I like his, all the hymns we
sang, they're just good. If you'll notice there, teach
me thy way and every one of those thy way, thy is capitalized and
way is capitalized. Teach me Christ the way. All right, let's turn to Jeremiah
chapter nine, Jeremiah nine. looking at the church at Corinth
and what Paul had to tell them and that first letter to the
church at Corinth I believe Paul just got through reading Jeremiah
probably chapter 9 and he set that down and reached out for
a pen or have somebody write for him to the church at Corinth
I'm gonna quote him some but Maybe we can get a good handle
on it. Jeremiah 9, verse 23 is where we'll begin. This is just
one paragraph. It's two verses, one paragraph,
and it stands alone. Jeremiah 9, 23. Thus saith the
Lord, let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the
mighty man glory in his might. Let not the rich man glory in
his riches. But let him that glorieth glory
in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the
Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in
the earth. For in these things I delight,
saith the Lord. He begins, thus saith the Lord.
And he ends with, saith the Lord. The Lord's speaking. The Lord's
speaking. There's a colon there at the
end of verse 23, and that means what follows will give us a better
understanding of what was just said. It's going to expound that
thought. But what is that statement? What's
that instruction that we're given? Verse 23, thus saith the Lord. Oh, that we'd be given ears to
hear him. God's gonna say something. Wouldn't that be something if
we could hear it? He'd give us, I mean, to listen. My dad used
to interchange those words. Don't just hear me, listen to
me, and don't just listen to me, hear me. I wanna hear and listen.
Thus saith the Lord, let not the wise man glory in his wisdom,
neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich
man glory in his riches. I was thinking, that's a long
time ago from Jeremiah's day, isn't it? Is there anything different
in our day? What do I glory in? What's the
things I like? What's the things you like? There
are three things that mankind's very interested in and all three
of these means It puts us just a little bit above somebody else.
Have you noticed that? If somebody's better at something
than you are, you're like, mm, I don't like that. Yeah, but
I know how to fly airplanes, right? They're in better shape
than I am. Like, well, you know, I'd like
to study a lot. Or if I study a lot, they say,
well, I like to work out a lot. I've got to take care of this
body. We want to be above somebody else. That's our nature. to know
more, to do more, and to instruct. Everybody wants to instruct everybody.
It blows my mind. I'm drowning in it. But we want
something that puts one worm, this worm, just a little bit
higher than the other worms on the dunghill, because that's
what's happening in there. Ain't we all worms? Ain't the cause
of God's mercy is why we're not consumed? Need to remember that,
don't we? Wisdom. Let not the wise man
glory in his wisdom. Me knowing something and you
not. Knowledge. That gives me an advantage over
someone else. The wisdom to get ahead, right? To beat someone
to the punch. Paul said there in 1 Corinthians
8, he said, we know that we all have knowledge. Everybody knows
something, but knowledge puffeth up, but love edifieth. I know, I know. How about love? You ought to do this. You ought
to love. You see that? Might, that's strength and health,
yes, but also power. Might's also position, isn't
it? Everybody's jockeying for position,
to give ourselves titles over things and to have a hand in
something. Pilate had that, didn't he? And
Nebuchadnezzar. Pilate told our Lord, we just
looked at that. He said, speakest thou not unto me? Don't you reply
to me? Knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee
and have power to release thee? He told the God of all power,
don't you know who I am? He was Pilate. He was the governor,
wasn't he? But that knowledge and that position
puffed him up. He didn't go to him in love,
saying, I need to be loved. I'm unlovable. I need mercy. Puffed himself up. Riches, wealth,
money, yes, but also rich in children. rich in friends, rich
in experiences, rich in the abundance of the fruit, whatever it is,
the increase, right? The Lord gave a parable, and
I thought, man, what if I got up and preached and talked about
them four types of ground? The parable of the sower and
the seed. Either have ears to hear, let him hear. What if I
heard a message like that? I'd be like him apostles. I'd
say, Lord, tell me what that means. I heard you, but I want
to pay attention to you. He spake a parable there in Luke
12. He said, the ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentiful.
And he thought within himself, saying, what shall I do? Because
I have no room where to bestow my fruits. And he said, this
will I do. I'll tell you what I'm going
to do. I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there
will I bestow all my fruits and all my goods. And I'll say unto
my soul, soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years.
Take thine ease. You ain't gonna work no more.
You've worked hard enough. Sit down, eat, drink, be merry.
