Let's take our Bibles and turn
with me to the book of Proverbs chapter 12. Proverbs chapter
12. Let's read verses 10 and 12.
10 through 12. Proverbs 12. The scripture says a righteous
man regarded the life of his beast, but the tender mercies
of the wicked are cruel. He that tilleth his land shall
be satisfied with bread, but he that followeth vain persons
is void of understanding. The wicked desired the net of
evil men, but the root of the righteous yielded fruit. Let's ask our Lord's blessing
once again. Our Father, You instructed us to pray without
ceasing, and Lord, again we ask Your blessing upon Your Word. Father, if we see not the glory
of Christ in these passages we've seen in vain, help us. Lord, rejoice our hearts for
Christ's sake. Amen. I've quoted this, read this,
reminded us of this numerous times, but I want to do it again. or our Lord's revelation when
asked, why? Why do you preach in parables? Why do you preach in Proverbs?
And he said, because it's given unto you to know the mystery
of the kingdom of God. And unto them it's not given. I know that this book is a great mystery that is only
revealed by the Lord Jesus Christ. The mystery of the kingdom of
God, the mystery of redemption. God has a kingdom. He's given
a kingdom to His blessed Son. A church of subjects is bright. It's given unto you
to know the mystery of redemption. To them, it's not given. Now, we just read three verses
of Scripture. And I do know that we can read those verses, and
maybe not every bit of it, but as a general rule, a man can read, and out of the
bulk of what he just read, he will pick up a few things he
says, well, I understand that. I understand that. But the Lord said concerning
these parables, in Luke 8, 10, He said, to those others in the
parables not regenerated by the grace of God, He said, seeing
they might not see, and hearing they might not understand. So this morning, May we be taught
by God's Spirit concerning the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ
in the salvation and preservation of his people. Now rest assured,
in what we just read, if we don't see Christ in that, we've not
seen the gospel. If I don't preach Christ out
of these passages of Scripture, I'm not preaching the gospel.
Paul said to all under me if I don't preach the gospel. Three blessed truths that I want
to look at for just a few minutes in verses 10 to 12. Here's the
first one. Those who have been shown mercy,
given mercy in Christ, exhibit mercy. Those that have been shown
mercy from the Lord, they exhibit, they perceive,
they understand something of the mercy of God. Verse 10 says,
A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast. Now you know, just reading that
right there, I can understand something about the life of this
beast and animals. Why does it say a righteous man? What is it that is set forth
in that scripture regarding even the natural tendency of a man
to show any kind of kindness whatsoever to a beast. One that has been born of God,
robed in the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. One that
knows God, has shown mercy to Him. It's like old Blind Bartimaeus,
Jesus thou son of David. Here he was, a blind beggar. The poor is a blind beggar. What
can he do? What can he contribute? He's
a blind beggar. He could ask for mercy. They
do that. Jesus thou son of David, have
mercy on me. A righteous man regarded or knows
the life of his beast. He knows that that beast has
been created by God Almighty. When the Lord made all things,
this is what the Lord said about what He had made. Now, recognizing
I'm talking about just the housing, the feeding, the maintenance
of that beast is totally in the hands of that beast's owner. Somebody owns that beast. How sensitive does a man have
to be to see the mercy of God toward himself, in showing mercy
or kindness even to an animal that can't do anything for itself? hand at me. I am nothing in myself but a
helpless beast. And somebody's going to have
to do something for her. Mercy is what I need. And when it comes
to God's mercy, there's only one that I can look to, the Lord
Jesus Christ. Properly speaking, when we talk
about the mercy of God, we're talking about the Lord Jesus.
