Proverbs chapter 11. Proverbs
chapter 11. I was thinking on that song we
sang the first one concerning God's grace. Mr. Robert Hawker wrote something
on the grace of God, and he said this. He said, The grace of God
is the Lord Jesus Christ. I thought, I like that. That
He is God's grace. He is God's grace. Grace that
is greater than all my sin. I'd like to look at one verse
this morning, Proverbs 11.10. It says, When it goeth well with
the righteous, the city rejoiceth. And when the wicked perish, There
is shouting. Let's pray together. Our Father, we ask You again. We don't even want to look at
this passage of Scripture without asking Your blessing. Lord, would
You afresh give us faith. Lord, we need faith for this
service. The faith that cometh. and cometh
and cometh." Faith for right now. Faith to trust. Faith to hear. Cause us to see
Him. Thank you for Christ's sake.
Amen. This passage deals with rejoicing. Rejoicing of God's people. Rejoicing. This is what it says. This is what it means. To be
full of cheer. To be calmly happy. To be well. Be glad. to be calmly happy. When my kids were growing up,
I remember telling them so many times, things would come up. And I told them something that
I heard a long time ago, and I thought, this is good, this
is true. I told them this, I said, the
situation never changes, only the way you look at it. Even in the midst of tribulation, if Almighty God settles my heart, I'm okay. I'm okay. You say, but what if everything's
falling apart? What if it's falling? It's going
to. It's going to. We're just here for a few days
and here's what we're promised. Trouble. That's what we're promised. Trouble. Oh, but you don't know what I'm
going through. I probably do. Psalm 118, 24, ìThis is the day
which the Lord hath made. We will rejoice, calmly happy.î Philippians 4, 4, ìRejoice in
the Lord always, and again I say rejoice.î Not in yourself. Not in yourself. I look within. As John Newton wrote that song
that I quote so often, when I look within, all is dark and wild. And I get up. I'm not getting
up as quickly as I used to. And I get tireder faster, and
I hurt in places This is the day that the Lord
has made. We will rejoice calmly happy. You think about this. You rejoice, the Lord said, that
your name is written in heaven. Oh, you know, Remember how many
times we hear Brother Scott say, since I heard the good news,
I hadn't heard any bad news. I mean, I think about how many
physical problems that he and many had. How are you doing? I'm doing
good. Rejoice that every minute you
realize We just went through a service just a minute ago.
It's about 10.30 right now. You realize we're an hour closer
to glory? One hour closer. That's an hour,
Gene, we won't have to go through again. Now, we already went through
that one. Just closer. Lord, give me a heart to contemplate
that. Realize that. When it goeth well with the righteous,
the city rejoices. The Word was made flesh, dwelt
among us. And John said, and we beheld
His glory. The glory as the only begotten
of the Father. full of grace and truth. One
has come that everlastingly loved His people. And who knows? I may be one of those. I pray so. I would pray that
God show mercy to me. I need for Him to show mercy
to me. Let me tell you what I love about
knowing that I need mercy. I never read in Scripture where
He ever turned one away that came to Him for mercy, not one.
Do you want the mercy of God? Do you desire the mercy of God?
If you desire God's mercy, then you've seen something of yourself.
You've seen something of your inability. You've seen something
of your waywardness and how you don't pray as you ought. You
don't read as you ought. You don't hear as you ought.
Listen, I don't hear. I'm standing here preaching it.
And I'm talking about some things that are too high for me, too
wonderful for me. And I'm thinking, oh, I'm so glad that I have a
great high priest. that knows my frailty, that was
in all points tempted just like I am, yet He without sin. And
here I am. I don't even have the ability
in myself to refuse the temptation. My old man tempts me to kind
of go off somewhere, left field, and there I go. I just go. Rejoice. Rejoice that you're
accepted in the Beloved. Oh, I don't know how to rejoice
as I ought. But I tell you this, I know He's
given me a heart to see through a glass darkly. And that I can
see it all is by the grace of God. When it goeth well with
the righteous, Now, here again, I know, I know
that we are a few of days, great afflictions, great trials, and
in the midst of everything that's going on, when it goeth well, when you're made to know it,
that's what he's saying, when you're made to know it, when
it goeth well, You say, well, I had a good day
yesterday. I hadn't had a good day today.
I had a good day. For a believer, you ain't never
had, since the Lord called you out of darkness, you ain't never
had a bad day. You've never had one. My problem is, when I'm made
to know it, the situation never changes. The only way I looked
at it. Let me ask you this. Things may
be falling around me, but He put away my sin. And when the Lord is pleased
to manifest to His own, that He has dealt well with them. That's what David said. Lord,
Thou hast dealt well with Thy servant, O Lord, according unto
Thy Word. The sword never left David's
house. His son trying to kill him. David went to his grave thinking
about Bathsheba. I know he did. Knowing the Lord
had forgiven him. Lord, You've dealt well with
me. You've dealt well with me. You think about this. Here we
are this morning. And I want you to realize that
the Scripture sets forth that He is working all things after
the counsel of His own will. That all things work together
for good to them that love God, to them who are called according
to His purpose. Oh, if He teaches me that. When He makes me to hear in my
heart and to know and to understand, when it goeth well with the righteous,
the city of God rejoiceth. I know this. He who has eternally
purposed to show mercy to His own. Everything that He sends
my way is for my good. It's for His
glory. If He can make me but see that. He can, I know, when He does.
