Luke 18:9-14

[0:00] Starting at verse 9, where I'm going to pick up reading here in just a moment, we have Jesus speaking a parable. And me personally, and there's no hard core scripture to back this up, so this is just Spencer's opinion.

[0:15] But I think that most, if not all, of the parables that Jesus Christ spoke, He based them on things that had actually happened. I think that when He spoke of the parable, the wheat and the tares, I believe that some things along those lines happened.

[0:34] I believe when He spoke about the house builders. I believe when He spoke about the servants that took care of the master's vineyard and all these other things.

[0:46] I believe that those are things that the people He was speaking to at that time would have been familiar with, because it had been something that they knew about. When He spoke the parable about building a tower and counting the cost, I believe there was something that had happened in those areas that those people would be able to relate that to.

[1:04] Folks, when He was talking with the disciples, in particular, the Peter and a couple of the other ones, Jesus Christ didn't go off on these tangents and stuff.

[1:15] They would have nothing to, or they would know nothing about. He kept it basic for them. He spoke about things that they would know about. He spoke about fishing. He spoke about agriculture.

[1:26] He spoke about things along those lines, because they could relate to those things. He didn't want to confuse them. He didn't want to confuse them. He wanted them to understand, hey, I'm the Messiah, and I'm here to do something for you and to do something for the entire world.

[1:40] Why make it complicated? So Luke chapter 18, we have this parable that Jesus spoke, the Pharisee and the publican.

[1:51] And I've quoted this several times while I preach and while I teach. It's something that's very easy to fall back on. This parable that Jesus speaks, we'll pick up reading in Luke chapter 18, starting at verse 9.

[2:06] It says, And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others. Two men went up into the temple to pray.

[2:19] The one a Pharisee and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself. God, I thank thee that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.

[2:39] I fast twice in the week. I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican standing afar off would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast saying, God, be merciful to me a sinner.

[2:56] I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other. For everyone that exalted himself shall be abased and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

[3:10] And we'll stop reading right there. So we have this parable that Jesus spake here. And it explains in verse 9 who he's speaking to.

[3:21] And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves. And folks, this was keeping man. This was 2000 years ago that Jesus Christ would have been speaking this parable unto people who were trusting in themselves.

[3:38] They were trusting in themselves to be right with God. They were trusting in themselves to make themselves right with God. They were trusting themselves to be approved by God and to be accepted by God.

[3:53] And unfortunately, it hasn't changed in 2000 years time. There are still plenty of people out there. Most of them are in the church world themselves.

[4:03] Some of them don't attend church. Some of them could care less about preaching or the songs of song or Sunday school or any of these things. But nevertheless, it has not changed in 2000 years.

[4:17] There are still people that are depending on their own works, on their own merit, on their own selves in order to get into heaven, to be accepted with God, to be approved by God.

[4:30] And folks, just as it was with this prophecy here, it will never ever work like that. That's the entire purpose that Jesus Christ came was because we could not make ourselves right with an old man and a holy and a just and a righteous God.

[4:49] It was impossible for imperfect man to make himself perfect with God. It was impossible for us to be accepted with God through our works.

[5:00] So one that was perfect, one that was flawless, one that was blameless, and one that was unspotted had to come and be our work.

[5:10] He had become and be our sin. He the new no sin became sin for you and for me. That we might be made into the righteousness of God.

[5:24] And folks, it is no different now. We cannot do anything to unmarriage with God. Our works as it says in the book around his hand, our righteousnesses, our filthy rags, that means that no matter what kind of sacrifice we make, no matter what kind of personal sacrifice we make out of our life, no matter how many sermons we preach, how many lessons we teach, how many songs we sing, our own righteousnesses, our filthy rags in the eyes of God, the only righteousness that can't with anything in the eyes of God, however, is the blood of Jesus Christ that is what gives us salvation, that is what made a way for salvation.

[6:15] That's what will keep us until the day that we are taken home into heaven. Not our own works and not our own merit, but the merit of Jesus Christ in His finished work over the cross and countering.

[6:32] It cannot be our own works, listen to the words this Pharisee spoke. Jesus said, two men went into the temple to pray, the one a Pharisee and the other a Republican.

