Let's go back to Habakkuk chapter
1 tonight. Habakkuk chapter 1. We'll begin reading in verse
1. The burden which Habakkuk the
prophet did see. The prophet's heart was heavy. He carried the burden of the
word of the Lord, and he carried it heavily upon his heart. God's message to his people,
he had to deliver. He knew what the message was,
and he knew it must be delivered, and he knew himself insufficient
for the work to which God had called him, but he knew that
he must not withdraw from that work. He could not abandon his
calling. Verse two, O Lord, how long shall
I cry, and thou wilt not hear, even cry
out unto thee? of violence and thou wilt not
save. The prophet saw violence and
cruelty everywhere. He begged God to intervene. He
didn't just ask and forget. He didn't just sort of ask nonchalantly. He begged God to intervene. He begged God to spare Israel
from that which they were about to face in judgment. He begged
God to turn his people, but God Almighty refused to send deliverance. He begged God to stretch out
his mighty arm and deliver his people from their chosen evil,
but God refused. The Lord would not hear. He would
not deliver. Now watch verse three. Why dost thou show me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? For spoiling and violence are
before me, and there are that raise up strife and contention. Why does thou show me iniquity? That's the question that has
been on my heart and mind heavily, very heavily. Why does thou show
me iniquity? I want, if God will enable me,
to talk to you this evening about the sight of sin. the sight of sin. Has God ever shown you your sin? With David, I'm compelled to
acknowledge my transgressions and my sin is ever before me. sin is ever before me. I can't
shut it out. I can't block it from view. My sin is ever before me. Physician of my sin sick soul
to and heal me by your grace. Pity
the anguish I endure, see how I mourn and pine, for never can
I hope a cure from any hand but thine. I would disclose my whole
complaint, but where shall I begin? No words of mine can fully paint
that worst distemper sin. It lies not in a single part,
but through my frame is spread a burning fever in my heart,
a palsy in my head. It makes me deaf and dumb and
blind and impotent and lame. It overclouds and fills my mind
with folly, fear, and shame. A thousand evil thoughts intrude,
tumultuous to my breast, which hide from me all that's good,
and rob my soul of rest. Lord, I am sick. Regard my cry,
and set my spirit free. Say, canst thou let a sinner
die who longs to live to thee? I acknowledge my transgression,
and my sin is ever before me. I want to talk to you about two
things. I'll spend the bulk of our time on the first deliberately.
Personal sin and public sin. Personal sin and public sin. Why does the Lord God calls us
to behold iniquity, transgression, and sin? Why does God force his
people? to see and know by experience
and with increasing bitterness the depravity of our own hearts. Why does God the Holy Spirit
first convince chosen sinners of their sin? Why is that the
first issue? Why does he continually convince
us of sin? It is a well-known fact among
believers. It is experienced in our souls
that God the Holy Spirit continually discovers to his people the evil
of their own hearts. God the Holy Spirit continually
discovers to his people the evil of their own hearts. He takes
us into the darkest chambers of our souls. and there reveals
what we are. He reveals often things that
we never suspected, things that we never imagined, things that
we never dreamed might be in us. And yet, with that said, bless God, He never fully reveals
what we are. We couldn't take it. We couldn't
take it. All the evil that is in the world
is in the heart of man. Rex, we quote the scripture from
within. That which is within proceedeth
out of the heart. That's what defiles a man. We
quote it all the time. We state it all the time. We
know there's no evil in the world, not in us. We don't half believe
it. We don't half believe it. But
it's true. It's true. There's nothing out
there that will ever defile you. Nothing. Religion's busy cutting
off limbs. Religion is busy cutting off
signs of evil. The whole religious world tries
to lob off the branches. God give us grace by his spirit
to lay the axe to the root of the tree. The problem's in here. The problem's in here. And God
the Holy Spirit always makes it his work to discover to our
hearts what we really are. He lays bare the loathsomeness
of our hearts and forces us to look at our deformity and our
depravity. He forces us to do what he commands
us to, to look to the rock from which we're you, to look to the
hole of the pit from which we have been digged. We were hewn
from a rock of hard depravity and dug from a pit of utter corruption. Where did God find you? He found
you in the pit. In the pit of corruption. In
the pit of fallen humanity. That's where he finds all his
own. He does that forcing us to look with horror at what we
are. Are you horrified by what you
