish myself. There is nothing I can do, and
thanks be unto God, there was nothing that I could do to merit
my salvation, and there's nothing I can do to lose it. I have no ability. I have no
ability. I am a helpless sinner. Here was the price. The price
was that God's law had to be satisfied. This is what's got to be done.
God's law has got to be satisfied. God's justice has got to be satisfied. And the Scripture says, Romans
3, 24, being justified freely. no cause in me, being justified
freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ
Jesus. Here's mercy. I can't. I must. I must, but I can't. And He does. Isaiah 55, verse 2, Do you spend
money? That is, if your marginal says
weigh, where do you weigh thinking that you've done enough? Wherefore do you spend money
for that which is not bread, and you labor for that which
satisfies not? Hearken diligently unto me, and
eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself
in fatness. And that which is acceptable,
you can go back and read these Old Testament sacrifices. Go through the book of Leviticus
and you'll notice the fat was always for the Lord. The fat
was always the Lord's. Why do you spend that which is
not going to satisfy? It's not going to satisfy God.
And really, it won't satisfy your conscience. Because you've
never done enough. delight yourself in fatness. Why do you disregard God's goodness
pursuing that which is going to perish? Why do you go after
man-centered works? Why do you go after your own
self-righteousness? Because man doesn't have a heart
for Christ. He doesn't have a heart for grace.
But knowing man's total inability and God's demand for righteousness
Here is the age-old question that keeps coming back, and I
want to hear this answer again. Job 9.2, I know it is so of a
truth, but how should man be just with God? How can a man
be justified before God? Tell me one more time. Just one
more time. My mind just went to our sister
Mary. Let me ask you something. When
she takes her last breath, just like you and I are going to,
too, don't you know she'd like to
hear, tell me one more time. Tell me one more time how I can
be just before God. Tell me one more time how the
Lord has put away my guilt. Let me take my last breath hearing
of grace and mercy. All of the mess of this world
that we think is so important, all of these little trivial toys,
foolish silly things that we just set ahead of the glory of
Almighty God. Tell me how God has shown mercy
to this sinner. Here it is. He hath made him
sin for us who knew no sin. That we might be made the righteousness
of God. That we might be made the righteousness
of God in Him. According to God's everlasting
covenant of grace, the Lord Jesus Christ was made flesh that He
might be made For His people, just for the
unjust, God commendeth His love toward us in that while we were
yet sinners, Christ died for us. When we were yet without
strength in due time, according to the time of God, Christ died
for the ungodly. Died for His people. laid down
His life. For who? For those who had no
heart for Him. Had no heart for His means of
grace, His mercy, His kindness. Who were quite content, if left
to themselves, to just go to hell and have no regard for their
eternal soul. That's mercy. That's grace. Oh, for a sinner to have any
hope, justice is going to have to be satisfied. Law is going
to have to be honored. Let me ask you something. Have
you got that ability? A man that claims to have a free
desire, free will, bless the Lord according to God's everlasting
covenant to show mercy. compassion to whomsoever he would. Christ hath redeemed us from
the curse of the law being made a curse for us. One of these
days we will understand that. One of these days that's going
to be real to us. With the debt paid, I need holiness
before God. I need to be righteous before
God. And I know for a fact, and you
that know Him know too, you don't have any righteousness in yourself.
We have no righteousness to lay claim to that will be accepted.
He hath made Him to be sin for us who knew no sin that we might
be made the righteousness of God in Him. I don't want to talk about myself
because I don't have any. It's an embarrassment. A believer,
Almighty God robes his people, calls them out of darkness, robes
them in righteousness, covers them, seals them by the Spirit
of God, gives them a new heart, willing to come, willing to bow,
willing to love, willing to cast all of their hope upon Him. And now, this is a believer's plea. Like David says, he hath made
with me, he made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things
and sure. This is all my salvation. What's your hope, Marvin? That
you've been faithful enough? That you've been a preacher?
No. This is all my hope. God chose
to show mercy to this sinner. And by the grace of God, I am
what I am. Wherefore is in the hand of a
fool. Wherefore is that value accessible to a fool? To get wisdom, seeing he has
no heart for it. God is good and man is a rebel.
If God shows mercy to me, it's going to be to His praise and
His honor and His glory. into my eternal good. Amen.