[6:45] The Pharisee stood and prayed thus within himself. Folks, that's a sure sign that something was wrong right there. It says he stood and he prayed thus with himself.

[6:59] In other words, Jesus is saying here before the Pharisee even got to pray, he said he prayed thus with himself. He didn't say he prayed unto God, that he saw God, that anything along those lines.

[7:11] It says he prayed thus with himself. And what did this Pharisee say when he prayed with himself? God, I thank thee that I am not as other men are extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican I fast twice in the week.

[7:30] I give tithes of all that I possess. Folks, this is a major mistake that is made with Christians and lost people alike. Christians, after they're saying they get it in their heads because the church and the preachers and teachers have told that you must do this and you must do that.

[7:52] And these other things that are not biblical, folks, it is nothing to do with what I can do. It is all to do with what God has already done.

[8:06] This Pharisee, he said, I've done these things. The first of all, he said, I thank thee. He didn't say I thank you for my blessings, God. He didn't say I thank you for these clothes that I'm wearing.

[8:18] I thank you for the house that I had to sleep in every night. I thank you for the food that you supply on my table. I thank you for my family, for my children. None of these things escaped this Pharisee's mouth.

[8:31] What did he thank God for? I thank you that you didn't make me as other men. I'm not an extortioner. I'm not a publican.

[8:41] I am none of these things. But both his major sin was his own pride. He was looking upon himself saying, God, I thank you that you made me good enough for the kingdom of God.

[8:55] Make me good enough for your acceptance. And God, if we get that attitude, we'll look down and say you will never be good enough outside of Jesus Christ.

[9:10] That's the only way we can be made good enough. That's what happens at the point of salvation, is it not? And we get saved, hey, it's not our righteousness. It's not our righteousness at all.

[9:21] It is the righteousness of Christ Jesus that makes us acceptable with God. Hey, Jude said to himself, Jude says unto him that is able to present us holy and blameless before God.

[9:35] Who is that man that's Jesus Christ that's able to present us in such a manner and it is only Jesus Christ that can do that.

[9:46] We've got to keep that in our minds, church. And lost people, you would, if you're here, you don't know God, never going to say, hey, it's not your works that'll get you there.

[9:58] You quit sinning all you want to and you'll quit sinning yourself, not in the hell. It takes the blood of Jesus Christ and nothing else.

[10:12] The American church has preached and they've preached and they've preached. Quit your sinning, quit your fornicating, quit your drinking, quit your drugs, quit all these things and you'll be right with God.

[10:26] Hey, listen to me, there are people out there that can quit drinking on their own. They can quit the dope on their own. Quit marrying, quit women, quit doing this and that but they are still lost and never had a touch from Jesus.

[10:44] Now folks, it's a whole lot easier to quit those things with Jesus. Whole lot easier, I speak that from experience but it is still possible. The example I use, I've used more than once.

[10:57] There's a man over in Mark chapter five, man Legion. The man in the area surrounding him put them in chains. They put him in fetters and he was a crazy man.

[11:07] He ran around in the tombs naked, yelling and screaming and terrorizing everyone that was in their region and what did the man do? He broke his own chains and he broke his own feathers.

[11:19] And sometimes we have enough strength about ourselves to where we can quit one sin or quit two sins on our own but it still took a touch from Jesus Christ to make that man called Legion.

[11:33] Oh, it took a touch from Jesus Christ in order for Legion to be found at his feet, called and in his right mind.

[11:43] Hope to do the same thing for us. Salvation does that for us. We cannot achieve salvation on our own. If that was the case, Jesus crossed out in vain.

[11:55] If we were capable of doing it on our own, Jesus crossed out in vain and I can assure you for the word of God that Jesus Christ did not die in vain.

[12:06] Jesus crossed out for your soul, for my soul. He died for everyone from Adam forward to the present and everyone that will be born from this point on.

[12:18] Jesus Christ died for each and every one of them. Now, thank God he died for me. Praise God. This is God I thank thee, I'm not as other men or extortioners, unjust, adulterers or even this public.

[12:37] And he keeps the spotlight on himself. He says, I fast twice in the week. I give tithes of all that I possess. Folks, this man was doing nothing but bragging.

