Let's take our Bibles once again
and turn to the book of Proverbs chapter 12. Proverbs chapter
12. I'm telling you, I continually
am reminded of our Lord's words, the disciples, Lord, why do you
speak in parables? He said, because it's given unto
you to know the mystery of the kingdom of God. It's not given
unto them. It's given unto you. And this
morning as our blessed Lord, through His Holy Spirit, speaks, pray that you might hear. Lord,
cause me to hear. I want to hear. that a believer hears the voice
of the shepherd. There's no doubt about that.
My sheep hear my voice. And I know them. And they follow
me. Isn't it wonderful? I mean just, I was thinking about
it a few moments ago. To hear the voice of the master
say, that was his word. That wasn't my word, that was
his word. How can I not send him? He doesn't
charge you with it. And if he doesn't charge you
with it, it wasn't yours. Christ put it away. My sheep
hear my voice. You know, that is a scriptural
reference. I know that there was some that
actually heard the physical voice of the Lord. I know Saul of Tarsus
did. Acts 9 verse 4 says Saul heard
a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? But we don't hear his voice physically. what we hear. We hear it in His
Word, we hear it in His promise, we hear it in His providence,
and we discern that's the voice of the Lord. That's His voice. How do you know? How do you know
when it's the voice of the Lord? How do you know when it's the
voice of the Shepherd? Here's how you know. When you hear the
voice of the Shepherd, Does that voice, number one, expose you
for what you are? In yourself, does it expose you?
Does it convict you of what you are? Does it bring you down? And then does it lift you up?
Does it cause you to find great comfort in hearing? the blessed voice of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Does that voice cause you to
look away from yourself? Well now, I'll tell you this,
there's a real key note right there. If the voice that you
hear does not draw you to look away from yourself and your works,
it's not the voice of the shepherd. It's the voice of the deceiver.
His voice draws you to see him only as all of your own. Peace and comfort. Let's look
at one verse of scripture this morning. Proverbs 12.25. Heaviness in the heart of a man
maketh it stoop. But a good word maketh it glad. Heaviness. Heaviness in the heart
of the man maketh it stoop. The word heaviness there is concern. Concern. Concern for God's honor, concern for His glory, His honor, the Lord's people, they reverence
Him. You think back what we read,
what Paul the Apostle talked about in Romans 7. He said, I
see a law in me. When I would do good, I don't know how to accomplish
that myself. Thanks be unto God. Thanks be
unto God. Gifts me, reveals to me, teaching
me. Heaviness in the heart. You know why believers are here
this morning? They want some comfort. Don't
you? You want some comfort. And don't
try to glaze over it, sugar coat it. I do see, as Paul said, I do
see in me a law, a heaviness, a body of death. Tell me, tell me, be honest with
me, tell me. I know you're not going to fool
me. David said in Psalm 51-3, I acknowledge my transgressions. My sin is ever before me. Mine. I did that. Joseph said, I've
sinned. What shall I do unto thee, O
thou preserver of men? Paul then says, we read a while
ago, wretched man that I am. The prodigal said in Luke 15,
I've sinned against heaven before thee. heaviness in the heart. Concern. Concern because of the presence
of sin. As I said just a few minutes
ago, man when you know that there's a presence of something and you're
having to walk around with it and the Lord tells you When I put that away, I feel
the pain of what I actually see in myself. Oh, when I can be
honest about it, I acknowledge my transgressions. If we confess
our sins, you know what that means? If we confess what we
are, if we confess If we confess our sins, He's coming just to
forgive us of our sins. You know why He can forgive us
of it? Because He charged the guilt of it to Christ. If we
confess our sins, and a believer has no problem whatsoever being
honest with God, I acknowledge my transgression. I have sinned. I'm the man. Oh, and how am I
brought to this? As I said a while ago, you know
why men by nature are not concerned? They don't see themselves in
need of a Savior. Let me tell you how merciful
the Lord is. Turn over to Psalm 70. If you're
a Proverbs, just keep flipping back to the next book. Well, it's Ecclesiastes, then
Psalm of Solomon. Psalm of Solomon 4, 16. Let me tell you what's going
on. Heaviness. Heaviness. This is what the scripture
says. Heaviness in the heart of a man
maketh it stoop. Put a good word, maketh it prowl.
I know this. Heaviness, concern. Concern is
what that word is. Anxiousness. Put a good anxiousness.
Concern for God's honor, God's glory, God's praise. Say in this
body of death that I'm walking around in, who shall separate
me from this? He will. But concern for His
honor. Oh, let me tell you what a blessing,
what a blessing, what a blessing. You said, yeah, but I grieve
over what I am. Oh, what a blessing. They can
say it's good that I've been afflicted. It's good. I thought that meant just physical
affliction. It might. But I tell you this,
there's a spiritual affliction too that I just, you know, that
I walk around with. Let's just be honest about it.
How did I get there? You know a man that's dead and
he trespasses and sins, he don't care. Does it grieve? Do you know any unbelievers that
really grieve over rebellion against God? There's none. Let
me tell you that. Before you answer, there aren't
any. They're not grieving over rebellion
against God. Only a believer. Let's look at
Psalm 416. Awake! Now, let me tell you, from back
in our study, if you want to go back, but I'll just tell you
what we said. That wind is the Spirit of God. The Spirit that's
like the wind, that blows, very listening. And you hear the sound
there, but you don't know where it's coming from, you don't know
where it's going. Everyone born of the Spirit is like the wind,
sovereign. Away, O north wind, and come
thou sound. That north wind is that cold
wind to us, cold to us, that convicts us of what we are. Exposes
our nakedness before God. Of what we are in ourselves.
