Let's be remembering Gene Humphrey recuperating. And also this dear couple, a
man and a woman, Kyle and Harumi there in Japan. I stay in contact with them so
much. two people that I have come dearly
to love and appreciate. Pray for them as they continue to meet together in
the name of the Lord. Proverbs chapter 5. You know, there's nothing more
dangerous more deceptive than the carnal heart. Jeremiah 17 and 9 says this,
that old man which you are born, that old
mind, that old way of thinking is deceitful above all things,
and it is desperately wicked Who can know it? Who can perceive
it? Who can understand the depth? Now, that heart, that old heart,
that wicked heart is the heart that false religion
appeals to. This chapter that we're going
to start with deals with the description of false religion. And you know, we want to be careful to make much of what the Scriptures
makes much of. We won't talk about what Scripture
talks about. We want to set forth what Scripture
sets forth. We want to warn where the Scripture
warns. We want to exhort where the Scripture
exhorts. What we have to say is concerning
the Scriptures. That's what I love about taking
a book and going through it. You take it verse by verse, line
by line, precept on precept. deal with what the Spirit of
God deals with. Therein you don't go wrong. How do you know false religion?
We talk about that. Scripture talks about it. We're
going to talk about it this morning. Talk about the hope in escaping
it too. How do you know false religion? Turn to 1 John 4. 1 John. This is it. Here's how you know. 1 John 4. If you want to know right,
wrong, indifferent, what does the Scriptures have to say? Now
here's the issue. Has God given me a heart to bow
to what He's got to say? 1 John 4, verse 1 to 3. Believe not every spirit. Let
me interpret that, what he just said. Don't believe everything
that everybody says. That's what he says. Spirit there, preachers,
that's what he said. Believe not every spirit, but
try the spirits whether they are of God. How do you try what
somebody is saying? Here it is. It's the Word of
God. Don't believe everything that
everybody is saying. Why? Because many false prophets
have gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of
God, every spirit, every preacher, that confesseth that Jesus Christ
is come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that confesseth
not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God. And
this is the spirit of Antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it
should come, and even now already is in the world." Someone will say, well, every preacher I know says that Jesus Christ has come
in the flesh, so they all must be telling the truth. Every spirit that confesseth
not that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh means this. Every preacher that does not
confess that Almighty God in sending His Son, the Lord Jesus
Christ, coming in the flesh according
to His eternal purpose. Now, you have to understand something.
You compare Scripture to Scripture. Don't disregard Ephesians 1,
3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, where it says that God hath from
the beginning chosen a people unto salvation. Don't disregard
2 Thessalonians 2 verse 13. God has chosen you, brethren
beloved of the Lord, unto salvation. Don't disregard Scripture and
say, I believe this, when I don't believe that. Because when the
Scripture says that every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus
Christ is come in the flesh means this. Every preacher that does
not preach that Almighty God before the foundation of the
world chose a people in Christ, chose them in Christ, considered
them in Christ, loved them eternally, and sent the Lord Jesus Christ
into this world to save His elect. That's what it means for Jesus
Christ to come into flesh. I'm going to show you that in
just a minute. This is the foundation of hope.
Here it is right here. My son, verse 1 and 2, attend
unto my wisdom and bow thine ear to my understanding. that
thou mayest regard discretion, in that thy lips may keep knowledge." It's what he said. Give heed. Give heed to Christ and stretch
out your ear. I'm listening this morning. I'm
listening for Christ. I'm listening for consistency.
I'm listening for what I know so. And if I hear anything, that
goes against the grain of what I know is so, what God's taught
me in my heart according to the Scriptures. I'm going to have a question
for you afterwards. Bow your ear to my understanding. Take heed, Mark 4 says, what
you hear. Don't listen to lies. Take heed how you hear. Why? That thou mayest regard
discretion. Now, you might misunderstand
what he just said there. You know, when we think of discretion,
we think of kind of weighing a few things back and forth.
And that is true. This word right here, It means
that you might recognize wicked inventions. That's what the word
discretion there means. That you might guard against wickedness that's being preached. That you might be protected from
the language of these false prophets. Here's how. warned to avoid it. If you think, just look at the
next verse and that word discretion will make sense. That thou mayest
regard discretion that thy lips may keep knowledge. Why? Because
the lips of a strange woman drop as a honeycomb and her mouth
is smoother than oil. The language of an adulterer,
a spiritual adulterer, a strange woman, It just oozes like honey out of a honeycomb.