[12:49] He was bragging and he was bragging to himself. I don't even know that God heard this prayer. In fact, I'm not seriously that he did. When they would go to the temple, they would go to the outer court of the temple to pray.

[13:03] They didn't actually, people like this Pharisee and this publican, they didn't go within the temple itself to pray, they would go to the outer court. And it says that one was standing or they were both standing a piece away from one another.

[13:17] The Pharisee more than likely was standing apart from the publican because he felt himself too good to stand in this kind of company. The publican was standing apart from everyone else because he didn't feel himself worthy to be in the company of the others that were there in the courtyard.

[13:36] But this man here, he said, I pay tithes of all that I have. Hey, the Old Testament law said you pay tithes on your gain and nothing else.

[13:47] This man said, I pay tithes of all that I currently have. Hey, he was bragging on himself. He said I fast twice in the week, folks.

[13:57] He was bragging. There was only one time in the law that a fast was ever ordered by God. And that was on the day of the tomb.

[14:08] This man was bragging. Oh yeah. Folks, be careful. You Christians out there, you listen to me. We will brag and we will brag on what we've done for God.

[14:19] We'll brag and brag that I've done this and I've done that. And folks, when that happens, when that happens, the blessing goes right out the window.

[14:31] The blessing we might have got from that goes out the window, out the door. Hey, our blessing at that point is the praise of man. And folks, I would rather have God's praise on me.

[14:42] I would rather have God's blessing on me. I'd rather God look down upon me and say, hey, that's how I want it done. You do it in humility. You do it not in yourself, but you do whatever it is you do to the glory of God and nothing else.

[15:00] I'll say, whether we eat, whether we drink, do it all to the glory of God. Doesn't matter what we do, what we have. You have it and do it to the glory of your maker.

[15:14] This Pharisee was failing to see that. This Pharisee bragging on himself, turning the spotlight on himself. I done this and I done that.

[15:25] And I have not done this when he says I'm not an extortioner and I'm not unjust. I'm not any of these other things. It's on what he has done and what he has not done. Folks, he is failing to see his own imperfection.

[15:40] And if we ain't careful, have born against children of God, we will fail to see our own imperfection. Folks, I've been saying now since February 10th, 2009, is when God got a hold of this boy's heart.

[15:54] But folks, that doesn't make me any less depraved of God than what I was to begin with. Yes, I am saved and yes, I'm on my way to heaven, but I still have a need for Jesus Christ every day of my life.

[16:09] I still have a need for communion, I still have a need for fellowship with him and that's what I do when I pray. I tell God what I need.

[16:19] I ask God for what I need and he provides those things to me and we have wonderful fellowship. Folks, just cause I'm saved doesn't mean I don't need Jesus anymore.

[16:33] I need Him just as much saved as I did lost. Just as much saved as I did lost. This is the publican, says the publican standing afar off would not lift up so much as his eyes under heaven.

[16:47] But smote upon his breast say, God be merciful to me as sin. This is the attitude. This is the attitude. Listen, if you're here lost, don't know Jesus Christ.

[17:01] You'll never get saved from the pride in the heart. That was as close to them with a broken heart, kind of trapped spirit. You'll get saved, realizing how broken you are.

[17:13] Realizing how messed up your life is. Realizing how much you need God. That's how you'll get saved. And it'll happen no other way. You'll not come to God bargaining.

[17:25] You'll not come to God saying, okay, you do this for me and I'll do that for you. God will have no part of that. Hey, the bargain's done been made. Jesus Christ is the bargain. That God made with the entire world.

[17:37] God sent his only bigot and son into the world that you and I could have life and have it more abundantly. That's the bargain that's on the table.

[17:48] And Jesus Christ comes in, our sin goes out the door. Our sin is washed away, thrown into a sea of forgiveness. Never to be remembered.

[17:59] Praise God. Hallelujah. This is publican. He says, God be merciful to me a sinner. So he stood there, wouldn't so much as lift his eye toward heaven.

[18:13] That reminds me of Ezra. I preached out of Ezra a couple of times with Ezra chapter nine. Ezra learns that these Israelites that have come back from the captivity, one of the ways when they come back, hey, the hierarchy of those Israelites, he finds out they've been married in to the nations that were surrounding them.