Turn to Luke 1. Luke 1.67. Luke 1.67. John the
Baptist's daddy, named Zacharias. Zacharias. John the Baptist's
daddy. Luke 1. And I'm talking about when we
say the mercy of God, you talk about God's mercy just, it's
Christ. Christ is the mercy of God. John, I'm sorry, Luke, if I said
John, Luke 1, verse 67, his father Zacharias was filled with the
Holy Ghost and prophesied saying, blessed be the Lord God of Israel
for he hath visited and redeemed his people, and hath raised up
a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David,
as he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been
since the world began, that we should be saved from our enemies,
and from the hand of all that hate us, to perform the mercy
promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant."
the mercy and the sending of the Lord Jesus Christ. When we
talk about the mercy of God, we're talking about Christ. It's like when we talk about
faith, it's the object of our faith. We don't look to our faith. We do not look to our faith as
far as giving us hope. When you're talking about faith,
put Him there. Without faith, it's impossible
to please God. Without Christ, impossible. So when we talk about the mercy
of God Almighty, we're talking about the Lord Jesus Christ.
So back in Proverbs, returning to our text, a righteous man
regarded the life tender, kind, merciful, because
he realizes that for himself, that without God's mercy, what
hope do we have? Almighty God has regarded the
life of His people in their needy estate. And I said, boy, I'll tell you
what, you're really stretching it. Do you not see the glorious
gospel in looking at a tree? The Lord said, I'm the vine,
you're the branches. A believer can look at a tree
and see the gospel in that. His glory is manifested in all
things. Eyes to see, see the mercy of
God. The righteous man regarded the
life of his beast and seized in that God's mercy to him. But
the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel." I'll just sum that up. I'm going
to make a few statements on it, but here's the reason. Because
he doesn't see Christ as cruel. Ten times in the scriptures. That little phrase, tender mercies,
are mentioned concerning the Lord Jesus Christ one time in
scripture pertaining to the wicked. The mercy of God was the first
part of that scripture. Mercy is only found in the Lord
Jesus Christ. The Father has eternally looked
upon His people and His blessed Son, looked upon them in mercy
and compassion. But outside of Christ, nothing is merciful. Everything is cruel. The very kindness that the wicked
shows I said, I don't see how you can
see that. How can you proclaim men to be
like that? This is how the Lord says they
are. We don't see as God sees. Outside of Christ there is no
mercy. No matter how tender the wicked
appear to be. No matter how tender a false
prophet appears to be. no matter how caring they appear
to be. We love you. We want the best
for you. We're trying to minister for the needs of our community. We're
trying to help. I thought about that tornado
that went through Tuscaloosa, down through Alabama, South Carolina,
Mississippi. How people join together, try
to help each other. I understand. I do it and you
would too. But outside of Christ, even the
tender mercies of a man toward another man is just cruelty. Because Christ is not honored. The greatest cruelty is family. in this world is when men cry,
peace, peace, and there's no peace. Set forth the Lord Jesus
Christ only, and there's mercy there. Set forth anything other than
Him, nothing but cruelty. Here's the second thing. Those
that have been shown mercy, shown Christ, make much of the means
of God's grace. The first thing I said, those
that have been shown mercy, exhibit mercy. They're merciful. They're kind. Because there's
a spirit in them of mercy. Those that have been shown mercy
make much of the means of God's grace. Verse 11 says, ìHe that
tilleth his land shall be satisfied with bread, but he that followeth
vain persons is void of understanding.î ìHe that tilleth his land shall
be satisfied with bread.î Here again, we could probably say,
ìWell, sure.î I mean, I understand that. That just means that if
you don't work, you don't eat, that's true. That is true. If you have a responsibility
to take care of your family, that's true. That's absolutely
true. But what does this verse of Scripture
right here have to do with the evidence of salvation, the evidence
of life, the evidence of regeneration, What does it have to do with
the glory of God? What does it have to do with the good of God's
people? He that tilleth his land shall be satisfied with bread. Spiritually, let's consider. What is being
said concerning a man's own land, his land? He that tilleth, he
that labors, he that serves his land, it means his soil, his
ground, shall be satisfied with bread. about a sower, a sower went forth
to sow. According to our Lord, every
man, every woman that's born into this world are considered
some kind of soil, some kind of land. Every man, every soil is going
to have to deal with God's Word. They're going to have to deal
with God. Scripture says forth that a sower
went forth to sow, and some of the seed fell by the wayside. And some of the seed fell on
stony ground, and some of it fell on thorny ground, and some