are? Horrified. Larry Chris, I'm horrified what
I see in me. Horrified. Because what's in
me would burst forth a thousand times a day. If God didn't prevent
it, what's in me? Anger, wrath, murder. Oh, I wouldn't do that. Oh, yes,
you would. Oh, yes, you would. Like that. If God didn't stop you. Well,
I don't believe a saved man would do that. Just what exactly is
what you don't believe a saved man would do? How about naming
it for me? And I'll show you in the book
that he will. Name it for me. I look with horror at what I
am. Not what I was, what I am. We
see what we were in our state of nature in unregeneracy. But
what we were in our state of nature, we still are in our natural
state. That old man hadn't gotten any
better. He hadn't improved. just more and more corrupt. Why
does God force us to deal with this? Why does he force us to
see this which is so terrible to deal with? Let me give you
five or six reasons. Number one, turn to John chapter
16. John chapter 16. The Lord God shows us our sin
so that He might show us His Son in the saving operations
of His grace. There is no salvation apart from
Holy Spirit conviction. Now, please don't misunderstand
me. I'm not putting the cart before
the horse. I'm not suggesting you've got to go through this,
go through that in order to be saved. But I am telling you that
there is no faith in Christ apart from this conviction that's spoken
of here in John chapter 16. Nevertheless, I tell you the
truth. It is expedient for you, our Savior says in verse 7, that
I go away. It's needful. It's necessary
for you that I go away. There's no redemption without
the shedding of my blood. There's no putting away of sin
without the sacrifice of myself. You cannot be freed from sin
except I be made sin. It's needful for you that I go
away. For if I go not away, the Comforter
will not come. If I don't go away and bear the
curse for you, that you might receive the blessing of Abraham,
God the Holy Spirit is not going to come to you. Redemption is
necessary for regeneration. But if I depart, if I depart,
I will send him unto you. And when he is come, when God,
the Holy Spirit, the divine comforter has come, he will reprove the
world. The word is convince. He'll convince
the world, not everybody in the world, but God's elect throughout
the world. He'll convince the world of sin. of righteousness and of judgment. Isn't it interesting that he
didn't say he will convince the world of sins? He said he'll convince the world
of sin. How come? Read the next line. He'll convince
the world of sin because they believe not on me. You mean the only sin is unbelief? No, no, no, no. Unbelief manifests
the sin. Well, what's that sin? The sin,
Bob Duff, is what you are. You're a God-hating rebel. That's your nature. And you will
not have Christ as your Lord. You will not bow to Christ. You will not believe on Christ. The issue is not whether or not
you want to go to heaven when you die. The issue is who will
rule your soul? Who rules your heart? Who rules your life? Sin says, I will not have him. I will not believe him. I will
not bow to Him. I will not surrender to Him.
You see, unbelief, unbelief, we make it to be a sweet little
insignificant involuntary thing. Only you who do not believe,
doesn't matter what you profess or how long you professed it,
you who do not trust the Savior right here tonight, You who do
not believe the Son of God, the reason is because you live with
your fist in God's face, and you will not bow to Christ. That's the issue. Sid, the carnal
mind is enmity against God. You hate God. Not at enmity. It's not just that there's a
warfare. It's not just that there's strife and contention. You hate
God. That's the nature of man. God
hating rebels. And when the Spirit of Truth
has come, He convinces you that's what you are. And if you're not
convinced that's what you are, the Spirit of Truth hasn't come
to you. God hasn't come to you in His
saving grace. He convinces you of righteousness. When the Spirit
of Truth comes, when God the Son sends God the Spirit in saving
power to chosen redeemed sinners, He convinces them that righteousness
is finished. Because I go to the Father. He
convinces them. He doesn't just try to persuade
you, He convinces you of righteousness. See seated yonder on the throne
a man in my nature. A man who was made sin for me. A man who by the sacrifice of
himself fulfilled all the will of God and put away sin and now
has brought in everlasting righteousness. God's satisfied with him. And
no judgment. When the Spirit comes, giving
you faith in Christ, God the Holy Spirit convinces you that
Christ is enough. Christ is enough. God requires
nothing but Christ and will accept nothing but Christ. And as you
prayed, David, Christ alone. That's all. That's all. And every
saved sinner recognizes that. Christ alone is my acceptance
for God. Christ alone is my atonement. Christ alone is my satisfaction. Christ alone is my righteousness. And he convinces you of judgment.
