Let's take our Bibles and turn
with me to the book of Proverbs 16. Proverbs 16. Lord willing, I'd like to deal
with verses 27 to 31. An ungodly man diggeth up evil, and in his lips there is as a
burning fire. A forward man soweth strife,
and a whisperer separateth chief friends. A violent man enticeth
his neighbor, and leadeth him into the way that is not good.
He shutteth his eyes to devise forward things, moving his lips
he bringeth evil to pass. The hoary head is a crown of
glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness." From the fall of man in the garden, man by his carnal nature has
done nothing but manifest the evil of his heart. The Lord Jesus Christ said in
Matthew 15, 19, for out of the heart, that old heart, that carnal
heart, that fallen heart, that dead heart, out of the heart
proceed evil thoughts. Now, this is all that comes out
of it. Evil thoughts. murders, adulteries, unfaithfulness,
fornication, idolatry, thefts, false witness,
lies, blasphemies against men, but especially against God. That's all that comes out of
it. Nothing else. So from that revelation of that
one scripture, any rational thought should ask, with all these things
being so, where would it be found in the carnal mind or heart or
will to seek God for mercy? Where
is it going to come from? Out of the only things that come
up right out of the heart, evil thoughts, blasphemy, murders,
adultery, fornication, falsehoods, lies, where does it come from
that a man will seek after God? Will after God? It's just not
there. How is a man or woman going to
knock at the door of mercy, at the Lord Jesus Christ Himself?
Man is born a rebel against God, and he has no faculty, no ability,
no will. He just does not care. about his eternal soul. He doesn't
care. Jeremiah 13.23, Can the Ethiopian
change his skin, or the leopard his spots? Then may ye also do
good that are accustomed, that are skillful, that are expert. to do evil. Man by nature, born
in Adam, is an expert. You know, when you think about
an expert, if you're going to call somebody up, you're going
to have a witness. I was in a trial one time, just
as a spectator, and they called an expert witness. This guy knew
everything about everything concerning the subject. His word would be enough to change
the course of the trial and stuff like that because he is an expert. Man by nature is an expert on
doing evil. Well, this passage of Scripture
begins declaring the very heart of man without God. It manifests
that which is in every person born in Adam. And that rebellion
that is singular, there's only one attitude in an unbeliever,
what we're about to look at right here. That's the only attitude
that an unbeliever has in those first few verses. And that nature
still is within every believer. You know, the difference is,
an unbeliever just didn't see it. He just doesn't know it's
there. You know why? Because his dead
heart is deceitful, of all things. That deceitful heart will tell
you, you're just as good as anybody else. And that's right. But as
I've said, when you compare a maggot to a maggot, you still have a
maggot. And that's what man is by nature. He's just a dead maggot
at that. What else could be more disgusting
than a dead maggot? Here's what Scripture has to
say. An ungodly man, verse 27. An ungodly man. A man of Belial. A man of Satan. A man of Satan's
mind. An unbeliever. Man born in Adam. An ungodly man. A man without
God. A man who has no knowledge of
God. No love of God. As God is revealed
in these Scriptures right here. I'm not talking about another
Jesus. If you preach another Jesus. Another spirit. I'll tell you this. I listened. I listened to some here last
week. And I'll be singing. I'll be doing some singing, you
know. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you,
Jesus. Who are you talking about? Who
are you talking about? There's another Jesus, the scripture
says. Another. And you know what? That
one that we're talking about, that they're talking about, another
Jesus, is the Jesus that appeals to their emotion, pats them on
the back, wants to do for them, and their service is what's pleasing
Him. And they're proud of it. An ungodly
man, a man without the God of this Bible. A man, a woman without
a knowledge, a love for, a union with the sovereign, electing,
redeeming, calling, keeping God of this Bible. God Almighty. An ungodly man. That word ungodly. Worthless. Profitless, corrupt,
failure, without a yoke, and not subject to God. You know,
the thing is, you can use words, and if you don't know exactly
what they mean, the offense of the cross is removed. But when people understand exactly
what you're saying, That's when it becomes real. That's when
they understand. That's when they know what you
mean. An ungodly man diggeth up. He plots, opens, digs up
evil, digs for sin, digs for rebellion against God as he's
looking for it as a treasure. This is his treasure. This is
what he wants right here. This is what he desires. I want
to dig up evil for God, and that is my treasure. You say, is man that bad? He's
worse than that. I don't even know how bad he
is. He diggeth up evil. He doesn't have to go far. His
heart is a source of it, for out of the heart, and in His
lips, there is as a burning fire, in His language, in His speech,
there is that which is absolutely resentful and hateful against
God Almighty. Scripture says, John 3, 6, it's
set on fire from hell. Hell is the very source of it.