Away go north winds, teach my people what they are. Teach them what I've saved them. Show them what they are as having
fallen in agony. Show them what they are as they
walk in this earth, as pilgrims, sojourners in a wilderness, and
they know this is not my home. I see this old body of mine. Body of mine. What a blessing that God can
show a man or woman what they are. What a blessing. You know what, it's just hard
to be proud when you see yourself as just unable. I just can't
do that. Away go north wind and come thou
south. Same spirit, but the warmth of
the comfort of telling God's people that he's shown what they
are in themselves and he comforts them with a soothing warmth of
God's spirit that teaches them how he's put away their demons.
What's going to be the fruit of that? Blow up on my garden. You know, I'm heartily proud
of our garden. You've got a garden going. You
want somebody to come out here, whether you've got corn or beans
or flowers. Come out here and say, look at
my garden. Look at that. Look at them beans. Look at those tomatoes. If you
have a bunch of flowers, look at that. Boy, it smelled, didn't that
smell good? I like to smell dirt. Now you
know I've had people say, I do, I really do, I like the smell
of dirt. Don't you, Jim? I like, I like the, I remember
I used to be up here with my dad. I remember my dad telling
me that one time. He said, I like the smell of
dirt. And I smelled that and I thought, I got to where I thought,
you know what, I like that. Blow up on my garden. quiet that
the spices thereof may flow out, all that which God has produced
by his Holy Spirit. Let my beloved come into his
garden and eat his pleasant fruits. There's the Lord speaking and
there's the bride speaking back. Blow, O north wind, show my people
their continual need of me, and then blow, O south wind, Tell
them what I've done for them. Tell them that I put away their
guilt. Remind them that I am their substitute. Remind them
that I am their high priest. Remind them that I ever lived
to make intercession for them. You tell them that again. Why,
that the spices that just come forth, the smell of fragrance. Oh, how wonderful does grace
smell to a believer. Doesn't this smell? Doesn't this
message smell good? Doesn't this taste good? Doesn't
this sound good? Man, I tell you, don't take up
my time and bore me and make me mad and stuff like that. Don't
tell me how I ought to be, you know, doing so and so and giving
the rules. Tell me how the Lord has put
away my guilt. But when you tell me how the
Lord has put away my guilt, I'm going to know something about
what I'm still dealing with in this life right here. Listen, do you remember when
David sinned against the Lord with Bathsheba, and God sent
a prophet to him? 2 Samuel 12, 13. David, after Nathan came and
told David, this is what you do. You're the man. You're the
man. And David said to Nathan, ìI
have sinned against the Lord.î And Nathan said to David, ìThe
Lord also has put away your sin.î ìI shall not know.î ìI have sinned
against God. Blow, O north wind.î And Nathan
says, ìThe Lord put away your sin. O blow, south wind.î He
teaches me a new concept of His substitution. Oh, the blessing
of hearing from the one who has been offended, that he has found
a ransom, he in justice put away my guilt before himself. Tell me that one, because that
cold wind, when I see that sin in myself, And I think, why? Why do I act like that? Tell me again how the Lord has
forgiven me. Lord have mercy upon me. Forgive
me for Christ's sake. And the assurance of God's word
tells me your sins have been forgiven. Blessed is what we quoted this
morning, Psalm 32, verse 1. Blessed is he whose transgression
is forgiven. whose sin is covered, blessed
is the man unto whom the Lord imputed not iniquity, and in
whose spirit there is no doubt." God Almighty who chose a peculiar
people to Himself, and purposed to save them, made His Son to
be their substitute in obedience and suffering, redeemed Him. Paul, writing to the Church of
Corinth, said, being dead in your sins, and the uncircumcision
of your flesh, as he quickened together with him, having forgiven
you all trespasses, blotting out the handwriting of ordinances
that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out
of the way, nailing it to his cross. And having spoiled principalities
in power, he made a show of them open, then them in it. Yes, heaviness in the heart of
man makes it stupid. The realization of the presence
of sin draws me in heart. Heaviness in the heart makes
a man in the heart stupid. It caused me to be prospering
before forgives me for Christ's sake. It reveals the mercy of God,
heaviness in the heart. May I make it this too, but a
good word. Make me glad. A good word. And there's none good but God.
A good word. Tell me what God has to say. about putting away sin. Not what
man says, don't tell me how sin is putting away by me walking
down the line. God didn't say that. God Almighty
didn't say that a man's sin is put away by man praying through.
God didn't say that. Tell me what God says about absolute
justice being satisfied. Tell me something that this world
could have never come up with, that Almighty God took one who
in himself, pure, holy, spotless Lamb of God. Tell me again how
God Almighty made him sin, or else he who knew no sin. that we might be made the righteousness
of God. Tell me one more time how that
in Him there's no sin, no charge, no charge. Tell me one more time
because I'm still struggling seeing what I am in myself. And
that heaviness, concern in the heart makes me speak, Lord, oh,
what a merciful God you are for showing me what I am in myself. And a good word makes me glad. And I can go to sleep tonight
with that. I can lay down tonight and I can say, you know what? The Lord tore away my guilt.
Does that leave a man to be Licentious. Carefree. Just don't care. Disregard
his word. Disregard his gospel. Disregard
his people. Oh no. That'll make him stupid.
He'll stoop. He'll stoop. He'll stoop in heart. Tell me. Just tell me one more
time. One more time will suffice. And you know they'll believe
it. They'll leave this world. Which I have to. Tell me one
more time. When I'm on the death bed, when I'm laying there and
the checking account don't matter anymore. When all the land and all that,
when I'm getting ready to leave this world, tell me one more
time how God put away my guilt. Tell me how to stand before Him
in Christ, justified before God's love. Tell me that one more time
and it will suffice me. Oh may the Lord bless our hearts
with these words from Christ's name. Amen.