Turn back with me to Psalm 111.
Psalm 111. Our text is going to be verse
10. Let's read that together. Psalm 111 verse 10 says, The
fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. A good understanding
have all they that do his commandments. His praise endureth forever. What is heaven all about? What are the honest details of
all this? Really? How many churches do
we have to choose from in this town? They all say something different.
You know that? What is the truth? What is the
truth? What does it take to get into
heaven? Who's going to get into heaven?
How good does a person have to be in order to get into heaven? How bad does a person have to
be to be denied heaven and sent to hell? When they stand before
the judge, all proud of themselves, ready to walk in. And he says,
uh-uh. Depart from me. Don't you want to know the answer?
Don't you want to know the truth? I do. I really do. Doesn't it scare you to think
of going through this life just blissfully ignorant of the truth? Only to get to the end and find
out you were wrong. Wrong. I don't want to find out I was
wrong. I don't want to get to the end and find out I was wrong. It's pretty serious, isn't it?
What is the truth in all of this? All this religion? What is heaven
all about? What is church all about? What is worship all about? Why do we come here? Why do we come here? Heaven's all about doing the
best you can. Trying to do the right thing.
That's what heaven's about. We go to church because you're
supposed to. You're supposed to. Who doesn't
go to church? It's the right thing to do. That's
why we go. We've got to obey the rules.
We've got to do our part. We've got to do some good so
we can balance out all those bad thoughts and all those bad
words we said because I did say them. I will admit that. I did
think it. So we've got to do some good
so that we can balance it all out in the end. We're going to
have some scales in the end. And the good's got to outweigh
the bad. It will all come out in a wash.
That's why we go to church. Is that not what most people
believe? Really, if you ask a lot of people, that's what they would
tell you. If I believed that, if that's
all I believed, then when I get to my end and I go to meet God
and I stand before God, I am not going to possess the
one thing that He requires in order to enter into His kingdom.
And He's going to reject me and He's going to send me to hell.
That's the truth. That's the truth. Let me prove
that to you in Proverbs chapter 1. Go with me to Proverbs chapter
1. Proverbs 1 verse 24 says, Because
I have called and ye refused. Now this is God talking. Because
I have called and ye refused. All through this word He says,
I am your God. And I don't need you to let me
be. I am your God. I own you. I control you. You belong to
me. I made you. I'm the one who breathed
life into you. Hath not the potter power over
the clay to make of the same lump one vessel to honor and
one to dishonor? Who do you think I am?" But he says, No, you don't. You don't own me. You don't control
me. I will not have that man reign
over me. Verse 24 says, Because I have
called, and ye refused, I have stretched out my hand, and no
man regarded. Now, who all does that include? No man. It includes me. I didn't regard him. He came
unto his own and his own received him not. Am I proud of myself
if God had mercy on me? No man regarded. But ye have said it not, all
my counsel, and would none of my reproof. Verse 26. He says,
I also will laugh at your calamity. I will mock when your fear cometh. When your fear cometh as desolation,
and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind, when distress and
anguish cometh upon you, then shall they call upon me, but
I will not answer. They shall seek me early, but
they shall not find me. for that they hated knowledge
and did not choose the fear of the Lord." This is hard, isn't
it? This is hard, isn't it? Now,
if I had cancer, if I had cancer, would I want
to get rid of that cancer or would I want to sweep it under
the rug and not worry about it? Which is it? And if I go to a
doctor, would I want him to tell me the truth or lie to me and
squirt some perfume on me and say, have a nice day? It hurts. It hurts. He said, for that they hated
knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord. How does
a person choose the fear of the Lord? Is that what he means right
there? Choose the fear of the Lord?
Can you choose to be afraid? I hate scary movies. You know why?