It just runs. Oh, we love everybody. We just
want you all to come worship with us because we love people. We're against abortion. We're against all ungodliness
and wickedness. And we got things for your children
because we love your children. Because we love you. Her words just oozes of absolute profanity. But she's a deceiver. Deceiver. Let me tell you what false religion, false religion
is based on two principle lies, two principle lies. All false
religion, well, I say not all of it, but all of it pretty much
that I know of. The reason I say not all of it
is because Some don't even profess Jesus Christ. You take, you know,
Muslims and, you know, they don't even mention the name of Christ.
But it's all based on man's works for righteousness. But here's
what the majority of false religion sets forth. Two lies. Number
one, that God loves everybody. And here's the second one, that
Christ died for everybody. Now that's two lies. Two lies. Don't believe every
spirit. If you're listening to somebody
and they are setting forth that God loves everybody and that
Jesus Christ died for everybody, I'm going to show you from the
Scriptures that that's a lie. That's not true. I'll tell you the third thing
about false religion that reveals how false they are is what they
don't say. I mean, they'll say a lot of
real flowery things, you know, and I mean, they'll preach that
they want this world to be in harmony and we want, you know,
we want flowers And I want everything to be great. And I want us to
be able to meet together. And I just want to give you a
big hug because we love you so very much. And we're so thankful
that you're here today. And we want to do everything
we can to help you. But all the while, whether they're
telling you how much they love you, it's what they're not telling
you. They're not preaching the gospel
of God's sovereign grace that Paul said, I'm not ashamed of
because that's the power of God. That's what God blesses. But
according to those two things, they say that God loves everybody.
Psalm 5.5 says, the foolish are the boastful that make a show.
shall not stand." That means they will not remain in thy sight. The foolish shall not stand in
thy sight. Thou hatest. And it means to
hate personally. I've heard people say, well,
you know, the Lord hates sin, but He doesn't hate the sinner. Get a concordance and look up
that word It means to hate personally. Thou hatest all workers, those that do or make, all workers
of iniquity, all unrighteousness. Now, it would be very easy to
conclude from our old man, fallen nature man, And men are only
hated as long as they're in spiritual darkness. You can say, well,
God, He only hates people as long
as they're in darkness. But then once they give their
heart to Jesus, once they decide to follow the Lord and walk down
the aisle or be baptized or become this religion or that religion
or join a church or turn over a new. Once they do that, then
he loves them. Well, if that's the case, then
I've got two problems with that thought. Number one, for God
to go from hatred to love, would give me a problem with
Jeremiah 31.3, the Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying,
I have loved thee with an everlasting love." Before Jeremiah was ever physically
born, the Lord said, I loved you. And all of His people in
Christ, this can be said of. Therefore, because I loved you,
With lovingkindness have I drawn thee." So if he hates all those
in unbelief, what about Jeremiah? Was God a respecter of persons
to Jeremiah? You see, something's wrong here.
God loves everybody. Well, here's the second thing
I've got wrong with that. The Lord says I don't change. Listen to me. when Almighty God says, The foolish
shall not stand in thy sight, thou hatest all workers of iniquity. Listen to me. If God has ever hated, He always hates. If God has ever
loved, He always loves. You think that's not so? Then
you explain to me how God changed. He said there's no shadow of
turning. There's no insinuation of turning. You see, the problem
with false religion is that it caters to the flesh. And the
flesh does not want to be told. I've told you this before. You
know, people, we read in the scriptures how you'll be hated.
You know what man hates? He hates the truth. Hates the
truth. You know, immediately you just
thought of spiritually, and that's right. But let me ask you this. Do you really want to know what
your co-workers think about you? Really? Really? He asked him, he said, you know
what, do you think I'm the best worker here? No, you're not. Do you think my hair looks good
today? No, I really don't. No, I really
don't. Do you think I need to lose a
little weight? Yes, I do. Yes, I do. You don't want to
hear the truth. I don't either. I hate to be
truthful. It takes a new heart for a man
to believe the truth. You tell someone before God calls
them out of darkness what they are before God? A stinking worm. A maggot. You're nothing. You're nothing. Man hates that. So here's the thing. Believe
not every spirit. When man tells you God loves
everybody, he didn't love Esau. He hates the workers of iniquity.
And He doesn't change. If He's called a man out of darkness,
a woman out of darkness, it's because He everlastingly loved
Him in Christ. And He loved Him based totally
on that which the Lord Jesus Christ would make that man to
be. Paul says, I am what I am by
the grace of God. That God would look upon a man
in mercy and compassion and love him. He loved him for Christ's
sake. He loved him for the honor, the
glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. Not for what that man would do.
