As always, it's so good to be
with you. It's good to be where it's very
obvious that the Lord's been pleased to bless. Bless his word,
bless his people. And I'm very thankful that the
Lord raised up a faithful pastor. And placed him in this place. Kingsport's a blessed town, believe
me. I'm gonna ask you to take your
Bibles and turn back to Proverbs 21. Proverbs 21. I'd like to look at verse nine
and then the next few verses, say to 13 for a few minutes. Verse nine is actually going
to be where I'd like to begin. The Spirit of God. has related
through Solomon this truth. It's better to dwell in a corner
of the housetop than with a brawling woman in a wide house. Now, Proverbs, there's always a natural
understanding of this scripture. I mean, better to be on the rooftop than
with one that is contentious, angry, self-centered. But it goes both ways, whether
it's a man or a woman. It'd be better, it's better to
have some peace. I was thinking about what you
said, Gabe, concerning the Lord's smell, that sweet savor smell
of rest. And that's what you want. You want rest. And that's the
natural understanding. But I'll go ahead and just end
it right there. That's naturally what it would
say. But let me tell you what we're going to look at for a
few minutes. This brawling woman is setting forth all false religion. That's the, this brawling woman
is absolutely the one that is set forth in The book of the
Revelation, if you want to turn there, it's actually Revelation
chapter 17. Now just hold your place there
and turn with me to Revelation 17, verses 1 to 5. Now, we do not understand how
wonderful it is until the Lord teaches us the wonderful blessing
of being able to sit and to hear the glorious gospel of the Lord
Jesus Christ, where God gets all the honor and all the glory
and all the praise. We don't realize that until we've
been brought out of false religion. Isn't that right, William? I
said, William and Sabrina, I know they're like me. They just, you
know, I don't know where everyone has come from, but I can tell
you this, until the Lord opens our eyes and shows us where we've
been brought from. We don't realize the blessing. Now here's what the scriptures,
it says it's better. It's better to be separated,
brought out, come out from among them. Be you separate, saith
the Lord. This is what we've been delivered from. Now listen,
this is what God's word has said. It's what the Spirit of God,
Revelation 17. This is false religion. Now when I say false
religion, here's what I mean. All religion of the world, that
sets forth that salvation is by something that we do. That sums all of it up. I don't
care what the sign on the outside says, this denomination, this
denomination, there's all bunches of them, but they're all summed
up under this one point right here. You all have to do something. That religion, that is the brawling
woman. Now here's false religion right
here, Revelation 17 one, there came one of the seven angels
which had the seven vows and talked with me saying, come hither.
I will show unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth
upon many waters, with whom the kings of the earth have committed
fornication, spiritual fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth
have been made drunk, they're intoxicated with the wine of
her fornication, with her false doctrine, that's what he's talking
about. So he carried me away in the spirit, into the wilderness,
and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet-colored beast full of names of blasphemy
against God, and having seven heads and ten horns, and the
woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet color, decked with gold
and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand
full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication." She's all
decked out, and she looks religious. She's got beautiful clothes and
beautiful, big golden stuff and this, you know, and upon her
forehead was a name written, Mystery Babylon the Great, the
mother of harlots and abominations of the earth. So this brawling
woman, this woman that it absolutely speaks nothing but blasphemy
against God because this is what she wants. I want the glory. I didn't do much, but at least
I believed. I didn't do a lot, but at least
I exercised my free will. I walked down the aisle. I prayed
through. This is the woman. She's the
strange, turn over to Proverbs 7, just back from a few chapters
from where we are. Proverbs chapter 7. This is the
brawling woman. Proverbs chapter 7. Look at verse 9. Now here she
is in the twilight. In the evening, in the black
and dark night, don't you love preaching that proclaims the
glorious light of Christ? In the glorious face of the Lord
Jesus, it's just set forth glorious light. Let there be light. The light of God's people is
Christ. But here's this woman. She's
in the twilight in the evening, dark. And behold, there met him
a woman with the attire of a harlot, subtle of heart. And here's the
way she is. She's loud and she's stubborn.
