in the book of Proverbs, Proverbs chapter 21. One of the most wonderful things about God's gospel that's revealed to his people, and it is God's, it's the Lord's gospel. He's the author and finisher of it. But one of the most wonderful things about it is is that we no longer have to fear our weakness.

We don't have to fear our weakness because his strength is made perfect in weakness. We no longer have to fear our sin because he said in Hebrews, when he had by himself purged our sin, he sat down in the right hand of God. They're gone. There's no reason for us not to rest because of our inability, because it was all his ability that enables us to rest. It's his ability that enables us to no longer work, no longer strive to do anything as part or evidence of our salvation.

He has to be the one to do that. And only this gospel, only the Lord's gospel, really gives genuine rest to the Lord's people. All the other gospels are not true. They don't have real rest. There's always something else that has to be done. Something else that has to be, something mandatory that you have to do as part or as evidence of salvation. This gospel says it's finished. That's one of the most glorious truths about our Lord's gospel. And that's what I hope to, I hope that we are able to enter into tonight. So let's read our text together. Proverbs 21. We're going to read verse 13 through 21.

Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard. A gift in secret pacifieth anger, and a reward in the bosom, strong wrath. It is joy to the just to do judgment, but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity. The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding shall remain in the congregation of the dead. He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man, and he that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich. The wicked shall be a ransom for the righteous and the transgressor for the upright. It is better to dwell in the wilderness than with the contentious and an angry woman. There is treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the wise, but a foolish man spendeth it up.

He that followeth after righteousness and mercy findeth life, righteousness, and honor. That's where our title's gonna come from tonight. He that followeth after righteousness and mercy findeth life, righteousness, and honor. The title's Life, Righteousness, and Honor. How do I know if I'm following after righteousness and mercy? All I can see is my sin. How do I know if I'm following after uh, the Lord's righteousness and desirous of his mercy.

Well, he said they, that are wholly not a physician, but they, that are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. If the Lord's revealed unto you that you are a sinner, you'll be begging for mercy. you'll be begging for mercy. That's what a sinner is, is a mercy beggar.

Do you remember the Pharisee and the publican in the temple? One was praying, thus within himself, the scripture says, God, I thank thee that I'm not like other men, as other men are. I tithe, I fast, I do this, I do that. And I thank thee that I'm not like this publican. And the publican wouldn't even lift up his eyes to heaven, but smote upon his breasts and said, Lord, have mercy on me, the sinner. How do I know if I'm following after righteousness and I'm following and I'm desperately needing the Lord's mercy? Well, because he's made me a mercy beggar. You know, the difference between a believer and a non-believer is that a believer believes.

That's it. We're not gonna see a bunch of immaculate changes on the outside because the Lord came to change the inside. The new nature's on the inside. The outward nature, outward man perishes, but the inward man is renewed day by day. How do I know if I'm following after mercy and I'm following after righteousness? Well, the Lord said, they that are whole need not a physician, but they that are sick, but only a leper would need a physician. So if the Lord's made you a leper, that's good evidence that you're following after mercy and not you're begging for it.

You're following after his mercy. Understand this brethren, righteousness that he speaks of here is a person. It's a person. It's the Lord Jesus Christ. He is made into us all our wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. This is not based upon how we, he's not saying, okay, examine your life. Are you really following after mercy and righteousness? Look at what you're doing. No, that's not what he's saying at all.

If we're following after Christ, then we're following after righteousness and mercy. When the Lord declared in John, except you eat my flesh and drink my blood, all those that followed him said, this is a hard saying, as we heard earlier, who indeed can hear it? And many of the disciples left his followers, not the 12, but the disciples, they stayed. And They all went away, and Lord asked Peter, or asked them, says, are you gonna leave too? And Peter said, Lord, to whom shall we go?

Thou hast the words of eternal life. We just read it as our call to worship, but that'll be edited out after the message, so that's why I'm repeating it. Thou hast the words of eternal life. If you're following after righteousness, you're following after the one that has words of eternal life, which brings us to our first point. Am I seeking life by what I do? Or am I seeking life from the life giver, whose words are eternal life?

Am I seeking life based upon what I do, my merits, my works, my penance, maybe, my punishing myself because I did something bad? A lot of people do that, false religion. They'll say, okay, well, I'm not gonna eat this for this long since I did that bad thing and try to make it right. And that's a very weak example, but that's what they do. Am I seeking righteousness and mercy based on my life or based upon the life of another?

Turn with me to John chapter one. Look at verse one. In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life. In him was life. And the life was the light of men. And the light shined in darkness and darkness comprehended it not. In him His life, not in me. Paul said, in me, that is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing. In him dwelleth life, dwelleth life eternal.

