Let's take our Bibles and turn
with me to the book of Proverbs. Proverbs 14. Proverbs chapter 14. I'd like
to just look at one verse of Scripture. Proverbs 14, verse 19. Proverbs 14, 19 says this, bow before the good, and the
wicked at the gates of the righteous. I have entitled this message,
All Shall Bow. All Shall Bow. Now, there is a false concept
that's written within the natural heart. When I say natural heart,
you know what I mean. I mean the way that we're all
born in Adam. We all come with a false conception
of the way that things are. And here's the concept. This is the false concept. God
is trying to do all that He can to save people. And Satan is
doing all that he can to bring people to hell. And somehow,
men are caught between a rock and a hard place. And they're
out there in limbo. And really, what is going to
make the difference is their free will, their choice. Now,
that's the way that men think. That's the way that natural man
thinks. Well, according to Scriptures,
and oh, how we must make much of the Scriptures. What saith
the Scriptures? The Scriptures. I'm telling you,
base everything that you believe on the Scriptures. According to the Scriptures,
this isn't so. Number one, I'll tell you this,
God is not trying to do anything. God is not trying to do anything. This is what the scriptures says
concerning the Lord of glory. Isaiah 14, 27, For the Lord of
hosts hath purposed it, and who shall disannul it? And
his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back? Job 9.12 says, Behold, he taketh
away, and who can hinder? That is, who can turn him away?
Who can hinder him? Who will say unto him, What doest
thou? Can you imagine a maggot like
us telling God Almighty what God Almighty can do and can't
do? Can you imagine Almighty God
leaving the eternal glory of His Son and God's people. Can you imagine God leaving that
in the hands of a man that doesn't have sense enough to sometimes
even get up out of bed and just so frail, so fickle? Can you imagine? The first thing,
God is not trying to do anything. God Almighty is God. Secondly,
a man doesn't decide anything because he's powerless to do
so. I just told somebody, when you
say free will, let me tell you what that means. Free. It means
bound by nothing. Free. Bound by nothing. Free. Bound by nothing. We're dead in trespasses and
sins. No, we're bound. Again, if I had a free will,
as soon as the doctor told me I had cancer, I would have said,
not anymore. I just willed it away. My will
is free. It's bound by nothing. I don't
have the free will. You don't either. Scripture bears
that out. I'll show you that. John 1. Let's just prove it. John 1, verse 12 and 13. But as many as received him,
To them gave He power, gave the privilege to become the sons
of God, even to them that believe on His name. Then the Spirit
of God qualified it and said, verse 13, which were born, not
of blood. I've said before, just because
the Lord is pleased to save me, that doesn't mean He's going
to save my kids. Not of blood. Just because God Almighty shows
mercy to one, that does not mean that He's going to show mercy
to another. Not of blood. Nor the will of the flesh. I
can pray. I pray God saves my kids and
grandkids. I pray He does. I want the Lord
to save your kids, your grandchildren. I pray God have mercy. But I
am powerless. I am powerless to do anything.
I cannot convince you of it. Nor of the will of man. Man has a free will. I said,
according to John 1.13, He doesn't. Who said He did? God said He
didn't. How are they born? They are born of God. As we just
said under this gospel that we preach, man doesn't decide anything. The Scripture says, John 6.44,
no man can, has to do with ability, come to Me except the Father
which has sent Me, draw him. What if God the Father doesn't
draw him? He's not coming. I've told somebody before, whose
words are these? They're Almighty God's. No man
can come to me except the Father which has sent me draw him, and
I will raise him up the last day." The truth of the matter
is this. Almighty God has an eternal purpose. And that eternal purpose has
been settled according to His everlasting covenant of grace.
That's what David said. David said, this is all my salvation.
This is all my salvation. I could say this. Marvin. Marvin. What's your name? Marvin. So this is all my salvation.
This is it. He hath made with me in His Son
an everlasting covenant of mercy, grace, order in all things. That means everything in order.
Sure. This is all of my hope. This
is my hope that when Christ died, He died for me. He put away my
guilt. This is all of it. It's not up
for debate. Men can argue this. I'll tell
you this. Men can argue this point. They
can say no, no, no, no. And one day, Almighty God is
going to say, yes, He was. My brother just read this, Romans
9.20. But nay, but O man, who art thou
that replies, that disputes against God? Shall the thing formed say
to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Psalm 33.11 says, The counsel
of the Lord standeth forever. The false of his heart to all
generations What are we doing here today? Let me just ask you
something. What are we doing? What are we
doing here? I'll tell you what we're doing.
We're obediently following God's command and honoring Almighty
God's means. Preaching. Preaching. Preaching. This is how God's
going to call out His people. Men may say, that guy over there,
Katie, oh, you have him. I'm not going to go along with
him. But I'm going to ask you this. Is this what Scripture
said? I told you a moment ago, I stand
before you with fear and trembling. Respect before God Almighty. before whom I must give account,
that I might do it, Paul says, with joy and not with sorrow. What does that mean? I am responsible
being called of God to preach the gospel. I am responsible
to preach these Scriptures, or write and tell God's people,
would you not rather know it now than stand before God And
have God Almighty, we're going to be judged. I read that, Romans
2.16, according to this Gospel. According to this Gospel. What
must I do to be saved? What did Paul tell the Philippian
jailer? What is the evidence? That's what he asked him. What's
the evidence? What's the evidence of salvation? Paul said that
you believe God. That you believe this. You believe
it. You bow. Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.
