That was good. Let's take our Bibles and turn
with me to the book of Proverbs 16. I'd like to look at one verse,
verse 8. Proverbs 16.8. Well, Henry Mahan said one time,
he said, if you have any questions concerning spiritual things, He said the best thing to do
is sit under the gospel and just listen. He said in time, God's
going to make all things known. We have God's Word on that. He
said they shall all be taught of God. He knows what we have need of.
He knows exactly what we have need of. I thought about that statement
that he made as I was preparing this message. The scripture says better, verse
8, Proverbs 16, better is a little with righteousness
than great revenues without right. And you know, if men were honest, and but for
the grace of God they're not, they'd admit, I don't really
know the best thing. I don't know what's right. I don't know the best thing for
my kids, myself, my spouse. I might have an opinion, based
on some things that I've learned, some experiences. But really,
the only thing that's true, the only thing that's settled, the
only thing that's right is God's Word. That's the only thing you
can base any truth out of your mouth upon is truth itself. What does God have to say about
it? According to God's Word, all
Scripture is given by inspiration. It's breathed of God. And it's profitable for doctrine,
that is, for teaching. What do we teach? Here's what
I'm going to teach. What does God have to say? Brother
Scott said rightly so. Preaching is just saying what
God said. That's preaching. It's profitable for doctrine,
for reproof. That is, for convincing of man
concerning his sins. For correction. That is, for
restoration or for an amendment of life. for instruction in righteousness. He is for instruction concerning
what is truly right. What is right? Well, what God
has to say. So when it comes to inquiring
about life, the only source of advice, the
only thing that we have to say is God has to say. That's your safest
thing. This Word endures forever. Heaven and earth are going to
pass away. The Word of God is not going to pass away. Scripture
says in Psalm 138, verse 2, that God has magnified above all His
name, His character, His Word. What saith the Scriptures? I
know that this Word is not going to return void. I know that it's
going to accomplish the purpose for which it's sent. This is
the Word by which God is going to call out His people. They're
going to be comforted by it, corrected by it, instructed by
it, reproved by it, So here's what I'd like to do. I'd like
to take what God has to say out of this one verse, and that's what we're going to
talk about for a few minutes. Better, and actually the word
is, is in italics. Here's what it says. Better a
little with Christ. Righteousness. Better a little with righteousness
than great... I looked up the word revenues. I want to make sure. I want to
know what does it say? What does that word mean? If
revenues means something else, I want to know. It means income.
Income. Better a little with righteousness than great income. without Him. Right. You know, as parents, we want
to encourage our children to work hard. Work hard. I remember my dad was growing
up. I've told you he had a saying,
and it was this. He said, We're going to do something
today if it's wrong." And we did. It was something. He would tell me, he said, now,
if you don't have anything else to do, he said, you go dig a
hole and fill it up. And he was serious. I mean, he
meant it. Just standing around, not doing
anything. He told me, he said, I'm going to
teach you how to work. Now, I might not teach you whatever
vocation you're going to end up being, but he said, I'm going
to teach you how to work. Now, I appreciate that. I appreciate
it. Courage our kids. Have a good
education. That's good. Provide for your
family. That's the right thing. But never are we to encourage
our kids to do anything at the expense of worshiping God. Never. We encourage them. You seek first, first the kingdom
of God. And His righteousness in all
these things shall be added unto you. Seeking for never set a
precedent above hearing God's Word, assembling with God's people,
faithfully adhering to the means of God's grace, the study of
the Scriptures, the hearing of the gospel of free grace, praying,
asking. I think the more we try to pray,
try to read, the more we realize how much we don't know. How much
we struggle. I know this. Almighty God is
going to teach His people. And He's going to teach them
through the hearing of the Gospel. The hearing of the truth. This
is where we're taught. You know, Job, The book of Job is one that just,
I read that book and try to read and try to see, try to see what
happens, stuff like that, and it's an arresting book to me.
It was Job that through the good providence of God, had everything
taken from him except God's presence, God's comfort, the assurance
of God's providential dealing with him. I want you to turn. Stay right here. Just turn backwards
to Job 1. Job 1. I read this again this
morning and I thought, Lord, help me. Help me. When I read
these words, Job had lost, he lost his kids, he lost his animals,
he lost his houses, he lost the crops. And the Scripture says
Job won 20 to 22. Then Job arose, rent his mantle,
his robe, shaved his head, fell down upon the ground and worshiped
and said, Came I out of my mother's womb, naked shall I return thither."
The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name
of the Lord. And all this Job sinned not,
nor charged God foolishly. He didn't charge God with folly. I thought, what an epitaph. What a word! But for the grace
of God. You couldn't say that. We'd gripe
and complain. The plight of Lazarus. There
was Lazarus the rich man. Lazarus the beggar. He laid at
the gate of this man that the Scripture says fared sumptuously. Every day. And all Lazarus desired
as far as eating was whatever he could get as far as the crumbs
that fell from that rich man's table. The only thing I could
figure, the rich man, he'd just come clean off his table and
throw it out on the sidewalk or something like that. And Lazarus,
he had dogs that licked these sores. And that man, Lazarus, died.
