Good morning. It is a privilege
to be back with you today. And I bring greetings from everyone
in Kingsport, Dave, Cody, Luke, and everyone else. If you would,
join me in Jeremiah chapter 9. Quite often when I'm looking
for an example or an illustration, I tend to think back to when
my kids were little. They're good examples. Especially in those earliest
years before they learn how to hide what we are. When you're little and you expose
what your heart really is. We, mankind, loves praise. We love to receive glory. And as I was thinking on this,
I thought of our children when we're potty training them. You
know, they finally make it to the potty. And oh, there's praise
and celebration going on. You get a present, you get accolades,
bragged upon. And it's not long before that
child realizes I do this, I get praised and glory. So I'm going to let everybody
know. I'll let all the household know. I pottied. And then we go to the store.
And everybody at the store needs to know. I pottied. Praise me. We get older, and good manners
dictate we can't do that anymore. But that doesn't change what's
in here. Just because I can't openly demand
that you praise me doesn't mean I don't want you to. All that we think that we deserve
praise and glory for of ourselves is sin. Sin against God. But there is a glory which is
acceptable before God. And that's what, Lord willing,
we're going to look at today. Acceptable glory. Jeremiah 9,
verse 23. Jeremiah 9, 23. Thus saith the
Lord, let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the
mighty man glory in his strength, 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. In these two verses, we have
declared man's useless, vain glory, the acceptable glory,
and that glory revealed. And we'll look at these as they're
presented. First, man's vain glory. Verse 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. As we consider each of these
things, which the holy, just, almighty God declares we should
not glory in, I believe they cover everything that our flesh
desires to be glorified for. And not only do they reveal those
things that we desire to be glorified for, I believe we lie to ourselves
when we read this passage. We tell ourselves, I don't glory
in that. Not the wise glory in his wisdom.
I'm not very smart. That doesn't include me, I don't
glory in that. Well, it's false humility. We tend
to take the scriptures and we'll read something like this and
we'll say, if I define that word this way, it doesn't apply to
me. And I don't do what it tells
me not to do. Let not the wise glory in his
wisdom. Wisdom comes in many forms. This word wisdom, its definitions
include wisdom in war. Not very wise at that. What about wisdom in administration,
in business affairs, in running a household? trueness in religious affairs. I know the law. In ethical or moral affairs, I can always point to somebody
that I'm doing something better than they are. Every person, from the least
of us to the greatest, We'll find some wisdom to glory in. Going back to our children, a
child that's learning to count, in the nursery, sometimes we'll
hear, I can count to five. Can you? One, three, nope, nope,
you got it wrong. It's one, two, three. Get a little
older. I can count to 10. You can't. Uh-huh. Got you. Get older, and we're going to
hide that outward display. We're not going to say, nah,
nah, I got it. You don't. But whatever we do in our jobs,
in our life, whatever we do that we can do faster, different,
because my way is always better than your way. We're going to continue to glory
in our wisdom. Let not the mighty glory in his
might. As wisdom has many forms, so
does might. Physical strength is one way
of glory. What about strength of might
in our responsibility, in a position that we hold in our authority? but not the right, the rich glory
in his riches. Always jumped to the riches of
wealth, monetary wealth. There's many types of wealth. For years, I gloried in the richness
that God bestowed upon me. He gave me parents. who believed
the gospel, who ensured I was taken to a church that declared
Christ and him crucified. And for years, I gloried in,
I go to the right church. I don't go to free will. I don't
go to heathen churches. I go to the right church. Truth be told, I was dragged
to the right church. I didn't go. The happiest days
for me during those periods were somebody was sick and we got
to stay home from church. There was no reason for me to
glory in those riches. We'll take the rich blessings
of God and corrupt them. Well, as I looked at these, there
were two things that occurred to me. I'm sure there's more.
But in all of these things that we tend to glory in, there were
two things that I realized about them. The first is every one
of them that we glory in are temporary. Do we glory in our
wisdom? It's here today and gone tomorrow.
an accident may occur, and every wisdom I have be gone." Alzheimer's, and it's gone. Perhaps the Lord
is pleased to give us our faculties all the way to our dying breath.
