to Matthew chapter 13, please. I ask that you put a little mark,
a little piece of paper, maybe take one of those little envelopes
that are in front of you and put it in your Bible because
we're going to read some verses here and then come back to it
at the end. Have you ever attended a motivational
speech? You know, there are billions
of dollars being made by men who stand up in front of thousands,
in fact, millions of people and tell them how they can be better
people. Oh, wait a minute. That sounds like I'm describing
a church, doesn't it? Have you heard the story about
how I was in Amway one time? Everybody, yeah, yeah, we heard.
John, we've heard that. Good, because that story about
the Cadillac is really embarrassing, but it's fun to tell. You know, I was thinking about that
this morning. I'm sure thankful the Lord didn't give me the stupidity
of purchasing a new Cadillac. I bought an old used one, which
was really good because I wasn't working at the time. Motivational speeches. You can
do better if you just do this. Sounds like that thing Amway. Sounds like most works religions
today, doesn't it? Sadly, this is exactly what most
pulpits have succumbed to in this present day. A country singer
wrote it this way. Looking for love in all the wrong
places. We love to hear things that make
us feel better about ourselves, don't we? You can't see it right now, but I have a trophy. Many years back, the Lord blessed
me with an ability to drive a semi through a bunch of little cones
with just inches on each side, good enough that I won in competition. And I was actually able to go
to the national championships in St. Louis in 1988. I'll tell
you. They gave me a belt buckle. I have a trophy. I feel so good about that. It actually
is a pretty cool belt buckle, but I don't look at it the same
way I used to anymore. My reasons for sharing it with
you is, folks, we make trophies out of anything. We make trophies out of our children.
Do you see how good my children are? They went to college. They're doctors. They're lawyers. They're politicians. Oh, that's
not so good. We'll make trophies out of our
mates. I got the most beautiful wife
in the world sitting right there. That's my trophy. I'm married up. make trophies out of our vehicles. Do you know I ride a Harley?
Do you see what I'm saying? But there's a trophy that we
make for ourselves that deceives us in a great, great way. That's the trophies of self-worth. I feed the poor. I don't smoke. I don't drink. I don't cuss. I do this. I do that. My good
works are my most dangerous trophy. Scripture warns us about thinking
more of ourselves than what we truly are. Pastor Jim, Tim James, Tim James, I just said Jim, I'm
sorry. Pastor Tim James. He preached a message titled,
Do You Feel Better? Do you feel better? When you
hear the Word of God preached, when you go into a place that
you consider worship, do you feel better about yourself when
you walk out that door? Now listen to what I'm saying.
Hear me out. The message starts now and I hope to end it in about
35 minutes. So don't jump too fast at what
you're going to hear me saying right now. Do you feel better
about yourself, about the way you walk? I'm so righteous now. I went
to church this morning and I'm feeling so much better about
it. I can go home and watch football and drink and cuss now. This is a great question for
any who sit before a pulpit and listen to one speak. Do I feel
better about myself? Is the message that you just
heard glorifying man? Because if it's glorifying man,
you will walk out that door and feel better about yourself. The pastor told me what such
a good person I am. The pastor told me that I'm such
a good person because I love all my neighbors now. Is that the message you hear? Does it glorify man or do you
hear a message that gives Christ all the glory? In 2 Corinthians 10, chapter
10, verse 17, we read these words, and this is the Word of God,
but he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. My title this morning is, Blessed
are your ears. Our Lord will not share His glory
with another. Plain, simple, a fact. The only message that will bring
true hope to a lost and sinful world is the message of Christ
and Him crucified. But that message doesn't bring
hope to everyone, does it? The God of all creation, the
Lord Jesus Christ, walked this earth and preached Himself, and
men turned a deaf ear to that. He told those unbelieving Jews,
I told you who I am. In fact, all the miracles I do
prove to you who I am, but yet you do not believe because you
are not My sheep. My sheep, He says, hear My voice. The message of Jesus Christ and
Him crucified, the very message that the Lord Jesus Christ Himself
preached, men turn a deaf ear to. It's the only message that
will that will bring salvation to
the heart. But not all will hear it, and
not all will listen to it. The Gospel is preached to many,
but few will understand. Are you with me in Matthew chapter
13? Look at verses 15 through 17
if you would. We're talking about Matthew chapter
13, beginning at verse 15. For this people's heart is waxed
gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they
have closed, lest in at any time they should see with their eyes,
and hear with their ears, and should understand with their
heart, and should be converted, that I should heal them. But
blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they
hear, For verily I say unto you, that many prophets and righteous
men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have
not seen them, and hear those things which you hear, and have
not heard them." Folks, this is the grace of God. This is
the love that God has for His people. For we all came into
this world with deaf ears, with blind eyes, Yet by His mercy,
His grace, and His love, He has come to those that He has loved
from before the world was and given them life to hear these
words. I'm magnifying the love of God
that He has for you. This is the message. We don't
deserve any of it. We can't earn anything of it.