of it fell on good ground. Now, let me ask you this. What made the difference? What
made the difference between good ground and wayside ground, or
stony ground, or thorny ground? What made the difference? The grace of God. The mercy of
God. The compassion of God. Soil. I'll tell you this, there's no
difference, humanly speaking. Anybody here or anybody on the
outside of here, except for the grace of God. That's the only
difference. Either a man is in different
soil, totally indifferent, stony, thorny, or good. Some men, when they hear the
Word of God, they just refuse it outright. Some seem to exhibit
some fruit at first, but because there's no deepness of earth,
our Lord said, they wither quickly because of the offense of the
gospel. They just, it just wasn't worth
it. Some of them, for a while, appear
to be constant. But eventually the care of this
world chokes out the word, crowds it out. And that, not so much,
a lot of times, all at one time, but just over time it begins
to crowd out. And things, that as I've said
before, that didn't appear to be, to matter, begin to take
precedence. Well, I can't, you know, I'm
just, I'm just, I'm too busy. I've just got, I've got, I've
got stuff. I've got, I would, I would, I would be more consistent,
but I've got this, that and the other. I've got things to mess
and stuff. I've got, it just, and before you know it, it just
doesn't matter anymore. And a man and a woman, or a woman
will always justify it. It's always justified in their
mind. It always appears as though it's
real. Let me ask you this, what will a man give in exchange for
his soul? What will you give? What is more important than worshiping
God? What is more important than hearing
the Word? What is more important than the
support of the ministry. What's more important? But on some, the Scripture says,
the seed fell and it was good ground, and it brought forth some thirty, some sixty, some
a hundredfold. And I thought on that, I looked
and I considered that fruit that was produced. Who produced it? Who produced it? The Spirit of
God. It is the fruit of God's It is not my doing, it's His. Love, joy, peace. I know that
the producing of the fruit of God's Spirit is totally according
to the mercy and grace of God. I'm so glad to say that because I hate to even admit what I produce. But in the producing of fruit,
an amazing thing is seen to happen. Something absolutely amazing
happens. Almighty God draws His people
tied in just exactly to what I just preached. Any man that
will come after me will deny himself. You'll take up His cross
and you'll follow Me. I know this. I absolutely am
convinced that the gospel that we preach, Paul the Apostle says,
my gospel is gospel. The gospel of God that has been
committed to him that he preached. But we readily admit this is
God's gospel. This is God's gospel. This is
God's truth. This is God's Word. And through the foolishness of
preaching, God calls out His people. He teaches. Think of what we've learned. Think of all the years that we've
said it in the Gospel. And how the Spirit of God has
taken the Word of God. You read something and you think,
I've never read that before, but I still think I've never
seen it like that. Think of how settled your heart is concerning
your life, dying, having to face God. Think how settled you are
based on God's Word that He's taught you. I know this, that without Him
I could do nothing. I know that. But the means of His grace, He's
raised up a congregation. And we never want to take lightly
the privilege to be here. But do we ever really hear anything
any different? No. It's always concerning keeping His people, and His people
love to hear it over and over and over again. And here we are,
assembling ourselves together, and by the grace of God, Wednesday
night we'll be here next Sunday. Good ground. Spirit of God producing
fruit and causing you to do That which He has instructed you to
do. Hear the gospel. Telling your land. And finding
absolutely no confidence in what you've done. You're here. Listening. Do you look at something
you've done today as far as something that would have merited more
honor before God Almighty because you showed up? No. I just want
to be where God is. The Lord has said where two or
three are gathered together in my name, I'm in the midst of
you. I want to be there. Here is soil made good by the
grace of God. And here you are tilling your
land. And not finding anything to boast
in save Jesus Christ, Him crucified. Studying the scriptures. Going
through the book of Proverbs verse by verse and struggling
with every verse I preach on. Sitting here and trying to study
during the day and go home and trying to think of what I read
and asking the Lord, Lord, I don't know what it means. Lord, help
me. Lord, I don't want to show up
Sunday and not have some light. Lord, would you help me? Please,
help me. And here we are, sitting here,
studying God's Scriptures, and in your heart, you're saying
to yourself, show me Christ in that. If I see Christ in that,
my heart rejoices, telling you I am. Doing the only thing we
know to do. Search His Word, hear His Gospel,
seeking Him In our closet, by yourself. Get along. And here He has said, and when
you pray. I told you how my heart just
struggles so much. I was talking to Todd. I think I told some of you this.
