Or I appreciate that I've said
this before. A believer. Talks like a believer. They walk like a believer. And only the Spirit of God teaches
them that. This is not ritual. To a believer, this is life.
It's real. What I'm going to preach this
morning, I didn't know what Brother Carl was going to read. And just
what I'm getting ready to preach right here, I think. Proverbs 10, verses 8 and 9.
goes just exactly with what he just read. I've entitled this
message, The Desire and the Walk of a Believer. Proverbs 10. It's good for us to be reminded
of the words of our Lord, especially
while we're looking at this book. when the disciples asked him,
Why speakest thou unto them in parables? And he answered and
said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries
of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. I'd like to speak for just a
few minutes on two revealed mysteries. concerning the kingdom of heaven.
And when we say the kingdom of heaven, we're talking about God's people. Here is His kingdom. He's the King and we're the subjects. This is His kingdom. He told
Pilate, He said, My kingdom is not of this world. And His people
are not. They're in it, but He said they're
not of it. It's given them a new heart,
a new desire. Here's the first great mystery
that's revealed in this parable. Verse 8, the wise in heart will
receive commandments. The wise in heart will receive
the Word of God, the commandments of God. They will. You know why
they will? Because God's going to give them
ears to hear. He's going to give them a new
heart. They've been made wise under
salvation. They weren't born that way. They've been regenerated, born
from above, born again. They will receive the charge. They hear the Word of God. By the grace of God and the power
of God, regenerating grace of God, they
accept it and they carry it with happiness and honor. And it is a privilege for them
to be under the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. It
is a privilege. I think about Romans 1.1. There
is the Apostle Paul and he says, A servant of God called to be
an apostle. He had his priorities right,
didn't he? A servant of God. The regenerated sinner, he's a faithful servant. Boy, I tell you what, you ask
them, Do you see yourself as being a faithful servant? No, I tell you what I see in
me. I see in me there dwells no good
thing. That's what I see. Boy, now there's faithfulness.
They see their need of Christ. They know. They know. I'm just a struggling, servant, kept by the power of
God through faith. Lord, if you leave me. Lord, if you withhold your hand.
Lord, if you're silent. Oh, what would I do? The desire of a believer. Here's a secret. The wise in
heart will receive commandments. This is what a believer wants.
This is what a servant of God wants. This is what the objects
of God's mercy want. Lord, I want You to teach me.
That's what I need. I don't know. I remember when little Samuel came
to Eli, and Samuel thought Eli was calling him. I came to him
a couple of times. Eli knew that it was the Lord
speaking to him. Eli told Samuel, It shall be,
if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, Lord, for thy servant
heareth. Here is a badge of honor this
morning to you that believe. Servants of God. David said in Psalm 27, for one
thing I desired of the Lord, and that will I seek after, that
I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
to behold the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in His temple."
To seek instruction. That's what it means. And to
obtain light concerning the questions of God Almighty. That's what
I want. That's what I desire. One thing
I want. That's such a good scripture
you read there. I'd rather be a doorkeeper. One day, one day, a doorkeeper
in the house of better than a thousand dwelling with the wicked Just
to be able to be here. Just to be able to sit. By the grace of God, I pray that
God keep me from the filth of myself. I don't have to worry about being
kept from other people. I've got enough to leave me on
my own. The wise in heart will receive commandments. They hear the Word of God they
desire. Come unto Me all year week, heavy laden. I'll give you rest. Oh, Lord,
draw me to come to You. I can't do that. But a prating
fool, it says, the wise in heart will receive commandments. They'll
listen to what God has to say. They'll hear God. They'll hear
God. They'll hear God. But a prating fool, In the margin there, it says,
a fool of lips. And that is true. That is what
it means. But it doesn't give, it didn't
to me, it didn't give the full understanding in my mind of exactly
what prating means. It means foolish chatter. Like a, like a, like a prairie
dog or an animal or a bird or something. Prating, that's what
that means. Just, just foolish chatter. Just endless, just, you know. What did you say? You didn't
say anything. A wise, the wise in heart will
receive God's word. But just a, a chatterbox. It just wants to hear himself
talk. That's all he's doing, just rambling on, you know, religious
jargon, you know, just rhymes. You know, you listen to folks
and they've got this, you know, religious chatters, just a prating
fool, one who's just revealing the folly of his heart
by his mouth. He's going to be beaten. That's
what it means. Fall. He's going to fall. The gospel of God's grace is
proclaimed. Everyone made wise in heart.
They hear it. They bow to it. This is the evidence of one made
wise. They don't want to talk about
themselves, what they've done. The one object that they have
is Christ. Lord, You're worthy to receive
all the honor and all the glory and all the praise. Somebody ask Him, say, Has the
Lord done anything for you? Well, He saved a wicked rebel
from himself. I wasn't looking for him. I left
to myself. And since he's called me, I've
seen innumerable times when if he left me to myself, I was gone.
