Let's take our Bibles and turn
to the book of Proverbs, chapter 12. Proverbs, chapter 12. I was thinking before I read,
we're going to board with a look at verses 13 to 15. I was thinking,
with Jeffrey's reading, about how the scriptures in the
Old Testament, it speaks of preaching of the Word, it says the burden
of the Word of the Lord. Oh, who is sufficient for these
things? I think to myself, standing before
Shirley, some of God's elect, thinking of the responsibility
that a man has to comfort the people of God. That's what the
Lord said, comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith the Lord. Boy, how comforting it is to
hear the Word of God. Precious, precious times to be
able to be here. I'm glad that the Lord has allowed
me the privilege to be with you. The Lord told Adam concerning
the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he said, Thou
shalt not eat of it, for in the day that thou eatest thereof,
thou shalt surely Eve did eat of the tree, and they died, spiritually, immediately, and
eventually, physically. And man now, because of Adam's
original transgression, is ensnared by sin. And just as the Lord told Adam,
in the day that you eat, and you know that he didn't die physically
that day, but he did die spiritually, the Lord told him, in the day
that you eat thereof, you will surely die. Because of Adam's original transgression. Man is dead to any ability to
act toward God in an acceptable way. Apart from the illuminating grace
and power of God's Spirit, man free himself from the bondage of sin, death. John 6.65 says this, and he said,
Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto except it were given unto him
of my Father. I want you to turn to Matthew
19 for a second. Hold your place in Proverbs.
Turn to Matthew 19. Matthew 19, 24. Matthew 19, 24.
Now listen to the words of our Lord. Do you know what a blessing
it is to be able to read the Word of God out loud? Just, I
mean, just, Lord, as you said, remind me of Peter. You know,
they were fishing all night. The Lord's standing there, he
asked him, he said, you caught anything? No. He said, well,
cast your net on the other side. Peter said, we fished all night. But it's your work. Forward blessing. Man, by nature, is going to argue
with God. And again I say unto you, it's easier
for a camel to go through the eye of an eagle than for a rich
man to enter into the kingdom of God. When his disciples heard
it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? But Jesus beheld them and said
unto them, Now let's look at these next words. With men, this
is impossible. But with God, all things are
possible. With men, pertaining to man, anything whatsoever
to do with man's ability It's impossible. It's impossible. It's impossible. Who then can
be saved? I'll tell you. I'll tell you
who can be saved. Those that God saves and tells
them about it. God saves men on purpose and
then tells them about it in the gospel. What comes first, salvation or
calling? Who has saved us and called us
with the Holy Ghost. God saves men first and calls
them. And they come because He has
already made them alive. Men don't come to be made alive.
God saves them and then calls them. Almighty God must do something
for a sinner that a sinner cannot do for himself. Let me tell you
what the world's thought of salvation is. That by throwing a rope to a
struggling sinner in this life's river of woe, that that sinner
can be retrieved from the depths of the river
of woe. Throwing him a lifeline. You
ever heard that song? Throw out the lifeline. Do you know what the scripture
teaches? Is that a corpse is being washed down the river.
Then God Almighty saves and gives life. Just like what you just
said. Lord save me. You sink it. Lord
save me. When it comes to salvation, that
corpse is dead. He's not out there struggling
with a lifeline. He'd grab hold and hang on if
he'd hang on. The Lord pulled him in. No. The
corpse is dead. In fact, I doubt very seriously
if it's even floating. Usually they just sink. You've
got to go out there and get them. They're on the bottom. Without me, the Lord said, John
15, 5, you can do nothing. And you had be quickened, made
alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins. Colossians 2.13, and
you, being dead in your sins, and the uncircumcision of your
flesh, has he quickened together with him, having forgiven you
all trespasses." So it's a scriptural truth that
man, unregenerated by grace, is captive to sin and You need to change it. You can't.
