Let's take our Bibles and turn
with me to the book of Proverbs 15. Proverbs 15. Proverbs 15 in verse 27 says,
He that is greedy of gain, troubleth his own house, but he that hateth
gifts shall live." Now you just mark that place
right there, and then turn with me to 1 Timothy 6. 1 Timothy 6, verses 6-10 says this,
But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought
nothing into this world, and it is certain that we can carry
nothing out. Having food and raiment, let
us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall
into temptation and a snare into many foolish and hurtful lusts,
which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of
money is the root of all evil, which while some coveted after,
they have erred from the faith, pierced themselves through. with
many sorrows. And we're going to deal with
that verse in Proverbs, but I'd like to consider what we've just
read out of 1 Timothy 6 too. The scripture declares that godliness,
godliness is a true knowledge of God's grace in the Lord Jesus
Christ. And it is exhibited by faith,
by love. Love for God, love for God's
Word, love for God's people. For joy in the Lord, having a
knowledge that Almighty God has put away my guilt. Patience. Resting. This is the Lord's lot for me.
Patience in worship toward Him with a peaceful disposition and
a gracious conduct toward others. Godliness with contentment. That attitude that admits His
grace is sufficient for me. His grace is sufficient. If the
Lord gives me a heart to be able to rest, come what may. That's a tall order. I know that. But by the grace of God, it's
so. Godliness, a true knowledge of God's grace in Christ, trusting
the Lord with contentment. Lord, Your will, not mine." The
Scripture sets forth this great gain. Those born of God's Spirit,
heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, those that know
themselves to be poor in spirit, not considering what they can
or would do, they know better than that. Those are rich. That's rich,
folks. Rich in faith. And they have
the Lord God Himself as their portion. And they're content. Content with Him who has appointed
them in Christ. And the believer has all things
worth having. I want you to turn now to Psalm
103. Verses 1 to 5. Psalm 103. By building this foundation, we
are going to consider that passage of Scripture in Proverbs. Psalm 103, verses 1 to 5. The psalmist says,
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless
His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and
forget not all his benefits," colon. What benefits? Here they are. "...who forgiveth
all thine iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases, who redeemeth
thy life from destruction, who crowneth thee with lovingkindness
and tender mercies, who satisfy thy mouth with good things, so
that thy youth is renewed like the eagles." I read that passage
of Scripture here, and I looked at that, and Lord willing, I'm
going to preach on that and kind of expound it a little bit. But
I'll just read it for right now. I love that second verse. Oh, my soul, forget not all of
his benefits. And why is it that godliness
with contentment is great gain? Why is that? Still reflecting
back on 1 Timothy, it's because we didn't bring anything into
this world. And the Scripture sets forth
that we're not going to take anything out. We're going to
leave with where we stand in Christ. We came into this world with
the burden and the plague of sin, dead in it, blinded God
because of it. And by the grace of God, if we
leave this world forgiven, that Almighty God has shown mercy
to this sinner, that is great gain. How great? One of these days we're going
to know. One of these days we're going to know what Almighty God
has done for us. Do you know the thing that grieves
me right now? It's that I know it's great gain,
and how little I know about that great gain. If we have something
to eat and to wear, Now, I know humanly speaking, I can understand
that, but if we have the bread of heaven, and we feast upon Him, if we
are able by the grace of God, if this is our food, Lord evermore,
as that woman at the well said in Sycharth, Lord evermore give
me this bread. If I have a heart, that truly
longs after the bread of heaven. And this assembling together
is not just ritual. It's not just a duty. Well, I
hadn't missed in a long time. I just want to make sure I'm
here. I'm not coming out of duty. I'm
not coming out of obligation. If I truly long to hear, to feast
upon Him, and to have something to wear, the imputed righteousness
that is charged to the believers. If I have a shelter over my head,
this banner that's over me is love. I'm a rich man. I have great gain. And here again, I can totally
understand, I do understand, and I'm going to deal with it.