I'd quit. If the Lord's done anything for
me, that's all the hope I've got. You talk to a prating fool
and they'll tell you all the things that they've done How
consistent they've been and I just I did this and I did that and
I'm thinking. They hear God's word come to
Christ, the wise in heart will receive commandments. Come on
to me. Now, you know you that God's
made wise, you do you come. You're coming right now. I'm
not talking about, I'm not talking about, I'm not talking about
three minutes ago. I'm not talking about 10 seconds
ago. I'm talking about right now. He that cometh, continual,
continual, continual, he that cometh unto me, I will in no
wise cast him out. God's people don't want to talk
about yesterday's faith. It's gone. If your faith is not
lively right now, And you're not coming. He that
cometh now. I've been at funerals. I've listened. Man, they said, well, you know,
he was nine years old. Made a profession. Got away from
the Lord. But once saved, always saved.
Well, there's an element of truth to that. If God's ever saved
a man, he's saved. God keeps him. But I tell you
this, if God ever saves a man, that man's coming. Does he ever stumble? God's people
do. Yeah. But do you know what? They'll
rise up every time because God's going to keep them. He'll teach them. He'll teach
them. And those stumbles are painful. They hurt. But God Almighty is not going
to forsake His own. And they realize more and more,
I have nothing in myself to brag on. There's no glory in me. The wise in heart that come,
a prating fool, shall fall. That's a believer's desire. They
want to hear from God. They want to be. where God Almighty
and the Lord Jesus Christ is honored. This is the thing I've
noticed about a believer. They want to be where God's people
are. That's what they want. I want to hear what God has to
say. I want to hear Him honored. I want to hear Him glorified.
I want to be with God's people. And they're supportive. They're
supportive. Secondly, the believers walk. The believers desire, he wants
to receive God's Word. Believers walk. Verse 9, he that
walketh uprightly walketh surely. He that walks with integrity
walks safely. That's what that means. Now you know the scripture is
explicit about a believer's state before God based, evidenced by
his walk before God. A believer's state before God
is evidenced by his walk. Listen to Romans 8.1. There is
therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.
and the evidence of being in Christ Jesus, who walk not after
the flesh, but after the Spirit." That means there is no sentence
of condemnation to those represented by the Lord Jesus Christ, those
joined to Him as branches in the vine Himself, who evidence
that union by walking after the Spirit. Boy,
there's a statement right there that this world loves to abuse. Here it is. I'm going to give
it to you. Believe in God. Believe in God. Walking after the Spirit. The
Spirit of God is going to speak of Christ. He's going to bring back to remembrance
all the things that the Lord Jesus Christ said. Here is the evidence. They believe
God. There's no condemnation to those
who believe God, walk after the Spirit, who walk not after the
flesh. Walking after the flesh. Here it is. This is what it means
to walk after the flesh. To love, to trust in, to look
to the false hope of self-righteousness. That's walking after the flesh.
Now you can just write this down. I mean, you could sit here and
give endless examples. Walking after the flesh. Those
that walk after the flesh trust themselves. Those that walk after
the Spirit believe God. Now I'll tell you this, those
are just a few short words, but buddy, that's a heartful. They
believe God. Now walking upright, he that
walketh uprightly walketh surely. And walking uprightly, walking
with integrity, Doesn't mean that we walk without the presence
of sin. It doesn't mean that we walk
without trials. Because we got them both. Paul said in Romans 7, 16 and
17, if then I do that which I would not. If I see within myself things
that I'm doing that I know are not Not right before God. He said, I'm not excusing them.
I had a man tell me one time what he was doing was so disrespectful. It was so immoral. You know what
he said to me? I'm just a sinner. You're lost. You're lost. You don't excuse rebellion. You
do not excuse it. If I do that which I would not,
I consent unto the law that it's good. What Paul is saying, that
which is condemning what I'm doing, that's right, I'm wrong. Now, it is no more I that do
it. This is not the new man that's
doing it, Paul says, but sin that dwelleth in me. Paul was
talking about himself two ways, I and I. If I do that which I
would not, I consent that the law is good. It's no more I,
the new man, but it's the old man, I, that's doing it, and
I'm struggling with it. Those that walk with integrity,
struggle against themselves and they don't excuse it. They don't
excuse it. I can't excuse it in myself and
you don't excuse it in yourself. A believer won't. Those that
walk uprightly with integrity. So walking uprightly doesn't
mean that sin's not present because it is. But you don't excuse it. And walking uprightly doesn't
mean that we're free from trials and tribulation and chastisement. Walking uprightly doesn't mean
that we don't have trials. I'm telling you. In fact, Hebrews
12, 8 says, If you be without chastisement, whereof all are
partakers. And that means all believers.
I can tell you right now, you know. Then you're bastards and
not sons. If you be without chastisement, Now, you know, mere suffering in itself, just
suffering, whether it's health or whether it's money, whether
it's family problems, mere suffering is not an evidence of acceptance
with God. If you be without chastisement,
you're none of the end. Somebody says, well, I'll tell
you what. Man, I've been sick, and everybody gets sick. Oh, I've got money problems.