We are born devoid of life. We're unable to do anything to get it or merit it or earn it, but we're born spiritually dead. We need life. You don't, if somebody has deceased, has been deceased, they don't, You wouldn't offer them anything to help them. They can't do anything for themselves. You wouldn't try to give them a pill to try to fix something. There's just no way you could do that. They need life first.

In Him is life. In Him is life. And that life was the light of men. He's the reason that anything lives. He's the reason that anything lives. All things were made by him and without him there was not anything made that was made. He's the reason everything lives. If I'm going to live, it's going to have to be through and by him for his glory.

Life doesn't start when I believe. Life doesn't start when I believe. I believe because the Lord's given me life. Do we see that? Faith is not the cause of our salvation, it's the evidence of it. Life didn't start the moment that I believed. Life started in eternity past, before the world ever began. When the Father chose to elect a people, this is when our life started. He said, if your life is hid, it's hid with Christ in God. When was that? Always. Always hid with Christ, or in Christ, with God.

The father chose to elect a people, ordain them to eternal life, chose to give them life at the appointed time. The son agreed to redeem those people that the father elected and took, the father gave to him. Took ownership, that's the word I was looking for, took ownership of them. And the spirit agreed to regenerate at the appointed time, giving life by saying live. Breathing the breath of life into one of his people. This is all according to his will, and all according to his grace.

If I am to receive life, then he's gonna have to be the doer of it. Look at verse 10. Christ was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came to his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. I know a lot of preachers that I've heard in my day False prophets, false preachers stop right there. They stop right there. And they say, okay, so all you have to do is believe. Yeah, that's true, but let's read the rest of it.

Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. There it is. That's where the life comes from. Not of the will of the flesh, not of the will of man, not by my power, not by my might, not by my decision. It was by God's decision, God's glorious choice in salvation. Am I following after eternal life found in Christ alone and bestowed freely by grace? Or am I trying to look at myself thinking that I am capable of obtaining eternal life based upon what I do. It's that it's black and white. It's either works or it's all grace. It can't be any, it can't be a gray area. Let's go back to our text.

Verse 21, he that followeth out the righteousness and mercy findeth life, righteousness, and honor. Why do we find life? Because life's been given. Why do we find righteousness? It's our second point. Am I following after righteousness? I don't mean am I trying to live a righteous life. I don't mean that I'm trying to get more and more righteous. I'm saying am I following after Christ who is our righteousness?

That's so important. Because men want to look at other men and justify themselves just like that Pharisee did the publican. God looks upon my heart and he says, you're a whited sepulchre. He sees all the way down. You're full of dead man's bones, he told him.

Am I trying to live righteous or do the works of righteousness? If so, I have no righteousness. For the Lord said, my righteousness and your righteousness is filthy rags. Filthy rags. But we're not going to accept filthy rags over the blood of his son. That would be foolish of us to think so, wouldn't it? It's not possible.

Titus 3.5 says, not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but according to his mercy, he saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost.

So this source of righteousness cannot be me. It cannot be something that I do or something that I don't do. It cannot be something. It has to be the Lord who is our righteousness. God must make him unto me all my wisdom, all my righteousness, all my sanctification and redemption because I'm not capable of producing righteousness. I'm not, that's all the Lord produced, but I can't produce any of it. God must make the righteousness of Christ mine, or truly I have no righteousness. But here's the good news. Here's what 2 Corinthians tells us.

He, God, hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. That's exactly why he was made to be sin, and so his people would be made the righteousness of God. only His people are going to follow after righteousness. Only His people are wanting to come to Christ who is their righteousness. Only somebody that realizes my righteousness is filthy rags.

I'm unworthy. I'm an undone sinner. As we said before, the Lord said, I come not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. So if I find myself a sinner, I have good news. The Lord came to call the sinners to repentance. He made us the righteousness of God in Christ. Am I seeing his righteousness or am I trying to have some of my own?

And the sad part is, brethren, is if I have a self-righteousness, I wouldn't know about it. I wouldn't know it because I'm believing the lie at the time. Now, the Lord, if I'm his, he's going to change my mind. He's not going to allow me to believe that forever. But men who have self-righteousness in false religion, they don't know that they have self-righteousness.

They really, really believe. And I was talking to somebody about this the other day. They really, really believe that what they believe in is the truth, just as much as we believe. But we're persuaded by God, not man. That's the difference. But do you remember being in false religion, if any of you were? you would have died for it. That's how sad the situation is.

So I need a real righteousness. I don't need to think that I have a righteousness or hope that I do based upon me. I need his righteousness. If I don't have his righteousness, I don't have any hope. God makes Christ and to his people all their righteousness.

