He Who Would Rejoice Must Expect Ridicule

John 15. We'll go back to 2 Samuel
in a few moments. Although we're constantly reminded
in the Word of God that people who believe the gospel of grace,
the gospel of God's glory, will be persecuted and ridiculed for
Christ's sake, we're still surprised when it happens to us. It comes
as a surprise and we experience great difficulty trying to cope
with it. I've still I still have trouble
coping with this sort of thing, ridicule and mockery and persecution,
because of what you believe, not because of what you've done
to a person, not because of what you've said against them, but
simply because you believe the gospel of God's redeeming grace. And although our Lord has said, all that will live godly in Christ
Jesus shall suffer some form of persecution, shall suffer
persecution in some form. All, yea, he said all, all who
will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution in some
form. And then he said this, in the
world ye shall have tribulation. And then he said, a man's enemies,
enemies, foes, opponents, shall be they of his own household. And then in John 15, I ask you
to turn there, beginning with verse 17. John 15, 17. These things I command you, that
you love one another. If the world hate you, you know
that it hated me before it hated you. Now if you were of the world,
the world would love his own. But because you are not of the
world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the
world hateth you. Now remember the word that I
said unto you, the servant is not greater than his Lord. If
they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they have kept my sayings,
they will keep yours also. But all these things will they
do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that
sent me." Now I can say, and I believe most all of you can
say this, that our concern, our heart concern in deep sincerity
is for the glory, the true glory of God. I want to know the the
glory of God, and I want to glorify His name. I believe I can say
that. I believe you can. And I believe
that we can say this, we are seeking the truth of His inspired
Word. We're not seeking to prove something
because our ancestors believed it or because it's Baptist doctrine
or something along that line, but we're seeking to know and
to preach the truth of God's inspired Word And I believe we
can say we're seeking the salvation of our souls. I want to know
Christ. I want to win Christ and be found
in Him, and I want those to whom I preach, whether it be here
or in some other place. I'm not preaching for the sake
of preaching. I trust for the glory of God
and for the salvation of sinners. I want to see me and come to
know Christ. not just reform, not just join
a church, not just get out of the gutter into the congregation,
but my desire and delight is that people come truly to know
Christ. And we believe we've found that
glory, that gospel of his glory. We believe that we have found
that truth of redeeming grace and love. We believe that we
have found that way to God in Christ Jesus. And when we find
it and when we begin to preach it, well, our troubles begin. I could give you hundreds of
examples of this. Some of you could give personal
testimony to the fact that before you really came to know the gospel
of God's grace, you were religious and you were accepted and you
were admired and you were popular. But now you're counted a fool.
You've come to know the gospel of His glory, of His grace, of
His mercy, that gospel which gives God all the praise and
puts man at the feet of Christ to receive that mercy at His
hand. And you're counted as a fool.
And you've made enemies in your homes, you've made enemies among
your so-called friends, you've made enemies where you work,
you've made enemies all over the place, not because of anything
you've done to them, not because of any slight of them, not because
of any less feeling for them or love for them, but simply
because of what you believe about the gospel. Well, I want you
tonight to look at a scriptural example. Now, this will be a
blessing to you. It is to me, and I think it's
a message that we maybe ought to get the tape and every once
in a while play it. But you remember that David,
David was now king of Israel. He was now seated on the throne.