They scare me. I don't like it. I don't watch
them. Can you choose to be afraid? Okay, I'm going to scare myself
silly. You ready? One, two, three. Can you choose to be afraid? Truly afraid deep in the heart
when fear takes hold on you. True horror in every fiber of
your being. Can you choose that? Can you? Have you ever chosen that? No. Fear is something that happens
to you. Absolute fear is outside of your
control. It's something that overtakes
you in spite of the fact that you don't want it. I don't want
it. Every time I'm truly afraid,
I don't want it. If I'm in a place where I really
don't want to be and I start getting scared, I don't want
it. I don't want it. That's man by nature. He will
not have this fear. He doesn't want this fear. The
natural flesh does not want it. Our Lord said in John 15 verse
16, ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you. I chose you. It says they did not choose.
because they would not choose, because they could not choose.
Couldn't do it. Why would they not? Because Genesis
6, 5 says, the thoughts and the heart of every man on this earth
is only evil continually. Now, when he says every man on
this earth or all the world, who does that include? That includes me. Well, if they would come, why
can they not? Even if they would, why can they
not? It's because Ephesians 2 verse
1 says we're all dead in trespasses and sins. There's the dead man in the casket.
Choose it. He can't. He's dead. Most people believe we're just
behind the mark a little bit. We go to church to get a little
pat on the tail. Come on now. We've done a few too many bad
things and we need to make up for it. How good does a person have to
be to get into heaven? Here's the answer. As good as
God. He will not accept anything less
than His equal standard. Other than that, it's not coming
in. No sin is coming in. Turn with me to Psalm 24. Psalm 24 verse 3 says, Who shall
ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who shall stand in His holy
place? He that hath clean hands. Absolutely clean hands. Well, I haven't done anything
wrong. I really haven't. Police have never been after
me. Really? Have you ever gotten
mad at somebody? Our Lord said in Matthew 5, if
you've gotten angry with a person, you have committed murder in
your heart, and thou shalt not kill. It says right here in Psalm 24
verse 4, He that hath clean hands and a pure heart, Oh, she's got
a heart of gold, I'm telling you. A heart of gold. Really? Have you ever lusted after another
person? Really? Honestly? Our Lord said if a man looks
on a woman, or if a woman looks on a man, he or she has committed
adultery. He that hath clean hands and
a pure heart, who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor
sworn deceitfully." It's not looking too good, is it? When the Lord started telling
the disciples these things, they said, Lord, then who can be saved? You have excluded everybody. How bad does a person have to
be to be denied heaven and cast into hell? All he has to do is
break one of God's laws. Not a life of breaking God's
laws. All he has to do is one time
in his life break a law and he can't come in. I'm telling you
the truth. I'm telling you, I'm telling
you the truth. All right, now let's start with
thou shalt not lie. Bear false witness. And turn
with me to Psalm 58. Psalm 58 verse 1 says, Do ye
indeed speak righteousness, O congregation? Sweet congregation, we're all
just gathered together here to go to church. Do you indeed speak
righteousness, O congregation? Do ye judge uprightly, O ye sons
of men? Yea, in heart you work wickedness. Who's that talking about? Me. I'm just telling you the truth.
I could stand up here and lie to you and say, now y'all need
to start living like I do. Don't do that. Do as I say and
not as I do. Verse 2 says, Yea, in heart you
work wickedness. You weigh the violence of your
hands in the earth. The wicked are estranged from
the womb. They go astray. As soon as they
be born, speaking lies. All right, now I'm going to ask
myself this question on behalf of all of us. This question is to me. Have
I ever told a lie? Yes. Yep, I sure have. I've told lies when I had no
idea I was telling lies. I've told lies when I had myself
convinced it was the truth. I've told lies when I knew I
was sitting there telling a lie going, why are you doing that?
Stop! Just shut up and don't say anything
and then you won't be telling a lie. But I did it anyway. Alright, now if I've told a lie,
then do you know, based on this verse right here, verse 3, do
you know what that makes me? Wicked. The wicked are estranged from
the womb. This is how you can tell a wicked
person. If you want to know who a wicked person is, they go astray
as soon as they be born speaking lies. That's how you know. That's
the honest truth. There it is in black and white.