We no longer boast about our works. We boast about his finished work. We no longer say, look at me. We say, look to Christ. Our language has changed, hasn't it? We got a whole brand new dictionary set. We say words that we never said before and got rid of some that we used to say. When we first moved in here, there's a sign back there that said, Jesus saves. And I took it down. Somebody said, why'd you take it down? I said, well, it's missing. It needs to have a D at the end of it instead of an S because it's finished. And they said, hey, I kind of like that. We don't speak like we used to speak, do we? We don't think like we used to think.

The Lord's given us a new way of thinking because Christ has become our righteousness. We don't have to search and seek out for righteousness anymore before the Lord. We're not going to the law trying to get a righteousness that's not true. We're resting. Resting in his precious righteousness, resting in his amazing grace. There's no gospel other than this gospel that does that. This is the gospel.

We no longer boast about our life. We boast about his eternal life that he gives to his people all by his grace. So we don't boast about our works, we boast about His work. We don't say look at me, we say look to Him. We don't boast about our life, we give thanks for His eternal life that's bestowed freely by His grace. We don't brag about our choices or our power or our will, do we? We brag about His choice to save His people. We brag about His power that was able to accomplish that choice. And we brag about His will that calls it to be so. We brag about our Lord now. We're following after righteousness.

That's what we're saying here. We're made to see that if I am to be found righteous, it must be the choice and power of God Almighty, not me. Not me. We need a perfect righteousness, and I can't produce righteousness, period, but I certainly can't produce perfect righteousness, and that is all that Jesus Christ produced. Plead to Him. Follow after righteousness. Follow after mercy. Thanks be to God that perfect righteousness is exactly what Christ wrought on the cross of Calvary for His people. He accomplished that.

If the Lord has made me seek His righteousness, that I am viewed by the sovereign creator of this world as perfectly righteous. Don't you love that? That means if I were to stand before the throne of God based upon the merits and finished work of Christ, he is going to declare me justified. If you are to stand before the throne of God on the merits of Jesus Christ alone, he's going to declare you as perfectly righteous.

Never have sinning one time because of his work. This is why we seek after righteousness. This is why we seek after Christ, because we can't accomplish this in and of ourself. You know other people that stand before the Lord that's not His, you know it's sad, but it's true. The Scripture says, Lord we've done all these wonderful things in your name.

We've cast out demons, we've done this, we've done that. What does the Lord say, depart from me ye that work iniquity, I never knew you. I never knew you. But to those who are in Christ, he says, enter in thou good and faithful servant. Thou hast been faithful over a few things, I'll make you ruler over many.

Enter in, enter in. Lastly, whose honor am I seeking? That's not a trick question. Whose honor am I seeking? Men, in every false religion desire to be praised. There was an issue in one of the churches in scripture where Paul's writing to him and he says, they like to have the preeminence. They were wanting to set up themselves to be over the people's clergy worship. And that's still very popular today. You can see pastors getting, they get, they have a big feather in their hats. What I'm trying to say is look at me, look at me.

The Lord's caused us to not seek after vain glory, but to see past it, to not seek after being honored, but we desire to honor him. We desire to praise him. We desire his glory. Cain wanted honor. Cain wanted the Lord to see what he'd done and honor him. Look what I have brought, all the works of my hands. I've done a good job. He wanted honor. And Abel, Abel wanted to honor the lamb, didn't he? Abel wanted to honor the Lamb. That was the difference. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and his sacrifice.

Most people desire self, self-promotion, self-edification, self-gratitude. And we have that in our bones too. Don't, don't misunderstand. That's our nature. That is our nature. But what the Lord does is he causes his people to not seek after honor of their self on their salvation. We seek after the honor of Christ. We seek after the glory of Christ, knowing that he's worthy. We're not worthy. We don't go around saying, I do this or that, or I don't do this or that anymore. He gets all the glory. But for the, I'll tell you what we do say, but for the grace of God, there go I. That's what we say. But somebody said, well, I would never do something like that.

But for the grace of God, there go I. You think Peter thought that he would deny the Lord three times? He was fired up, but he said, Lord, I'm going to go with you all the way to the end. I'll die with you. And he said, get behind me, Satan. Call Peter Satan, for Satan hath desire to sift thee as wheat.

But I prayed for you, Peter, that your faith fail not." There's the hope. Not what Peter was doing, but what Christ had done for Peter, on behalf of Peter. That's the hope. The Lord didn't allow his faith to fail. Lord, don't allow my faith to fail. Let me, cause me to look to you. Turn with me to John chapter five. either we are seeking self-honor or self-promotion, or we're seeking to honor the Lord. Look at verse 16.

And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus and sought to slay him because he had done these things on the Sabbath day. Now this is the impotent man at the pull of Bethesda that just happened. It was on the Sabbath day the Lord healed him. 17, but Jesus answered them, my father worketh hitherto, and I work. Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the Sabbath, but said that God was his father, making himself equal with God.