And one of the first things that David wanted to do was to bring
the ark, which was a symbol of God's presence. The art, you
know, that small wooden box that contained the Ten Commandments
and Aaron's rod that budded and the pot of manna and the mercy
seat of gold on top and the two cherubims, that art that sat
in the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle, that art upon which
the high priest once a year would put the blood atonement and God
would meet with the people and forgive their sins awaiting the
coming of Christ. David wanted to bring that art
back to where it belonged, to the city of David, and put it
back in the tabernacle, and reinstitute the worship of the Lord, and
the Day of Atonement, and these things. So he went down to get
it, and he went about it all wrong. The Bible told David how
to go about getting that ark. No one was allowed to carry the
ark but the priest. The ark had stays. The box was
about so big Not as big as this table here, half as big, and
it had staves that went along either side, and the priest,
and only the priest, were allowed to carry that ark. And there
was to be certain sacrifices made, and there was to be certain
preliminaries that they were to perform, and then the priest
were to carry it. Well, David built a nice new
ox cart. And he sent it down there to
get the ark. And they went down there and loaded that ark, that
sacred vessel, that holy vessel out of the Holy of Holies onto
that ox cart and started back towards the city of David. And
the ox cart hit a bump and it shook like this. And a man named
Uzzah, they was carrying on dancing and praising God and taking the
ark back. And a man named Uzzah reached
up to steady the ark. It looked like it was going to
fall. And, boy, God smote him dead on the spot. But all the
rejoicing stopped. And all the praising the Lord
and everybody just stood there, there laid the dead man, Uzzah,
for touching the Ark of God. He was going about it all wrong.
So they took the Ark, they stopped the parade, they stopped the
mission, and they put that Ark in the house of a man named Obed-Edom. And it stayed there three months.
It stayed there for three months. Now to pick up our reading tonight,
David got word from God permission to go back and get that art.
But this time he did it right. This time he took the priest.
This time he offered a sacrifice. This time they got the art on
the staves like they were supposed to and put it on the shoulders
of the priest and they haven't taken six paces until he offered
oxen and fatlings and a sacrifice, a blood offering, and then they
started bringing the art on back to the City of David. My it was
a happy time. They were bringing the art into
the city and and David was so filled with joy God was with
them again David had the days of Saul were gone the days of
God's judgment were gone the days of oppression and depression
and despair and all these things were gone God was with them and
It's like a man finding the gospel. It's like some of you, when you
struggle through the years of religion and works and ceremony
and all of this sort of thing, and suddenly one day God opened
the windows of heaven and just filled your heart with His presence
and with His Spirit and with the knowledge of the gospel and
gave you faith to rest in Christ and confidence to trust in Christ. And David was so happy that he
took off his crown and took off his robes, his kingly robes,
that which marked him out from the rest of the people and distinguished
him as the king, and he put on a linen ephraim, like the priest
wore, just a little old linen robe, white linen robe, and he
began to dance in front of that ark. He was so happy, he was
so filled with God's Spirit, he was so bubbling with the blessings
of God, now the people of Israel had the presence of God once
again, and the ark back where it belonged. And he just came
in so happy and generous. He treated everybody. It says
here in verse 18, as soon as he made an end to the offering
that he blessed the people, and verse 19, he gave out to the
whole multitude a cake of bread and a piece of meat and a jug
of wine, and everybody went to his house, and boy, I'm telling
you, it was revival time. David was so happy. He was so
filled with joy. Bubbling oh my cup runneth over
Well David Oh John Bunyan said just hold it boy because there's
a sting waiting for you There's a sting waiting for you Isaiah
said who hath believed our report not everybody To whom is the
arm of the Lord revealed not everybody? Everybody didn't enter
into David's experience Everybody didn't enter into David's joy.