It is only because He loves us that we have it at all. Does the message you're hearing
make you feel better about your walk in this world? Mark your
spot here in Matthew and turn over to 2 Samuel chapter 23.
We just read about Folks whose ears were stopped up. Folks whose
minds were closed to the truths of God. 2 Samuel chapter 23, if you would. David, a man after God's own
heart, was at the end of his life. He could look back and
see all of the things that he had done in the world as he had
walked. He could see all the good. He could see all the bad. I can imagine all the pride that
one might take, all the trophies that one might have in what they
have done. David had many. He was the king
over the nation of Israel. He had accomplished many things.
He had plenty of opportunities to bring good things for his
people, and I'm sure he did. I'm sure there were many regrettable
things also. Have you ever done anything you
regret? Scriptures tell us about one
thing for sure that he did that he regretted didn't. Dare I say the name Bathsheba? As one in our elder years would
lay in thought and look back over our time on this earth,
the carnal mind might consider such things, things that we had
done, that make one feel good about ourselves. Yet this one, this one whose
heart was set upon God, This One who is set before you and
I in Holy Scriptures as an example of one of God's children took
no solace, took no peace, took no thought of what He had done
with His own hands. His thoughts were not on the
great things He had accomplished, but they were on this. Look at
verses 1-5. Chapter 23, 2 Samuel, verse 1. I'll get it right here. Let me
try one more time. Now these be the last words of
David. David, the son of Jesse, said,
and the man who was raised up on high, the anointed of God
of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel said, The Spirit of
the Lord spake by me, and His word was in my tongue. The God
of Israel said, The rock of Israel spake to me. He that ruleth over
men must be just, ruling in fear of God, and he shall be as the
light of the morning when the sun rises, even a morning without
clouds, as the tender grass bringeth out of the earth by clear shining
after the rain." And here's what I want you to see. What are David's
most important last statements? And although my house be not
so with God, yet he hath made me an everlasting covenant, ordained,
ordered in all things, and sure. For this is all my salvation
and all my desire, although he make it not to grow. Notice that
David did not look at his own deeds. David looked, as all of
God's enlightened children do, to our only assurance. To the only assurance that we
know to be true and sure. God hath made me an everlasting
covenant, ordered in all things and sure. Did you know God made
a covenant with Noah? Let me tell you about it. In
Genesis chapter 9 verse 11, you don't need to turn there. I will
establish my covenant, says God, with you. Neither shall all flesh
be cut off any more by the waters of a flood, neither shall there
be any more be a flood to destroy the earth. God Almighty made a covenant
with Noah right there. That's the same covenant that
he made with David. Did you know he made a covenant with Abraham?
Listen to these words in Genesis 17, verse 7. And I will establish
My covenant, the Lord says, between Me and thee, and thy seed after
thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant to be
a God unto thee and to thy seed after thee. That's the same covenant
that David was speaking about. The same covenant with David. David was of the seed of Abraham. And we know that everyone was
of the seed of Noah, don't we? Did you know that God made a
covenant with Adam? Turn over to Genesis chapter
2, if you would. Our Lord is a covenant God. He
comes to you and I with promises. Genesis chapter 2. Will you read with me verses
15 through 17. Genesis chapter 2, 15 through 17. And the Lord God took a man and
put him in the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And
the Lord God commanded the man, saying, of every tree of the
garden thou mayest eat freely. Now here comes the covenant. Here comes the promise. But of the tree of the knowledge
of good and evil, Thou shalt not eat of it, for in the day."
Catch those words, folks. It's not an if. It's not a maybe. Our Lord God Almighty does not
deal in maybes. He's a sure thing. And everything
He says is a surety. For in the day that thou eatest
thereof, thou shalt surely die. That's as much as a promise as
it is the promise that we shall have eternal life for those who
believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, for those who are brought to
life by God Almighty. The very promise of eternal life,
there is a promise of death in hell. Romans chapter 6 verse
23, we read this, for the wages of sin is death. In Genesis chapter 3 we read
this, And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto
the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree of which I
commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it, cursed is
the ground for thy sake. Everything about what we see
on this earth is cursed and will burn up in the end. When Adam sinned, he threw the
entire creation into damnation. All that is of this world is
cursed and will burn in the end, and that includes your good works. Everything about this flesh will
fade as a flower fadeth. Folks, we are but a wisp in this
thing that we know as time. Would you turn over to the 89th
Psalm? I can't help but bring this up
again. But that dear man, And I do call
him a dear man because I pray that the Lord may take the words
that God gave me to speak to him when I took him to the book
of Romans chapter 9 and we walked through there and I showed him
where God declares Himself to be the potter, the ruler over
everything. I pray that the Lord may lay
upon that dear man those words. that He may open the heart of
that dear man and draw him to the gospel of truth. But He said
this to me, the Gideon, He said, we don't talk about hate. God's Word does talk about hate.
