I'm going to ask you to take
your Bibles and turn with me to the book of 2 Kings. 2 Kings. I would like to read verses 1 to 33. I would normally not read that
many verses, to really grasp hold of the meaning. Before we read, let's have a
word of prayer. Our Father, how thankful we are
this evening for the blessed privilege to be here in the very
presence of our Savior. knowing that all that is done
and said to be preached aright is to be to His honor and the
good of Your people. Lord, would You bless the service
this evening and help us. For Christ's sake, Amen. In the twelfth year of Ahaz, king of Judah, began Hoshea. the son of Elah to reign in Samaria
over Israel nine years, and he did that which was evil in the
sight of the Lord, but not as the kings of Israel that were
before him. Against him came up Shalmaneser,
king of Assyria, and Hoshea became his servant and gave him presence.
And the king of Assyria found conspiracy in Hoshea. For he had sent messengers to
Saul king of Egypt and brought no present to the king of Assyria
as he had done year by year. Therefore the king of Assyria
shut him up and bound him in prison. And the king of Assyria
came up throughout all the land and went up to Samaria and besieged
it three years. of Hosea, the king of Assyria
took Samaria and carried Israel away into Assyria and placed
them in Halah and Habar by the river of Gozan in the cities
of the Medes. For so it was that the children
of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God, which had
brought them out of the land of Egypt from under the hand
of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods, and walked
in the statutes of the heathen. whom the Lord cast out from before
the children of Israel and of the kings of Israel which they
had made. And the children of Israel did
secretly those things that were not right against the Lord their
God. And they built them high places
in all their cities from the tower of the watchman to the
fenced city. And they set them up images in
groves in every high hill and under every green tree. And there
they burnt incense in all the high places, as did the heathen
whom the Lord carried away before them, and wrought wicked things
to provoke the Lord to anger. And they served idols, whereof
the Lord had said unto them, Ye shall not do this thing. Yet the Lord testified against
Israel and against Judah by all the prophets and by all the seers. saying, Turn ye from your evil
ways, and keep my commandments and my statutes according to
all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent
to you by my servants, by the prophets. Notwithstanding, they
would not hear, but hardened their necks like to the neck
of their fathers that did not believe in the Lord their God,
and they rejected his statutes. his covenant that he made with
their fathers, his testimony which he testified against them,
and they followed vanity, and became vain, and went after the
heathen that were round about them, concerning whom the Lord
had charged them that they should not do like them. And they left
all the commandments of the Lord their God, and made them molten
images, even two calves, and made a grove, and worshipped
all the host of heaven, and served Baal. And they caused their sons,
their daughters, to pass through the fire and use divination and
enchantments and sold themselves to do evil in sight of the Lord
to provoke Him to anger. Therefore the Lord was very angry
with Israel and removed them out of His sight. There was none
left but the tribe of Judah only. And Judah kept not the commandments
of the Lord their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel which
they made. And the Lord rejected all the
seed of Israel, and afflicted them, and delivered them into
the hand of spoilers, till he had cast them out of his sight.
For he rent Israel from the house of David, and they made Jeroboam
the son of Nebat king. And Jeroboam drove Israel from
following the Lord, and made them sin, a great sin. For the
children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam, which
he did, and they departed not from them. until the Lord removed
Israel out of His sight as He had said by all His prophets,
by all His servants, the prophets. So was Israel carried away out
of their own land to Assyria until this day. And the king
of Assyria brought men from Babylon and from Cuthah and from Abah
and from Hamath and from Sepharvim and placed them in the cities
of Samaria instead of the children of Israel. and they possessed
Samaria, and dwelt in the cities thereof. And so it was at the
beginning of their dwelling there that they feared not the Lord.
Therefore the Lord sent lions among them, which slew some of
them. Wherefore they spake to the king
of Assyria, saying, The nations which thou hast removed and placed
in the cities of Samaria know not the manner of the God of
the Lamb. Therefore he has sent lions among
them, whole they slay them, because they know not the manner of the
God of the land. Then the king of Assyria commanded,
saying, Carry thither one of the priests whom ye brought from
Thames, and let them go and dwell there, and let him teach them
the manner of the God of the land. Then one of the priests
whom they had carried away from Samaria came and dwelt in Bethel,
and taught them how they should fear the Lord. Howbeit, every
nation made gods of their own, and put them in the houses of
the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in their
cities wherein they dwelt. And the men of Babylon made Sukkoth-binoth,
and the men of Kuth made Nergal, and the men of Hamath made Ashyma,
and the Avites made Nibhaz, and Tartac and the Sepharvites burnt
their children in fire to Adrammelech and Anamelech, the gods of Sepharbaim. So they feared the Lord and made
unto themselves of the lowest of them priests of the high places
which sacrificed for them in the houses of the high places."