You did good, that's what he said. You've earned it. Treat
yourself. But God saith unto him, this
whole nation's wrapped up. in that, right? The time of ease
that we well deserve to learn. God says, thou fool, this not
thy soul shall be required of thee. Then who shall those things
be that thou hast provided? All that stuff that you've done,
that's what we looked at last hour, wasn't it? Jacob had all
that stuff, it's just stuff, it's his. The Lord gave that
to him, it's his stuff. What's our improvisations? You did good.
Nah, Joseph did it. Big difference. A friend of mine
called me and asked me about that camel going through the
eye of a needle. He said, I heard that that was the gate, that
was the walk-through door, and it could have been a wind tunnel,
you know, where the natural bridge, kind of, and they had to get
down off oars and crawl. And I said, the apostles, who were
commercial fishermen that had left that and got even poorer
by being the servants of Christ financially, said, who then can
be saved? They weren't millionaires. Maybe
it ain't talking about money, huh? The Lord saved a lot of rich
folks. He said, enough with all those things you provided, your
soul is going to be provided or required this night. He said,
so he that layeth up treasure for himself is not rich towards
God. You're just babysitting. That's
God's things. That's his money. That's his
time, his children, his wisdom, his experiences. The Lord did
that. He gave that to a man. Humans are very interested in
these things. We glory in them. What does that mean? What does
it mean to glory? Glory is a verb. Did you know that? It means to
boast. We boast it. That's what we talk about. To
praise, to celebrate, to commend, to applaud these things. That's
what we focus on. We glory in them. Jeremiah 9.23
says, Thus saith the Lord, let not the wise man glory in his
wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not
the rich man glory in his riches. There are people that are wise,
and there's people that are of ability, there are people that
are of position, we all have position to something, and there's
those that have plenty. And all that, those other people
that have all those things, that's for our good, just worldly speaking.
Did you know that? That's for the good of the believer.
That's for the good of the Lord's people. Just because someone's
rich doesn't mean they're going to use you. That doesn't mean
they're mean. Just because someone's very strong, powerful, in position,
or they got big muscles, that doesn't mean they're going to
beat you up and take advantage of you. Just because someone's wise doesn't
mean they're trying, they got an angle, or they're smarter than me, they
must be plotting on me. That's paranoia, that's what
that is. That's fear, isn't it? The super smart, the super powerful,
the super rich. Are they not for our good? Are
they not profitable for the glory of God? He's doing that. The Lord of hosts, that self-existent
one, he said, don't glory in these things. Don't glory in
these abilities. That's what Paul told us in 1 Corinthians
4. He said, who maketh thee to differ from another? What hast
thou that thou didst not receive? Now if thou didst receive it,
why dost thou glory as if thou hast not received it, as if you
didn't? Why do you glory? People don't want to brag on
preachers or compliment them or tell them what a good job,
what a blessing that message was to their hearts because they
don't want the preacher to get puffed up fried. Let me tell you something,
if they're God's servants, he knows how to keep his servants
in line. I know if it's a blessing, God did it. He makes that painfully
obvious to me. About 3.57 a.m. on Sunday mornings. Don't glory in those things.
He did it. Any wisdom, don't get proud. God gave it. Any position, any health, don't
boast in it. The Lord put you there. I'll
go to the other end of the spectrum too. Any woes or sorrows, don't
glory in that either. Lord gave that to you. Well,
I must be a choice servant because he's been awful hard on me. He
must love me more than other ones because he's beating on
me. Don't glory in that either. It's a trial. Glory in the Lord,
any abundance. That's what Paul said in 1 Corinthians
3. So then neither he that planteth is anything, nor he that watereth,
but God gives the increase. So I came in and I said that
and then the Lord used somebody else to preach and they were
baptized in a pool of water. I had to come tell you that that's
what God commands. Who cares? That's a child of
God coming to him. Good. I want to be an unnamed
servant. Everyone all will glory in something.
We're gonna look up to something. We're gonna pray something. We're
going to promote something or someone and commend something. What should we glory in? It's
gonna happen. What should we glory in? Verse
24, but let him that gloryeth glory in this, that he understandeth
and knoweth me. That don't say, that don't mean
going around, I know God and I understand him. Get out of
my way. That's not what he's talking
about. Here's what it's okay to praise. Here's what it's okay
to applaud and commend. That you understand and know
me, he says. Child of God's faced with a strong
trial. Or when we're faced with great ease and comfort. Sometimes
they'll give the reason, the only reason this is is because
I'm a child of God. Why did this great world, what the world calls
benefit? How come the business has been
blessed so much? How come the kids are done doing so well?