Everybody's got money problems. Just because you're going through
something, that's not evidence of acceptance with God. In fact,
Job said in Job 5.7, Yet man is born under trouble, As the
sparks fly upward, everybody's got trouble. Well, then what
does it mean if you be without chastisement? The greatest, but the only, let
me say it like this, the only chastisement that is the evidence
of a believer. is in the heart. Everybody gets sick. Everybody
has trouble. But I'm going to tell you something.
Here's the chastisement that is the evidence of a believer. I've sinned against God. I have
disobeyed. I have disobeyed the revealed
will of God It kills me to know what I've
done against Him. I've disobeyed Him. I've disrespected
Him. That's chastisement. If you be
without that, left to ourselves, we're like
the dog that goes back to our own vomit, the pig that goes
back to the mire. And we just don't care. It is
without remorse. It doesn't matter. When I get
to feeling better, I'll go back and sing the songs of Zion and
I'll be just fine. The prodigal, the real son, he's
continually coming to himself. I've sinned against heaven. Went
back. Speech all prepared to tell his
daddy, I'm not worthy to be called your son. Just make me one of
the hired servants. Chastisement, if you be without
the pricking of the heart. Not because a criminal is always
sorry when they're caught. A criminal's always sorry. You
know, you get, you know, you got, you know, You embezzle the
money, whatever you did. They got caught. A politician
will stand up, you know, oh, I'm so sorry. You're sorry you
got caught. But you know what, for a believer,
they realize God Almighty has always seen me. You may not even
know. You may not even know. But He
does. That's chastisement. To disappoint
To disrespect one that you love and respect, that hurts. That I have disrespected and
I've acted a fool before one that loves me and gave Himself,
gave me everything. I've acted a fool. If you be
without that, you're a bastard. Not a son. Believers walk uprightly. He
that walketh with integrity, seeing himself, knowing what
he is by nature, doesn't pat himself on the back. He don't
even want to look up. He's like that, you know, the
Pharisee and the publican. Pharisees, you know, praising
himself. And the publican would not so
much as look up toward heaven. God be merciful to me, a sinner. That's what it is to walk with
integrity. To walk through this world needing
one who is your only comfort and hope and surety. He who is your merciful God and
Savior. That's what it is to walk in.
If you think you're walking six inches above the ground and you
ain't done nothing wrong, He's not taught you of yourself.
I am telling you, a believer, he walks uprightly because he
knows what he is by nature. And he looks unto his Savior
for all of his hope. He that walks uprightly, he walks
surely, or he walks safely. God has taught him something.
By faith he follows after Christ. Lord, keep me. Lord, you turn
me and I'll be turned. If you don't turn me, I'm not
going to turn. He who has everlastingly loved his people has put away
the guilt of those that he's loved by his shed blood. He ever lives to make it an accession
for them. He will have them. Father, I will. That's what we
looked at just the other day, last Friday. Father, I will. that those that You've given
Me be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory." Almighty God teaches His people
their need of Him, and they struggle in this world. They long to leave
it, I'll tell you. You that love Him, don't you
love His guidance and His safety? Don't you love just being honest
about it? I mean, you know, religion, you know, religion is such a
farce. Everybody gets all cleaned up, spruced up and everything.
We want to kind of make everybody think that they're really something.
You know, it's nothing that's more comforting than to sit around
a bunch of people that know what they really are. Just honest
about it. We're not fooling anybody. You
know we're not fooling him. So here's that second and the
last Revealed mystery, and Lord willing, I'll look at two more
next week. A believer desires, there's the first one, he desires
to hear from God. And secondly, a believer, he
walks like a believer. He walks trusting the Savior.
He walks uprightly. He walks with integrity in Christ
because he knows I am what I am by the grace of God. Now that's
safety. That's safety. Try to walk in your own integrity,
you are going to fall. Paul said to the church at Colossae,
as you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, that is
by faith, so walk in Him. Walk ye in Him in hope, in hope
of Christ. But he that perverteth his ways
shall be known. He that turns wrong is what perverts
means. He that turns wrong. walking
inconsistently, tossed to and fro in disobedience to Christ.
And somebody would say, well, I always walk disobediently. Yeah, but you see, the Lord's
given you a heart to cast yourself upon Him for mercy. An unbeliever walks in a perverted
way and still trusts in himself. God's people. They receive His commandments.
They walk rightly. They walk surely. But he that
perverts his ways shall be known. You may fool somebody now. It's not hard to fool this world. Just quote a few Scriptures. But in that day, he that walks
in his own integrity, walks in his own self-righteousness, he
that perverted his ways, he's going to be known. Almighty God's
going to expose him. Lord, we've done all these mighty
works. We've, you know, preached in
your name, cast out devils. And he'll say, depart from me,
you workers of iniquity. I never knew you. They'll be
known. The books will be opened. Cast
yourself upon the mercy of God. If God Almighty gives you a heart
to do so, you will. Call upon Him. Today is the day
of salvation. Call upon Him while He's near.
You've got air in your lungs right now. There's hope. There's
hope. May the Lord bless these words to our heart, for Christ's
sake. Amen.