[18:34] They were taking in wives of people. They were restricted from doing so. He found out that all these things were going on. And what did Ezra say? What does the Bible say about Ezra?

[18:45] He said that he blessed to lift his eyes toward the heaven. He blessed to come before God. In other words, he came, but he came to God. And when he did, hey, he was confessing his own sin.

[18:56] He was confessing the sins of his nation. But he still said, oh my God, he still referred to Jehovah God as his own. He didn't let anyone sin including his own, refer to God as his own.

[19:12] We think as Christ said, that once we said, if we let one tree pen, God has finished, God has finished, that is not what my Bible teaches.

[19:23] Amen. God expects us to repent. Yeah. And he expects us to repent. Damn it. Folks, when we sin, when we sin, what's John say?

[19:35] What's 1st John say? He says, little children, I write unto you that you sin not. That condemns every one of us. That condemns every stinking person that's in here.

[19:46] I write unto you that you sin not. But it goes on, they don't end there. He said, but if any of you do sin, if any of us do sin, hey, we have an advocate with the Father.

[19:57] He was referring to little children, the church believers when he said that. He said, if you do sin, you got an advocate with the Father. The advocate is Jesus Christ. The Father is the one that had the problem with mankind.

[20:09] The Son is the one came and gave his life that we could go to the Father and receive reconciliation and receive forgiveness. Hallelujah.

[20:21] His public. He said, God be merciful to me. A sinner. Yeah. The Pharisee never once confessed that he was a sinner. Not once.

[20:31] He confessed to God. He confessed to God what he had done and what he hadn't done. That's all he had. That's all this Pharisee had to come before God was.

[20:43] Was his own works or the lack of what he deemed as evil works. But there was one thing missing. One thing missing. He could have said, God, help me get rid of this pride.

[20:55] God, my sin is pride. My sin is man's looks. My sin is one of those higher seats.

[21:05] When I go into the congregation of people, my sin is wanting these things, wanting the praise of men. Folks, that is nothing more than pride.

[21:16] And there's a lot of preachers out there. I wish could listen to this message this morning. Their sin is pride. Their sin is something. That's something that every preacher out there has no business being in the pulpit with, hey, if anybody in the church needs to be humble, it's the preacher.

[21:31] It's the one that is presenting the word of God. I am nothing special. I am nothing to be looked upon. I am nothing to be put upon a pedestal. I am nothing more than a sinner that will save on the word of Jesus Christ and the grace of an almighty God.

[21:51] Be merciful to me, a sinner. He confessed his sin and he asked for mercy. That's what the, and folks, Jesus Christ said himself, he said, this man, this man here, this publican, this tax collector, this man that was looked down upon by not only the Roman government for being a Jew, but by his own people, the Jewish people, for being a traitor to them, because he was collecting taxes for the Roman government from the Jewish citizens.

[22:20] This man was hated on both sides. This publican was, but he said, God, hey, he didn't go to his own citizens and say, forgive me. He didn't go to the Romans and say, forgive me.

[22:32] He didn't seek out Pilate. He didn't seek out Caesar. He knew who to go to to get forgiveness. And he says, God, be merciful to me, a sinner.

[22:43] When you come to God, or when God draws you, you will confess your sins to him. It takes confession.

[22:54] You don't have to spit. I've never seen you've ever committed. I couldn't do it and you can't either. We can't remember them all. I couldn't remember the ones I probably committed today to be honest with you, but God knows them.

[23:06] And I know that I'm a sinner. I know that you all are sinners. Every one of everybody in this room, we are all sinners. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

[23:17] That includes you. That includes me. That includes Billy Graham. That includes everybody that has ever been. We are all sinners. It descended in our flesh and our bodies from Adam and Eve, from the garden, and it has not stopped and it will not stop.

[23:34] Everyone knows how that curse. We are all sinners, but my God is a wonderful Savior. We are all sinners and we all come short of His glory.

[23:45] What is the glory of God? Jesus Christ is the glory of God. Jesus Christ is the righteousness. Jesus Christ is all that we need. We come short of the glory of God.

[23:57] We come short of Jesus Christ because Jesus Christ, when He said, I came not to destroy the law, but to fulfill He did just that. He fulfilled the law to a tree every joint and every tunnel, line upon line and precinct upon precinct.

