Proverbs 17 14 the beginning
of strife is as when one letteth out water Therefore leave off
contention before it be meddled with There's a time factor here
before that's the aspect of the letting out of water that is
detailed here before. Don't let it break out. That's what that word meddled
means, to break out. The idea of letting out water
is that it begins maybe with just a drip, and then becomes
a fast drip, and then a little stream, and then a big stream. And I suspect every one of us
has experienced this in our lives. There's a contention, a disagreement,
some division between you and somebody else. And it tends to
become worse. And once a disagreement, a contention
becomes open contempt, it's not easily reversed. It's a lot easier
to fall out with somebody than it is to fall back in with them.
And as I said, the word metal means to break out, leave it
off before it breaks out, before it becomes such a deluge that it's impossible
to stop. When it's just a single drip,
or even before that, when you know it's gonna happen, leave
it alone. My pastor, in Texas used to say
a lot. Vicki would laugh if she was
in here. He used to say a lot. Let it go. That was a byword
of his ministry. Let it go. And it was good, good
advice. He said that before it was a
song, by the way. The other thing about water is
when it does break out, there's no putting it back. much less
stopping it. There's no putting it back. Letting
water out of a receptacle is pretty easy, but try getting
it back in. Wise words here in our text. Cut it off before it breaks out
or it begins to flow. Shut it down. Wise words. Contention is a product of pride. It always helps to trace something
back to its source. If you want to cut it off, find
out where the source is. Cain was proud of his offering.
He offered of the fruits of his field, of the work of his hands,
his plowing, his planting, his reaping. He was proud and he
resented the fact that God would not accept him and his offering. He was jealous of Abel, who God
did accept with his offering. Cain was proud of himself. He
resented God for punishing him. Cain couldn't hurt God, so he
murdered the one God did accept with his offering. And I keep
saying with his offering because God doesn't accept anybody without
an offering. Cain's offering, or Abel's offering,
rather, was an animal offering, offered by faith in the Lord
Jesus Christ. We have that clearly revealed
in the New Testament. By faith, Abel offered the more
excellent sacrifice, which by faith was the Lamb of God. All contention, and always remember
this, all contention, it doesn't matter what it is, wars, murders,
vendettas, hatred of each other, fights, divisions, all of it
originates with man's enmity against God. And that's the mind,
now the scripture says the carnal mind is enmity against God. That word is extreme hatred.
And that's the mind we're all born with, the carnal mind or
the fleshly mind. That's how we're born into this
world, enmity against God. And that's our real problem.
If you're gonna shut it off, find the source. Listen to Isaiah 45, nine. Here's our problem. Woe unto
him that striveth with his maker. Let the potsherds strive with
the potsherds of the earth, Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth
it, what makest thou? Or thy work, he hath no hands? Now think about that. Let the
things made strive with one another, but don't strive with your maker. But the thing is, striving with
one another comes from your strife with your maker. Our enmity against God breaks
out in all manner of rebellion, even little children now. Why
don't they just instinctively do the right thing? They instinctively
do the wrong thing, don't they? Every time. Every toy was my
toy. Sharing has to be taught, doesn't
it? Kindness has to be taught. Selfishness doesn't have to be
taught. Anger doesn't have to be taught.
It just kind of happens, doesn't it? But it breaks out as time
goes on. And that's why it's so important.
The scripture teaches very clearly to restrain that when children
are young. The scriptures are very, very
clear about that. Restrain it when they're young
now, because it's gonna break out worse and worse. It's not
gonna get better. Little cute things become jail
time eventually, if it's not restrained. God's authority has
got to be established. The home, the family, the parents,
the children, God establishes his authority in the home, in
society, in the church, all out throughout this earth, and it
can't be violated without consequence. and it'll break out into all
manner of rebellion and sin, and it's impossible to put it
back. You can't put it back. It can't be reversed, not by
us. And we have to start there. Now,
what are we gonna do about it? Well, Matthew 19.25, his disciples
heard it, the Lord, dealt with that rich young ruler and he
said, go sell all that you have, give it to the poor, come follow
me and you'll have eternal life. You'll be perfect. And he couldn't
do it. And the Lord said, how hard it
is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. It's easier for
a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man
to enter the kingdom of God. And his disciples said, It says
they were exceedingly amazed, saying, who then can be saved? Who can be saved from their sin?
Who can be saved from their path of destruction? Who can be saved
from their pride and their selfishness and their false gods? But Jesus beheld them and said
unto them, with men, this is impossible. But with God, all
things are possible. You can't put the water back
into the balloon or whatever it is, or back into the faucet.
God can. Thank God he's done something
about it. We read a while ago from Isaiah 45, 10, turn over
there with me to Isaiah 45, and I want you to look at the context
of that with me. Remember that verse, Woe unto
him that striveth with his maker. Woe unto the man that striveth
with his maker. Here's the next verse, verse
10. Look at verse 10 with me, Isaiah 45, 10. Woe unto him,
remember the other, verse nine started out with woe, woe unto
him that striveth with his maker. Woe unto him that saith unto
his father, what begettest thou? Or to the woman, what hast thou
brought forth? Thus saith the Lord, the holy
one of Israel and his maker, the maker that you should not
strive with. that you cannot strive with.
Here's what he says, ask me. Isn't that beautiful? Our Lord said, you have not because
you ask not. Ask and you shall receive. Instead
of flying off the handle and hating God and living, you know,
I'll live it my way and all that kind of rebellious evil, ask
God. What can be done? You made me,
you're my maker and everything I have is from you. What can be done about this?