He convinces you who believe him that judgment is over. That judgment is over because
now is the prince of this world judged. He makes us mourn that
we might comforted. He wounds that he might heal. He empties so that he can feel. He abases so that he can exalt. He strips that he might call
the slaves that he might give life. Alright, here's a second
reason why he shows us sin. Our sin. After we're converted,
the Lord still causes us to behold the iniquity of our hearts and
That he might constantly confirm in our souls the sweet doctrine
of the gospel. That he might make his son and
his grace and his salvation more and more precious to our souls. Arminianism, will worship, free
willism is the natural religion of all men, including you and
me. One of the surest ways in the
world to put down our self-sufficiency and our own erroneous views of
the gospel is for God the Holy Spirit to show us our depravity. The gospel is not understood
by human logic. And I recognize that, though
it is the most logical, reasonable thing on this earth. But I'll
grant this one thing. Any man or woman who's made to
know his own depravity, dare enough, if God showed you
what you are, you won't have any trouble with
any other aspect of gospel doctrine. Only pride objects to God being
sovereign. Only pride objects to God's sovereign
election. Only pride objects to God's accomplishment
of redemption by Christ. Only pride objects to God's efficacious,
irresistible grace. Only pride objects to the declaration
that salvation is that which God performs in us and for us,
that in which and by which God keeps us under everlasting glory. Man ever knows his depravity.
He will rejoice in electing love. He will rejoice in God's sovereign
goodness. He will rejoice in the sure accomplishment
of redemption. He will rejoice in the saving
power of God the Holy Spirit. He will rejoice to know that
salvation by grace. Oh, thank you God. You expect
nothing from me but sin. and you get nothing from me but
sin. That's all. That's all. Men and
women conscious of their sin, their heart's depravity, their
utter corruption by nature, the filth of their best deeds of
righteousness, rejoice in free grace and cannot tolerate free
will. From start to finish, Salvation
is of the Lord. Sinners who need grace rejoice
in covenant grace. Sinners who need atonement are
thankful for sure accomplished atonement. Sinners who need salvation
are delighted to know that salvation is of the Lord. Why does God,
the Holy Spirit, force us to see what we are? Why does he
constantly, by the preaching of the word, by the reading of
scripture, by the manifestation of what's in us,
why does he force us to see what we are? Here's the third reason. The old writers used to say that
God gave the peacock black feet. to keep them from being proud
of their colorful feathers. Well, I don't know about that,
but I know this. Showing us our sin, the Lord
God is determined to break us before him. He's determined to
humble us before him. With every blessing God gives,
He gives with the blessing of trouble, lest we be exalted above
measure. With every revelation of grace
and every experience of mercy, the Lord gives a revelation of
our hearts and a taste of inward bitterness. With everything the
Lord gives us that might tend to swell our hearts with pride,
gifts Gifts to understand the scriptures. Gifts to preach the
gospel. Gifts to teach others. Gifts
to minister the needs of people. Usefulness. God lets us do a little something. I mean, just a little something.