Let me say it like that. When it goeth well. It doesn't
say if it goeth well. It says, when it goeth well. Psalm 103, 10. He hath not dealt
with us after our sins. Now you think about this. He hath made him sin who knew
no sin. that we might be made the righteousness
of God in Him. Now, Almighty God the Father
dealt with the Lord Jesus Christ after our sins. He dealt with
Him because of. Let me say it like that. He made
Him sin and dealt with Him in our stead. He hath not dealt
with us after our sins. nor rewarded us according to
our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above
the earth, so great is His mercy toward them that fear Him." Lord, teach me to know that. Man, how many times can I think
about having Take my kids in the back room and tell them,
say, listen, while I'm taking my belt off,
I said, I'm going to whip you. But I'm going to whip you because
I love you. And you're not going to act like that. You're not
going to talk back. You're not going to, you're not
going to be, you're not, I love you. I never spanked one of my
children because I hated them. I spanked them because I loved
them. Whom the Lord loveth. When it goeth well with the righteous. I tell you, in time, He made
us alive in regenerating grace. And that's when we know something
of His kindness. Whom the Lord loveth, He chastens.
If you be without chastisement, and as I've said before, somebody
said, well, I've gone through a lot of chastisements. I've
gone through a lot of monetary or physical sickness. Everybody
goes through that chastisement, chastisement. Lord, oh, how inconsistent
I've been. Chastisement is in the heart. Anybody, everybody gets sick.
Everybody's got problems. Everybody. I've been chastened
of the Lord. Does it grieve you that you've
walked with inconsistency? Doesn't that just break your
heart when you realize? Does it break your heart when
you try to study His Word and you realize the last six verses
that you've read, you don't even remember what you read? How can I be so inconsistent? Oh, Lord. That's the Spirit of
God teaching you something of yourself. Lord, I need You. Help me. Lord, I want to go back
and read those Scriptures. And when I go back, Lord, would
You help me? Lord, help me. And would You teach me? Lord,
I'm about to hear Your Word. Lord, would You teach me? Would
You let me hear? I can't even hear if you don't.
When it goes well with the righteous, when they see something of their
need of Him, when it goes well, the city,
the city of God, the city of the living God, that's His bride,
that's His church, the city of God. When it goes well with the
righteous, the city rejoices. They rejoice now. They do, calmly
happy. You know, you think about rejoicing,
you think about people shouting and stuff. I think of a story I heard of
a an elderly lady that was grievously sick. And someone asked her,
said, How are you doing? And she said, Oh, how the Lord
must love me that He's allowed me to lay on this bed and just
breathe, just be in here. And I thought, You know what? Rejoicing calmly. This is where
the Lord put me. They rejoice now and they will
rejoice then. Look at Revelation 5. I think of this. Read this scripture
and I think, Lord, help me. Help me to see this, to know
this. Revelation 5, 6, I beheld in low in the midst of the throne
and of the four beasts in the midst of the elders stood a lamb
as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which
are the seven spirits of God. sent forth into all the earth. The seven Spirits of God. Let
me just make a quick comment on that right there. Seven horns,
seven eyes and the seven Spirits of God. The Spirit of God in
His completeness to reveal Himself in the Lord Jesus Christ. To
speak of Christ. The perfectness. Not that there are seven Holy
Spirits. The perfectness. of God's Spirit. And He came
and He took the book out of the right hand of Him that sat upon
the throne. And when He had taken the book, the four beasts, the
four and twenty elders, fell down before the Lamb, having
every one of them harps and golden vials full of odors, which are
the prayers of the saints, and they sung a new song, saying..."
And this is a new song. This is a song that nobody ever
knew before the Lord gave them a heart before these right here. They sing this new song. They
perfectly sing. Here they are in glory. A new
song. Thou art worthy to take the book
and to open the seals thereof, for thou was slain and has redeemed
us to God by thy blood out of every kindred and tongue and
people and nation has made us unto our God, kings and priests,
and we shall reign on the earth. Now, I think to myself, I read
that right there. And I know that it shall be so
in its completeness. I know it will. Lord, would You
give me a heart right now to stop and realize that whatever
I'm going through right now is according to Your perfect will
and is for my goodness, for Your glory and Your honor when it
goes well with the righteous. The city rejoices. They rejoice. But the Scripture says, when
the wicked perish, they are shouting. When it goeth well with the righteous,
the city rejoices. And it always does. When the
wicked perish, they are shouting. The word shouting there It means
to shout with joy or to shout with grief. It's either one. When the wicked perish, I know
this, there's going to be shouting
of grief. The Son of Man shall send forth
His angels and shall gather out of His kingdom all things that
offend. and them which do iniquity, and
shall cast them into a furnace of fire, and there shall be wailing
and gnashing of teeth." Tares are always among the sheep. As I've said before, tares in
the Scripture are never referred to in these churches where there's
no gospel being preached. That's not who the tares are. Tares are sown among the wheat.