How come this is so great? How come everybody's on the honor
roll? God did it. God did it. How come it's so
bad? Why are we in such heaven? Why me? That's what the world
cries, right? Why? God did this. He's on his throne. God sent this. We know him. And I don't know exactly what
he's going to do, but I know whatever is done is his doing.
You get that? It's his will. It's going to
be accomplished. It's going to happen. He's for me. That's all
right. That's what I went to the eye
doctor, and I got some problems in this right eye. And he was apologizing
to me. I said, don't. Lord, let me see
a lot of things on this earth. I got a lot of use out of this
body. It breaks down. That's all right. That's all right, Lord's been
good to me. It's his eye. If he wants to put cataracts
in it, that's his business, ain't nobody else's business. I don't apologize
for that, it's good. As this time of bad things I've experienced in
my life, and people said, how could you be so calm? And I said,
the Lord's revealed himself to me. And then there was times
in my life that everything was going really good. And they said,
how could you be so calm? Why don't you buy some boats
and get you a helicopter or something? And I said, no, because the Lord
revealed himself to me. It's his stuff. Understandeth
and, no, understand what? The holy God that's all wise.
Understand that the holy God that's all powerful and strong.
And he's rich in possessions. This whole universe is his. A
cattle on a thousand hills is his. And that's not, well, what
about the thousand and first hill? That's just the wording,
right? He owns it all. He's rich in
mercy, too. Not just stuff. He's abundant
in grace. I understand, you understand that.
Glory in that. Applaud that. Not your knowledge,
him, a person. Promote that. Promote that. Not fear-mongering and division. Promote Him. But this understanding,
it goes hand-in-hand with something that says there, and. Understand
and knoweth. We have somewhat of an understanding
of who the Lord is. We can grasp His names that we
go through, we look at often, don't we? And we glory in that,
we praise that. But also, you that have a new heart, you that
He's worked in, you can promote that you know Him. not just the
facts that he's on his throne, not just that Christ is the savior
of sinners, I love him because he saved this sinner. Do you
see the difference between the head knowledge, Christ is the
savior of sinners, and the heart, that's what brother Eric wrote
there in the bulletin, brother Ludd, Christ is the savior of sinners, that's
up here. I'm a sinner and Christ saved me, that's here, that's
in the heart. You see the difference? You want a glory in something?
God showed me I was a worm, and he saved me anyway, because he's
merciful. I understand he's merciful. I understand he's powerful, and
he can. He shows love and kindness. What is it to know him? Knoweth
him. We love him, and we're intimate. We're made one with him. Intimate. That's benevolence. That's what
married husbands and wives get to experience, a oneness. We
love him. Isn't that me boasting I love
the Lord? No, it's not. Not if it's with understanding.
Why? What do you understand? He first
loved us. We remember his word, what he said. He loved us first. He laid down his life for me
and I wasn't even on this earth yet. We were yet sinners, he
died for us. He lived for us, he died for
us. Right now he's on his throne, he intercedes for us. When I pray and I don't know
what to pray and I just go, ah, the spirit intercedes with groanings
we can't understand. When I say something I can articulate
as words and I ought to be just moaning, the spirit says, he
said, ah. You get that? Translates it for
us. I understand that and I know
it. I love it. I don't want any other way. You
want another way? Move out the way. Let me talk to God. You
talk for me. You intercede for me. I understand
all things are for my good and his glory. I understand he is
the wise one. He's the strong one. He's the
rich one. And all power comes from him.
And I love it that way. I do. I really do. I love it
that way. I wouldn't have it any other
way. Verse 24 says, But let him that
glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth
me, that I am the Lord which exercise
lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For
in these things I delight, saith the Lord. The Lord delights in
these things. He delights in these things.
He exercises judgment, and you can use that because of the commas.
He exercises loving kindness, he exercises judgment, and he
exercises righteousness. And he delights in those things.
He said so, saith the Lord. Have you ever heard someone phrase
that? Now you do this, and I'll make
God happy. It always benefits the person
that's saying it, isn't it? Have you noticed that? It does.
You children, the Lord says, children, by your parents, that's
the first commandment with promise, you have a long life. But the parent that
says, now, God's word says, husbands, you submit to me, I'm the boss. That benefits me, don't it? Do
this, or do that, or don't do this, that'll make God happy.