My wretchedness, who shall, Paul put it this way, who shall save
me from the body of this death? Hmm. Ask me about what? Ask me of
things to come concerning my sons and concerning the work
of my hands. Command ye me. Be determined
to get an answer. There's a sense in which we can't
command God of anything, but what he's saying is, don't go
to bed until you find out. Command ye me. of my sons, of my work. I have made the earth and created
man upon it. I, even my hands have stretched
out to heavens and all their hosts have I commanded. I have
raised him up in righteousness." Who do you think this is talking
about? He said, ask me about my sons. If you're gonna know
something about God's sons, you're gonna have to know something
about his sons. I have raised him up in righteousness
and I will direct all his ways. He shall build my city. That's
the city we've been talking about in Revelation, the new Jerusalem. He shall build it. And he shall let go my captives. Who are we captives of? Well, sin, we're captives of
sin, we're captives of Satan, taken captive by his will, the
book says. Taken captive by him at his will,
we're captives of the law of God. Guilty, condemned before God. He shall let them go. Not for
price nor reward. He is the price. He is the reward. Saith the Lord of hosts. And notice what it is that man
strives with God about. Just a couple more thoughts.
Think about that. What is it that man is striving
with God about? In 45.13 there, It talks about saying to the
one that formed you, why have you made me this way? Does that
ring a bell? Look at Romans 9, 11 with me. In Romans 9, 11, and in this
passage in Romans 9, Paul is referring to Isaiah 45, 13, where
we read. to strive with your maker is
to say, why'd you make me like this? Man says that on every level
now, don't they? Every level, they rebel against
God's work, God's creation, God's everything. But look what it
says, for the children being not yet born, neither having
done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election
might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth. It was said
unto her, the elder shall serve the younger, as it is written,
Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. What shall we say
then? Is there unrighteousness with
God? God forbid, for he saith to Moses, I'll have mercy on
whom I will have mercy. And I will have compassion on
whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that
willeth. Religion can talk about man's free will all they want
to. You're not gonna be saved by your will. Your will is the
problem. It is not of him that willeth.
It is not of him that runneth. And that word is strabbeth. It
is not of him that does something for God. Preaching the gospel
is not trying to get you to do something for God. Religious
false preachers all over the place are saying, do this for
God, make a decision for God. What are you gonna do for God?
Are you kidding me? What you've done for God is your
problem. Preaching the gospel is we're fixing to find out today
whether God will do something for you. That's what needs to
happen. but of God that showeth mercy. For the scripture saith unto
Pharaoh, even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I
might show my power in thee, and that my name might be declared
throughout all the earth. Therefore hath he mercy on whom
he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth. Thou wilt
say then unto me, and people do, Why does God yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?
If everything's according to God's will, how can he find fault
with me? Nay, but O man, who art thou
that replies against God? Here's Isaiah 45, 13 right here. Shall the thing formed say to
him that formed it, why hast thou made me thus? I don't recommend
it. Hath not the potter power over
the clay of the same loam to make one vessel unto honor and
another unto dishonor? Isn't it amazing? You think about
this. Isn't it amazing that God made man, put him in paradise. Man sins in the garden, establishes
rebellion against God in pride. You will be like God. You will
decide what's good and evil. That's what Satan whispered.
And we bought it, we wanted it, we still do. That's what it's all about. That's
what man's free will. The only one with a free will
is God. And man wants to claim that because
he wants to be God. It happened in the garden. It's
still playing out before our very eyes. Man wants to even
decide now whether he's a man or a woman or whatever he wants
to be, something in between. It's man's will or God's will. That's the enmity. But how amazing that we sin and
we go out from the garden, banished from the communion and presence
of God by nature, And we commit all manner, the imagination of
man's heart was only evil continually. And God prophesies of a savior. There's hope for sinners like
you. You're a wretch, you ought to go to hell yesterday. But
there's hope for you in Christ. There's shed blood that washes
away sin. You know what man's biggest problem
with God is? How he saves sinners. You would think just the fact
that God saves sinners would make us real happy. But the biggest,
greatest point of enmity between God and man is how he does it.
If it doesn't acknowledge me in something I do, then I don't
want no part of it. You talk about depraved. But with God, There's mercy,
even for the proudest, most vile rebel in this world. Turn with
me to Ephesians 2.14, and we'll close with this. There's still hope for you. Aren't
you glad? There's still hope for us. Ephesians 2.14. For Christ is our peace, who
hath made both one and hath broken down the middle wall of partition
between us, having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even
the law of commandments contained in ordinances, for to make in
himself of twain one new man, and so making peace, and that
he might reconcile both unto God. reconciliation, putting
away the enmity. We beseech you, Paul said in
2 Corinthians 5, we beseech you, be you reconciled to God, for
he hath made his son to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that
we might be made the righteousness of God in him. And look at this,
that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross. What hope is there? The cross,
Christ and him crucified. Having slain the enmity, thereby,
by that cross. By submitting himself into the
hands of wicked men and being crucified and slain, wherein
he offered his own soul unto his father, an offering for my
sin, the only one God will accept. Every other offering that's ever
been offered is a picture of Christ crucified. The only
blood that can wash away sin. Paul said, the blood of bulls
and goats can never take away sin. But John the Baptist pointed
at the Son of God and said, there's the lamb that does take away
sin. One hope, one thing needful,
the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen, let's pray.