That anybody even is brought unto the sound
of the gospel is by the grace of God. That's why I say, I tell
myself this first. I try to encourage myself first. Invite somebody to come. You say, well, the Lord's going
to save them if He wants to save them. I know that. He might use
you to invite them. Who knows? As I've said before,
somebody brought you. Somebody brought you. Somebody
was the means. Somebody was the mouthpiece.
God uses means. Obviously, some have heard. Some
have been regenerating. My question this morning is this,
what's the evidence of spiritual life? I want to know that. You know, I've heard men preach
on that. What is a believer? What is a
Christian? Something like that. And do you
know of the messages that I've heard before? As I said just
a little while ago, you know what, I'm so forgetful. Some
might say, Yeah, I've heard that question. Do you remember what
you heard? No, I don't. I don't either. I need to hear it again. Turn
with me to Matthew 12. Matthew chapter 12. Matthew 12. I'd like to read
starting in verse 35. This scripture gives us a sound
foundation on which to answer this question. Matthew 12, verse
35. A good man out of the good treasure
of the heart bringeth forth good things. And an evil man out of
the evil treasure bringeth forth evil. word that men shall speak, they
shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy
words thou shalt be justified, by thy words thou shalt be condemned."
Now, good things, let's talk about
some good things. A good man out of a good treasurer's heart
brings forth good things, honorable, agreeable, Now this is the first thing I
know about a good man, and the scripture speaks of that. You
know why people say, well, there's none good. No, not in themselves. But the scripture sets forth
that a good man, therefore we qualify that statement and we
say this, in ourselves there's none good, not one. So I know that in myself, I am not good. I know in me, Paul says that
is in my flesh, in my old man, in my old nature, as I am born
in Adam, there dwelleth no good thing. What does that mean? That means there's nothing there
of God, because God's good. Remember that rich young brother,
he came to the Lord and said, good master. He said, why do you call
me good? There's nothing good but God. So when we say a good
man, do you know what he's talking about? One that Almighty God
has imparted life. That's the rebirth. That's born
again. That's regenerated. I will give
you a new heart, a new spirit. I'll put my law in you a good man, one born of God and
made to be good before God Almighty only in the person of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Boy, how many times do we all
need to be reminded. Here's a believer. You've got
a believer, one man. One man. And in that one man,
two natures, one of them that absolutely will do nothing but
despise and hate God Almighty. That which is born of the flesh
is flesh. No reform. No straighten up and
fly right. No turning over a new leaf. It's a body of death. That's
what Paul said. Who shall deliver me from the
body of this? And then on the other hand, in
that believer, there's a new nature that does not sin. And that new nature, as I said
last week, that does not sin. I'll use this as an analogy,
and you that understand will understand what I'm saying. When
the Lord Jesus Christ was made sin, Psalm 40 said, My iniquities. Speaking of the Lord Jesus, my
iniquities. He owned them. He owned them. My iniquities are mine. They're
mine. He owned them. Those were His
iniquities. He bore them. He had borne our
iniquities. That word is gravity. Impregnated. I mean, that's a close relationship. My iniquities have taken hold
of me." In the same sense, a believer, one born of God, though the scripture
sets forth that that which is born of God sinneth not, the
believer, seeing his own nature, that believer admits, I own those. He said, the believer
says he owns them though he did not commit them. Paul said, O
wretched man that I am. Boy, I'm telling you, this is
a struggle, a war, a battle. But here's this battle going
on. This good man has a good heart, brings forth good things. made good by the grace of God,
new creature, a new nature given him by the grace of God, new
desire, new will. And out of that good heart, that
new heart, his mouth, the Scripture says, speaks. And even while he's speaking,
he's struggling. Boy, there's a heart there that
is just, he's so thankful to be sitting and hearing a gospel
of the Lord that he loves, and his old man is sitting there
wondering, what time is he going to be done? The same guy. Proverbs 12 verse 13
says, the wicked is snared. of the transgression of his lips.