Just a little something. Our heads get so big you can't
get to the door. Just a little something. He gives
us a little knowledge, a little experience. With everything the
Lord God gives us that might tend to swell our hearts and
our heads with pride, he gives something that will break our
hearts and humble us before him. Turn to 2 Corinthians 12. The Lord Jesus said to Simon
Peter, Satan hath desired to have thee, that he may sift thee
as wheat. But I prayed for you, that your
faith fail not. But I'm going to put you in the
sieve, and Satan's going to sift you. And Simon Peter He had to
be sifted. He had to be sifted to break
his pride. I forgot who it was asking me
about this just the other day. I think it was Brother Clay Curtis
called and asked me about Peter. And he said, Brother Dodd, when
Peter said, though all forsake you, I won't, was he saying James
and John might forsake you? That's exactly what he was saying. Isn't it amazing, Larry Brown,
how quick we are to suspect everybody but ourselves of any evil? You and me. God forgive us the
evil. And he's going to teach us better
if we're his. If he runs us through the sea
as he did Peter, he'll teach us better. in 2 Corinthians chapter
twelve. Paul says in verse two, I knew
a man in Christ above fourteen years ago whether in the body
I cannot tell or whether out of the body I cannot tell God
knoweth. Doesn't really matter he says. Such in one called up
to the third heaven. Called up to the third heaven.
And I knew such a man whether in the body or out of the body
I cannot tell. God knoweth. how that he was caught up into
the paradise and heard unspeakable things, unspeakable words, words
that baffle language, which is not lawful for man done it. Heard
things a man couldn't talk about. No man can talk about them. So
much for those folks who talk about dying and coming back and
talking about it. Write a book, make a million dollars. No, this
is the only man who ever went up to paradise and came back
and says, I saw things I can't talk about. I can't talk about.
Read on. Of such and one I will glory,
yet not of myself. I will not glory, but in mine
infirmities. For though I would desire to
glory, I would desire to. What a statement. Oh, man, my chest pops. David, I've been to heaven and
back. How about you? What have you ever seen? Hey,
Peter, what did you ever see? I desire to glory. in the experience. Is that what he said? Rideau?
He's just being dead honest. For though I would desire the
glory, I shall not be a fool, for I will say the truth. But now I forbear, lest any man
should think of me above that which he seeth me to be, or that
which he heareth of me. and lest I should be exalted
above measure through the abundance of the revelations, lest my head
and my heart swell with great adulation of myself. There was
given me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger, read it like it
really is, the messenger, Satan, to beat me in the face. I tell you what I think. I can't
speak with absolute authority because we're not told. And if
I speak errantly, my brother Paul will forgive me. I think
the messenger, Satan, the thorn in the flesh that Paul struggled
with from that day to the day he went to glory was horrible
pride. God gave him a blessing. like
no man had ever done. And pride, and the very pride
with which Satan kept beating him in the face, made him weak before God and broke him. Lord, take this
from me. Live with it. Lord, take this
from me. I can't stand this. Live with
it. Lord, take this from me. with
it. My grace is sufficient. And so Paul says our glory in
this infirmity for when I'm weak, then am I strong. With every blessing, God sends
a thorn. You see, we are all by nature
as proud as Lucifer. If you imagine that you're not, You're in for a rude awakening.
You will soon be stripped. You will soon be broken, either
in grace or in judgment, but stripped and broken you will
be. And if God strips you and God
breaks you, that's good because God only uses. Really,
he only uses broken pieces. He brought those folks in shipwreck
in Acts 28 to shore on broken pieces of the ship. God never
uses anything. God never uses anyone, no man
and no woman, for any benefit to his kingdom. who thinks they
might be useful. He uses useless things, broken
things. Why does God show us our iniquity,
our transgression, our sins? Here's the fourth reason. He
does it to make us submissive to him. submissive to his providence,
submissive to his will. Murmuring seems to have been
the family trait of all the children of Israel. For 40 years, they
murmured and murmured and murmured. They murmured because they didn't
have bread. God gave them bread. They murmured
because they didn't have meat. They murmured because they didn't
have water. They murmured against Moses and murmured against Aaron.