Lord willing, and second, they that will be rich in this world's
gains, but especially those that will
be rich and long to be rich in themselves. long to heap upon
themselves, to have an insatiable desire for honor heaped upon
them. The publican, the Pharisee, went
up, the Scripture says, into the temple one day to pray. And that Pharisee stood, and
I've always marveled at the way the Scripture says it. He said
he prayed thus with himself. And he said, God, I thank Thee that I am not as
other men are. You that believe in yourself,
you are as other men are. Yes, you are. Not one thing has
changed in that old man. Not one thing. That old man is
still that old man. There's a great difference. Lord
willing, I'm going to deal with that in the second message here.
There's a great difference for a believer in that old man. That
old man's penalty, guilt has been dealt with in Christ. With
the presence of that old man, the thoughts of that old man,
But I said, boy, I tell you what, I'm glad I don't act like I did
when I was in college. I still do. I still do. Boy, I tell you what, I'm glad
that I've really reformed. I mean, you haven't. Faith did not put you in Christ. Faith did not put your name in
the Lamb's Book of Life. That was all by grace. Let me
tell you what faith does. It evidences that Almighty God
has been merciful to you. And He believes you. You didn't
do anything. For by grace are you saved through
faith. Evidenced by faith. Not of yourself. It's the gift
of God. Alright, well, let's look at
Proverbs 15. Proverbs 15.27. The Scripture
sets forth He that is greedy of gain troubleth
his own house. Greedy of self-righteous gain,
covetous, given over to that craving of wealth. Humanly speaking, yes. Spiritually speaking, soul damning. He that is greedy of gain. That inordinate affection that
we have, that desire to possess and to say, I acquired this. I did this. It's all about me. I'm due honor. I'm due some respect. He that is greedy of gain. Now,
I do know this, and I said a moment ago, humanly speaking, the Scripture bears out that
there were some that were born into this world that were wealthy. Now I'm talking about natural
wealth, humanly speaking. Lots of money. Lots of money. I was thinking about David, Solomon,
David's son. Wealthy men. Lots and lots of
possessions. But I'll tell you this, very
few, including those men that I just mentioned, very few, the
Lord has ever allowed to truly have tremendous wealth because
of the problems that comes with it. Somebody said, boy, I tell
you what, man, I wish I'd hit the jackpot. I wish I'd hit the
lotto. Now there's a part of me that
wants that. I'd like millions, you know. 17, 19, 20, 47 million dollars. Oh boy, what I could do with
that. No, I'll tell you what you'd
do with it. It'd ruin you. It would ruin you. David, a wealthy man. A man after
God's own heart. Power. And one night, the king,
sitting there on top of his roof, and just looking out, and he
saw a woman taking a bath. And that man right there, at
high position, he stole that woman from another
man. Murdered her husband. Tried to
hide him. God sent a prophet. Told him,
he said, you're the man. Solomon. Solomon. A man that God Almighty raised
up. Gave him wealth untold. The Lord asked him, he said,
what shall I do for you? You know what Solomon asked for?
Wisdom. Wisdom to govern God's people. Isn't that right? That's wisdom. What a request. And the Lord told
him, he said, because you didn't ask for your enemies, you didn't
ask for wealth, I'm going to give you that. But the Lord allowed Solomon
to see what great gain comes to. Let me just read something
for you. I'm telling you, you listen to
these Scriptures. Nehemiah 13, 23-27. In those days also saw I Jews that
had married wives of Ashdod, Ammon, Moab, and their children
spake half in the speech of Ashdod, and could not speak in the Jews'
language, but according to the language of each people, they
didn't have a consistent speech spiritually. Can you see the
significance? They didn't speak consistently. And I contended with them, that's
the Lord speaking, and cursed and smote certain of them. plucked
off their hair and made them square by God, saying, ìYou shall
not give your daughters unto their sons, nor take their daughters
unto your sons, or for yourselves.î Now listen to this, ìDid not
Solomon, king of Israel, sin by these things? Yet among many
nations was there no king like him, who was beloved of his God,
And God made him king over all Israel. Nevertheless, even him
did outlandish women cause to sin. Shall we then hearken unto
you to do all this great evil to transgress against our God
in marrying strange wives? The scripture sets forth, he
that is greedy of gain any kind, naturally speaking, Spiritually
speaking, he that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house. The psalmist says in Psalm 62.10,
if riches increase, set not your heart upon them. Oh Lord, help me. I'm telling
you, man by nature is a proud, arrogant creature. that has one
thought as being born in Adam. It's all about me. It's about me. Colossians 3, 5. Covetousness. Covetousness. What does that
mean, really? Think about it. Covetousness.