He hates sin. He hates exactly what you and
I walked in until He called us out of that darkness in the day
of His love. He hates it so much that He sent
His only Son to shed His blood for His loved people so that
He wouldn't look at our sin anymore. The payment was made by His Son
in His blood. God looks down upon us now as
perfect and holy as His Son, the Lord Jesus. Does the message you hear make
you feel good about yourself? Or does it make you feel good
about the Lord and what the Lord has done for you? If you're walking out of this
building this morning feeling good about the works that you've
done in your life and the goodness of yourself, then you're hearing
the wrong message. David's message was this, although
my house be not so with God, yet He hath made me and everlasting
governance. Not just a promise, but a promise
that is ordered in all things and sure. For this is all my
salvation and all my desire. Is that your prayer? The message
of joy, the message of comfort, the message of rest to a poor
sinner. Our rest, the only rest, is in
this. God the Father, God the Son,
and God the Holy Ghost made a covenant with each other. They made a
pact. They made a promise, one that
could not be broken. Why? Because He's all-powerful.
And God does not lie, and He does not change. Do you know
all the covenants God made with mankind? Mankind have broken. Not one covenant God has made
did He break. These three, these thrice holy
entities of God, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Ghost,
they have a pact, they have an agreement, they have a covenant. Yes, three distinct persons,
yet one God. They are of one mind, they are
of one purpose, they are the one in power, one in omnipotence,
one in omnipresence, one in all things. And that is the salvation
of their people to bring glory to the Son of the Lord Jesus
Christ. And that pact is to save this
people for Himself. A number that no man can count.
A number from every tribe, every tongue, every nation, everyone
throughout time that belonged to Him. Aren't you thankful that we're
included in that? Look at this psalm if you would,
89. I've got to kind of hurry up. Sorry. Look at Psalms 89 verses
20-37. I have found David my servant,
with my holy oil have I anointed him. with whom my hand shall be established,
mine arm shall be strengthened in him. The enemy shall not exact
upon him, nor the son of wickedness afflict him, and I will beat
down his foes before his face and plague them that hate him.
But my faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him, and in my
name shall his horn be exalted. I will set his hand also in the
sea, and his right hand in the rivers. He shall cry unto me,
Thou art my Father, my God, and the rock of my salvation. Also I will make him my firstborn
higher than the kings of the earth. My mercy will I keep for
him from evermore, and my covenant shall stand fast with him. His
seed shall also I make to endure forever in his throne as the
days of heaven. If his children forsake my law
and walk not in my judgments, if they break my statutes and
keep not my commandments, then will I visit their transgressions
with the rod and their iniquity with stripes. Nevertheless."
Aren't you thankful for nevertheless? Nevertheless, Pauline Mary, God
has a plan for you. Nevertheless, my loving kindness
will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness
to fail. Although my house be not so,
he says, With God, yet He hath made with
me an everlasting covenant." Folks, the world is walking in
darkness to these truths. You and I know this, for we were
once walked as blind men ourselves. We once walked in the same darkness,
yet we have always been God's people. We just couldn't see
it. We were blinded by the death
of our spirit. We needed somebody to give us
life so that we could see His truth. Aren't you thankful for
the nevertheless? Nevertheless? We have heard the Word of Truth
with new ears. God-given ears. And the truth
is this, salvation is of the Lord, not of man. The truth is this, that salvation
comes through the Son of the living God. God was manifest
in the flesh. He walked perfectly as a man. He walked as a 100% man, hungering,
thirsting, understanding the very trials that you and I go
through. Yet He was also God with all
power. All power in heaven and earth. We have new ears to hear that
salvation comes through His works and His works alone. It is only
the blood of Christ, the blood that was shed on that old rugged
cross that we sang about, that we would lay down our trophies
that we create in our own lives. I couldn't get those words out
of my mind. I was ready to sing the song without music because
I wanted you to hear these words, lay down our trophies. And I'm
speaking to me. I got bigger trophies than any
of you got. I can easily think more of myself
than any of you can think of yours. I know because I see what's
in my heart. And you see what's in yours.