murmured continually for forty long years. And we're just like
them. But the surest way for God to
cure our murmuring is to let us know what we are by showing
us our sin. You see, a sinner spared. A sinner spared. A sinner forgiven,
a sinner pardoned by God's free grace counts a drink of water
more rich than the richest wine drunk by royalty through the
ages. A sinner pardoned, forgiven counts
life precious. A sinner forgiven of God, to
him anything less than hell is a great mercy. God remind me
of that when I think of murmuring. Fifthly, the Lord shows us our
sin to make us value his grace, cherish his son, and his salvation. You who think of sin but lightly, nor suppose the evil great, cannot
see the Savior rightly, nor his blood appreciate. God makes us to understand, as
he did the Shulamites, as two armies, a company of two
armies, flesh and spirit, flesh lusting against the spirit and
spirit against the flesh, so that you cannot do the things
you would. You see, if I could, if I could, Don Fortner would get rid of
every enemy. if I had to take him by the throat
and stick his head in the nearest water hole and kill him. That's
Don Fortner. If I could, that's what I'd do.
Well, I thank God he won't let me do what Don Fortner would. And if I could, if I could, this new man Don Fortner. This new man, Christ Jesus, this
new man created in righteousness and true holiness, would take
every enemy and make him an heir of grace and set him at the Father's
throne, the one with the Savior. If I could, if I could, this
new man would love every enemy like he loves himself, if I could. This new man, Don Fortner, if
I could, if I could, I'd love God with all my heart, and I'd
love Bobby just like I love me. But I can't. I can't. Soon, soon, very, very soon,
this old man, will be gone forever. And this new man who loves God's
holy law, this new man will walk with God in the perfection
of glorious regeneration, in the perfection of the liberty
of the sons of God. All right, just briefly. Habakkuk says, wherefore, why
do you make me to behold iniquity? But he's talking principally
about public iniquity, violence, strife, contention, evil. Why, Lord, do you cause me every
day that I get up and open the newspaper behold iniquity. Every time I go down to Walmart,
walk through the door to see iniquity. Every time I turn on
the television to hear blasphemy. Every time I send my child to
school to have the child come home only to report corruption
and evil and violence. Every time I hear a neighbor
open his mouth, it's just blasphemy. Lord, why? Why do you make this
constantly to appear before me? Let me tell you, number one,
why not? He doesn't make us to behold
the evil around us so that we can look down our noses with
scorn upon wicked men as though we were better. You've probably
all heard of John Bradford, and probably heard the story a hundred
times. He used to see people going past his window on the
way to Tyburn to be hanged as criminals. When he did, Bradford
would often say, there goes John Bradford, but
for the grace of God. If it hadn't been for the grace
of God, John Bradford would have been hanged. We would be wise to remember
that. No matter what you read in the
newspaper, no matter what you see in society, you remember
there goes Don Ford. There he goes. I don't care where
the man's walking or what the man's doing. goes Don Fortner,
but for the grace of God, but for the grace of God. Not only is that so, but God,
the God of all grace, causes us to see these things so that
we might know that it is His grace and His grace alone that
keeps us in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation. I've seen in my day a good many
like Demas who having loved this present world, departed from
Christ. I've seen a good many enticed
and led away with one lust or another, both preachers and folks
just like you, who faithfully supported preachers. I've seen
it happen more times than I care to remember. The Lord knows how to preserve
the righteous in temptation. He knows how to preserve Lot
in Sodom and to preserve him in his integrity and in his righteousness. He knows how to preserve Job
in the midst of great trial and to preserve him in integrity
and in uprightness. He knows how to preserve Daniel
in the court of a Babylonian king and preserve him in integrity
and in uprightness. The Lord shows us the evil, iniquity,
the violence, the spoiling, the strife, the contention of poor
wretches of this world around us to stir our hearts with passion
to preach the gospel of God's grace. once when Robert Murray
McShane, who was pastor of Christ Church in Dundee, Scotland, had to be gone for a while from
his pulpit on a long, long trip. I think it was when he went to
Israel, I'm not sure. He asked a preacher by the name of Burns
to supply the pulpit. One day someone saw Mr. Burns
standing on a street corner in Glasgow with tears streaming
down his cheeks. When he was asked why he was
crying, what was bothering him, this is what the preacher answered.
The thud of Christless feet on the road to hell is breaking
my heart. Now you know why this has been
on my heart so heavily. Dost thou show me iniquity? Amen.