Here's what it is. Desiring anything above God. Putting anything ahead of Almighty
God, against His honor, above His
praise, above His glory, above His worship, covetousness is
what? Idolatry. Covetousness is idolatry. And that vice, as I said, is
still within every believer. Every man born in Adam. Every
believer. Be mindful. of those fleshly temptations
that war against the law of our mind. Be aware. Be vigilant. Be watchful. Greedy of gain. Back in Proverbs
15.22. He that is greedy of gain. It's subtle. Very subtle. It's not something that usually
a man easily discerns in himself. Usually that idolatry dresses
itself in the attire of virtue. It usually robes itself in something
that is virtuous. I've got to better myself. I've got to provide for my family.
Now listen, there's a lot of you men in here I know. You work. There's times you've got to be
at work. I understand that. That's not what I'm talking about.
I'm talking about when you can be here. When you can. Set nothing ahead of the worship
of Almighty God. It's subtle. Paul referred to
it in 1 Thessalonians 2.5 as a cloak. of covetousness. It is a covering
to hide greedy motive. What will a man give in exchange
for his soul? It's dangerous. He left to himself
a man greedy of gain. He's not the only one that's
going to suffer. Listen to the Scriptures, Proverbs
15, 27. He that is greedy of gain troubleth
his own house. Joshua. I'll read this for you. You remember this story. There was a man named Achan. The people of God went in make war with the Babylonians.
And the Lord told them, don't take anything. Don't touch anything. Leave it alone. And the Scripture
sets forth that Achand, he found a wedge of gold, a wedge of gold. I mean, you know, a wedge of
gold and a Babylonian garment. And the Scripture says he took
it, he hid it under his tent, under his house. Nobody is going
to find it. Joshua 7 verse 1 says, But the
children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing.
For Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, The son of
Zerah of the tribe of Judah took of the accursed thing, and the
anger of the Lord was kindled against the children of Israel."
Who suffered because of Achan's disobedience? Just Achan? Children of Israel. The scripture
says that Israel committed a trespass against the Lord. Listen to verse
15 of this same chapter. And it shall be that he that
is taken with the accursed thing shall be burnt with fire. Here's
the judgment. And all he hath because he hath
transgressed the covenant of the Lord and because he hath
wrought folly in Israel. What happened? Lots were cast.
It came down to this tribe and this family, and it came down
to Achan. Who took it? Achan. Who transgressed? Israel. All of them? Yes. What did the Lord do? Verse 24-26
of Joshua 7, And Joshua and all Israel with him took Achan, the
son of Zerah, and the silver, the garment, the wedge of gold,
his sons, his daughters, his oxen, his asses, his sheep, his
tent, and all that he had. And they brought them unto the
valley of Achar. And Joshua said, Why hast thou
troubled us? The Lord shall trouble thee this
day. And all Israel stoned him with
stones and burned them with fire after they had stoned them with
stones. And they raised over him a great
heap of stones unto this day. So the Lord turned from the fierceness
of his anger. Wherefore, the name of that place
is called the Valley of Achor unto this day." One man, aching,
took of the accursed thing. And all Israel was included in
the trespass. All of Israel was considered
as one body. As if one member transgressed,
the whole body suffered. Let me ask you this, when Adam
fell, when Adam transgressed, what happened to all mankind
because of the greed of gain on Adam's part for God's honor. Of all of the trees you can eat
the fruit, but of this one tree, in the day that you eat of that
one tree, you eat of that fruit and you're going to die. And
Satan came to Eve and talked to Eve, and Eve talked to Adam,
and this is what he said, You're not going to die. God knows that
in the day you eat thereof, you're going to be like God. You're
going to know good and evil. Adam troubled his whole house.