[24:15] Jesus Christ fulfilled it all. That's why He was the perfect sacrifice. That's why He was that unbeliever's flame. That's why this publican could go before God and say, be merciful to me, a sinner.

[24:32] Now, folks, keep in mind Jesus Christ is the one telling this story. He's the one speaking this parable. Jesus Christ hadn't died yet. You've got to get a few more chapters over in Luke's account to see the death.

[24:46] But this man, this publican, he knew where to get forgiveness. He knew where to go and he knew how to do it. He understood his predicament that he was in, understood his depravity, understood that he was nothing without God, that he was nothing more than a sinful creature, that God had fashioned from the dirt of the earth, but he realized his condition and he realized the one that could do something about that condition.

[25:14] And he said, God, be merciful to me, a sinner. And Jesus Christ said, I tell you this man went down to his house justified rather than the other.

[25:25] And Jesus tells us why. For everyone that exalted himself shall be abased and he that hung with himself shall be exalted.

[25:37] At first, he was guilty of exalting himself. He said, God, I thank you, I thank thee that you haven't made me like other man. And you don't find this in the Bible, folks, but you can find it in Jewish history.

[25:51] There were three main things that Pharisees prayed. One, they prayed, they thanked God, that they thanked God for, I should say. One, that they wasn't born a woman.

[26:01] Two, that they wasn't born a gentile in general. Three, that they wasn't born a woman. And that's no offense to you women, I'm just telling you what the Pharisees prayed.

[26:12] They thanked God for those things. Those things, and those things, I said you don't find that in the Bible, but you look up in your Jewish history, that's the three things. And those three things are all culminated here.

[26:24] What did that Pharisee say? I thank thee that you haven't made me as other men, as other men. And he says, I thank thee, I'm not like this publican. The publican do what?

[26:34] He collected taxes for whom? For the Romans, for the Roman government that was in rule over the Jewish people at that time. Now folks, either way, he was shining that spotlight on himself, saying, God, look at my credentials.

[26:49] Look at what I've done. Look at my merit. Look at what I've done for you. And compare me, God, to this publican that everyone despises, that everyone rejects, that everyone hates.

[27:03] You look at me as compared to him. Folks, we can't look at other sinners and compare ourselves to them to see righteousness. God doesn't do that with us. God does not look at me and look at any prostitute out there in the world and say his righteousness is better than hers because it ain't my righteousness.

[27:21] It's the righteousness of Jesus Christ. When you start comparing yourself to the world, hey, there's no comparison then. You are a filthy sinner and I am too.

[27:31] And so are they, the differences, the blood of Jesus Christ, their washes are sent away. And that's the only difference.

[27:42] Folks, when we go down the street and we see these people and we say they can't be saved and listen, hey, they some folks say, I mean, really, it's obvious and I ain't saying that in judgment.

[27:53] I can't judge somebody by the outward appearance. That's the word that Jesus Christ himself said, judge not according to the outward appearance, but judge righteous judgment. What's righteous judgment?

[28:04] No one, what's right and what's wrong? Righteous judgment is someone saying, I know better than to do that. I know better than to do this. I know better than to commit this crime or commit that crime or do this thing to my family or do this thing to my friends.

[28:19] One of the cases that's righteous judgment and folks, but folks, that still doesn't make them right with God just because of that. But Jesus said that himself, judge not according to the outward appearance, but judge righteous judgment.

[28:33] Well, that blows Matthew seven one out of the water for the world that wants to come to you all the time. Say the Bible says judge not. Folks, I'm told several times in scripture to judge and I'm told what to judge in scripture.

[28:45] I'm told how to judge in scripture. I know, I know where they get that Matthew seven one. I understand that perfectly, but if you read just a few verses down from that, you'll also see where Jesus says not to give that which is holy under the dog, neither the cash to a pearl before the swine.

[29:03] How am I supposed to know who's a dog and who a pig is if I ain't casting judgment of some kind? So the world needs to find a different scripture to use against and against the church.

[29:17] The folks I'm getting off the message. I apologize, but it's public and the Pharisee done it completely wrong. I said, folks, that goes for the same folks and I go for lost folks as well.