Everybody didn't partake of David's revelation. Everybody didn't
see and hear and experience what David saw and heard and experienced
on that day. The glory of the Lord did not
rest upon every soul. And here we run into David's
trouble. Verse 20, Then David returned
home. In that spirit of joy and happiness
he had found the greatest joy of his entire life. I believe
he was happier here than ever before or after because he brought
the art back to the city of David. And he came home and he ran into
trouble from an unexpected source. Now if it had been one of the
Midianites, or Amorites, or some other ites, the Hittites, or
the Philistines, or even somebody outside the camp, or the tribe,
it might have been different. But he ran into trouble from
an unexpected source. You know, I'm not sure that I'm
pronouncing his wife's name right. It might be Michelle, but it's
spelled Michael. But we'll go on and call her
Michael. She loved David. You know, I checked up on this
today. Let's go back to 1 Samuel 18. Now, their relationship wasn't
always this way. There was a time when she loved
him, loved him deeply. It says in 1 Samuel 18, verse
20. Now, you look at this. And Michael,
Saul's daughter, loved David. And they told Saul the thing,
please, she was in love with David. And verse 28, same chapter, 18,
1 Samuel. And Saul saw and knew that the
Lord was with David, and Michael, Saul's daughter, loved him. In
fact, she chose between David and her father and saved David's
life, kept her father from killing him. Look at chapter 19, verse
11. Verse 10 says, Verse 11, Saul also sent messengers
to David's house. Now this is 1 Samuel 19 verse
11, to watch him and to kill him in the morning. And Michael,
David's wife, told him, saying, Now if thou save not thy life
tonight, tomorrow you'll be slain. So Michael let David down through
a window, and he went and fled and escaped. And Michael took
an image and laid it in the bed and put a pillar of goat's hair
for his bolster and covered it with cloth and made out like
that was David and he was gone. She saved his life. She loved
him. She loved him. I have no doubt about that. And
she saved his life and her father got real angry with her because
she took David's part. But here it says in verse 16,
I told you to remember this when we hit it, verse 16 of chapter
6, She despised David in her heart. If you read that last
line, verse 16, what happened? What happened? She despised him
in her heart. I'll tell you what happened.
David entered into a spiritual experience that she had not entered
into. He entered into a relationship
with Christ that she knew nothing about, to which she was an absolute
stranger. She looked down from that window
and saw him dancing in that linen. She was a proud woman. She loved
that crown on his head. She loved those purple robes
on his shoulders. She loved the David that carried
the sword and the spear and killed his 10,000 and came back with
the body of the slain kings on the upturned shield. But she
looked down and saw her husband dancing before that art. That art meant nothing to her.
And she despised him in her heart. Now is not this the experience
of many? Somebody said, those who have
been our closest friends sometimes bring us our greatest grief. And they bring us our greatest
grief because they are our closest friends. But is not this the
experience of many dear women that come to knowledge of God's
grace and the gospel of God's glory and their husbands are
not able to enter into that experience and they become bitter and hateful? I know many. Is this not the
experience of some men whose wives, I believe, when they married
they loved them, I believe through their lives they loved them,
But when they came to knowledge of the gospel of God's glory
and made a total committal to Christ and to that gospel, when
they deserted a sidelined religion and became a participator in
the glory of God, it generated hate. I've known this to happen
between father and son. I've known it to happen between
in-laws. The person who has been the delight of your heart becomes
the foe and enemy of your spirit. Is that not so? But listen to
our Lord. Let me read you a scripture over
here. You don't need to turn to it. Zechariah 13, 6. And one
shall say to him, What are these wounds in thine hands? And then
he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of
my friends. That's why I got those wounds,
in the house of my friends. Listen to Psalm 41, verse 9. Psalm 41, verse 9. Mine own familiar friend, in
whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his
heel against me. Some of you have been through
that. And the Lord told us to expect it, but it comes as a
surprise that I don't care how much you expect it, the persecution,
the ridicule, the mockery, the desertion, the hatred, the flashes
in the eye, and the evil that comes from the heart of respectable,
moral, religious people because of what you believe. because
you believe God's on the throne, because you believe that grace
and mercy are gifts of his hand, because you believe that Christ
died not in vain, because you believe that the Lord of glory
did what he came to do, because you believe that you're a sinner,
because you've been broken at the feet of Christ, because you've
been humbled before the Lord, because you want them to come
to the same gospel. And their eyes flash with fire.