Consider a man outside of Christ. The Lord said, I love righteousness.
I hate iniquity. Here's the second thing, the
second lie, that Christ died for everybody. Turn with me to
John 10. Now, here's what I want to ask
you. Let me ask you this, and be honest. Well, be honest in your heart. I pray that the Lord makes me
to be. John 10. Now, listen. Christ
died for everybody. If that's so, then He died than
to make salvation possible. If he died to make salvation
possible and somebody doesn't get saved, then that means that
some of what he did was in vain. He provided it. He died for everybody
so that everybody could have the opportunity to be converted. Well, think about what that just
said. Number one, look what disgrace
it puts on the blood of Christ, on the sacrifice of Christ. He
didn't accomplish everything. He wanted to. He tried. He wanted
to. But then on the other hand, it
made salvation to be left in man's hands. Man was the one
that was going to have to make it effectual. You see how that
Christ died for everybody. Well, let me not give you my
opinion. What does the Scripture say?
John 10, 14, I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep and am known
of mine as the Father knoweth me. Even so know I the Father,
and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have
which are not of this fold, them also I must bring. And they shall
hear my voice, and there shall be one fold and one shepherd."
So here's what I know. The Lord Jesus Christ lays down
His life for the sheep. Or the sheep He has. They're
not of this fold of the Jewish. They're not of the nation of
Israel. There are some Gentiles. And
them I must bring. They must bring. This is, they
shall hear my voice. They shall. Now look at verse 22. And it
was at Jerusalem, the Feast of the Dedication. It was winter.
And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon's porch. Then came
the Jews round about him and said unto him, How long dost
thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us
plainly." Jesus answered them, I told you and you believe not.
The works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me.
But listen to verse 26 concerning the sheep. But ye believe not,
because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. My sheep
hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow Me, and I give
unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall
any man pluck them out of My hand. My Father which gave them
Me is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out
of My Father's hand. I and My Father are one." Now, John 6.37 says, that my Father giveth unto me
shall come to me." Now, based on what you know about what that
Scripture just said, here is what the Lord said. I lay down
my life for the sheep, or the sheep I have that were
given Him according to what we just read. My Father which gave them Me."
According to Ephesians 1, before the foundation of the world,
all that the Father gave Him are His sheep. And all that the
Father gave Him shall come to Him. And He will
give them eternal life. And they shall never perish. If a man leaves, a woman leaves
this world in unbelief, were they of the sheep of God? No. No. How do you know? Because the Lord said that all
My Father has given Me shall come to Me. Those that My Father
gave Me, I give them eternal life. And he told the Pharisees,
the reason you don't believe is because you're not my sheep. My sheep hear my voice and they
follow me. So my question to you is this. Does God love everybody? And
did Christ die for everybody? Now whatever you say, Better agree with Scriptures.
Because if it doesn't, something's wrong. Believe not every spirit, but
try the spirits. How? By your own wicked heart? By the way you... Well, I think
that it's... Listen. Try the spirits by the
Word of God. And if it be not according to
the Scriptures, this is the conclusion. You're
a false prophet. And everything that you say about
how much you love people and care, if a man loves you, we're
commanded to love our neighbors. I told you before. But loving
your neighbor is to be truthful with him. A man loves his wife. Be truthful with her. Truthful. Tell the truth. She'll tell you
the truth. Do you lie to your spouse? Don't believe every spirit. Beware of that false religion.
Turn back to Proverbs 5. That speech is oozing with honey
inconsistent with the Scriptures. Man tells you we love everybody. Jesus died for everybody. God
loves everybody and so do we. And Jesus died to make salvation
possible. That's a lie. That's a lie. Jeremiah 23, 29 says, Is not
my word like a fire, saith the Lord, like a hammer that breaketh
a rock in pieces? I'm telling you, that Word right
there, that truth that was just set forth concerning God's honor,
God's glory, God's salvation, you know what that does to a
man? You think, whoa! Man, that was straightforward. We talked a moment ago about
just a few more setting suns. This is the God that we're all
going to stand before. And in that day, to tell him,
I just didn't think it was that important. He is the one that says, depart
from me, you workers of iniquity. I never knew you. I'm going to
tell you something. He said, my sheep, Hear my voice."
And they follow. They follow. Make your calling
and election sure. They follow Him. Not their dictates. Not their thoughts. Not their
lies. They follow Him. We're warned to avoid that strange
woman. Why is that? Look at verse 4
and 5. Her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. Her
feet go down to death. Her steps take hold on hell.