They feared the Lord. and serve their own gods after
the manner of the nations whom they carried away from thence." The king of Syria had besieged
Samaria and he carried Israel into the cities of the Medes Israel sinned against the Lord
and feared other gods. Then the king of Assyria, after
he had taken Israel out of Samaria, brought men from heathen places
that didn't fear the Lord, and he put them instead in the cities
of Samaria in the place of the children of Israel. And because the heathen that
was placed in Samaria didn't know or fear the Lord, the Lord
sent lions into that place and killed some of the heathens.
Well, the heathens complained to the king of Assyria because
they said, we don't know the manner. of the God that was being
served by Israel while they were here. And he sent lions in here
to punish us. You need to do something. Well,
the king of Assyria commanded one of the priests from Israel
to be brought back to Bethel in the land of Samaria. to teach
the heathen how to fear the Lord. He was going to go through and
teach them. This is what you get. It's going to be A, B, C,
D. This is how you do it. This is
how you're going to have to worship God. Well, hearing the instruction
of the priest, the heathen merely took verbal instruction from
the priest. And all in the world they did
was they heard what he was saying and they took their own gods
and substituted their gods for the true and living God. At verse 33, they feared the
Lord. and serve their own gods. That's
what I have entitled this message tonight. They feared the Lord. Now I looked up that word fear. You know there's a scripture
that says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. That
word means reverence. They reverenced Him. This word
fear right here means they were afraid of Him. They were afraid
of God. and they served their own gods.
They were afraid of the Lord, but they served their own gods. They were afraid of the lions
that God was going to send. They were afraid of what God
would do to them, but they had a heart for their own God. I read a statement that John
Mason, Old preacher back from the 1600s made last week. And after reading that statement,
I read it a few times, thought on it, read it another time or
two and thought on it. And my heart was stirred to preach
this message this evening after reading a statement that he had
made. This is what John Mason said.
He said, a man may worship the true God without being a true
worshipper of God. Now when I first read that, I
thought, now wait a minute, let me think on that again. A man
may worship the true God and not be a true worshipper, that's
the way he said it, of God. And the more I thought on it,
I believe Scripture bears that out. A man may worship the true
God and not be a true worshiper of God. The first thing that
we've got to establish is understanding the word worship. It means to pay homage to or
to ascribe worth. Now, when it comes to paying
homage Every man either worships truly
or he doesn't worship truly. Now, men are going to worship.
Whether it's a true worship or a false worship, all men worship
one way or the other. Listen to the words of our Lord.
We've been going through in the book of John, chapter 4. Remember
the Lord was speaking to the woman at the well. It says, "...the
hour cometh, and now end. Now he is, when the true worshipers
shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth. True worshipers. Well, knowing that he made the
statement that there are true worshipers, you've got to assume
that there are false worshipers. The word true, true worshipers,
means this, that which is not only the name and resemblance,
but possesses the true nature that corresponds to the name.
Not just someone that resembles outwardly or says that they are,
but one that absolutely possesses the true nature of a worshiper. Now let me show you, let me show
you, turn, I want you to turn to Numbers 23. And I want you
to listen to a man that made a statement. His name was Balaam. Numbers 23. And here is a false
prophet. And I want you to listen to the
words of this false prophet. And I'm going to show you that
he was a false prophet. Numbers chapter 23, verse 8 to 10. Balaam
had been tempted to curse the nation of
Israel. Listen to the words of Balaam. Numbers 23, verse 8. How shall
I curse whom God hath not cursed? Or how shall I defy whom the
Lord hath not defied? For from the top of the rocks
I see Him, and from the hills I behold Him. Lo, the people
shall dwell alone and shall not be reckoned among the nations.