Her feet abide not in her house. She's arrayed, the scripture
says, as a harlot, unfaithful, untrustworthy, subtle of heart,
a mistress of seduction. Now, when the Spirit of God is
pleased to set forth how this brawling woman This loud, stubborn
woman pouring out foolish and unchaste words to entice people,
appealing to the flesh. That's what she's doing. She's
stubborn and she's rebellious and she's self-willed against
God. A brawling woman. The word there
is contention. She's in contention. I don't
want to hear what God has to say. This is what I want. But the scripture says that she's
back in Proverbs 21. It says, it's better, verse 9,
to dwell in a corner of the housetop. The word corner right there,
actually just imagine a flat roof with four towers on the
on each corner all right that the corner right there actually
what it was it was a watch place a watch where some could stand
like a a guard to be on guard to be watching to be sensitive
made to be watchful You know, considering yourself, considering
what you need, considering the danger, it's a watchtower is
what it is, a watch place. It's better to dwell, to sit,
to stay, to rest in the corner of a housetop and be aware of
what's really going on. It's better to be in a corner
of a housetop than with a brawling woman in a wide house. Now, what do you mean a wide
house? What does that mean? A house
of enchantment is what it means. Deception. A wide house. Look it up. That's what it means.
It's better to be standing with your eyes wide open and to be
aware of what is really going on than to be in a place in enchantment
and be deceived. But she's all false. She's fake. So it's better, it's
better to be separated from the clutches of the great harlot
of mystery Babylon than to be staying with her. But let me
ask you this. Okay, I know it's better because
the scripture says it's better. But why is it better? I know
it's better. Well, look at verse 10. Here's the reason, first of all,
why it's better. Because the soul of the wicked,
that brawling woman, desireth evil. She desires evil. Here's why it's better. She hates
God. Now I know that the scripture
says that the carnal mind is enmity, is in direct opposition
to God. I will not have this man to rule
over me. Before the Lord opens the eyes
of his people, This is what they do not love. The glorious Christ of God Almighty. He who is sovereign. He who doeth
as he will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of
the earth. They do not like God Almighty who is God. The one
who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will.
Man wants some glory. He wants some honor. And here's
the reason it's better to get away from her. This is the reason
it's better. I know what every religion is
saying. We're all working together. We're
just trying to get there. We're all wanting to go to heaven,
but we just kind of go in there just separate ways, but it's
all, we're like a spoke, a wheel, you know, we're all, no, we're
not. No, no, no, it's better to be
separated because she hates God, the soul, the soul, the mind,
the affection, the appetite of the brawling woman. of false
religion, the wicked, desireth, always desires, and wishes for
nothing but evil. Evil. His neighbor findeth no
favor in his eyes. Now let me just sum up that statement
by saying this. His neighbor, that is the companions
of this brawling woman, or the wicked, his neighbor, the lovers,
all that he associates with, or says that he associates with,
findeth no favor in his eyes. False religion is gonna tell
everybody, we love you. We love this world, we love this
city. We are an association, we're
a church of love. We love you. And all of you find
favor in our eyes. Come and be with us, you know. I mean, just imagine now, this
is what the scripture says. This is a harlot saying that.
Coming up to somebody and say, listen, I love you. You've always
been my favorite. Come on, let's take our fill
of love. The good man's gone. You know,
he's got a bag of money. He's not coming back for a while.
Let's take our feel of affection with each other because, but
the scripture says, his neighbor find no favor in his eyes. He's a liar. She's a liar. She covets and lusts after evil
against God and others. You do not love someone that
you'll lie to. I love my son. I love his family. If Gabe asks me something, it
may hurt him if I have to tell him something that, you know,
but I don't want to lie to him. I want to tell, why? Because
I love him. I want to be truthful. You do not love someone that
you'll lie to. Now you think, your spouse, you
don't want to lie to her. You don't want to lie to him
because it's better to dwell in the corner of a housetop than
with a brawling woman in a wide house. Why? Because she desires nothing but
evil and there's no love. God is love. And there's no love
to that one which despises Almighty God. Secondly, it's better to
dwell separated because in verse 11, when the scorner is punished,
the simple is made wise. And when the wise is instructed,
he receiveth knowledge. It's better to dwell because
I know this, she's under the judgment of God. She's under
the wrath of God when the scorner, now you think, okay, I've heard
that word before, a scorner. Actually, what it means is the
one who makes a mouth at. If someone says something to
someone else and you don't like what they say, I'll give you
an example. I'll show you what I'm talking about so you'll understand. If someone were to come up and
say, I'm really glad to see you. And somebody said, I'm really
glad to see you. Okay, I just scorned him. I mocked him, is
what I did. I took what they said and I made
a mouth at. That's what it is. It's to mock
them, to scoff at them. He that is a scorner, mocks God. He mocks the gospel of God. He mocks the Christ of God. And when the scorner is punished,
and she shall be openly, and I'm going to show you how she's
being punished now, but this is what her thoughts are concerning
her punishment. You talk to the natural, brawling
woman of false religion and ask her, Ask her, do you think you're
under the judgment of God? Let me tell you what she's really
thinking. Hold your place there and turn to Isaiah 47. Isaiah
47. Isaiah 47, starting in verse
7. Now listen, here's the Lord,
the Holy Spirit, relating to the brawling woman. what she's
thinking, and correcting her. This is the Spirit of God speaking
to the brawling woman. It says, and thou saidest, I
shall be a lady forever, so that thou didst not lay these things
to thy heart, neither didst remember the latter end of it. Therefore,
hear now this, thou that art given to pleasures that dwellest
carelessly, that sayest in thine heart, I am, and none else beside
me. I shall not sit as a widow, neither
shall I know the loss of children, but these two things shall come
to thee in a moment, in one day, the loss of children and widowhood.