There's always tares within the church, the true church. There's
only one true church of the Lord Jesus. That's His bride. And
there's always tares there. Always. Well, we just read it,
that it might be made manifest who God's people are. When the wicked perish, They're
shouting. In that day in which Almighty
God is going to call all men to stand before His throne, the
great white throne, the books will be opened, the book shall
be opened. Every one that's not found written
in the book, that book of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb's
book of life, And in that day, God is going to cast out everything
that offends Him. Scripture says there will be
weeping and wailing, gnashing of teeth. The furnace of God's
justice and wrath is going to be therein. But even in that annihilation,
even in that death, let me say this. There won't be annihilation
as we think of. It's death. They're going to
die the second death. Turn with me to Revelation 14.
It's going to be Revelation 14. Men would wish,
I would venture to say, men would wish that there would be immediate
and total Annihilation where there would be nothing more,
but this this is how long this is how long the shouting. The grief, the pain, this is
how long it's going to last to every man, every woman without
Christ. Revelation 14, verse nine, the
third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, if any man
worship the beast and his image, and receive His mark in His forehead
or in His hand. And I will say this. We went
through the book of Revelation twice. You know that. And I'll
just say it as a reminder. Any man that says it receives
the beast, the beast of this world, the beast of this world's
religion, false religion, false free will, man-centered, man-honoring
religion, that is to receive the beast. If any man worship
the beast in his image and receive his mark in his forehead, in
his mind, in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the
wrath of God which is poured out without mixture into the
cup of his indignation. There will be no mixture of mercy. And he shall be tormented with
fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels And the presence
of the Lamb and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever
and ever. And they have no rest, day nor
night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever
receiveth the mark of his name." Listen, any man, any woman that leaves
this world without Christ, and kiss the Son, lest ye be angry." Any man, any woman that leaves
this world without the Lord Jesus Christ, when the wicked perish,
there's shouting, there's grief, there's wailing. But shouting here also means
joy. That's what I just told you.
That word right there, shouting, it means Joy or grief? When the wicked perish, they're shouting for joy? How
can that be? The Scripture sets forth that
the shouting, the joy of God's people in setting forth in praise of
hallelujah, for the justice of Almighty God, for that which
He has done is right. Let me make good on that. Revelation
19, 1-4. And after these things, Revelation
19-1, after these things, I heard a great voice of much people
in heaven saying, Hallelujah! Praise the Lord. That's what
that means. Salvation and glory and honor and power unto the
Lord our God for true and righteous are His judgments for He has
judged the great whore which did corrupt the earth with
her fornications and hath avenged the blood of His servants at
her hand. And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up forever
and ever. And the four and twenty elders
and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on
the throne saying, Amen. Hallelujah. When the wicked perish, they're going to be in grief. And the Scripture says, when
the wicked perish, God's people who see things now as He says
they are. Someone says, well, I just can't
understand how it could be that somebody could cry hallelujah
when God judges the great whore. The Scripture says we will. Right now, listen, this is a
serious as it ever gets. Today is the day of salvation. Let me ask you something. You
that believe not, why will you perish? Why? Do we not hear what the Scripture
says? Oh, that God might show mercy.
I pray. I pray. I pray that God might
be pleased to enlarge the borders of our camp right now. Now, that's
not a frivolous thought. That's out of Ezekiel 36. He said, I will enlarge the borders
of your camp, yet for these things will I be inquired of. I pray
that God, and I know this, I know He's not going to do anything
that He's not eternally purposed to do. I know that Almighty God
is going to have mercy on whomsoever He will. I know that God has
got a people before the foundation of the world that He's everlastingly
loved. I pray that there's some sitting
here today. I pray that He would show mercy. And if you've never believed,
I pray God show mercy to you and call you unto Himself. I
tell you, God's people are not insensitive. I do. I ask. I pray. I pray for my kids and my grandkids. I ask God to have mercy. Thank the Lord every day for
this church. Lord, thank You that there's
a people in this part of the country where I can go and worship
with. Bless the Lord. Sing praises
to His holy name. Thank You, Lord. Thank You, Lord,
for having mercy on my soul. But I can tell you this based
on God's Word, and I'm going to take God's Word against my
own thoughts and my frivolousness and my careless thinking. The
Word of God says that there's coming a day when Almighty God
is going to tell His sheep, enter in. Well done. Good and faithful, sir. Enter
in. prepared for you from before
the foundation of the world. And we'll fall down and praise
Him. Lord, You're worthy to receive
all honor and glory and praise. You were slain. You redeemed
us. Thank the Lord. Bless the Lord.
Oh, my soul and all that's within me, bless His holy name. And
He's going to send men and women into eternal damnation. And the
saints of God are going to say, Hallelujah. Is that right or is that right?
That is what God said. When it goes well with the righteous,
the city rejoices. And when the wicked perish, they
are shouting. May the Lord have mercy on us
for Christ's sake. Amen.