Who can count the dust of Jacob and the number of the fourth
part of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous,
and let my last end be like his." Now, you know, when you first
read that, you think, that sounds pretty good. Where I look, I
see him. I behold, let me die the death
of the righteous." Let me tell you what the Scripture, 2 Peter
2.4, let me tell you what the Scripture says concerning Balaam. 2 Peter 2.14, having eyes full of adultery
that cannot cease from sin, beguiling unstable souls, a heart They
have exercised with covetous practices cursed children which
have forsaken the right way and are going astray following the
way of Balaam, the son of Bozar, who loved the wages of unrighteousness." Here was a man that outwardly
sounded like he had a good confession. Here was a man that made Good
words concerning the God of heaven. How am I going to curse who God
has not cursed? Oh, that I might die the death
of the righteous. That my end might be like His. I want you
to turn to Daniel 4. Daniel chapter 4. Daniel 4, verses 34 to 37. The thing that is so amazing
about Nebuchadnezzar is that scripture never bears out. Every commentary I read on Nebuchadnezzar,
every one of them had this, whether it was John Gill, Robert Hawker,
whoever it was, every one of them ended with this statement. Nebuchadnezzar's end appears
as though that he was an unbeliever. Scripture never bears out. God Almighty had taken this man's
mind away from him. Nebuchadnezzar stood up one day
and looked out over Babylon. He said, Oh, look at this great
Babylon that I've built. Look what I've done. Look how
mighty I am. Look how wonderful I am. And
while the words were in his mouth, God took his mind away from him
They put him out in the grass. Seven years he stayed out in
the fields and grazed. Hair was matted together like
eagle's feathers. Great King Nebuchadnezzar. Just like an animal out there
eating grass. And God gave his mind back. But
no record is ever given Concerning this man's true conversion, Mr. Hawker said this. He said, I'll
leave this to the reader to decide. God never decided it. But listen
to what Nebuchadnezzar said after God gave his mind back. Verse
34, Daniel 4, 34, At the end of days, I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted
up mine eyes into heaven. Mine understanding returned unto
me, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honored him
that liveth forever, whose dominion is and everlasting dominion.
His kingdom is from every generation to generation. All the inhabitants
of the earth are reputed as nothing. He doeth according to His will
in the army of heaven among the inhabitants of the earth, and
none can stay His hand or say unto Him, What doest Thou? At
the same time, my reason returned unto me, and for the glory of
my kingdom, mine honor, my brightness returned unto me, and my counsel
is my Lord's. sought unto me, and I was established
in my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added unto me. Now
I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven,
above whose works are truth, all whose works are truth, and
His ways judgment, those that walk in pride He is able to abase." Good words. but to get to the source of a
man that will give homage to Almighty God and not know God
in regeneration, we've got to go back to the garden, what happened
in the garden. Satan came to Eve, Genesis 3,
verse 1, and he saith unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye
shall not eat of every tree of the garden. Now let me tell you what Satan
did. He gave homage to the Lord's existence. Has God said that? God exists. Satan admitted that. Look at Job chapter 1. Job 1,
verse 8. Satan is going to have something
else. The reason I'm saying this is because our Lord said to the
Pharisees, He said, You are of your father the devil. Listen
to Satan. Job 1, verse 8. The Lord said unto Satan, Hast
thou considered My servant Job? that there is none like him in
the earth, a perfect upright man, one that feareth God, escheweth
evil. Then Satan answered the Lord
and said, Dost Job fear God for naught? Hast thou not made a
hedge about him and about his house, about all that he hath
on every side? Hast thou blessed the work of
his hands, and his substance is increased in the land?" Satan paid homage. to God's power
and His mercy to His people. So did Balaam. But one would ask, can worship
or at least verbal homage be attributed to unbelief? Our Lord
told the woman at the well, you worship. you know not what. Just like the heathen that were
in Samaria, placed in Samaria by the king of Assyria. It's
like Balaam. It's like the woman at the well.
A man may give homage, outward verbal worship, to the true God,
Without being a true worshipper of God, I can read in Scripture
where it's happened. Well, that brings me to the message
of hope. I could never leave us there. What hope is that? To say that
there are some that are false worshippers? I can read of Balaam. I can read of Nebuchadnezzar.