[29:30] Lost folks cannot cannot get saved with a prideful attitude. Folks, that is what conviction does. That's what the Holy Spirit was sent to do.

[29:40] There was there was one thing according to Jesus in the gospel of John, the Holy Ghost was sent to do and that was to convict it convicted in a three fold way folks. And when conviction sets in, whether it's on a believer or a lost person, that conviction is heavy when it's from the Holy Ghost that conviction will sit on your chest.

[30:02] It'll sit on your back, sit on your heart and folks if you're lost and that conviction is there, that's the time that God is dealing with you. That's the time to be safe.

[30:13] That's the time that will show you how you're on your way to our devil's hell, but this is your way out. That's how God works.

[30:24] Folks, I don't make the rules. I just tell you what the book says. That's God's rule. I cannot get by on my own work either when I'm lost and get saved nor after I'm saved.

[30:36] Folks, we just sang it a little while ago. Gene you're talking about saving the man from grace and we sang it. We said and grace will lead me home.

[30:50] Not me. Grace will do that. I thank God that his grace ain't like mine. I thank God that his forgiveness ain't like mine. I thank God that his mercy ain't like mine and he's like your loss.

[31:04] Hey, none of us perfect. Once again, this Pharisee, he was looking at himself as a perfect individual before God, but he was comparing himself to an imperfect individual, a fellow human being on planet earth.

[31:19] He wasn't comparing himself to that which was perfect and perfect. Folks, you might look out there at the world and say I'm not as bad as this one or that one, but when you compare yourself to a holy and righteous God, I can promise you you will find imperfections.

[31:39] This Pharisee, he was all about commending himself. He was saying, I'm something else. Look at me. Look at how I dress. Listen to these prayers I make.

[31:50] That's another thing. He went into that temple yard and he got to pray and I'm sure there were some others around him. He spoke 34 words and I don't think any of them got another seal on the temple.

[32:03] I don't think any of them got up to the years of God. What this public can speak. Seven words. Seven words. God be merciful to me and center.

[32:14] Seven words and he is the one that went justified to his own house. Not the one that stood there and prayed for five minutes to make a scene of himself to make to make people talk him and look at him in admiration.

[32:29] Not that one. The one that smote his breast. The one that wouldn't so much as look up toward heaven toward God. The one that wouldn't lift his face toward the sky in the direction of Almighty God.

[32:42] He spoke seven words and he is the one that went to his house justified. Hope you don't take a big prayer. It takes the spirit showing us that we're wrong and showing us that God completely right and can make us right and Christ Jesus.

[32:58] That's all it takes but it is not and has not ever been nor will it ever be our own works. Everyone that is exalted himself shall be abased and he that hung with himself shall be exalted.

[33:12] Folks this is a warning that is spoken of over in Luke chapter 11 actually if I am mistaken.

[33:22] This is the same thing that spoke to the church way to see you in Revelation chapter 3. What was I mean Jesus told him he said I know that word just like the rest of the church.

[33:34] He said I know what you've been doing or the other six churches. He said I know what you've been doing. I know that word. He says you're neither cold nor you hot. The boy told the church how they see you're neither cold nor you hot.

[33:47] Hey folks that doesn't mean God would rather have you lost his have you saved. God doesn't want anybody lost. The Bible says it is not his will that he surpassed but that all said come to repentance.

[34:00] Hey God doesn't want anybody cold like a creek rock lost but what he was saying is your neither cold nor you're hot. He was saying you are unusable to me.

[34:10] I can't do anything with you in the lukewarm condition that you are in. He told that church way to see you out of my mouth but he told them why they were guilty of the same thing as Pharisee was guilty of.

[34:25] They were guilty of pride. They were guilty of looking at themselves. They said hey we've got all these things. We've got our possessions. We've got this and we've got that and Jesus looks at him. He says your eyes are so blind.

[34:38] He says by me by this door that's refined of me. He says you are naked. You're rich and you have nothing. Oh that's the same thing this Pharisee had.

[34:50] Absolutely nothing. Although to the world he may have he may have appeared to that favor with God because of his righteousness the Pharisees had his righteousness because of his righteousness and his seeming dedication and all these other things he may have had that appearance but the Bible speaks of those things too.