If we speak on behalf of the Almighty God of heaven and earth,
I recommend you say what He says, not what you think, and not what
benefits you, what benefits me. What does the Lord say He delights
in? I want to know. I understand Him, I love Him,
and I want to know what makes Him happy. If you love somebody,
you want to know what makes them happy. I'll try not to tell it,
but it happened. I gotta be careful what I say,
what I like. I mentioned I like a certain kind of backpack. I
know somebody else did the same kind of backpack. And we was
talking about that brand. And I said, well, this model,
they don't make it no more. And that's when I wanted, but we'll wait
and see if they make another one next year. You know what
showed up at my house the other day? That backpack, they don't
make no more. I don't know where they got it
from. I looked hard. And I thought, what if I'd already
found one and bought one? Didn't say nothing. They'd have sent it
anyway. They wouldn't have cared. Why? They knew I liked it. I
delighted in those things. They said to me, they said, love
me. I love him who first loved me. And I want to know what makes
him happy. I want to know what delights. He delights. Don't
you want to do that for the ones you love? I love him. What does the Lord delight in?
Exercising loving kindness. Not a cold definition of loving
kindness, but doing it. moving through it, loving kindness.
He creates loving kindness. He's the source of it, and he
exercises it. That means he performs it. He
doesn't just say he loves it. He does something about it. You
can be kind to someone and not love them, but you cannot love
someone and not be kind to them, not have compassion on them.
And we're sinners. The Lord said, your son asked
you for a fish. You don't give him a scorpion,
and you're full of sin. You're evil. How much more my
heavenly Father? You can't love someone and not
be compassionate on them. You can't love someone and not
care for them. Love does something. You want me to tell you what
it does? It bears all things. He exercises loving kindness,
doesn't he? Love bears all things. It believes all things. It hopes
all things. It endures all things. It lasts to the end. Paul told
us that in 1 Corinthians 13. That's why I said I think he's
reading Jeremiah. He said, love suffers long. It's kind. Love
doesn't envy. Love volunteers in all itself.
It's not puffed up. It doesn't behave itself unseemly. It doesn't
seeketh its own. It's not easily provoked. It
thinketh no evil. It rejoiceth not in iniquity,
but rejoiceth in truth, bearing all things, believing all things,
hopeth all things, adoreth all things. Charity never faileth. Love doesn't fail. Well, that
love failed. Maybe it wouldn't love. Well,
no, I thought I really loved him. Maybe we ought to learn
what God says love is. That's where I was in my notes.
I thought I was going to jump ahead. I was going to do it anyway. What's love? In
this was manifest the love of God towards us. God loved the
people. And John says in 1 John, I'm going to tell you exactly
what this means. Because God sent his only begotten son into
the world that we might live through him. He's dead. He's going to die. He sent his
son here in his love, not that we love God, but that he loved
us. And love does something. What's
it do? He sent his son to be the propitiation
for our sins. What's propitiation mean? Acceptable bloody sacrifice,
the mercy seat. He sent his son to be the mediation
for us, to be forsaken because he's for us. That's love. That's love. You find some criminal
somewhere that I don't, have anything in common with and I
hate and they hate me and they said sacrifice one of your children
for him. Ain't no way. Ain't no way. I ain't wired that
way. We was enemies with God and he sent his son to lay down
his life for us. That's love. That's what he delights
in because that's what he did. In John 13, he loved his own
which was in the world. He loved them to the end. All
the way, all the way. He delights in exercising judgment.
He exercises loving kindness. He delights in exercising judgment.
I thought of there in Ezekiel, it says it three times. He has
no pleasure in the death of the wicked. I've been accused of
things of what I believe. Here's what God says. I believe
what he says. He said in Ezekiel 18, for I
have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the
Lord. Wherefore, turn yourselves and live ye. He said, it doesn't
make me happy to send people to hell. Bow to Christ. Live. But they won't. They won't. Lord said, I took you underneath
my wings like a hen takes its chicks underneath her, but you
wouldn't. You said, I won't have this man rain on me. I know.
I know what's right. It's what we've always done.
How can he delight in judgment? He delights himself in justifying
his people. He loves judgment. It's His holy
law, and you know what I'm gonna do? I'm gonna be just, and I'm
gonna justify those that I love, and all that judgment's gonna
be satisfied, because I'm gonna put it on my son. For God so
loved the world, He gave His only begotten Son. And the judgment for those in
Christ, those He's represented, it took place on Calvary, didn't
it? That's where it took place. And we look unto Jesus, the author
and finisher of our faith, who for the joy, The joy, that's
exercising love and kindness, isn't it? For the joy set before
me endured the cross, despising the same, and he sat down at
the right hand of the throne of God. He was risen because
it was just. The Lord said, I delight in justice and judgment. I delight
in love and kindness. How could a just and holy God
exercise love and kindness and judgment? Because it was exercised
in righteousness. He delights in righteousness.