Whether or not Nebuchadnezzar was a believer or not, the Scripture
never bears out that he was. And so we don't walk and start
creating light where the Scripture has not set forth light. I can
see where there were some back in the book of 2 Kings where
they feared the Lord. They were afraid of God. They
feared the Lord, but they served their gods. They gave homage
to Him because they didn't want the lions to come back. Who are the true worshipers of
God? I've got five things that I want to say about true worshipers. Mason said this, a man can worship
the true God, give verbal homage to. And that's all it is. It's
not true worship. Because the Lord distinguished
true worshipers. They worship in spirit and truth. He told the woman at the well,
you don't know who you worship. You worship, but you don't know
who you worship. Five things about true worshipers. Here's the first one. True worshipers
are new creatures born of God. 2 Corinthians 5.17, Therefore,
if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. All things are
passed away. Behold, all things are become
new. He's a new creature. Ezekiel
11.19 says, I will give them one heart. I'll put a new spirit
within you. I will take the stony heart out
of their flesh, and I will give them a heart of flesh. I will
take that which reigns prior to regeneration." It's not going
to reign anymore. Presence of sin, yes. But does
it reign? No. To worship in spirit and in truth,
God must give me A new spirit, a new will, a new life. A spirit that truly worships
according to Him who is truth. That's a true worshiper. A true
worshiper is born from above. Every man, every woman that's
born in this world without the regenerating grace of God, They're
afraid of God because there's a conscience in them that's afraid
of God. A man that's a criminal is afraid
to get caught. You know what that comes right
down to? He's afraid of that which is right. He's afraid of
law. He's afraid of honor. He's afraid
of the penalty. That's why. There is within every
man an homage that's paid to the God of this world. I mean
the God of heaven, not the God of the world, God of heaven.
A true worshiper is one that is born from above. True worshipers
in regenerating power and grace, they know God. That's what the
Lord said, John 17, 3. This is life eternal, that they
might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou
hast sent. To know God is more than just
a speculative knowledge of His existence. Devils know that. The knowledge that He gives,
true knowledge, is knowledge that loves and reverences and
obeys and honors God Almighty. They believe God. They love Him. They trust Him. A true worshiper
is a new creature born from above. Here's the second thing. A true
worshiper is one that knows that salvation is all of grace through
faith in Christ. That's a true worshiper. Romans
4, 5, But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that
justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Let me give you a little something
that will help you understand that scripture a little bit more.
It did me. Where it says his faith, it means the object of
his faith. the object of his faith. The
object of his faith is counted, or that word counted there is
esteemed or concluded to be righteousness. To him that worketh not, but
believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, Christ is considered
to be his righteousness. That's what Paul said. A true
worshipper is one that knows that God Almighty has saved him
by grace apart from anything that he could do. One that is just merely afraid
of God. He'll go through the motions.
He'll go through all the religious motions in the world because
he just doesn't want to be caught short. I don't know which one is right,
but I may try them all. If I can cover my bases, I'll
make sure that everything's covered. Because salvation is all of grace. True worshippers forsake their
former false trusts for salvation. A true worshipper will forsake
everything else." You know, we've read this so many times, but
we're going to read it again. Philippians chapter 3, a true
worshiper, you ask him, say, what do you trust in? I tell
you what, I don't trust in anything that I used to trust in. Paul
said, Philippians chapter 3, verse 4, though I might have
also confidence in the flesh, if any other man thinketh that
he have whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more. Circumcised
the eighth day of the stock of Israel, the tribe of Benjamin,
a Hebrew of the Hebrews, touching the law, a Pharisee concerning
zeal, persecuting the church, touching righteousness, which
is in the law, blameless. But what things were gained to
me, those I counted lost for Christ. I was circumcised the eighth
day of the stock of Israel. So what? I walked down the aisle three
times that I can remember, baptized. So what? I prayed the sinner's prayer.
So what? I'm a member of this church.
I'm faithful. So what? True worshipers. forsake all
works of self-righteousness. They count them but lost. They
have no confidence in the flesh. And in heart, they experience
their need of Christ. John 6, 67, will you go away
also? Will you also go away? And Simon
Peter answered Him, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the
words of eternal life. This world will tell you that
salvation is in the church. No. Salvation is not in the church. Salvation is in Christ. True worshipers know that salvation
is all of grace. Number three. True worshipers
follow Christ. True worshipers. follow Christ. My sheep hear my voice. I know
them, and they follow me." The very heart. Now, I thought
on this a long time, because that's one of those statements.