I was talking to Todd Knightley the other day, and Todd made
a statement. And he said, Martin, I'm just, I'm just trying to
pray. I'm trying to pray for you, trying
to pray for others, trying to. It didn't hit me at first. I
thought about it later. I thought, you know, I don't
know if I've ever truly prayed. Tried. Lord, help me. The Spirit of God sent forth
this word. We don't know what to pray for.
He prays for us with groanings that can't be uttered. Here I
am just struggling. Struggling to preach. Struggling
to pray. Struggling to look. Struggling
to ask. Casting myself upon the mercy
of God, Lord help me. If you don't help me, where am
I going to go? What am I going to do? the mercy of God, he that tilleth
his land shall be satisfied with bread. These means, oh, the blessed
means of the gospel. God's people don't labor or work
for their salvation, but in the Lord, the scripture says they
do labor. They do work, they do till. Paul
said, Salute, triphina and triphosa, who labor in the Lord. Salute
the beloved person which labored much in the Lord. Paul said in
1 Thessalonians 1-3, Remembering without ceasing your work of
faith, your labor of love, your patience of hope in our Lord
Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father. Three types of ground spoken
of that absolutely produced nothing because God left it to Himself.
But if the Lord makes some soil good, and obviously He does. He said some fell on good soil,
good ground, and it brought forth fruit. He that has called you
He's going to work in you to will and to do His good purpose. And you're going to show up,
you're going to hear the gospel, and you'll seek His scriptures,
and you'll call upon Him in prayer, making much of His means of grace. He that tilleth His land shall
be satisfied with bread, the bread of life Himself. The Lord said, knock, seek and
ask. And boy, do we ever seek to do
that. He said, it's going to be open
to you. I'll teach you. Ask. But he that followeth vain persons
is a boy of understanding. He that is chasing vanities A man is either going to follow
Christ or he is going to follow that which is worthless. And then the third last thing,
those that have been shown mercy love the security of being in
Christ and having salvation by the grace of God alone. They
love it. The wicked desireth the net of
evil men, but the root of the righteous yieldeth fruit." A
man depraved, dead, he desires the net or the fortress of evil. He thinks that his fortress,
his net, is his salvation. He thinks that what he's done
has made him accepted before God Almighty. The wicked desireth
the net of evil men. The trap of evil men. A fortress that they cannot get
out of. but for the grace of God. That's
what they want. That's what they desire. Man by nature, blind, dead. What he wants, this is what I
want, by nature. I desire the fortress, the trap,
that which I cannot get out of, the net of evil. thinking that his ability will
cause him to stand before God Almighty. You remember when our
Lord said, many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, haven't
we? They just started naming them
all. Hadn't I done this? Hadn't I done that? What about
this? What about that? Depart from me, you workers of
iniquity. That net has one end. the judgment of Almighty God.
Man in his blinded state desires
the judgment of God. He's running down to the pit
just as fast as he can, but for some. Salvation has been
found. The Lord found a substitute to
deliver him from going down to the pit. The wicked desire the net of
evil men, but the root of the righteous yieldeth fruit." Who
is the root? It's Christ. What has Christ
Himself done? He's yielded fruit. He has a
people. And He's going to bring those
that the Father has everlastingly loved, He's going to bring them
home. He'll bring them to himself,
present them to the Father, faultless, holy. For all grafted into the
vine by sovereign mercy, God Almighty is pledged. Philippians 1.11, being filled
with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ unto
the glory and praise of God. A righteous man regardeth the
life of his beast, but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.
He that tilleth his land shall be satisfied with bread, but
he that followeth vain persons is void of understanding. The
wicked desire the net of evil men. but the root of the righteous,
Christ Himself, who yields free. May the Lord bless these words
to our heart and cause us to behold once again the indescribable
mercy of God in Christ for His honor in our good.