When Adam took of the fruit, the whole house of humanity died. And the just recompense of reward
for Achan, when he took of that wedge of gold, Achan suffered. That man had to die in himself. But what is it going to take?
for all of humanity to not suffer the penalty of God's wrath. What's it going to take? There's
going to have to be a substitute. Achan died in himself. And the
Lord Jesus Christ had to die in the stead of all that He had
chosen in electing grace. Had the Lord not chosen a people,
Romans 9 says this, If the Lord had not left us a seed, who would
we have been like? Solomon Gomorrah. If God Almighty
had not chosen a people in electing grace, placed them in Christ,
and kept them in Christ, Almighty God in absolute judgment and
wrath must, must do right. that is greedy of gain troubleth
his whole house." As our Lord suffered the penalty
of His people, Almighty God put away the wrath that was due for
what we are by nature, that thanks be unto Him. Almighty God has
shown mercy. That last part of that 27th verse
back in Proverbs. But he that hateth gifts shall live. He that hateth gifts. Now, the question that I've got
is this. What does gifts mean? What do you mean by he that hateth
gifts? I mean, I like to get stuff,
don't you? This word right here is bribes. He that hateth bribes. Vain promises that are given
to bypass justice and right. Hey, let's hear. I don't guess
maybe we could just forget that I was exceeding the speed limit.
I mean, what's he going to, you know, bribes? A gift. He that hateth gifts shall live. Let me read Exodus 23, 6-8 as
we conclude here. Exodus 23, 6-8. Thou shalt not rest, W-R-E-S-T,
rest, twist the judgment of thy poor in his cause. Keep thee
far from a false matter, and the innocent and righteous slay
thou not, for I will not justify the wicked. And thou shalt take
no gift, no bribe, for the gift blindeth the wise and perverteth
the words of the righteous." The heart of that passage in
closing, those that hate bribes, those that hate the conniving,
hate the lies, hate the underhandedness, those that love justice and fairness,
they're going to live. Those that realize, I can't bargain
with God, I cannot. I can't bribe God. I can't offer
to God. What am I going to bribe the
Lord with? What am I going to bribe God
with? Lord, in that day of judgment, we've prophesied in Your name. Lord, we've cast out demons in
Your name. We've done many, many wonderful
works in Your name. Surely, surely that counts for
something. Surely that's got some merit.
Lord, I exercised my will. I gave You my heart. Surely that
on its merit means something. And our Lord said, I will say
unto them, depart from Me, you workers of iniquity. Listen,
let me tell you the standard of acceptance with God. How holy,
how pure does a man or a woman have to be to be accepted of
God? How good do you have to be? You have to be as holy as God. You have to be as pure as Almighty
God, who then can be saved. I'll tell you, only those that
Almighty God has put away in absolute justice and wrath, has
put away their guilt in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, and exacted the totality, the
exactness of the law's demand. What does the law of God demand?
Holiness! Holiness! Perfectness! People say, I've done the best
I could. It's not good enough! Be holy, for I am holy. What's
it going to take? I've got to have my guilt dealt
with. My sin must be paid. The soul that sinned is going
to die. And I need righteousness. What kind of righteousness? I
need the righteousness of God. I need God's righteousness to
robe me, to hide me, to cover me. I want absolute fairness. I don't want to bribe. I don't
want to try to justify myself. I don't want to plead my own
cause. I don't want to talk about what I could do. I'm a wretched
man in myself. I need for God Almighty to do
for me what I cannot do for myself. I need for God to save me, to
rescue me. It's all of grace. He that is greedy, greedy of
gain, troubleth his own house. But he that hateth gifts, hates
bribes, hates conniving, hates underhanded, he's going to live. God's given him a heart. Lord,
bless these words. Our comfort and good is the glory
of the Lord Jesus Christ.