A good man, what's the evidence of it? Out of the abundance of
a man's heart, his mouth speaks. Proverbs 12, 13 says the wicked
is snared. Here's the literal of that. The
snare of the wicked is in the transgression of his lips. You
realize by listening to what he says. You realize the snare
he's in. What do you mean? You mean that a man that sets
forth his security to be in something that he's done. I am right before
God because I gave my heart to Jesus. No, you're not. The snare is revealed. That's
what that's saying. The wicked is snared by the transgression
of his lips. Naturally speaking, you know
a liar has got to have a good memory, because sooner or later
he's going to forget what he said. unregenerated by the grace of
God, does not have the ability to be able to speak consistently
with what the Scriptures of God say about salvation. He's snared. Because there's no heart of belief
and trust in Christ, he's inconsistent. That's what he's... he's snared
with it. His speech betrays him. That's
what they told Peter. You know that. It's not sane,
but that's what happens. A man's speech betrays him. I'm a believer in the Lord Jesus
Christ, and you start naming off all these things that they've
done. The Lord said, many will say
to me in that day, haven't we done many wonderful things? We
did this, we got the other. Depart from me, you workers of
iniquity. Don't trust in yourself. Don't
trust in yourself. But the just shall come out of
trouble. That's what it says. When Almighty
God in mercy gives a man a heart, it is then that that heart cries
out for mercy. That's what Jeff was saying.
Almighty God, old Peter walking on the water, he saw the trouble. Almighty God had already given
him a heart to cry out. When he cried out, Lord save
me, the Lord gave him a heart. He had a desire to cry to the
Lord spiritually. When a man cries, he cries unto
the Lord in absolute need. Verse 14, a man shall be satisfied
with good by the fruit of his mouth, and the recompense of
a man's hands shall be rendered unto him. A man shall be satisfied
with good by the fruit of his mouth. Obviously, by the grace of God, Others profit when they hear
the words brought by the Spirit of God through the words spoken
by a believer. When the Spirit of God gives
a man, let me say it like this, a heart to speak, you profit. The Lord has given you a heart
for the glory of God in Christ, you profit when somebody speaks. Proverbs 10.21 says, the lips
of the righteous feed many. But you know what? I profit too. I need to hear what I have to
say. These words are not mine. I'm just a mouthpiece. I'm just
a voice. If I say anything inconsistent with these scriptures right here,
woe unto me. Psalm 145.10 and 11. All thy works shall praise thee,
O Lord, and thy saints shall bless thee. They shall speak
of the glory of thy kingdom and talk of thy power." Oh, what a blessing it is to
magnify the Lord, praise Him, bless Him. What dignity He gives
to our conversation, isn't it? Have you ever noticed believers
get together and I say, just give it a second. You know, all
the little chit-chat you need, before you know it, they're talking
about Him. That's what they're going to
talk about. I've said before, listen to what
a man's got to say. He'll tell you what's on his
mind, what's on his heart. Proverbs 13.2, a man shall eat
good by the fruit of his mouth. the Lord for the privilege to
be able to speak honorably concerning him. Proverbs 15, 23, ìA man hath
joy by the answer of his mouth, and a word spoken in due season.î
That word ìdueî there means ìhisî. ìHisî, not just ìhisî. In due season,
when it please God. He who works all things after
the counsel of his own will. A word spoken in due season,
how good it is. A man shall be satisfied with
good by the fruit of his mouth, and the recompense of a man's
hands shall be rendered unto him. The recompense, what's due,
that's what it says. The recompense of a man's hands
shall be rendered unto him. The devil asked the Lord, doth
Job serve God for naught? I'll tell you this, no man has
ever served God for naught. How would you name the benefits
of giving a heart that would bow to Him? How? If you had one day left, one
day left, and it was today, and you had the privilege Hear and sit and listen to the
gospel of God's grace. That's what you got. This is
what you have. You got this. This is it. You're
not going to leave this building in a few minutes. You're going
to leave this world. This is it. Do you realize, do I realize
the privilege that we have right now? This is it. This is what
we've got. The recompense of a man's hands
will be rendered unto him. Romans 2 says, Who will render