Then answered Jesus and said to them, verily, verily, I say unto you, the son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the father do. For what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the son likewise. For the father loveth the son, and showeth him all things that himself doeth, and he will show him greater works than these that ye may marvel. For as the father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them, even so the son quickeneth whom he will. For the father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the son, that all men should honor the son. even as they honor the Father. He that honoreth not the Son, honoreth not the Father, which hath sent him.

Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death to life. Verily, verily, I say unto you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God. And they that hear shall live, for as the Father hath life in himself, So hath he given the Son to have life in himself, and hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of Man."

Brethren, we don't honor ourselves anymore. We honor the Lord Jesus Christ. He's saying here, in honoring him, you're honoring the Father. You honor the Son, you honor the Father. To honor self is what the Pharisees were doing. They wanted, they were keeping their Sabbath. It wasn't the Sabbath that they were talking to. Lord Jesus Christ is the representation of the Sabbath. He's what we rest on. It's who the Father rested on. But these Pharisees thought it was in the day, the Sabbath. They were keeping that day and they were proud of that. They wanted the honor for that.

And the Lord said, He that honoreth not me, honoreth not the Father that sent me. To honor self is to promote self, just like Nebuchadnezzar. Do you remember Nebuchadnezzar? And it was amazing to me, and you know that you and I are the same way. It's amazing to me, he makes a 60-foot statue, and we know whose face was on it. It had to be Nebuchadnezzar's, because he fell down to worship me, he wanted to be praised.

So the Hebrew men didn't do that, it made him angry, so he threw them in the fiery furnace, all four of them, all three of them, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Once they threw him in there though, they looked and said, behold, we threw three, but there's a fourth in there, like unto the son of God. So he, he saw for whatever, whatever it is, he saw the son of God.

Think about that. And he said, come out, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Now this is just a few chapters before the point that I'm about to make. So he says, he writes in Daniel, you can read it. He says, praise and extol the king of heaven, honor and glorify him. That's what he says. Well, it wasn't much longer, and he says Nebuchadnezzar was walking in his garden and he says, look at this great Babylon that I have created.

Look at what I have done. He wanted honor, didn't he? So he went from honoring God because of something that he saw to honoring himself. That's us by nature, brethren. We can't honor God by nature, but you understand what I'm saying. We want the praise. Christ told the Pharisees, you serve me. You honor me with your lips, but your hearts are far from me. You honor me with your lips, but your hearts are far from me.

Nebuchadnezzar, thankfully the Lord was merciful and struck him down for seven years and brought him back and restored him. But the whole idea is that he did praise the Lord then, didn't he? He did give all honor. He says the inhabitants of the earth are nothing to him. He does who he wants to when he wants to. None can stay his hand or say unto him, what doest thou? Meaning none can question him. He's God. He found out quick.

We desire to honor Him, not honor self. Are we like Nebuchadnezzar, or do we say, not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, that I may be all glory and honor and praise? Do we say with the four and 20 elders in Revelation 11, thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power, for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

He alone is worthy of honor. He alone is worthy of praise. He alone is worthy of glory. The Lord is alone worthy of all honor, but did you know His people are honored in Him? They are the glory which the Father gave unto Him, He gave unto His people. The Lord honors His people in Christ because He sees them in Christ.

Is that not amazing? By His finished work, we've been made honorable. Not on the outside, not what we do, all we can do is sin, but what His finished work accomplished, we've been made honorable in the sight of God. That's incredible, isn't it? John 17 tells us that Christ is glorified in us. Glorified in us. Is it not Christ in you, the hope of glory?

Yes, sir, that's right. John 17 22 says in the glory which thou has given me thou gave us me I have given them that they may be one even as we are one I in them and thou and me that they may be made perfect in one and that the world may know that thou has sent me and has loved them as thou has loved me is there a name. higher that deserves to be honored besides the Lord's. It's the, it's the name above every name at the name of Jesus. He's what he said. The father gave him a name above every name that at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

He's worthy of all honor. for everything that he accomplished in the salvation of his people. He's worthy of all honor. No wonder Paul said, oh, that I might be found in him, not having my own righteousness, which is of the law, but by the righteousness, which is by the faith of Christ. He alone is worthy of glory. He alone is worthy of honor. He is, in closing, the summary would be, he is life eternal. He is life eternal. He is our righteousness. God has made into him our righteousness. He's worthy of all honor.

Seek him, follow after him, come to him. Don't move a muscle, but seek him while you may be found. Here's the good news. I am to follow him. If I am to follow him, he has to be the doer of it. And this is what he says, I quote this often, John 10. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish.

That's the good news of the gospel. Follow after him. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for these words. We ask that you would bless them for your glory and to our understanding. Thank you for being our righteousness. Thank you for being life eternal. Thank you for being worthy of all honor. In Christ's name we pray, amen.