The truth is shocking. The truth hurts. It hurts. I can try to twist it all I want
to. I can make a brand new Bible
that doesn't have those words in it. I can try to cover it up. I can
try to smooth it over. Well, he didn't mean it. It came
out kind of hard, but he didn't really mean what he said. Oh,
yes, he did. God cannot lie. He can't lie. I can try to smooth it over,
but it will not change the truth. The truth is the truth. I must
know the truth. Why? Here's why. It's because the truth will set
me free. It's going to set me free. I'm
in bad shape, y'all. I need the truth, because the
truth will set me free. Now let's go back to our text
in Psalm 111. Verse 10 says, The fear of the
Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Does hearing the truth strike
fear into you like it strikes fear into me? I'm up here saying
these things, but as I'm saying them, I'm thinking, oh, man. Does it strike fear into you
like it strikes fear into me? The fear of the Lord is the beginning
of wisdom, a good understanding A knowledge of the truth have
all they that do His commandments. The fear of the Lord brings a
knowledge of the truth. The fear of the Lord, it brings
a knowledge of the truth. Well, if I can't choose this
fear, okay, what am I supposed to do then? You just said, if
I don't fear the Lord, I have no hope. And you also said I
have no choice in the matter. What am I supposed to do? If I can't choose this fear,
if this fear is something that happens to me, if it's outside
of my control, how does a sinner get this true fear? Turn to Psalm 9. Psalm 9 verse 20 says, Put them
in fear, O Lord, that the nations may know themselves to be but
men. This flesh, if Christ didn't
have mercy on me, This flesh and every other flesh in this
world would walk this earth thinking He's God, thinking He's God,
a little God. I'm going to do what I want to
do. I'll believe what I want to believe.
I'll choose what I want to choose. Put them in fear, O Lord, that
the nations may know themselves to be but men. We're just men, we're just sinful
men and women. Starting right here. If I'm going
to possess this true fear, God has to put that fear in me. He has to put that fear in me.
And when He puts it there, you know it. You know it. Just like all of a sudden you
realize, I don't want to be here. I don't want to watch that. You
know it. And you stop just fearing hell. Nobody wants to go to hell. I
could announce it on the radio. Show of hands, who would like
to go to hell? Nobody. Who wants to go to heaven? Everybody. When the fear of God comes upon
a person, they stop fearing hell and they start fearing God. That's the difference. That's
the difference. This God who we've sinned against,
we start to realize all my sins and all my lies and all my thoughts
and all my deeds have been against my God. Against my God. This God whom
I've blasphemed. This God who does control me. Wait a minute. He does control me. The fear of the Lord is the beginning
of wisdom. Wisdom. Because the fear of the
Lord brings a knowledge of the truth. I am a sinner. I'm a sinner. I am wicked. I do deserve hell. I've been
trying to lie to myself all my life, but if we're going to get
honest here, and if we're going to tell the truth here, I do
deserve hell. I'm a sinner. And He is holy. He is just. He is sovereign. He is God. He's God. Not what I thought
God was. He's God. Now if I can let God
do something, then actually I'm God. But if He has all the say,
and if He has all the power, and if He has all the will, and
if He does everything, then He's God. And we're going to find out who
God is one day. If God ever opens a sinner's
eyes to that, if God ever puts that kind of fear in a person,
do you know what that person will do? He or she will become a seeker
of mercy for the rest of their life. A seeker of mercy. There has got to be a way to
find mercy. This God who is just killing
sin, slaying the wicked, and now I know I'm one of them. There's
got to be a way to find mercy. There has got to be an appeasement
of some kind. There's got to be something that
will satisfy this holy God. There is. Oh, thank goodness. Thank goodness. There is. That's why we come
here. There is. Turn to Leviticus 17. Leviticus 17, verse 11 says, For the life of the flesh is
in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make
an atonement for your souls. For it is the blood that maketh
an atonement for the soul." It's the blood. Hebrews 9.22
says, Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of
sin. What, ten years ago they made
a movie called The Passion. You remember that? The Passion.
And this fool dressed up like the God of Glory and hung on
that cross? Pshh. No idea why Jesus Christ hung
on that cross. No idea. Look at the martyr. Poor man. He was an ambassador of good.