Look back at the text. I want you to notice the tactics
of this dear girl. I looked at this, and Joe Wilson
will appreciate this greatly, I think. This is the tactics
of the enemies of God. Those enemies may be your husband,
or wife, or brother, or sister, or son, or daughter, or mother-in-law,
or father-in-law, or best friend, but these are the tactics Michael
was David's best friend. He loved her, too. In other words,
Abner was coming down there one time when David was out, and
when he escaped, and when he was out there running from Saul,
and Abner was coming to make an alliance with him, and David
sent word to Abner and said, If you don't bring Michael, don't
show your face, because I won't see you. Be sure and bring my
wife. Don't you come without her. That's what he told Abner.
They were close, awfully close. Now, don't you listen to her
tactics. First of all, First of all, she exaggerated his conduct. Watch this, Joe. She exaggerated.
She said, verse 20, how glorious was the king of Israel who uncovered
himself today openly in the eyes of his handmaidens. That wasn't so. He didn't uncover. He wore a linen Ephod, just like
the priest, he didn't uncover himself. He made it sound like
that he danced out there without any clothes on, that he actually
acted shamelessly and immodestly in front of all his people, and
that wasn't so. But you know the enemies of God
don't have much regard for the truth. Not much regard. And they won't tell it like it
is. They won't tell what you believe like it is. They won't
tell what you preach like it is. They've got to warp it, just
like Michael did here. They've got to twist it. They've
got to make it sound worse than it is. In other words, instead
of saying that God, in His sovereignty and mercy, had chosen a people
for His glory, and men would not come except God chose them
and called them to Himself, they say, well, you believe God predestinated
some to heaven and some to hell. You don't believe that, and you
didn't say that. But they can't tell it like it is. They've got
to exaggerate it. Why you believe there's babies in hell not a
span long? No, I don't know anybody that
believes that. Why you believe a man couldn't
be saved even if he wanted to? No, I don't know anybody that
believes that, but they can't tell it like it is. You practice open, one fellow
said to me yesterday, why you just invite everybody to come
to the Lord's table? That is not so. Well, you just take any kind
of baptism, alien immersion or a sprinkler, that is not so. You don't believe in the local
church, you believe in the universal Catholic Church, that is not
so. But here she is, he walked in,
she couldn't tell it like it is. And I find that when the
enemies of God rear up their heads in anger and malice, they
never Tell it like it is. Never. Then secondly, watch her
tactics now. First, she exaggerated his conduct. Secondly, she appealed to his
pride. How glorious was the king! She put him back on the throne. Remember, David, your station.
You are not like other men. You're king. Remember your position. Remember, son, you're somebody.
Haven't I raised you right? Haven't I taught you right? You're
somebody. You stand head and shoulders
above the crowd. You're not a sinner like everybody
else. You've got talent, gifts, Remember,
you're the king, David. The king is different. Don't
lower yourself. Don't humble yourself. Men look
up to you. Make them look up to you. Assume
your position, your station, your power. Demand respect. And then thirdly, she associated
him with the lowest class. She said, why, you behave like
one of the vain fellows. One of the vain fellows. Surely
you're not one of those. Surely you're not one of those
sovereign gracers. Don't tell me. Don't tell me
you're one of those universalists. Don't tell me you're one of those
ignorant substitutionists. Don't tell me you go to church
there. Where do you go to church? I go down here. Go anywhere, believe anything,
but don't go there. There's a stigma. If you don't want to partake
of the mockery, don't want to partake of the ridicule, don't
want to be isolated as one of those foolish fanatics, don't
go there. They lower you and associate
you with the low class. Ignorance. Those folks don't
know any better. Surely, surely that's not where
you worship. Surely, David, surely you're
not going to behave like one of those vain fellows. One of
those vain fellows. You're not going to bring yourself
down to their station. Well, I'm telling you this, and
I say it as kindly as I can say it, God does not save preachers. He saves sinners. God does not
save deacons and elders and teachers and religionists and righteous
people. He saves sinners. God does not save prominent people,
righteous people, moral people. He saves sinners. God has chosen
the foolish. God has chosen the base. God
has chosen the things that are not. That's whom God hath chosen. And all right, if that's the
way you want to place me, place me there. I am one of those vain
fellows. But the Lord Jesus Christ is
the friend of sinners. All right, David's trouble. He
was so happy. He was so thrilled. His cup running
over. He'd found the presence of God
and the glory of God and the mercy of God and he came home
to tell his family Brother you talk about running into an icy
cold breeze When he opened that door, that's what he got What
a fool you are Well, let's look at his reply Tell you one thing
about him. He had something to say And I
like this a whole lot Now we need you and I need now listen
to me This is just as important what I'm about to say is what
I've just said I We need to be prepared to speak for the glory
of God. Not for our defense. I'm not
set for my defense. A man that wastes time defending
himself will in the end find himself defending a fool. Abraham Lincoln said one time,
I don't know whether I can quote it or not, but folks said a lot
of things about him that weren't true. And somebody said, why
don't you speak out? He said, well, if I spent time straightening
out all the things they tell that I've done and that I haven't
done and replying to all the criticism, he said this office
would be closed for everything else but that. But we need to
be prepared to speak for the glory of God. We need to be prepared
to give an answer. to some folks and to their charges.