We read in Psalm, put not your trust in princes, nor in the
Son of Man, in whom there is no help. Don't glory in a man,
including me, myself, and I. His breath goeth forth, he returneth
to his earth, in that very day his thoughts, his wisdom, perish. Our wisdom is here today, gone
tomorrow. Do we glory in our might and
our riches? We've all lived long enough to
know that might is gone in an instant. Catch a cold, catch
the flu, get the tiniest little bug, and our physical strength
is gone. The same is true with every other
might that we might take and try to glory in. Riches, oh,
the deceitfulness of riches. Psalm 49 says, they that trust
in their wealth and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches,
none of them can by any means redeem his brother nor give to
God a ransom for him. We take great care to amass our
wealth that we think will be for our good. but it'll be gone
from us in an instant. Either thieves will break in
and take it, or moths will devour it. It's gone. It's temporary. They all fade
away into nothingness. And secondly, all these things
that we claim to glory in, wisdom, might, riches, They've all been given to us. We all know that person who has
taken credit for something they didn't do. They make a big boast
of it. I did this. And for a while,
they get credit for it. Then after a time, it turns out
you start hearing things. and it comes to light, this person
that bragged about it and took the credit for it, actually did
none of the work. It was all done by this person
over here. When we find that out about that
person, that person who got all this praise and glory, how quickly
our opinion of them changes. and we belittle them. They become
nothing. Lose all respect for them. Does a man have wisdom in this
world? God gave it to him. Does a person have might? It's
the gift of God. Do we have riches? He freely
gives us all that we have. What? What do we have to glory
in? It's all been freely given. In Daniel, we read, Daniel answered
and said, blessed be the name of God forever and ever. For wisdom and might are his. and he changeth the times and
the seasons, he removeth kings. Do you have might, riches, wisdom? He removeth kings and setteth
up kings. He giveth wisdom unto the wise
and knowledge to them that know understanding. He gives it, not
us. All these things, wisdom, might,
and riches, these are the things our Adamic nature loves to glory
in. And they are vain glories, empty. But there is a glory which is
acceptable in the eyes of God, a glory that is not in vain,
verse 24. 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. All glory, all honor, all blessing,
all praise belong unto one, the everlasting God of glory, our
Lord Jesus Christ. He alone gets the glory. Well, think back to your days
when there was a lady that stood in the front of your classroom
that you called your teacher, particularly in our elementary,
maybe middle school classrooms. You know that lady. You know
her name. You know what she looks like.
You can recognize her. You know something of her person
as a teacher. Then one day, you're out and
about in town, and you run across this lady. She's not dressed
like she dressed at school. and you don't understand, especially
when we're in elementary school. Don't understand. You don't know
who this lady is. This is someone totally different
than that teacher that stood in the classroom. There is a
difference between knowing and understanding. Many profess to
know God. They profess to know Jesus born
in a manger. They profess to know this Jesus
who went about doing good. He's an example to follow. They profess to know that there
is a God in heaven, but he's an old decrepit man sitting in
a rocking chair waiting for you to do something for him. They do not know the Lord Jesus
Christ, the Sovereign who is speaking in this text. The Sovereign
God who does as He will with whom He will. Why not? Why don't they know Him? They
read these same words. They see this same description. Why can't they know and understand
the Lord God Jehovah? He said, all things are delivered
unto me of my father, and no man knoweth the son, but the
father. Neither knoweth any man the father,
save the son, and he to whomsoever the son will reveal him. Our teachers, particularly elementary
school and through high school really, our teachers are very
careful, generally, to not reveal too much of who they are to their
class, to the class as a whole. Most of the time you don't get
to know the teacher, know them as the teacher, but don't get
to know them. Some teachers and some students
form a relationship and you get to know one another a little
better. A lot of times it's after you've
graduated from school you get to know them, but sometimes you
get to know the person. That teacher, this is Really
a poor example, but I think we can all enter into it. That teacher
only reveals him or herself to that student that they decide
needs to know them. Our Lord reveals himself to whom
he will, to those he loves. And when he does, what is our
response? What is our response when the
Lord reveals himself to us? Hold your place here and turn
over to Philippians chapter three. Philippians chapter three. Philippians 3 verse 3, for we are the circumcision which
worship God in the spirit and rejoice in Christ Jesus and have
no confidence in the flesh. Though I might also have confidence
in the flesh, if any man thinketh that he hath whereof he might
trust in the flesh, I more." Briefly, Paul says here, do you
think you have wisdom, might, riches? Oh, you poor thing. Look at me. I have far more than
any of you ever hoped to have. But he continues in verse seven. But what things were gained to
me, those after the Lord Jesus Christ revealed himself to me,
those things I counted loss for Christ. All we who know and understand
the Lord Jesus Christ, when he reveals himself to us, we throw
everything that we once gloried in away. And like Paul, we glory
only in our Lord Jesus Christ. When Christ is revealed, when
he makes himself known to us, What do we understand about him?
