Let's take our Bibles again and
turn to the book of Proverbs. Proverbs chapter 11. You know, Brother Mitch was just saying,
we want to be taught. And this is what we're here. We're here today. Number one, in obedience to our
Lord's command through the writers. Remember, whenever we read something
in Scripture, all Scripture is given by inspiration
of God and is profitable. It's profitable for instruction
in righteousness, for correction. We're here to be taught. An almighty
God who orders all things after the counsel of His own will,
dictates through His Word, and teaches
His people. I want to learn something today. I want for the Lord to teach
me. I need to be taught. I'm a very,
very ignorant person. And I admit, Lord, I desire Your
instruction to the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. Show me something. Don't you want to learn something
today? I pray the Lord teaches. Proverbs 11. I'd like to look
at verses 16 I've entitled this message, What
Men Want and What Men Do. Now, before I look, let me read
this verse of Scripture. The Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians
15, 10, But by the grace of God I am what I am. And His grace which was bestowed
upon me was not in vain. But I labored more abundantly,
and they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with
me." The Apostle Paul, he knew, taught
by God's Spirit through God's Word that what every believer readily
admits, I am what I am. by the grace of God. And that
which I do, I believe Him. I trust Him. I long after Him. I love His people. Oh, how I
wish I would love them as I ought. But I realize that all these
things that we do, labor of love, patience of hope, All of these
things, that's not us. It's the grace of God that's
in us. What do we have to be proud of? Nothing. Nothing. We're sitting here today
just some needy people who want to meet together and pray that
God speak to us. Now the Scriptures today, a couple
of verses of Scriptures, and it deals with what men are in
Adam and what they're made to be in Christ. I was going to look at verses
16 to 20, and it just appears as though there's a little bit
more than I need to try to deal with in one passage or one time
frame here. We want to look at a couple of
verses here. Really, I guess this would be
a two-part, you know, what we'll look at today. What men want
and what men do. These truths that are set forth,
they're based really, I'll tell you this, on this one thing.
What a man thinks of Christ. Man has any consistency of thought
toward the Lord Jesus Christ, as Paul says, I am what I am
by the grace of God. If I think anything, if a man has no confidence in
the flesh, I'm going to tell you something, that's a new man.
But I'm going to tell you something, man by nature, he's got all confidence
in the flesh. He's able. That's what he thinks.
He thinks he's able. He thinks he has. Whatever man wants. This is my
first point right here. I'll just get right to it. A gracious woman, verse 16, retaineth
honor. A gracious woman retaineth Now,
it's going to talk about a gracious woman. It's going to talk about,
in verse 17, a merciful man. I realize this. We are what we
are in Christ, neither male, female, bond-free. Gracious woman
or gracious man. Merciful woman, merciful man.
A gracious woman. First thing I think about when
I think of a gracious woman, I think of the Bride of Christ.
That's the first thing I think of, a gracious woman. But the
Bride of Christ is made up of people, people. The Bride of Christ is not some
insignificant nebulous. It's believers. It's made up
of believers, individual, gracious. A gracious woman, one who holds
to. That's what it is. It holds to. That's what the word retains
means. A gracious woman holds to honor. And there is no gracious woman.
I don't care what anybody thinks. You know, a lot of times, you
know, somebody's nice. They gave somebody, they gave
them a dollar or something like that. And they said, well, that
was real gracious of you. A gracious woman, gracious man,
one who is gracious is one who has received and knows something
about the grace of God. Graciousness. A gracious person,
one that possesses grace in their heart, retained, they hold fast to,
they follow after honor. Now the key to this passage of
Scripture, what everybody wants, the key to it is that word honor
right there. That's what I'm building up to.
One that God Almighty has done something for. This is the church speaks honorably
of her husband. We hear the Word of God long
after the Word of God. We see the glory of Christ in
it because we are concerned and loyal to and retain His honor,
His glory, His praise, His majesty. That is the gracious woman, the
bride, the church. She does not want for him to
be dishonored. She holds to honor, retains honor,
and she does not want to act disrespectfully. I want you to
turn to Philippians 1.20. Now this right here, you may
want to mark this in your Bible. Philippians 1.20. I would say that for a believer,
this is a verse of Scripture right here that a believer can
live and die with right here. What does a believer hold to? The Scripture says a gracious
woman retains, holds to honor. She holds on to honor. And it's
the honor of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's His name. It's His glory. I don't want to stand here today
and be disrespectful. And here struggling all the while,
knowing I've already admitted that in the first service, and
I'm just like you are, admitting what I am, And I know the frailty
of my flesh, but I'm telling you, I do not. I do not. I don't want to dishonor Him.