We need to rebuke God's enemies, rebuke them in love, but rebuke
them. Because our Lord did, our Lord
rebuked them, and we need to rebuke the enemies of our Lord
as He rebuked them. And David set Michael straight. Now first of all, here's what
he said, verse 21. It was before the Lord. In other
words, this is what he's saying. Now listen to it. Michael, who
I am and what I am and my relationship with this world and with you
and the people of this world and everything else has nothing
to do with what I believe, has nothing to do with what I was
doing. That was before the Lord. You see what he's saying? That
was before the Lord. I wasn't doing that before the
maidens to be seen of the maidens, to be seen of the priests, to
be congratulated by the people. I was not looking for any personal
acclaim. I had no thought of personal
recognition. I did what I did before God.
You see what he's saying? Me and God. That's what it's
all about. Let this be our first determination,
the glory of God. 1 Peter 2, look at this. Now let's make sure that what
we believe is of God. And let's make sure that we are
really not out to prove Calvinism or any other kind of ism. We're
not out to prove anything. We're not out to defend ourselves.
But what we believe and what we do, we do and believe for
the glory of God. Let's make sure that's right
now before we start saying it. 1 Peter 2.20. Listen to this. 1 Peter 2.20. What glory is it
if when you be buffeted or mocked or rebuked or persecuted for
your own faults, you take it patiently? But if when you do
well or do the right thing and suffer for it and take it patiently,
that's acceptable to God. That's what David had done. He'd
done the right thing. He had humbled himself before
God. He had brought the ark back to the city of David. He had
established the worship of the Lord. He had offered the oxen,
and the fattening, and the sheep, and the right sacrifices. He'd
done what God told him to do. And he'd put himself down there
in the dust, humble before God. He'd sought the mercy of the
Lord. He'd done right. And he hadn't done it for any
personal acclaim, or personal glory, or personal recognition,
or personal praise. He told her right off. He said,
what I did was before the Lord. What I believe before the Lord.
That's the first place you'd start with these people. I don't
care who it is, husband, wife, brother, sister, son or daughter,
person you work with or whoever. You say now, you wait just a
minute. What God's taught me, He's taught me for His glory.
And what I believe is not to be different, to be radical,
to be fanatical. It's not a hobby horse I'm riding.
It's just the way it is before the Lord. This is the way it
is. God is who he is, and I am who
I am, and Christ is who he is, and my only hope is in him. But
brother, he didn't leave off there. He said, it was before
the Lord who chose me. He said, I was nothing. Michael,
now you listen to me. I was nothing. Nothing. Dead in trespasses and sin. And
God looked with favor on me. I found grace in the eyes of
the Lord. I was nothing. God made me a king. I was nothing
and he looked with favor upon me and he chose me. And he made
me a king. Therefore I will become as nothing
before him because that's what I am apart from his grace. You see that? He chose me. I was nothing. He made me a king. He made me a ruler. He exalted
me. He lifted me. So before Him,
I am nothing. Before me and I may be somebody.