You know what I'm saying. We have new ears to hear how
salvation is Jesus Christ and where He is right now, sitting
on His throne in heaven, working all things out for our good. I know John's got a little pride
going on right now. But that pride was laid upon
me, my Lord says. I took that. I made that my own
and I buried it. I buried it in the ground with
the shedding of my own blood. And that's what he says to each
and every one of you, his children, those that he has loved from
before the world was. Is there any good? Is there good
in what we do now? Yes. Absolutely. Folks, help people when you can. Do you know God brought a man
here this morning for me to help before services? I have to share it with you because
this is what I'm talking about. There is good in what we do here
on this earth. But I don't want to be a braggart
of it. That God brings things into our lives where we can show
goodness to people. Go out and be good. Is there
good in what we do? No, absolutely. But that's not
our assurance. Don't walk out that door this
morning thinking, I helped a poor person today. Walk out this door
thinking, God has saved me. A wretch! I brought this up in Bible study.
The Orioles have a great dip for food. It's called sweet and
sour sauce. My sin is sour to me. But oh, the sweetness that my
Lord loves me and has taken that sour away. I know. I'm getting there. My good works is not what my
assurance is. That's not my trust. I have no
confidence in the flesh. That's not what brings everlasting
joy. God's grace is my assurance. God's covenant mercies are my
delight. Hearing the truths of God's purposes
for His people is what brings peace to my soul. Turn again
to the 13th chapter of Matthew. And may God give us ears to hear
these truths. To hear the truths of perfect
hatred for sin. Why is that important? Because
my sin the Lord hated, and He hated it so much, He laid it
upon His Son. He killed His own Son for us.
out of mercy and grace and love for you and I. May God give us ears to hear
the perfect love of God for His people. What is the will of the Father
is that the Son should lose none. He's God. How could He lose anything? Are you with me? Back in Matthew
chapter 13, look at verses 3-9. And he spake the Lord Jesus Christ
many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went
forth to sow. Now, most of you folks, I believe
you folks are all here familiar with this, aren't you? The sower?
The parable of the sower? Okay, for time's sake, I want
to jump from that because over to verse 37 if you would. We
all know about the seed and the good ground and the hard ground
and the stony ground. Look at how our Lord explains
it over in verse 37. He answered and He said unto
them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of Man. Who? Who is it? The Lord Jesus. The field is the world. That's
you and I. all full of weeds, grows up,
gets brown, dries and blows away. The field is the world, the good
seed are the children of the kingdom, but the tares are the
children of the wicked one. The enemy that sowed them is
the devil, the harvest is the end of the world, and the reapers
are the angels. As therefore the tares are the
gathered and burned in the fire, so shall it be the end of this
world. The Son of Man shall send forth His angels, and they shall
gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and them
which do iniquity, and shall cast them into a furnace of fire.
There shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous
shine forth, as the Son and the kingdom of their Father, who
hath ears, let Him hear." if God were giving you an insight
into your departure this very moment. If the Lord opened your eyes
and showed you that within the hour, your time is going to come. People go around saying to you,
well, how would you live if you only had an hour to live? Well, David showed us, didn't
he? He showed us very clearly. Will
you hear my words? My Lord is everything. He's my all in all. He loves me with an everlasting
love. If God were to show you this
moment, the time of your departure, and you saw that your time is
near, what would be your joy? What would be your peace? He who hath an ear, let him hear. Let's close with these words
from Isaiah chapter 55. Turn over to Isaiah chapter 55. Isaiah chapter 55. He who hath an ear, let him hear. Ho, every one that
thirsteth, Come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money, come
ye buy and eat. Yea, come buy wine and milk without
money and without price." We come to the Lord Jesus freely. Freely because He has paid the
price. Verse 2, Wherefore, do ye spend
money for that which is not bread, and you labor for that which
is satisfieth not? Hearken diligently unto me, and
eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself
in fatness. Incline your ear, and come unto
me, hear, and your soul shall live. And I will make an everlasting
covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David." He's talking
about David. And what did David go to his
death? What did he go with on his lips?
My God, my God. Behold, I have given him, verse
4, for a witness to the people, a leader and a commander to the
people. Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not,
and a nation that know not thee shall run unto thee because of
the Lord thy God and the Holy One of Israel. For He hath glorified
thee. Seek ye the Lord while He may
be found. Call ye upon Him while He is
near. I implore you, Call upon the name of the Lord
with all your heart, but know this, if you do, it's because He's
given you a heart to call first. We love God because He first
loved us. Are you going out of these doors
today joyful in what you have done? Or are you going out of these
doors today joyful in what God has done for you? There are two messages in this
world. The messages of that there is
something that you have to do to be saved. And I don't care
what religion you put that on. You can put that on any single
religion you want. They're all the same. You've
got to do this. You've got to do that. It's called the religion
of works. But God's Word says you're saved
by grace. A gift from Him. Because if it was of works, you
and I would be making trophies of it just like this belt buckle
I wear. Just like the good works that
we do. See what I have done. And then there's the other religion. The religions of grace. The religion
of grace. God's grace. Amen?