And when God's sovereignty and God's glory and God's particular
mercy and compassion is set forth, the lips, the speech, the language
of the carnal heart is moved with anger, resentment, jealousy. You know why? Because what you're
doing is you're stepping on my God. You're stepping on me. You're stepping on my heart.
Whenever God Almighty is set forth to be God, the tongue,
the lips, it's like a burning fire. It is the instrument of
wrath against the Lord, against His people, against His Son,
against His gospel. Verse 28, a froward man, a fraud. That's what it means. A fraud.
A fake. That man that is a religious
imitator, he's one that is a performer, that's
what he is. Zach, you're in these plays. You play parts. He plays a part. You're going to play the part
of being a... I'm going to teach you some lines,
and I'm going to teach you..." And that's what man does. He
knows some lines. He knows some words. He's heard
some religious... He's read some Scriptures, and
he takes them and he wrests them. W-R-E-S-T. He twists them to
try to make them say something that gives him the honor and
gives him the glory and all the praise. A forward man. He's a charlatan. He's under
the guise of religion. A forward man soweth strife. Sends it forth. He sends forth
contention and discard and quarreling. He sows contradiction to God's
Word. Satan came to Eve. The Lord told
Adam, don't eat. And the day you eat,
you're going to die. Adam tells his wife, God said. Satan comes to Eve and says,
have God said. You're not going to die. God knows that the day you eat,
you're going to be as God's. You're going to know good and evil. You're not going
to die. Let me ask you something. Has that lie ever changed? Men? Women? Right now, sitting under
a fraud, a forward man. And a forward man in the pulpit
preaching to forward men and women in the pews. Frauds. Satan telling them all the while,
you're not going to die. You're going to be like God.
God wants you to be like this. You're okay. You're serving the
Lord. You pray sometimes. And you hear
scriptures every once in a while. A fraud. A forward man soweth strife,
and a whisperer separated from chief friends." Tail-bearer. Tail-bearer. A whisperer goes
about to separate chief friends, gentle friends, tamed friends. Friends. A tail-bearer. He wants
to separate. I remember what Brother Henry
said at that time. I try to remember that. He said, you know, a tail
bearer, he hears a line and he wants to repeat it and repeat
it. Brother Henry said, before you
say something about anybody, ask yourself this. Number one,
is it true? Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary? Boy, that pretty
well ends it, doesn't it? Lord, put a watch on my lips.
Lord, help me. A forward man, a fraud, so is
strife, and a whisperer, a talebearer, one that repeats a matter. He
separates chief friends, desires to separate especially between
God and His people. Here again, that was the intent
of Satan in the garden. That carnal heart is cunning.
And that whisperer appears to be concerned. Oh, I hate to beat the bearer
of bad news. And it grieves me to have to
say this. Well, then don't say it. It's
going to be such a grief. I don't mean to start anything. Liar. The carnal heart, it attempts
to have great concern, but has nothing but ill will toward all
that is right. That's the intent. Forward man soweth strife. Whisper
separates chief friend. Violent man, verse 29, enticeth
his neighbor. A cruel, a cruel man, a false
teacher, a liar in a pulpit is the absolute epitome of cruelty. Cruelty. The epitome. I'm telling you, a man that stands
in the pulpit and will lie on God and tell men and tell women
a false gospel that is the epitome, that's the height of cruelty. You know why? They're going to
die, Mike. They're going to die. And they're
going to be in hell forever under the judgment of Almighty God. I know that God Almighty is going
to do right. I know He's going to do right.
I know He's going to save His people. Thanks be unto God for
that. Thanks be unto Him who has everlastingly
loved His people, chosen His people, and will not leave them
to themselves. Thanks be unto God for that.
But I'm telling you, the sovereignty of Almighty God does not negate
the gross irresponsibility and rebellion against God Himself
by men that will stand in a pulpit and lie to people. The older I get, the older I
get, I'm telling you, I realize the heinous rebellion against
God and the hatred of people by men that stand in pulpits
that are not preaching the gospel. The scum of this earth. False preachers. I have no tolerance
for them at all. None. A violent man enticeth his neighbor
Deceives him. Entices. Flatters him. Tries
to persuade him. For the purpose, that's what
the Scripture says, a violent man enticeth his neighbor and
leadeth him into the way that is not good. People that will say, well, it
doesn't matter really where you go to church. As long as you
go to church. There was a guy back in Louisiana that lived
just down the road from us. Lonnie Harper, mom, he had a
line filling station. I don't know if they had line
gas up there. I don't know, but line. L-I-O-N. I know sometimes I say
words and people don't really understand what I meant. Line.
Lion. And he had a big sign painted. And it said on it, Go to the
church of your choice this Sunday. And the first time I stopped
in there to get gas, he knew that I went to church and stuff
like that. He came over and said, go to the church of your
choice. Does it matter what a man hears? Absolutely. Absolutely. The Apostle Paul said to the
church of Galatia, if any man, if we or an angel from heaven
preach any other gospel, than the gospel that we've preached
to you. Let him be accursed. Does it matter what you hear?