Go back to Jeremiah. What is it that we know and understand
about him? Jeremiah 9, verse 24. But let
him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth
me, that I am the Lord. The first thing we will know
and understand is that our Lord Jesus Christ is the sovereign
God and we will bow before him. That thief on the cross who moments
before was railing upon our Lord with everyone else suddenly turns
and says, Lord, remember me. He saw Christ revealed and he
bowed to him as his Lord. And everyone to whom who knows
and understands him will know him as the sovereign God. When we know and understand someone,
We know their manners, we know their actions, we know their
motives, we know what drives them, what actions they take. When Christ is revealed as our
Lord, he also reveals to us his actions. 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. I am the Lord which exercise. I am the Lord which accomplishes. I accomplish lovingkindness,
judgment, and righteousness. We have seen man's vain glory. We have seen the glory acceptable
by God. And now we'll see his glory revealed. I am the Lord which exercise
loving kindness. Said another way, I am the Lord
which accomplish mercy. Where do we see loving kindness
or mercy revealed? Turn to Ephesians 1. Ephesians
1 verse 3. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places in Christ, according as he hath
chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should
be holy and without blame before him in love having predestinated
us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according
to the good pleasure of his will. God, the father in loving kindness
and mercy chose a people, a people who are just like every other
person, sinners and rebels against God. And he predestinated those
lovingly chosen people to the adoption of children by our Lord
Jesus Christ to himself. In Genesis 6, God saw the wickedness
of man was great in the earth. And this is how he described
every man. and that every imagination of
the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. He didn't say every imagination
except for every imagination, including Noah, but Noah. because of God's choosing of
him in loving kindness in Christ Jesus, but Noah found grace in
the eyes of the Lord. We see our Lord exercise loving
kindness in the loving election of sinners to salvation in Christ
Jesus. Back to Jeremiah nine. I am the Lord which exercise
lovingkindness. I am the Lord which exercise
judgment. When Christ is revealed to us
sinners, we glory in the knowledge that our Lord, our God, is a
just God and a Savior. When Christ is revealed, We shall,
we must ask this question. How should man be just with God? And we're going to get personal
about it. How should I Be just with God. Seeing I am sin, seeing
I deserve the eternal wrath and condemnation of the almighty
God that I have sinned against. Is there any hope for me? Listen to the answer. I am the
Lord. which accomplish judgment in
the earth. Come with me to Calvary's Mount. There upon that center cross
hangs a man beaten and bruised, forsaken by all of his friends,
a man who went about doing good, the man who God declared, thou
art my beloved son, in thee I am well pleased. The man that the
law declared, I find no fault in him. This is the man who satisfied
the law and the prophets. Yet there he hangs, shedding
his blood. You know, it's not I'll say it's not unusual for
man to execute a man unjustly. But in the ninth hour, this man
cries out, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? God does not execute judgment
against an innocent man. Our Lord Jesus Christ came to
where we are in the earth. He took upon himself our likeness. He humbled himself to live under
the rule of his law, and he kept it perfectly. He accomplished that which we
cannot and will not do. He then, bearing our sins, being
the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, He took our place. And He being made sin, He bore
the judgment. The wrath of God was poured out
on Him for this sinner, for what I am and what I do. He took our place. He laid down
His life for those for whom the Father in loving kindness chose. And He executed judgment in the
earth. Verse 24. But let him that gloryeth
glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me. that I am the
Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in
the earth. Our Lord, having suffered and
died for our sins, laid in a tomb. And on the third day, because
he is righteous. Because he carried our sins far
away, God raised him up, having loosed the pains of death, because
it was not possible that he should be holding of it. Christ our
Lord arose from the tomb. He accomplished righteousness
in the earth. 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. What does the Lord God Jehovah
delight in? Or perhaps I should say, who
does the Lord God delight in? He delights in loving kindness. God delights in the Lord Jesus
Christ, in whom he chose sinners unto salvation. He delights in
judgment. Lord Jesus Christ, who hath once
suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring
us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by
the Spirit. He delights in righteousness,
our Lord Jesus Christ, for he hath made him sin for us who
knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God
in him. Back at verse 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. When we know and understand the
Lord Jesus Christ, we know and understand that he is our all
and in all. We will boast, we will glory
in wisdom, not ours. We will boast in Christ, our
wisdom. We will boast in might, not ours. We will boast in Christ, our
strength. We will boast in riches, not
ours. But we will boast in Christ,
who though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that
ye through his poverty might be rich. But of him are ye in
Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness
and sanctification and redemption, that According as it is written,
he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. When God is pleased
to reveal himself, to reveal the Lord Jesus Christ to a sinner,
that sinner will put away all vain glory and shall glory in
one alone, the only acceptable glory. the glory of our Lord
Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. Pray the Lord will bless that
to us.