[35:12] It talks about people that had a form of godliness but they did not have power. They're folks he might have had a form of it and unfortunately churches nowadays are full of people that have a form of godliness but I think that a lot of them have been sitting accused for 10 and 15 and 20 and 30 years and have never received the salvation.

[35:34] They've never received anything from God as far as salvation goes but they think that they're alright just like this Pharisee because their pride won't allow them to come before God and say God be merciful to me.

[35:49] They said that's all it takes. That's all it takes if that Holy Ghost is there. That's all it takes. God be merciful to me a sinner or we can wind up like that lay at the same church and think that we're fine just like this Pharisee thought that he was fine just like a lot of the Israelites in the Old Testament.

[36:11] They said God's not punishing us for our sin. God's not punishing us for our idolatry. He's not punishing us for marrying these women of the surrounding nations. He's not punishing us for any of these things.

[36:23] God must be okay with us. Folks God wasn't okay. His law had done been spoken. His law and his law was law then it's law now and it's law up there in the heavens.

[36:34] It is eternal if my God spoke it. So their attitude was we must be okay. This Pharisee's attitude was we must be okay. The church that laid to see his attitude we must be okay.

[36:48] But once again you flip over to Ezra chapter 9. Sometime you read it for yourself as are a prey on his own behalf and on behalf of the entire nation and it said that he blushed.

[36:59] He blushed to lift up his face to God. He blushed in humility. It will take humility. God and folks there's that one just for me. That's exactly what God did to the Apostle Paul on the road to Damascus.

[37:14] Paul Paul had all kinds of pride about Paul was probably dressed up in his greatest paracetical garments that he could find. He was and I'm sure that he just looked absolutely stunning on that road going to arrest Christians and having put in prison and killed and everything else that he was doing.

[37:34] But folks it took God bringing him down. It took God shining a life from heaven. It took Jesus Christ to say Saul Saul my persecutist I mean it took God almighty to humble Saul but when he did he got him to a point that he could use him.

[37:53] God can't use people they're proudful. Whether we're saved or we're lost God can't use us if we're proudful. Y'all think God can't hate turn over to Proverbs chapter 6. God hates a proud look.

[38:05] That's the very word Proverbs chapter 6. He hates a proud look. I don't want God hating nothing about me. I've read what God can do. I know what kind of wrath that he's got.

[38:18] I know what kind of fury he's got and I know what he can do to me no bigger than I am no more significant than I am. I know what God is capable of. I don't want him hating anything about me.

[38:31] And as long as I have Christ Jesus and I do and I will have praise God as long as I have that God won't hate me. As long as he's able to present me holy and blameless as I said before then folks God will not hate anything about me.

[38:48] God hates sin. Don't you hear me wrong and we all see him. We'll see him every day till the day we die we'll see him. But when we get Jesus that's what fixes all that.

[39:00] Not ourselves, not our own works, not the lack of anything that we don't do. And certainly again not our comparison with other sinful creatures like ourselves.

[39:11] Folks, I've said it before here and I'll say it again in the Old Testament time. Jesus Christ had to die. Jesus Christ was promised.

[39:23] Jesus Christ was promised in Genesis chapter 3. He was the promised one that was going to come from the seat of the woman and he was going to bruise or crush the head of the serpent.

[39:35] He was the promised one from that early in scripture. But in the Old Testament times he still hadn't come. He still hadn't bled. He still hadn't died. But those folks had faith in our side.

[39:47] Those folks had faith in a deliverer. They didn't know the name Jesus Christ. They didn't know exactly what was going to go on. Although they had the prophecies from different prophets and they had all these other things.

[40:00] They still didn't know the details like we have now. But they still had faith. They had faith. This Pharisee had faith in the wrong place. It was in himself.

[40:12] Folks don't have faith in yourself. You'll never get yourself to heaven. You'll never be good enough. You'll never be smart enough. You'll never not sin enough. You'll never do any of these things to get you to heaven.

[40:24] It is Jesus Christ and he alone and his crucifixion and his bloodshed that is able to get us to heaven. And it is his resurrection that shows us and the entire world that he is and was who he said that he was and is.

[40:41] Amen. Praise God. Don't depend on yourself. It is pretty much the nutshell of the meal.