I don't. Listen to this. Philippians 1.20,
According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing
I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness as always,
so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by
life or by death." Whether it be that the Lord has
been pleased to leave me in this world for another thirty
years or five years or whatever, or whether this is soon to be
my last days on this earth, that in whatever state Almighty God
has been pleased to place me in, may Christ be magnified. May the Lord be honored. Whether
it be in my life or in death, if He be pleased to place me
in a situation where I am soon to leave this earth, Lord, would
You grant me the grace to magnify Christ and to stand and to be as one
of His. A gracious woman retains honor. They believe God. That's what
she wants. I don't want to go be disrespectful, and I don't
want to say things that are disrespectful. I don't. Philippians 1.27 says, Only let
your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ. Is that what you desire? That whether you live or whether
you die, that you maintain honor? Isn't that a That's a precious
thought to a believer. By the grace of God, Paul says,
I am what I am. It's not me. It's Christ working
in me, willing to do of His good pleasure. A gracious woman holds
to. Lord, don't let me dishonor You.
Lord, there is in my old flesh that old nature of rebellion. Lord, let me walk as a believer
walks. Let me speak as one speaks. Lord,
help me. Help me. I want to hold to, retain. Brother Henry Mahan said this,
conduct your churches, your homes, and your personal lives in a
way that is becoming to the gospel that you profess. Live and walk
and talk as a believer ought to. Now, you know what? That is a precious thought to
a believer. A gracious woman retains. She holds to. I don't want to
disrespect him. I don't want to disrespect my
wife. I don't want to be disrespectful to her. I don't want people to
say of me, boy, I'm telling you, you're talking about a disrespectful
husband. Now that's just, you know what? especially my Lord, that I might
hold to Him. Let me walk. Let me be kept. Let me do as I do toward Him. Let everything else,
everything else is second fiddle. Everything else is second fiddle. A gracious woman retains honor. Honor. My heart just, I think, I want
that. I want that. A strong man back in Proverbs
11 and 16. A strong man. Retains riches. The amazing part of that is that
strong means a tyrant. A tyrant. A tyrant. Strong men. A tyrant retains
or holds to the same thing. A gracious woman holds to honor,
retains honor. A tyrant retains riches, wealth. You know what he wants? He wants
the fleeting, frail things of this world. This is what they
want. They want whatever this world
can give. It's all about me. That's what
it is. That's what the meaning is. They
love this world's good. 1 Timothy 6.10 says, For the
love of money is the root of all evil, which while some coveted
after, they've erred from the faith and pierced themselves
through with many sorrows. The love of money, it is excessive
or insatiable desire for gain. That's what it is. Gain of fame,
gain of popularity, gain of the applause of men, gain of anything
else other than the glory of God in Christ. Gain of anything
else other than the glory of God in the person of the Lord
Jesus Christ. And that includes all of it.
All of it. All of it. A man, woman sets their hearts
on it. If it's not the glory of the
Lord Jesus Christ, and I'm telling you right now, I am eating myself
up right now. So don't think that I'm talking
to you. I'm talking to me. You know, I told you this morning,
I need to learn something. I need to. retains riches. Lord, help me. I tell you, this world's gain
and desire is going to expose a man. It's going to expose a
man. I'm telling you right now. When
Paul said that the love of money is the root of all evil, while
some such coveted after they've erred from the faith, he doesn't
mean that they possessed a heart of faith and left it. He doesn't
mean that. If any man, any woman is ever
given a new heart, Almighty God keeps them. They're kept by the
power of God through faith. They don't leave. They don't
leave. I'll tell you this, the Lord,
He's going to chasten them, but they're going to stay. They're
kept. They're kept by God. When He says they've erred from
the faith, He means that the love of gain, fame, whatever. I don't care. I don't care what
it is. It's whatever it is that a man
or a woman will put ahead of Almighty God and the glory of
the Lord Jesus Christ. And there's nobody in this congregation
this morning that's exempt. Nobody. We all struggle. Oh, wretched
men that we are. We see something. But with a
believer, there is a nature in him that resists this. With an
unbeliever, there's nothing to resist it. There's nothing there. There's one nature. If a man
only has one nature, he's lost. If he only has one nature, he's
lost. Only a believer has two. They have erred from the faith.
What has happened is the love of this world has drawn out the
fact that there is no grace there. Thorny ground hearers. A seed is sown and it falls among
thorns And eventually what happens is, eventually with the thorny
ground here, the cares of this world, the cares of this world,
the care of this world chokes the word out. And do you know
that I am just sensitive enough to know that I know. that if Almighty God doesn't
keep a man, He'll leave. I've known men, and you have
too, men and women both, all of us have known, to where you'd
look back and you'd think, I tell you what, I would have never
thought that person would have ever left. I would have never
thought they would have. I would have never thought that.