And the Scripture says he went into the bosom of Abraham. He
went to heaven. He went into paradise. And that
rich man died too. And he died, and the next thing
it says, he lifted his eyes up out of hell and torment. Now in that moment,
in that exact instance, this scripture bears eternal weight. Better is a little with righteousness
than great revenues without right. Men are born spiritually poor. They are born in sin. from a
deceitful heart. They think that they're rich. They think that they can make
themselves rich. And they can. They can. They
can produce revenues of natural material. They can do that. They
work hard and they make a lot of money. But when it comes to
the revenues of righteousness, revenues, Revenues with God. They can't do that. Why? They have a dead heart. It's dead desperately. Romans
4, 5 says, but to him that worketh not. Worketh not in his heart. That's where it comes from. It's
what he thinks. He that worketh not. The mouth
is just the evidence of what the heart purposeless things,
but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly." His faith, the
object of his faith. Christ is counted for righteousness. Christ's righteousness is all
of his hope. Brother Henry said, it's not
that a believer doesn't do any good works, because he does.
Kindness, consideration, long-suffering, love of the brethren. He does.
But he doesn't count or look to those works to obtain life
or obtain salvation. It's the evidence of salvation. Works mean nothing concerning
our justification before God. Where all Isaiah 64.6 says, as
an unclean thing. All of our righteousnesses are
as filthy rags, and we do fade as a leaf, and our iniquities
like the wind have taken us away. In conclusion, it doesn't matter
what our old deceitful heart tells us about great revenues. God's Word tells us that when
our heart is set on obtaining the cares of this world, to have
a lot of money with no regard for the worship of God. of men, women in this world that
had a lot of money. That had a lot of money. Not
often. Not often. But there are. David, Solomon, they were rich. Job. Job was a wealthy man. Wealthy. But as a general rule,
not. Because here's the thing about
as a general rule, but for the grace of God, Number one, a lot
of money. A lot of money. You're not going
to enjoy it. Look at Ecclesiastes 5.12. Ecclesiastes
5.12. You know, they say, oh, I wish I
hit the lotto. Man, if I hit the lottery, I
would so-and-so and so-and-so. Man, I'm telling you, I'd be
set. I'd be set. Here's what God says
about it. Ecclesiastes 5.12. The sleep
of a laboring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much, but the
abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep. You know why? He's worried about keeping it. He's worried about whether or
not he's invested it in the right place. Man, I wish I'd have bought
Walmart when it first came out. He's worried about the market.
If the market drops 300 points, he can't rest. He's concerned. And you cannot
keep yourself from being concerned about it. You're not going to
enjoy it. Secondly, there is no security
in it. Now, I know what the carnal heart
says. Listen, I think the same thing
everybody else does. But I'm telling you what God
says. Number one. You're not going to enjoy it.
Number two, no security. Luke 12, 15. And he said unto them, Take heed
and beware of covetousness. For a man's life consisteth not
in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. He spake
a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich
man brought forth plentifully. And he thought within himself,
saying, What shall I do? Because I have no room where
to bestow my fruits. He was saying, I'm between a
rock and a hard place. I've got a problem. I'm making
so much money. I've got so much stuff. I don't
know, I can't figure out. He said, this will I do. I will
pull down my barns, build greater, and there will I bestow all my
fruits and my goods. And I'll say to my soul, soul,
thou hast much goods laid up for many years. I was thinking about an advertisement
I saw and it's for, I think it's an insurance company. And it
shows this woman walking down a path and she says, I'm only
in my 60s and I've got many long good years ahead of me. And I
thought to myself, you don't know that. That's arrogance. It's arrogance. I will say to
my soul, soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years. Take thine ease, eat, drink,
be merrient. But God said unto him, Thou fool,
this night thy soul shall be required of thee. Then whose
shall these things be which thou hast provided? So is he that
layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. Man is not going to enjoy it.
He can't even sleep. No security. The love of money,
the scripture says, the love of it is the root of all evil. Last verse, Proverbs 30. Proverbs
30. And may we learn from one who
was taught of God, one of the wisest men that ever walked this
earth. I said one of the wisest men
born in Adam. Here was Solomon. The Lord asked
Solomon, He said, What do you want me to give you? What do
you want me to give you?" And Solomon asked him, he said, I don't have the faculties, I don't
have the capability, Lord, of ruling over your people. Solomon, a king, this David's
boy, he said, Lord, would you give me wisdom to rule your people
wisely? And the Lord said, because you
asked for wisdom, you didn't ask for your enemies, and you
didn't ask for money, and you didn't ask for land. He said,
I'm going to give you all the things that you didn't ask for.
And I'm going to give you wisdom. Wise man. Wise. God used Solomon. Solomon penned the Proverbs. Solomon penned Song of Solomon. Solomon penned Ecclesiastes. God taught this man. I want you
to listen. Proverbs 30, verses 7 to 9. Two things. Have I required of
thee? Deny me them not before I die. Remove far from me vanity and
lies. Give me neither poverty nor riches. Feed me with food that is convenient
for me, my allowance, lest I be full and deny thee and say, Who
is the Lord? Or lest I be poor and steal and
take the name of my God in vain. I know this by nature. We want to prosper. We want to
do well. We want to provide. But Lord,
help me. Teach me. Lord, I know this. It's better. It's better. It's
better. It's better to have less according
to God's good providence. Be where I'm taught of God. Where
I can worship God. where I can hear, hear the gospel,
be with God's people than it is to have great income and try to be where it's not.
Lord bless these words to our heart for Christ's sake.