Before God, I'm nothing. So it was before the Lord who
chose me, who singled me out, who gave me His grace, who maketh
you to differ. It was gratitude to God which
was the keynote of his worship, like the hymn writer who said,
were the whole realm of nature mine, that were present far too
small. Love so amazing, so divine, demands
my soul, my life, my all. It belongs to him who chose me.
He chose me. Now listen to him. He didn't
quit there either. And I think we ought to speak up. He said, Michael, it was before
the Lord, this was before the Lord. Secondly, who chose me, and then
a strong rebuke, before your father and his whole house. The Lord chose me before your
father and his whole house. In other words, David, watch
it now, he did not do what we so often do. He made no apologies
for God's sovereign mercy. No apologies. He made no apologies
for God's sovereign grace. He said, I have nothing to boast
of, and neither do you. And he shut her up. He shut her
up to the sovereign mercy of God. He said, God chose me before
your father and all his house. I am what I am by God's grace.
And if you ever become anything, it'll be by God's grace. It's high time that we forced
every opponent to bow at the feet of Christ. David said I
am what I am by God's elective grace And if you ever become
anything or anybody associated with your house, it'll be by
God's grace Look across the page verse 18 of chapter 7 then went
King David in and sat before the Lord and said who am I? Oh
Lord God and what is my house? That you brought me hither to
That's what that man believed. He believed that he didn't feel
that he had any credit for do unto his name, only to God. He
said, Michael, what I did was before the Lord, who chose me,
and he chose me before your Father in all his house. God will be
merciful to whom he will. He'll be gracious to whom he
will. And it's time we quit seeking the favor of people who
spit upon the very glory of God, which is his sovereign goodness,
and leveled with him. That's what David did. He rebuked
her, and he rebuked her severely. He put her in her place quickly.
I think we need to do the same thing. We need to force men to
deal with the sovereign mercy of God. It's no more this. David didn't say, well, you believe
what you believe, and I believe what I believe. No, sir. He let
her know what he believed. But he not only believed what
he knew. All right, now watch his resolution. Now this is interesting.
This is really eye-opening here, verse 22. David's trouble. David's reply. It was forceful. It was plain. But it was a rebuke. Now watch his
resolution, verse 22. And, and, I'm not through. Will
be I will yet be more vile than this you think I'm crazy. I'm
gonna get even crazier. That's what he told her. I Have
no intention of changing Except to become more involved in what
God's taught me That's what he said to her. I Have no intention
of changing It's high time we now listen to me. This is what
sometime and I'll say this to you kindly I Sometimes if men
and women and family people, if they are persuaded that you
can't be moved, they'll let you along. But sometimes I think
we give them the thought that this is only a temporary thing
with us, that it's just a stage we're passing through. They've
known us to change so many times, you know. They've known us to
get excited over this and over this and over this, and then
when we come to a knowledge of God's sovereign grace and the
gospel of his glory, they expect that they can keep on nagging
and biting and King at you till you give up on that too. But
it's high time we let them know, like David did here. He sounded
the note loud and clear. He said, Michael, let me tell
you something. If you're upset now, you get ready to be more
upset tomorrow. If you're troubled now, you get
ready for more trouble. Because he said, I'm going to
become more vile in my own sight, more dependent on his grace,
more confident of his sovereignty, and more outspoken about his
glory. I hadn't started yet. Boy, that'll clear the air, won't
it? I hadn't even started yet. Let them know I'm not a candidate
for your proselyting Persuasion stand up and be counted. That's
what he did Let him know you walk in the path of his grace
or you walk without me Total commitment Is demanded
by the master he said he that is not with me is against me. I Like what he said there He
said and I'm not through I would yet you think that was I? Was
that embarrassing to you? Did my association, he said to
his proud wife, he said, does my dancing before that art offend
you? You hadn't seen anything yet.