to every man according to his deeds. Let's not forget, the recompense
of a man's hands is never going to be considered according to
a man's merit. No, I'm not saying that. Those
accepted are accepted in the beloved. robed in His righteousness,
found in Him, and will hear these words, now think of it, robed
in Him, found in Him, chosen in Him, kept by Him, given faith
from above because all men, Scripture says, have not faith, walk through
this earth struggling, struggling, struggling, trying to pray, trying
to hear, trying to read, read a few verses and realize that
just Let me go back and read that again, I just don't remember
what I thought. And then to hear these words, well done, thou good and faithful
servant. How could I have ever heard those
words for one reason, because of him. who will render
to every man according to his deeds." Lord, when did we do
that? Oh, by the grace of God, believing
Christ. Those things that we do. Believing Him. By the mercy and
grace of God. Think of that woman with the
issue of blood. She tried everything else. Came to Him and touched
the hem of His garment. He said, the object of your faith. The reward of a believer is Christ. Heirs of God in joint heirs with
him. But the recompense of a man's
hands apart from the Lord Jesus Christ is going to be eternal
damnation and judgment based totally on that man's rejection
to believe that salvation was all of grace. Last verse, verse 15. The way of a fool is right in
his own eyes, but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise. The way of a fool is right in
his own eyes. Now, you know, the way of a believer,
or when I say the way of a believer, this is what I mean, the way
to the Father. The way. Our Lord clarified that. I am
the truth, I am the way, I'm the truth, I'm the life. No man
comes to the Father without me. So the way of a believer is Christ. The way of a fool is himself. His own ability, his own self-righteous
works. Here's a good rule to remember.
supposed way to God that you think has merited salvation by
your works, or by your free will, or by your effort, is wrong.
It's wrong. Quoting that scripture, not by
works of righteousness which we have done, but according to
his mercy. Do you know when we use the word
mercy, do you know what that implies? We're guilty. Nobody
needs mercy except somebody that's guilty, caught by the law, standing
before the judge. You've got one of two options.
Either God is going to show mercy or God's going to judge you.
One of the two. The way of a fool is right in
his own eyes. Proverbs 16.2 says, all the ways
of a man are clean in his own eyes. Man by nature sees no need
of direction, no counsel. He's going to follow his path
of destruction to hell unless God intervenes. The unbeliever's chief manager
is himself. Man, by nature, is his own worst
enemy. I'll tell you this. 1 Thessalonians 5,
verse 3, For when they shall say, Peace and safety, then sudden
destruction cometh upon them, as prevail upon a woman with
child, and they shall not escape. Listen to this. He that hath
hearkened unto counsel is wise. there's one Counselor. Who is He? He's the mighty God,
the Prince of Peace. God's Counselor, God's Prophet,
He that hearkens unto Oh, what a mark of grace and
proof when God gives a man or woman
a teachable spirit. They just bow and they say, like
Paul said, all these things I have entrusted in. I was born a Hebrew. The Hebrews I circumcised the
eighth day. I was at home and on and on.
All those things are done by the grace of God. There's not
one believer in here. It hasn't set in heart everything
that I ever trusted in. I've grown. I've grown. And I'll tell you something,
man, I had a long list of stuff I trusted in. And I've gone to confession. I had a man tell me that I was
absolved from my sins. He told me that. And you know all I had to do
to get absolved from them? Just say a couple of vain repetitions. And then that didn't seem to
work so I tried this other way. I had to do that a couple of
times. I had to rededicate myself a couple of times because I was
sort of strayed. But I was right. I tried different
things. Oh the grace of God that would
bring a man. to hearken unto counsel, God's
counsel. What does God Almighty have to
say? The Lord Jesus Christ is the wisdom of God. Hear Him. Hear Him. Be saved. Come unto me, all you that weep,
heavy laden. I will give you rest. If a man
does come to Him, He comes to Him because God made Him willing,
and He came in the day of God's power, and He came as a like
old blind barn maze. Man, I like that scripture. Jesus,
Thou Son of David, have mercy on me. And He did. May the Lord bless these words
to our heart.