How was righteousness exercised? Where did justice and mercy meet?
In the person and the work of Christ on Golgotha's heel. Perfect judgment, justice, holiness
was all maintained at the same time loving kindness and mercy
and compassion was exercised to an undeserving people. The
Lord said in Isaiah 53, yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him.
He hath put him to grief, when thou shalt make his soul an offering
for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and
the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall
see the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied. Satisfied
by his knowledge. What about our knowledge? By
his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many, for he
shall bear their iniquities. That one that knows that revealed
himself to his people. He revealed himself to me. Glory in that. That's something
glory in it. Do you understand him? Do you
love him? Then you praise, exalt, glorify his name. You want to
glory in something, glorify in him and him. Turn over to first
Corinthians. So did Paul's like he's reading
that first Corinthians one. Verse 26, Paul's writing to those brethren,
brethren at Corinth. It's in 1 Corinthians 1 verse
26. For you see your calling, brethren,
how that not many wise men after the flesh Not many mighty, not
many noble are called. There's some, ain't there? Not
many, though. I mean, we got it made. We are,
right now in this country, the lower class has it better than
Rockefeller had back in his day, the health care, medicine, everything
else. We got it made. We're all but noble, ain't we?
A friend of mine, I made this reference a couple weeks ago.
He asked me the other day, and I thought, well, I'll just type it out,
because instead of just trying to text or something and email
it to him. But there's a Christmas dinner. years ago, and they was
going around the table, and they were saying what they were thankful
for. They didn't have Thanksgiving in that country, but they were
saying what they were thankful for. And in attendance was Queen Victoria.
She was there. And everybody went around the
table, and most of them mentioned their health, and their wealth,
and their diligent queen. They even thanked, well, we're
thankful for you. That's what I'm thankful for, and just being
a kiss up, you know, trying to smooch on the queen and gain
benefit. But it was Victoria's turn. Came
to Queen Victoria, and I said, Queen, what are you thankful
for? And she goes, I'm thankful for the letter M. What? You ain't thankful for this big
palace, or being a queen, or this, or that. You're thankful
for a letter? M? Not even A? Thankful for letter M? Why? They
were just perplexed. And I said, why are you thankful
for the letter M? And she said, the scriptures say that not many
noble are called. She said, if it said not any,
I'd have no hope. She's thankful for the letter M. We might meet
her one day. I don't know. She might be up
for it. Verse 27. But God hath chosen
the foolish things of the world to confound the wise. God hath
chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things
which are mighty. the base things of the world, to the things which
are despised hath God chosen. Yea, and things which are not,
to bring to naught the things which are. That, he did all this,
that no flesh should glory in his presence. Don't you glory
in your wisdom, don't you glory in your might, don't you glory
in your riches, because no flesh is going to glory in his presence.
If that's of you and your riches, your might, your wisdom, your
knowledge, your understanding. Ain't gonna happen. But, of him are
ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made of us wisdom and righteousness
and sanctification and redemption. That, there's a reason, what's
it say there in your Bible? That, according as it is written,
he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. I think that's what Paul was
reading, don't you? He had a bunch of it. People talk all about
his health, and if he's tall or short, if he's hunched over,
and eye problems, and cataracts, and all that stuff. But he was
a man of position. He had some power. He had some
upward mobility in this world, didn't he? The tribe of Benjamin
circumcised the eighth day, and he said, you think you kept that
law? You better look out, buddy. I got more to boast in than you
do. And he said, I count it all but dung. Go look that up in
Webster's Dictionary and send me words. We have an hour a day
to consider that. That's what it is. Dung. Everything. That I may know him.
I want to know him. I want to understand him. Do
you? Do you? I know him and I understand him.
And you know what? I want to understand him and know him more. I do.
All right. Let's pray together. Father, thank you for revealing
yourself to us sorry sons of Jacob. Worms. It's unimaginable, Lord. You
delight in love and kindness. You delight in judgment. You
delight in righteousness and mercy and grace. Lord, we do
too. Christ in us, our hope of glory
Make us look to Him, Lord. Make us glory in those things
and what You've done and Your will and Your purpose and not
in ourselves. Turn us from ourselves and turn us to our Redeemer.
It's because of Him we ask it. Amen.