You're going to be more offended. If that offended you, if that
embarrassed you, if my association with what you call the vain fellows,
if that's embarrassing to you, you get ready for a whole lot
more because I'm not through yet. By God's grace, I'm going
to grow downward. I'm going to grow downward. That's
how God's people grow. They don't grow this way. That's
the religious, that's the proud Pharisees. They graduate up to
the uppermost seat, you know. God's people graduate to the
back row. They go down. God's best gifts
are found on the lower shelves, yet stoop to reach them. More
of our And look what he said in the last line. And of those
maidservants of which you have spoken, you said that I uncovered myself
in front of them and they thought less of me? He said, I'm telling
you this. He said, as I become more vile
in my own sight, as I become more confident of God's glory,
He said, I'm going to be held in more honor and esteem by those
who really know God. Those people you spoke of, I'll
gain favor with them. And that's what happens when
a man grows in understanding of God's grace. And when a man
commits himself, when he commits himself, when he's willing to
pay the price, when he's willing to cut the ties and the chains
that bind him to the relationships of this world, when, for the
glory of Christ, he's willing to say to whomever, I'm dedicated
to what I believe. If it costs your friendship,
it'll have to go, whoever you are. He said that to his beloved
wife. But he said, let me tell you
this, that man gains favor with the people who know God. He may
lose favor with the infidel, and he may lose favor with the
religionist, and he may lose favor with those who glory in
appearance, but people with eyes and ears and hearts that understand,
that man gains favor. I tell you, I'd rather lose anything
in the world In the second place, I don't
want to lose Christ first, but I don't want to lose the favor,
Cecil, of his people. Do you? The favor of his people.
It's not worth it. All the gold and silver and popularity
and fame and acclaim of this world is not worth the favor
of God's people. The family of God, the house
of God, the children of God, their favor, their love, their
confidence, It's not worth it. Selling out is not worth it.
To lose favor with the people of God. You don't gain anybody's
favor when you compromise what you believe and what you preach. I've seen men lose favor with
God's people. And when they do, they lose everything.
Lose favor. Oh well, I like his resolution,
don't you? I'm not through yet. I'll be
more vile, more base in my own sight. And of these people of
whom you spoke, you don't know them," he said. They'll have
me more in honor. Now watch Michael's judgment.
Now God said, vengeance is mine, I will repay. It's not my business
to repay, it's not your business, it's God's business. There'll
be a payday someday for all who ridicule God's children, all
who sit in judgment on God's favored few. It's going to be
a payday someday. None of us wish for any man the
wrath of God. My soul, I'd rather anything
happen to you than God Almighty to pour His wrath upon anyone. But for those who ridicule His
children, God's going to deal with them like He did Michael.
Listen, therefore Michael, the daughter of Saul, had no child
until the day of her death. The Lord struck her with the
greatest curse that He could put upon an Eastern woman, a
barren womb. as a greatest curse that God
in this life could have put upon Michael, for an Eastern woman
to be barren, especially a king's wife. She bore no heir to the throne. David in his youth, freshly anointed
king, had married this beloved girl, beautiful, Saul's daughter. And she fully expected to put
her son on that throne, David's throne, when David died. But
she died childless. And do you know who God put on
that throne? He took the wife of a common soldier, a girl by
the name of Bathsheba, who sinned with David, and put her son on
that throne in the place of Michael's son, whom she never had. Judgment. God Almighty will judge. He will judge. He turned to Mark
9. It's not our business to do it
now. God will take care of His business. It's our business to
speak what we believe, but it's our business to pray. I pray
for those who do not see what I believe we've seen, do not
understand what I believe we understand, do not enter into
what I believe we have entered into for the glory of God. But I tell you, this mockery
and this ridicule, this exaggeration of conduct and this charges that
aren't true, God'll deal with them. But now listen to this
in Mark 9, 40. He that is not against us is
on our part for whosoever, listen to this, shall give you a cup
of water to drink in my name because you belong to Christ
Verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward. If you ridicule God's people,
he'll fall upon you someday. The wheels of God's providence
turn real slow, but they turn. The wheels of God's providence
turn real slow, but they can't be They can't be stopped. None can stay my hand or say
unto me, what doest thou? And they can run around out in
front of those wheels and curse God and ridicule his people and
mock his people and find fault with his gospel and compromise
and lose favor with the people. God's providence is turning. And poor Michael, she went to
her grave totally unhappy. The king's wife never gave him
a son. Listen to this. I got an article
in the bulletin Sunday that I worked on. I think it's a very needed
article for this day. But here's just a part of it.