They shall come upon thee in the perfection for the multitude
of thy sorceries, for the great abundance of thine enchantments,
for thou has trusted in thy wickedness. Thou hast said, none seeth me,
thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath perverted thee. Thou
hast said in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me. Therefore
shall evil come upon thee. Thou shalt not know from whence
it riseth, and mischief shall fall upon thee. Thou shalt not
be able to put it off. Desolation shall come upon thee
suddenly. Thou shalt not know what's happening. The Lord said, The great scourge
comes through in the day of God's judgment, everything you've ever
trusted in. You'll never know what hits you.
In a moment, in a twinkling of an eye, a twinkling of an eye,
it means a measurement of time that cannot even be measured.
Can't even measure, I can't even blink fast enough. Stand now
with thine enchantments, with the multitude of thy sorceries
wherein thou hast labored from thy youth. If so be, thou shalt
be able to profit. If so be thou mayest prevail,
thou art wearied in the multitude of thy councils. Let now the
astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators stand
up and save thee from these things that shall come upon thee. Behold,
they shall be as stubble. The fire shall burn them. They
shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame.
There shall not be a coal to warm at nor fire to sit before
thee. Thus shall they be unto thee with whom thou hast labored,
even thy merchants from thy youth. They shall wander every one to
his quarter. None shall save thee. It's better
to come out. It's better to be separated from
a brawling woman It's better to be in a place of safety, in
that place of watchfulness, you see, it's better than to dwell
in a wide house with her. This is the end of all false
confidence itself. It's better to dwell separated,
delivered from her because that brawling woman is going to be
judged. And I'll tell you, she's already
under the judgment of God. This is an amazing passage to
me. Turn to Luke chapter 10. Now,
while you're turning there, let me just say this. Every one of
us that has been made to see something of ourselves and to
see that we are what we are by the grace of God and brought
out of false religion. We never knew it. We never knew
where we were. We were fooled. We were in a
place of enchantment. We were under that evil divinity,
that devising of witchcraft, spiritual. We didn't know. And
when we were brought out and were made to see what the Lord
has delivered us from, then we see it, until then. But until
we see it, until we know it, we will not believe it. Now you listen. We know that
the great harlot of false religion is going to be judged. But let
me tell you the judgment. And only the Lord knows His people. Only the Lord knows who He's
going to call out of darkness. I don't know. I know He's got
a people. But I can tell you this. If He's pleased to call
them out before they leave this earth, it's by the grace of God.
But if one dies in unbelief, believing this false gospel,
believing this brawling woman, let me tell you that you've witnessed
the judgment of God, that they were not brought out. I'll show
you that. Luke chapter 10, Luke 10 verse
17. And the 70 returned again with
joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy
name. And he said unto them, I beheld
Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Behold, I give unto you
power to tread on serpents and scorpions over all the power
of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Notwithstanding,
in this rejoice not that the spirits are subject unto you,
but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.
And then after he said that, look at the next verse. In that
hour, Jesus rejoiced in spirit and said, I thank thee, oh Father,
Lord of heaven and earth, that thou has hid these things from
the wise and prudent and has revealed them unto babes. Even
so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight. I'm telling
you that to leave this world left in unbelief according to
God's good pleasure, His judgment. Almighty God does as He will. Someone says, well, what if someone
leaves this world in unbelief? It's their fault. It's their
fault. But they left because God was
pleased to leave them in darkness. Now someone can say, I don't
understand that. Well, I'll agree with you. But as the Lord says
it is, it is. Why is it better back in Proverbs
21 to not dwell? It's better because she's evil.
Verse 10, her neighbor finds no favor in his eyes. When the
scorn is punished, and they will be punished, they're under the
judgment of God, God Almighty is going to be exalted. But even
when the Lord is pleased to punish, There's something that happens
to those that's been pleased to show mercy. The simple is
made wise. And that simple right there is
all the vessels of God's mercy. The simple, simple in themselves.