Not, Lord, be good to me because I've done so and so, and I did
this and I did that, and I went over here and I walked down the
aisle. Let me tell you something. He that believeth on the Son
hath life. He has life. Because God's given
him life, he believes. He believes. Now let me tell you this. One
verse of Scripture this morning. I'll be short. The Scripture
says concerning everything that I just said, the evil bow before
the good, and the wicked at the gates of the righteous. What
does that mean? Well, this is what it means.
Everybody is going to bow. Everybody is going to bow. In
this life or the next, everybody is going to bow. Evil. Now understanding what that Scripture
says right there, I've got to understand the difference between
the word evil and wicked. Now just read it again. The evil
bow before the good, and the wicked at the gates of the righteous. What's the difference in evil
and wicked? Well, I'll tell you this. Evil appears to be the
action. of the wicked. The evil is what
the wicked do. Evil is what they do. Wicked
is what they are. Nobody ever came out of their
mother's womb any different than anybody else. We're all, we're
all, all of us in ourselves are as an unclean thing. We're all
like that. There's one thing that makes
the difference. And that is the grace of Almighty
God. Now let me give you the difference
between one that God's shown mercy to and one that will not
come. Here's what it is. The evil that we all do in ourselves. is going to absolutely pay for
what all men do. Somebody is going to pay. All
sin is going to be paid for. God's people, the objects of
God's mercy and grace, by the grace of God, they're going to
bow. They're going to bow to what
Almighty God says He's done for them. The evil. You remember
when Joseph was taken, he was sold in slavery. His brothers
sold him. They were mad at him. His daddy
liked him and made him a coat of many colors. They said, let's
sell him. Let's get rid of him. So they
sent Joseph into Egypt. They said, I took care of that.
Now we don't have to fool with him no more. We're not going to have
to put up with daddy's love and dawdling over him anymore. They
were jealous is what they were. He was his daddy's eye, the apple
of his eye. We're not going to fool with
you. Sold him. What happened? A famine. You
remember that. There was Joseph in Egypt. What had happened? His brothers
put him there. Oh, really? Not according to
Scriptures. Not according to Scriptures.
When that famine came, Those brothers had to come to
Joseph. They didn't know who he was until he revealed himself
to them. What had they done? What they
had done was evil. That was the actions they did.
Listen to this. He said, Fear not, after Joseph
revealed himself to them. Fear not, for I am in the place
of God. Am I in the place of God? But
as for you, ye thought evil. against me, but God meant it
unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much
people alive." They did what they wanted to do, and they sold
their brother into slavery, into Egypt. But who put him there? God put him there as the deliverer. God's people do just exactly
what all men do in themselves. They are rebels against God.
But Almighty God, in the precious person of His Son, made His Son
to be their substitute. And that evil that all of God's
people do in themselves, God put it away. And the Scripture
sets forth that this evil concerning God's people bows before the good. We admit,
I am what I am by the grace of God. There was no difference
in me and anybody else. No difference in me and the most
wicked, evil person that's ever walked this earth. The difference
is God's grace. And God pulled away and would
not charge me with iniquity. That's just so. It's not that
I'm any better or you're any better. Almighty God is going to take
care of His people. The evil bow before the good. Lord, as You say I am, In myself,
I know what I am. I am evil. In myself, I am. There's no good in me. But Lord,
as You say I am, I am. And bless me, God, that You put
away my guilt. And wouldn't charge me with it. And the wicked at the gates of the righteous. There is coming a time, as I
told you in this first service, when every man, every woman is
going to bow before God Almighty. Psalm 76.10. Psalm 76.10 sets
forth this truth. The wrath of man shall praise
Thee, and the remainder of wrath Thou shalt restrain." Men in
this life, I know that men do as they will. They want to. But Almighty God is going to
take that which is against His people and Himself. How is He
going to praise Him? I'll tell you how it's going
to. His justice. God is right. God's right. He's going to deal
with sin in every person. His people, in the day of His
justice, wrath, judgment, is absolutely going to say, Lord,
I am what I am. by your grace, by your mercy,
by your kindness, and all that will not bow in this life. In that day, the wicked at the
gates or at the door of righteousness, the Scripture sets forth. Last
Scripture, right here. Philippians chapter 2, verses
5 to 11. Let this mind be in you, which
was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, thought
it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation,
took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness
of men, and being found in fashion as a man. He humbled himself
and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross,
wherefore God. also have highly exalted him,
and given him a name which is above every name, that at the
name of Jesus every knee should bow of things in heaven, and
things in earth, and things under the earth, and that every tongue
should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God
the Father." Let me tell you what's going to happen. Everybody's going to bow. Everybody. If in this life Almighty God
has mercy on this sinner right here, this sinner will bow in this
life and say, Lord, have mercy on me. Lord, would you show mercy
to one such as I? Lord, forgive me. And he promised. He promised. I've got God's Word
on this. He said, He that cometh to me.
I'm not going to cast you out. But listen, you refuse to come
to Him, and I'm telling you, in that day, the wicked are going
to bow at the gates of the righteous, at the door Himself. Every knee
is going to bow. Everybody's going to confess,
Lord, you're God. You're God. If He puts me in hell because
of my rebellion, He's just. He's just. Lord, I pray have
mercy on this sinner for Christ's sake.