When you read that, there's a verse of Scripture that you read. And
if you're like me, this is what I said or asked myself. What does that mean? My sheep,
hear my voice, I know them and they follow me. They follow me. Now, I know it's so. I know it's
true. But here's the only thing about
it. You're going to have to tell me what it means. Because according
to that Scripture right there, that's the evidence of life. hear my voice, I know them and
they follow me." The heart of understanding what it means to
follow Christ, I believe, is found in this scripture. Let
me read it to you. John 8, 12. Then spake Jesus unto them, saying,
I am the light of the world. He that followeth me, shall not
walk in darkness, but have the light of life." He that followeth
Me shall not walk in the darkness of error and ignorance concerning
the salvation of God's people. A man that follows Christ knows
that salvation is all of grace. He knows that the Lord Jesus
Christ is the light of life and he possesses Him who is the light
of life. This is what it is to follow
Christ, to trust Him, to believe Him,
to be the only way to the Father. That's what it is to follow Christ,
to believe Him, to trust Him. Now, I do understand that those
that follow Christ, they're led by the Spirit of God. And in
heart, when providence dictates the lot that will come your way
at any time, Whatever comes your way today, tonight, tomorrow,
whatever comes your way, whatever lot is laid upon you, this is
what a believer will say, Lord, what would you have me to do?
And his answer is, you follow me. And the Spirit of God is
going to lead God's people. I mean, I could sit here and
tell you and try to give you all kinds of examples and stuff.
What is that going to do? All I'll do is just fill up a
bunch of words. To follow Christ is to not walk
in darkness concerning how God Almighty justifies a sinner and
saves His people. And it's to believe Him and trust
Him. The lot is laid into the lap,
and the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord." God's people
are led. The lot that was laid on Moses,
what did Moses do? Did he believe God? Abraham?
Carl? A true worshiper does not walk
in darkness. He looks for Christ. He sees
Christ. Oh, I will say this. These Scriptures
right here set forth the glory of our blessed Lord. And through
this Word, the Spirit of God is going to direct and guide.
And God's people, they're going to follow Him. Number four, true worshipers
are grieved over the very presence of sin. and the inconsistency
that they see within themselves. That's a true worshiper. Peter, no doubt, was a believer
in the Lord Jesus Christ. And our Lord told Peter that
he was going to deny Him. Peter didn't think so. Oh, no. No, no, no. Lord, I'll follow
You to the death. You can depend on me. I'm your
man. Everybody else will fail you.
Not me. And when he did deny the Lord,
the Scripture says in Luke 22, 61-62, the Lord turned and looked
upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word
of the Lord, how he said unto him before the cock crow, Thou
shalt deny me thrice. And Peter went out and wept bitterly. Paul said, O wretched man that
I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? True believers, true worshipers
strive and war against. That's scriptural language. We
wrestle not against flesh and blood, against principalities
and powers, spiritual wickedness and high places. True worshipers
war against the temptations of being unfaithful to Him. That's a true worshiper. They
see what they are. They know what they are. They
feel it within. They feel the struggles within.
And they follow Him. And lastly,
true worshipers, endure to the end, and they die in the faith. If Almighty God regenerates the
sinner and teaches that sinner of Himself, God is going to keep
him. We have an inheritance, the Scripture
says, that is incorruptible and undefiled. And fadeth not away,
it is reserved in heaven for you. who are kept by the power
of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last
time. God's people stay. They stay. A prodigal son one time decided
that he wanted everything that was his, and he wasted it all
and riotous living. By the mercy of God and grace
of God, God caused that boy to come to himself. I'm going to go back. I'm going to go back and I'm
going to tell my daddy, I've sinned against you and I've sinned
against heaven. And he never got the words out of his mouth.
His dad saw him afar off. I think about how far has God
seen His people everlastingly. And He kept them. He's keeping
them right now. I'm going to tell you something.
Somebody say, yeah, that prodigal right there. Oh, I'll tell you
what he went. Let me tell you something. You
don't know how far we've gone every day. We've gone every day. And by
the grace of God, come to ourselves every day. A true worshiper endures to the
end because God keeps him. True worshipers mind the things
of the Spirit. They make much of the means of
grace, grace that God has provided. God has provided the hearing
of this Gospel. This is of the Lord. This is
of the Lord. God has provided the hearing
of the Gospel. God has provided the Scriptures. God has provided that His people
will meet with Him privately in prayer. True believers make
much of the means of grace They deny themselves. They deny themselves. They hunger
and thirst after righteousness and they strive to shun that
which would dishonor God Almighty. Oh, that God Himself would make
me to be a true worshipper of Him. For Christ's sake, Amen.