Her destruction, her end, her future is bitterness. And it's
a poisonous curse is what it is. Sharp or sharpened as a two-edged
sword. A sword. That's going to be dealt
with according to God's Word. You know what this false woman
promises is 180 degrees from what the Word of God sets forth. It's true. Christ is the way. Not false religion. Not your
profession of faith. Christ, He is the eternal surety
of God's sheep. He's the only begotten of the
Father. He is the obedient and accepted representative of all
that God's everlastingly loved. Bow to Him. This strange woman,
her end is bitter. The Lord said concerning His
sheep, I've come that they might have life and they might have
it more abundantly. I am the Good Shepherd. The good
shepherd that giveth his life for the sheep, her feet, her journey, her way,
it goes down to death, to ruin. And those that follow after her,
follow after her straight into damnation. Avoid her. Lest thou shouldest
ponder the path of life, verse 6, The Lord says, lest you should
think about and consider what she's saying. Her ways are movable
that you cannot know them. She's inconsistent. They're movable. The wiles, the trickery of false
religion. like the wiles of the devil, are most easily detected by what
they don't do. They're not consistent. Her paths are movable. They always have something different,
always got a new gimmick. We're going to have the Festival
for Jesus. We're going to have Musicians
for Christ. We're going to be sticking $10
bills in some of the pews this Sunday. Come and see if you're
a lucky winner. A new gimmick, a new method.
Her ways are movable. that you cannot know them, lest
you should weigh and consider the road of life. This is how you know." She's
staggering all the time. Do you know what is the consistency
of where the gospel is preached? Do you know what is the consistency?
You hear the Gospel every time. You think, is there anything
else that you people do? Thanks be unto God. No. This is the only message that
you that believe will find any comfort in. Tell me again, as I've said before,
how God's put away my guilt. Tell me that one more time. Tell me how the Lord who never
changes, tell me one more time how He's loved me in Christ.
Tell me again about sovereign grace. Tell me one more time
how without Him I could do nothing because I know that's so. Tell me again. You never waver. We don't have anything else.
And by the grace of God, we won't have anything else. There won't
be any festivals here. We're not going to have any cake
sales. Go buy one somewhere else. By the grace of God, we're going
to meet two times a week here. Two times. We're going to meet
together and we're going to talk about the glory of God. And who
knows? Maybe God might save one of your
kids. Maybe he'll save your mama or your dad, maybe, for adventure. But I can tell you something
for a fact. If the gospel is not preached,
no one will be converted. Does God bless a lie to the salvation
of His people? No. Going somewhere and listening
to somebody Preach a lie. All in the world you're doing
is you're causing them to think you believe what they're saying. How do you know that? I'm going
to prove that to you right here. Verse 8 and 9, "...Remove thy
way far from her, and come not nigh at the door of her house,
lest thou give thine honor unto others, and thy years unto the
cruel." False religion is a smokescreen. Don't go where the gospel is
not preached. I didn't read verse 7. I'm sorry.
Let me read it now. Hear me now, therefore, O you
children, and depart not from the words of my mouth. This is
all one statement. Remove thy way far from her,
and come not near the door of her house, lest thou give thine
honor unto others in thy years under the cruel." What does that
mean? There is a corruption within
every believer that you cannot flirt with. Paul the Apostle revealed what's
inside us nature in our flesh. Turn from every place that does
not exalt and preach and magnify the Lord Jesus Christ as He is
sovereignly set forth. Don't cater. Well, I'll tell
you what I could do. I'll go with you. And then you come with me. I'll go and listen to what your
preacher has to say and you come and listen to what mine has to
say. Listen. I understand that. I understand
that thought process in my flesh. I understand it in my flesh.
I really do. But based on the Word of God, remove thy way far
from her and come not Nye the door of her house." Marvin, don't you think that
maybe if I come, maybe they'll come? Let me ask you this. Do
you think by your trickery or manipulation or something, are
you going to help God? Don't do it. Don't do it. Pray for them. Encourage them
to come. but don't bargain with them. Why? What will happen? The Scripture says, verse 9,
"...lest thou give thine honor unto others in thy years unto
the cruel, lest strangers be filled with thy wealth, and thy
labors be in the house of a stranger." Don't go somewhere and make them think that you believe them. What happens
is when you go there, you give your wealth in their mind. You really don't. I know you
don't. But in their mind, you give credence to what they believe.