They're made wise. They're made to understand something. They're made wise unto salvation
God sends them a preacher. There's the first thing that's
going to happen. God Almighty is going to put
them under the sound of the gospel. They're made wise under salvation. The Lord sends them a preacher.
Oh, the importance of God raising up a preacher. that will be taught
of God and proclaim the message of the glorious gospel of God's
grace in Christ. They're made wise and they're
taught through the preaching of the gospel. The Spirit of
God blesses it and then they start to learn. Almighty God
was pleased from before the foundation of the world to choose a people
because He loved them everlastingly. and placed Him in the place of
security, of the surety Himself, the surety who eternally stood
for God's people, and to know that the surety was the one that
the Father looked to. I'm gonna look to Him. Now you
know what a surety is, someone that'll put their name on the
dotted line in case you go down to a bank and borrow money and
you need a surety, a cosigner, in case you can't make the payment. Well, I'll tell you this, eternally
God knew. They're not going to make good
on it. So here's what I'm going to do. Just as a bank, when you
prove that you can't make the payment, you know who they're
coming after? The surety. The one that's got
the ability to pay, because they done checked him out. Well, here's
what the father's done. He's eternally, he's looked at
the surety. He never looked at the sheep
again. They're not going to pay. but he's gonna look to the surety. Whenever the Lord is pleased
to leave a scorner to himself, and he does as he will, then
the simple is made wise. And when the wise is instructed,
He receiveth knowledge. He receives that instruction. They've been rescued from that
great harlot, spiritual harlot by God, and they've been taught,
they've been made wise to understand that they've been cleansed from
their filthiness by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and
delivered from all of their idols of false worship, given a new
heart now. By the grace of God, verse 10,
the righteous man wisely considereth the house of the wicked. What
house is that? Well, it's that house that was
built upon sand. Now they wisely look at it and
they see and know, they're taught and receive what God has instructed
them concerning His work and His sovereignty and His purpose
and His will. They wisely consider the house. You that know and been taught,
you wisely consider the house of the wicked. You wisely consider
these places of false worship. And here's what you've come to
the conclusion. That ain't going to stand. Not according to these
scriptures. That's not going to stand. The
Lord's not going to bless that. He's not going to bless a false
gospel. He's not going to bless that
message that doesn't honor His Son. They wisely consider. They know that God is just. You know God is not going to
clear the guilty. You wisely consider when they
say that I can reconcile myself back to God by my work. And a
believer says to me, without the shedding of blood, unless
the Lord sees His blood toward me applied, unless there's an
atonement, you know. Again, you think about an umbrella
that covers over. an umbrella, that would be an
atonement, a covering. Unless He covers me, unless He's
put away my guilt, that's not going to stand. They wisely consider
the house of the wicked. And then lastly, Here's another
thing that they have been made to understand and why it's better,
it's better to come out, come out to that brawling woman of
false religion. Why? Because she is not going
to preach the gospel to you. Now you say, well, considering that not preaching
the gospel, Paul said, I'm not ashamed of the gospel. It is the power of God unto salvation. Does God Almighty save any other
way except through the hearing of the gospel? No. Has anyone ever been converted
and not heard the gospel? No. Is it therefore absolutely necessary
that the gospel be preached? Absolutely. Absolutely. Look at 2 Thessalonians. 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. I
love this passage of scripture. I go back, I quote it and read
it. I like to reconsider it. 2 Thessalonians 2, 13-14. We're
bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren, beloved
of the Lord. Because God hath from the beginning
chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the spirit
and belief of the truth, whereunto he called you by our gospel to
the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Is it
necessary to hear the gospel? Well, let's look at one other
passage. I want you to turn with me to
the book of Matthew chapter 25. Matthew chapter 25. This passage
right here. This is the day of judgment. The day of judgment has arrived.
And the scripture declares that all men are standing before the
Lord. standing before God Almighty.
In chapter 25, the scripture sets forth in verse 31, when
the Son of Man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels
with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory. And
before Him shall be gathered all nations, He shall separate
them one from another as a shepherd divided his sheep from the goats.