And some did. Why? Why? Because they weren't of us. If
they would have been of us, they would have remained. I'm not
talking about – I'm talking about leaving the gospel completely. That's what I'm talking about.
I know sometimes people have to move, but they don't go from
one place where they're hearing the gospel to not hearing the
gospel anymore, but to leave the faith. Listen to 2 Timothy 4.10. Paul
says, Redeem us, hath forsaken me. having loved this present
world and has departed into Thessalonica. And the amazing thing is that
when a man leaves, he always justifies it. He always had a
good reason. He always had a good reason in
his head. He always had a good reason.
That's serious. You know, it's not that they
leave. I mean, there was always a reason for it. But it was whatever
it took for them to leave. They left. Now this is a gracious
woman who retains honor. She holds to the honor of Christ.
She holds to His truth, to His presence, to His people. What
a strong man. A tyrant. He holds to wealth,
riches, the riches of this world. What do men want? Those that
God's been gracious to, they hold Christ. Those that know
not our Lord, the care of this world manifests. And secondly,
and lastly for today, what does everybody do? What do they want? You know, I can tell you this
before I say anything else. You know what a man does? What he wants to do. Everybody
does what they want to. Everybody does what they want
to do. Thanks be unto God that God gives
man or woman a new heart, a new will that wants to, that wants
to follow after Him. What everybody does. Verse 17, ìThe merciful man doeth
good to his own soul, but he that is cruel troubleth
His own flesh." What does everybody do? Well, the merciful man. Actually, the heart of that merciful
man is faithful. Faithful. Faithful. Faithful
toward God. Faithful. God's people are faithful people. Now, did I say that they are
without sin? No, I didn't say that at all.
We say we have no sin. We make God a liar. No, if we
confess our sins, He's faithful and just to forgive us. I'm not
saying that a man is without sin. But I will say this, God's
people are faithful. They're faithful to trust Him
as their only hope. They're faithful to realize that
without Him, I could do nothing. They're faithful. They trust
Him. And they don't have anything
to say about themselves that's good. They don't. Have you ever noticed that everything
that's good that's ever said about a believer, that Almighty
God said it in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ? Everything that has ever been
said that's profitable, God said it for His people, for the sake
of and in His Son. He has predestinated us that
we should be holy and without blame before Him in love in Christ. Man, who said that? God said
it. He said, Well done, thy good
and faithful servant. What believer ever said that
of himself? What does every man do? Faithful
man doeth good to his own soul. They hold to honor. They retain
honor. And they do good to their own
soul. Merciful. You know, mercy is
not an attribute that men are born with. In fact, Galatians
5.22 reveals that it's a gift of God. gentleness, meekness,
kindness. We know that. A merciful, faithful man does
good to his own soul. He does good to his own soul. He does good, that's what Scripture
says, the merciful man doeth good to his own soul. And I want
to ask you this, what's the kindest, most merciful thing that a man
can do for his own soul? cast himself upon the mercy of
God. O blind Bartimaeus, Jesus thou
Son of David, have mercy on me. What is the kindest thing that
a man can do? There is the evidence that God
has done something for him. He does good to his own soul. Let me tell you the kindest thing
that you can do. Now, this is Scripture talking
here. The merciful man doeth good to
his own soul. I read that verse of Scripture
when Paul says, I am what I am by the grace of God, but it's
not me. It's the grace of God in me. So we've settled that part of
it. God's people are not standing
here justifying themselves in what they've done. What they're
doing is they're taking what Scripture says in light of what
the Word of God says. And here's what the Word of God
says. The merciful man doeth good by the grace of God, by
the power of God, by the work of God in his own soul. He's
going to do something. He's going to respond. Faith
actually works. There is a work of faith. It's
a work of faith. It's not a work of the flesh.
It's a work of faith. It's God Almighty that's doing
something in His people. And they're doing something.
I'm doing something right now. I'm doing something. What is the most merciful thing
that a man can do for his own soul? I can tell you this. First thing he can do is he can
hear the Word of God. He can hear God's Word. I was
talking to Brother Charlie Pennington the other day and he was saying,
he said, you know Marvin, sometimes he said, I think that as believers
we're so afraid to make a statement that even sounds like that we
actually have a physical or a heartfelt or some kind of a movement or
something. We're so afraid of saying something
where people might think that we believe in free will. Man
alive, if anybody thinks that I believe in free will, But I'm going to tell you something,
God's people do something. There is a response if there's
a new heart. We're not robots. He makes us
willing in the day of His power. We're willing. What's the most
merciful thing that a man could do for his soul? Hear the Word
of God. Hear the Word of God. Almighty God has raised up, I've
said this before, I am so thankful for this little place that God
established, Katy, West Virginia. God established a little town
here or community or something and set a place here and raised
up a faithful, faithful preacher
back in the 50s. Somebody was telling me about
Scott and he was going around and going up on Katie Hill or
something and knocking on doors. He said, I'm going to be preaching
over here. How about come hear me? And stuff like this. He talked
to this one, talked to that. And I thought to myself, you
know what? That was so wise. And God blessed
it. And called out some families.