In their mind. Well, you know, Marvin came. He came over here and, you know,
He came over here and obviously, you know, if he comes, Brother
Scott came. And Brother Scott's been here before. You see what
happens? You give honor in their mind
to their lie. Don't do it. Don't come nearer. Don't come near the strange woman
and let that adulterer be filled or satisfied with what you know
is so, and she thinks that it belongs to her too. Don't depart from the words of
his mouth. That's what he says. Don't depart,
verse 7, from the words of my mouth. If God's given you a heart
to believe, that what is preached here is so. Don't depart from
it. If you're not convinced of it,
then... But if God's given you a heart
to believe, this is the truth. And I'm not leaving. If God settles
a man or a woman's heart, they won't leave. I'll tell you what,
they'll turn their back on you before they'll turn their back
on God. They won't leave. They'll stay. Don't do it, lest you give your
honor to others in thy years unto the cruel, lest strangers
be filled with thy wealth, and thy labors be in the house of
a stranger, and thou mourn at the last, when thy flesh and
thy body are consumed, and say, How have I hated instruction,
and my heart despised reproof? and have not obeyed the voice
of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed
me. Disregard," the Lord said. What's said here? And leave this
world thinking that the hearing of the gospel was not that important. And He said, this is going to
be the end. You'll mourn at last when thy
flesh and thy body are consumed. And he said, and you'll say,
how have I hated instruction and my heart despised reproof?
I wouldn't listen. There would be weeping and wailing. Verse 14, I was almost in all
evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly. Here's the subtle conclusion
of a believer. I was but a step. but a heartbeat
in my understanding. Eternally, God Almighty everlastingly
loved His people. He chose them in Christ. They
were going to hear His Word. But a believer looks back on
himself and realizes before God called me out of darkness, comparatively
speaking to what I know of myself, There wasn't an ounce of difference
between me and those that God left to themselves. How is it
that God Almighty? There wasn't a sin that I was
not guilty of. I had nothing but contempt for
Him. I didn't believe Him. I heard
the truth. And there was a time that I just
didn't care. I just didn't care. You say, can that possibly be?
Think back on the parable of the sower. When the Word of God
is sown, falls by the wayside, some just don't care. How many have sat here, Mike,
that just didn't care? Just didn't care? Some heard,
and oh, for a little while, they sprung up quickly. Persecution
for the gospel's sake came out of it. No root. Some stayed for
a long time. Fell on thorny ground. Thorny
ground. What is that? Cares of this world. When things in this world take
a precedent over the gospel. But some fell on good ground. by the grace of God. I was almost
in all evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly, but
God had mercy on me. Had He left me to myself, what would have been my end?
To think how many people that I've been in contact with Every
once in a while I'll reflect on people I went to school with,
people I was in college with. Of all the people that I know
of that I went to college with, I don't know where all of them
are, but all of them that I know of, I don't know of anybody. People in my family. People in my family. And I think when I tell you that there was
in me, even I've got enough sense to look back on myself and know
something of what I was. I was almost in all evil in the
midst of the congregation and assembly and God showed mercy
to me. Why would He do that? Because
He chose to. Was there anything in me that
He saw that was worthy? No. The Lord looked down, the
Scripture said in Psalm 14, 2, upon the children of men. And let me tell you how many
of all that He ever looked at, how many sought Him? None. How many good were there of all
the children of men, all the men, women born in Adam? How
many good ones were there? None. None. And that God would show
mercy to me. I can stand here right now and
make that statement and I am absolutely taken away in the
wonder of that. That I can stand here by the
grace of God. and say that God showed mercy
to me. I pray God saves somebody today.
I pray that the Lord open a heart and reveal Himself. Scripture asks this from the
words of our Lord. Why will you perish? Why will
you perish? Our Father, Today, thank You. Thank You for Your truth, Lord.
Truly, Your Word is sharper than a two-edged sword. Truly, Your
Word does not cater to the flesh. Truly, Your Word is a Word that
breaks the rocks. Lord, but we realize this, the
truth The truth as it is in Your blessed Son shall set us free. Lord, Your Word brings us and
puts us in the dust before You. It causes us to admit salvations
of the Lord. Lord, would You have mercy. Save Your people. Call Your own
unto Yourself. Glorify Yourself in the salvation
of Your elect. You said You would do these things,
yet for all these things would You be inquired of. Lord, even
that thought is too high for us. But in obedience to Your
command, we ask You, have mercy on this city. Lord, call out
those that oppose themselves. Everlastingly loved, have mercy. Save our children. Lord, save
our neighbors and friends. Let us call upon You for mercy. Bless this word to our hearts
as we ask for Christ's sake. Amen.