Oh, they killed him. No, they didn't. You know that
nobody killed him. He said, I lay down my own life.
You know why? I'm God. Nobody's going to kill
me. Without the shedding of blood,
there is no remission of sins. But listen to this. Our Lord
said in Exodus 12, 13, When I see the blood, I will pass over you. I'm going to pass over you. What can wash away my sin? Nothing
but the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. I don't need to live right. I
don't need to quit smoking and I don't even smoke. I need blood. That's what I need. You need
blood. That's what you need. We have
a cancer and it's called sin and there's one remedy. You need
blood. Well, guess what? There is a fountain filled with
blood, and it's drawn straight from God's veins, Emmanuel's
veins. And every sinner who he plunges
beneath that flood is going to lose all his guilty stains. Seek the Lord Jesus Christ and
His blood while He may be found. Once a person hears the truth,
Once God opens a sinner's eyes to the truth, they spend the
rest of their life being seekers of mercy, seekers of blood. Seek the Lord while He may be
found. Call on Him while He is near. Mercy, Lord, please have mercy
on me. He said in Jeremiah 29 verse
13, You shall seek Me and find Me. when you shall search for
me with all your heart. What's heaven all about? The Lord Jesus Christ and his
blood and his righteousness. It's not about living right.
It is not. Now, do we make void the law
and go off being hellions? God forbid. It's not about working my way
to glory. No way. It's all about Him and His work
on that cross. What does it take to get into
heaven? His blood. That's what it takes. There is one thing that God will
accept. And He said, when I see the blood,
I'll pass over you. It's the only thing that will
pay my sin off. Pay my debt of sin. Who's going
to get to go to heaven? Every person who's covered in
the blood of Jesus Christ. Every single one. Washed in the blood of the Lamb.
What's church all about? What's worship all about? Why
do we come here? We come here to hear about the
blood one more time. Tell me about the blood one more
time. Tell me about the blood just
one more time. Are you sure that blood was shed
for me? Do you fear the Lord? Are you seeking Him for mercy?
Are you calling and begging while He's near? And yeah, I'm pretty
sure it was shed for you. We come here to worship Him. We come here to thank Him. We come here to praise Him for
laying down His life for sinners like us. We don't deserve it.
I've never done one thing in my life to deserve His blood. Not one thing. We don't just
come here because we're supposed to. We don't just come here because
it's the right thing to do. We don't come here to do our
part. We come here to hear from Him. We come here to hear from Him. and hear about this covering
in our inheritance one more time. And it's called Good News. It's
Good News. Tell it to me one more time.
That song says, sing it o'er and o'er again. Christ receiveth
sinful men. Christ Jesus came into this world
to save sinners. I'm a sinner. That's starting
to look up, isn't it? It's starting to get better,
isn't it? We don't come here because we
have to. We come here because we have to. I have to. I need him. I have to. I need his blood. I need to hear
about it one more time. Alright, now I want to close
by reading Psalm 111 again, the whole chapter, and then we'll
close. Psalm 111, verse 1 says, Praise
ye the Lord. I will praise the Lord with my
whole heart. in the assembly of the upright
and in the congregation. The works of the Lord are great,
sought out, seeker of all them that have pleasure therein. His
work is honorable and glorious, and His righteousness endureth
forever. He hath made His wonderful works
to be remembered. The Lord is gracious and full
of compassion. He hath given meat unto them
that fear Him. He will ever be mindful of His
covenant. He hath showed His people the
power of His works, that He may give them the heritage of the
heathen. The works of His hands are verity
and judgment. All His commandments are sure.
They stand fast forever and ever and are done in truth and uprightness. He sent redemption unto his people. He hath commanded his covenant
forever. Holy and reverend is his name. The fear of the Lord is the beginning
of wisdom. A good understanding have all
they that do His commandments. His praise endureth forever. Ever. If we make it into glory,
you know what we're going to be doing for all eternity? Praising
Jesus Christ and His blood. Thank you for the blood. Thank
you for the blood. Alright, let's stand together.