And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats
on the left. Then shall the king say unto
them on his right hand, come, you blessed of my father, inherit
the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world, because That's what that next
word means in verse 35. For, because, I was hungered,
and you gave me meat. I was thirsty, and you gave me
drink. I was a stranger, you took me
in. Naked, and you clothed me. I was sick, and you visited me. I was in prison, and you came
unto me. Then shall the righteous answer
him saying, Lord, when saw we thee and hungered and fed thee,
or thirsty and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger and
took thee in, or naked and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick
or in prison and came unto thee? And the king shall answer them
and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have
done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have
done it unto me. Now let me ask you something. What is the importance of preaching
the gospel? The Lord said to his people,
as they stand there in the day of judgment, And he's speaking
to them concerning something they did to him in his people. He said, when you've done this
to the least, to one of the least of these my brethren, you've
done this to me. This is what you did to me. Now you enter in because this
is what you did. He said, when? He said unto them,
look at verse 35. For I was hungered, and you gave me the message of
the bread of life. You spoke of me to my people. You preached the heavenly manna. You preached him that came down
from heaven, made flesh. I was hungry, and you preached
the gospel to me. I was thirsty and you told me
in my people of the water of life. You preached me to them. I was a stranger, an alien and
a stranger to the covenant of promise and you took me in, joined
yourself, associated with me in my people and told me in them
gave to me hope and you proclaimed me as their haven of rest. I was naked and you clothed me. You preached the gospel and you
told them and you did this to me. of myself and my righteousness
that robes them and covers their nakedness. That's what you did.
I was sick. My people, from the crown of
their head to the sole of their foot, because of their fallen
Adam, and you visited me. You relieved me in them, and
you told them of me, the great physician. the healer of souls. I was in prison, bound in trespasses
and sins, and you came to me, telling them, my people, doing
this to me, preaching the gospel, and you told them of the strong
man. You told them of me, the strong
man, who came in and bound one, who had them captive, and delivered
them. out of the prison of darkness
and unbelief, deliverance to the captives. The scripture sets
forth that when we preach the gospel, when a faithful pastor
stands up and preaches the gospel to God's people, he said, you're
doing this to me. You're telling them of me, you're
doing this to me out of faithfulness. It's better, it's better to be
on the rooftop separated than in a wide house with a brawling
woman that will not preach the gospel. It's better. Whoso stoppeth
his ears, the scripture says, at the cry of the poor, the poor
in spirit, whosoever will not You remember when Stephen was
preaching, he was setting forth to the Jews, relating the sovereignty
of God and the mercy of God to his people in Christ. And he
told those Jews, he said, I'm telling you, this is what God
has said. And you stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart, you
do always resist the Holy Spirit as their fathers did. And you
who are the betrayers and murderers of the just one. And when they
heard these things, Acts 7, 54, they were cut to the heart and
gnashed on him with their teeth. They cried out with a loud voice
and stopped their ears. I'm not going to hear that. I'm
not going to hear it and I'm not going to preach it. And they
ran upon him with one accord and cast him out and stoned him.
It's better. It's better. But let me ask you
this. I know it's better. But how am
I going to be separated from that brawling woman? Tell me
how. I'm going to tell you. Almighty
God's going to have to come and deliver me out of the bondage
of myself to that brawling woman. He's going to have to answer
to all of His demands for righteousness and judgment. The Lord Jesus
Christ who came into this world, He hath made Him to be sin. I got a problem with sin. And
Christ was made sin. He conquered sin. He conquered
the debt of it. He conquered. He satisfied the
law that demanded justice. And He bore in His own body The
guilt, the sin made what they are. He conquered death by dying
for us. We died. Paul said, I was crucified
with Him. He conquered death for all of
His elect. He died for them. He conquered
the grave. He died and was buried. He conquered
the grave. What do you mean He conquered
the grave? He came out. He came out. Ephesians 2, and I really am
gonna hush now. Ephesians 2. How did we get out? He satisfied
all the demands of justice, judgment. And you, Ephesians 2, hath he
quickened, made you alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins. dead and couldn't do anything,
knew nothing, just satisfied to be associated with that brawling
woman, wherein in time past you walked according to the course
of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air,
the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience,
among whom also we all had our conversation in times past, in
the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and
of the mind, whereby nature, the children of wrath, even as
others, wrathful toward God. We were children, we hated Him. But God, who's rich in mercy,
for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were
dead in sins, had quickened us together with Christ. By grace,
you're saved. Rescued, rescued. By grace, you've been rescued,
brought out. raised us up together, made us
sit together in heavenly places in Christ, that in the ages to
come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness
toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are you saved through
faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of
works, lest any man should boast. It's better, it's better, It's
better to be in the corner of a rooftop than to dwell with
a brawling woman in a wide house. Now I know it's better. God's people are what they are
by the grace of God. Lord, teach me afresh for Christ's
sake and for my good. Amen.