And some of you are sitting here as the recipients of the mercy
and grace of Almighty God, because God Almighty put it on a man's
heart to want to preach. What's the most merciful thing
that a man can do for his soul? He can hear the Word of God.
I'll tell you another thing he can do. He can pick up his Bible
and read it. I said last week or the week
before, they were more noble than those in Thessalonica, those
in Berea? Why? They searched the Scriptures
daily to see if these things were so. They looked in the Word
of God. What's the most merciful thing
that a guy or woman could do for their soul? They could hear
what God says. God raises up a preacher. Pray
for him. That's another thing you could
do. Pray for me. Pray for me. I do want to preach
the truth. I do want God's message. I do
ask that the Lord be pleased. Make much. Make much. Make preparation for your own soul. Come here. Come here. Hear what God's got
to say. Make much of the Word of God.
Get alone in your closet somewhere. The Lord said, and when you pray,
pray to your Father which is in heaven. And the Father that
hears in secret, meet with Him, get along as I've told you before. There's just some things that
I'd rather say to Him that I'd rather you not hear. I've just
got some problems that I'd rather you not hear about. What's the most merciful thing
that a man could do for his own soul? Hear the Word of God. Make
much of the Scriptures. Pray. And I'm going to tell you
one other thing too. Look for ways to do good for
others, especially those of the household of faith. Be sensitive. Look for opportunities to have
fellowship with God's people. Somebody says, I'm going to tell
you something. It's hard to get with a believer
and not start off talking immediately concerning the Lord. And I'll
tell you another thing. The Lord hears it. In a book
of remembrances, a merciful man doeth good to
his own soul, but he that is cruel troubleth his own flesh. He that is cruel. He that is
terrible. troubles his own flesh. I want
you to notice that when Solomon was moved by the Spirit of God
to write this, he didn't say, he that is cruel troubles his
own soul. Here's the sad part. He that
is cruel, he that is terrible, he that is unregenerate doesn't
care. He doesn't care for his soul.
He doesn't care. A man or woman that knows not
our Lord. And it's a grieving thing. You
work with people. You have folks in your family.
You have neighbors. And you know they do not. They do not care. And it's grieving. It's grieving. They don't care
about their soul. I'm thinking, as Jonathan Edwards
says, sinners in the hands of an angry God. message. You said they're just hanging
over hell by nothing more or less than the thickness of a
spider's web. God Almighty is just, they're
only here because God has not let them go. The cruel troubles his own flesh. They care nothing for their souls. They trouble their own flesh. The unregenerate carries in his
flesh the very element of hell and judgment and he finds no
peace in this life. Let me read you this Scripture
and I'll close. Genesis chapter 4. Genesis 4. When Cain killed Abel, he killed
him. Abel offered unto God a sacrifice
that was accepted. Genesis 4, verse 13. Cain hated
him and killed him. God didn't accept Cain's best
that Cain could do, which was his vegetables and his fruits. Abel brought a lamb. What Cain
did was he was going to bring the best he could do. And he
killed his brother. The Lord asked him about him,
you know, and he said to him, I'm my brother's keeper. And
God cast punishment upon him. And here's what Cain said, Genesis
4, 13, 14. And Cain said unto the Lord,
My punishment, my iniquity, that which I'm going to have
to bear is greater than I can bear. Behold, thou hast driven
me out this day from the face of the earth, and from the face
shall I be hid. I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond
in the earth, and it shall come to pass that everyone that findeth
me shall slay me." The bottom line is, a cruel unregenerate cannot settle
down. There's no peace for him. There's
no comfort for him. There's no joy. James 5, verses
1-3 speaks of this. The treasures, I mention this,
of selfishness. They just eat at him. Hungering after everything else
except that which is merciful to his own soul. A believer will
come and he'll sit You'll hear the Word of God. He's thankful
that God's shown mercy to him, compassion to him. And a cruel
man is only concerned with that which affects his temporal state.
Sin is grievous to him now. It is. His sin is grievous to
him now. It eats him up. And it's only
going to prove to be the reason of his eternal punishment. What
does everybody want? A gracious woman retains honor.
Strong men retain riches. What does everybody do? The merciful
man doeth good to his own soul. But he that is cruel or terrible
troubles his own flesh. May the Lord teach us something
through this. Cast ourselves upon the mercy
of Almighty God. I pray the Lord be pleased to
bless these words to the salvation of His elect.