God will never use any means, man or woman, any means that
are proud enough to think themselves either capable or necessary.
When I become qualified for God's use, I disqualify myself. God
will throw away that vessel that boasts in itself. And whatever
is our strength in the flesh is bound to be our weakness in
the spirit. Gideon feared the Midianites
because he thought his soldiers were too few. But God said, there
are too many for me. When will we ever become, listen,
empty enough, ignorant enough, weak enough
for God to use us. I reckon we ever will. No hope
for some, but maybe for some of us. Paul said, When I am weak, I
am strong. Most gladly will I therefore
glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ might rest
upon me. When will we ever? David found it. There he stands
out there in front of that ark, clothed in a linen ephod, dancing,
and everybody clapping their hands, watching him, his wife
up here despising him. When will you and I ever becomeâ€”we're
trying to get strong enough for God to use us. You know, one
fellow said one time, he said, I prepared myself. diligently and feverishly to
be used of God. And I found out that he wanted
the voice in the wilderness, not the polished preacher. An
artist was going down the street one day, and he found a beggar. He was painting a mural. And
he found a beggar sitting by the wayside, and he had on rags
and an old dirty hat and whiskers and shoes with holes in the toes
and old gloves with his fingers sticking out. And the artist
thought, now he's perfect for my picture. I want him just like
that in my mural. So he stopped, and he pulled
out a $10 bill, and he said to the fellow here, I'm going to
give you $10. Get yourself something to eat and come on down to the
studio. And he gave him the address, and he said, I want to paint
your picture. Well, he went down to the studio, and he sat around
and waited, and he waited, and he waited. And after a while,
the door opened, and in came a fellow. with his hair sleeked
down with that lucky tiger, you know, and shaved, and he had
on a bow tie, and he had on a new coat, and he had on a pair of
shoes he bought down at the Goodwill industry. And the artist said,
well, who are you? He said, I'm that bum you gave
the $10 to. I'm here getting my picture took. He said, you
won't do. I wanted you like you were. You
won't do. I wanted you like you were."
I wonder, we get all fixed up so we can do it for God, and
he said, I wanted you like you were. I can't use you because you get
the glory, you see, and I won't get any. I can't use you. I think
we're getting too smart. I think we've got too many masters
of divinity and doctors of divinity and doctors of philosophy and
doctors of theology, and we don't have any prophets left in the
land. God raises up the shepherd, the fisherman, and I reckon that's
what he's going to have to do in 1979, 78. He's going to have
to go back to the seashore and find him some fishermen, some
folks who don't know so much. They just know that God's on
the throne and man's in the gutter and Christ died for sinners and
sent him out there to tell people so God can get the glory. David said, I'm going to be more
vile in my own sight. Our Father, use the message for
whatever it pleaseth thee, in whatever way it seem good in
thy sight. Prepare us for whatever comes
our way. Give us the courage to speak
for thy glory. Give us the love and grace in
our hearts that weep for sinners. And love men, for Christ's sake,
but the boldness and the confidence to say with Martin Luther, here
I stand, I can do no other. In Christ's name we pray, amen.

He Who Would Rejoice Must Expect Ridicule

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He Who Would Rejoice Must Expect Ridicule

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