Yes. This gospel, the gospel of God's
grace, God's electing, preserving, redeeming grace is the power
of God unto salvation. This is the only message that
God blesses. A violent man, cruel, flatters
his neighbor and leadeth him into the way that is not good,
into the way that is opposite from Christ who is the way. Verse 30, he shutteth his eyes
to devise forward things. Moving his lips, he bringeth
evil to pass. He shuts his eyes against the
light. I will not hear that. I will not have that man to rule
over me. I don't care what God's Word
says. That still just blows me away. I don't care. See that right
there? See what it says right there? I don't care what it says. You
will. You will. I don't know if he
will or not. I don't think he'll ever care.
If God leaves him to himself, I don't think he'll ever care.
He'll never care. I don't care. He shuts his eyes
against God's Word because he doesn't care for it. Moving his
lips, he bringeth evil to pass, acting the deceitful part. as a false teacher, handling
the Word of God deceitfully, and ever attempts with artful
and wicked methods, methods, methods, to bring his evil designs
to pass. If Almighty God leaves a man
to himself, there is nothing good that can be said. There
is nothing good but But, God, if Almighty God is pleased to
show mercy, if the Lord is pleased to give a new heart, I'm telling
you, I read those four verses right there and I thought, boy, that puts a believer in the dust. I'll tell you what it does. Those
that are being described right there, don't bother them a bit. You know why? Because in their
mind, this is not me. I'm not that way. But you let
Almighty God give a man a new heart, give him new eyes, give
him new ears to hear. And a believer will read that
and he'll say, you know what? But for the grace of God, if
left to myself, I do every one of those things. There's not
one thing in there that I'm not guilty of. And I know it. Christ Jesus came into this world
to save sinners, Paul says, of whom I'm chief. I'm guilty. I'm guilty. And don't try to
tell me, well, you're not really that bad. Yes, I am. Don't tell
me that. I know, I know something about
what's in my heart. Verse 31, last verse, the hoary
head is a crown of glory. if it be found in the way of
righteousness. Proverbs 20, 29 says, The glory
of young men is their strength, and the beauty of old men is
their gray head. The beauty. That is the countenance,
the honor, the ornament. Ornament. Years ago, I was looking at a
picture the other day of me when I graduated from high school. I had hair. And it was black. It was black. I had a lot of
it, too. And you know, men, the way of this world by
nature, We all want to be younger and look younger and feel younger. And the older I get, I don't
feel that way anymore. It takes me longer to get up
out of bed the next day if I've done anything, anything. I see myself aging. Well, what the Scriptures have
to say concerning the aged. the taut, the hoary head, the
gray head is a crown of glory if it be found in the way of
righteousness. I've been here almost 11 years. And I look around at people,
you're like me, you've gotten older just like I have. And for those that have aged
with me, that the Lord has kept and shown and taught. You're more beautiful now than
you were when I first met you. The beauty of Almighty God keeping
His people through thick and thin, We've gone through some
tough times. There have been some days that
we've heard things that, humanly speaking, we wish we wouldn't
have heard. We've gone through some sicknesses. The Lord has been pleased by
His mercy and grace to take some of us and receive them unto Himself. And I think about the good pleasure
of our God, to take those that He was pleased to, and to leave
those here that He has taught and kept the beauty of. And to see the mercy and compassion
of God Almighty Through thick and thin, he said, I'll never
leave you. I'll never forsake you. Oh, Simeon. The Lord had revealed
to him that he was not going to see death until he had actually
seen the Lord's Christ. They brought the Lord Jesus Christ
in. He was eight days old. and the
Spirit of God revealed to that old man. That old man had no
doubt had some tough times. Weak, frail, I don't doubt that
for one second. But he held that young baby,
the Lord of glory, in his arms and he said, Now let us, thy servant, depart
in peace, according to thy word. For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,
which thou hast prepared before the face of all people." This world places really great
contempt on the old age. Really, they're kind of the useless
ones now. They can't work anymore, really,
to speak of. What kind of part are they going
to add to society? I'm telling you, the Scripture
speaks with great respect, blessing to those gray-headed ones, kept
ones, if it be found in the way of righteousness. great respect. The steps of a good man, made
so by the grace of God, are ordered by the Lord, and he delighteth
in his way, and though he falls He shall not be utterly cast
down, for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand. I have been
young, and now I am old, yet have I not seen the righteous
forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. He is ever merciful and
lendeth, and his seed is blessed." Lord, bless these words to our
heart. We realize that by Your grace,
Lord, you have not left us to ourselves. You have shown us
what we are by nature to show us something of the beauty of
your redeeming, merciful, and compassionate grace. For Christ's
sake, keep us.