A Tale of Two Brothers

[0:00] Well if we could this evening with the Lord's help and guidance, we could turn back to the book of the prophet Obadiah. The book of the prophet Obadiah.

[0:16] And if we take as our text, verse 15. Obadiah, verse 15.

[0:27] For the day of the Lord is near upon all the nations. As you have done, it shall be done to you. Your deeds shall return on your own head.

[0:40] For the day of the Lord is near. I'm sure that we've all heard or we've used the well-known proverb, blood is thicker than water.

[0:59] That's a very common proverb that's probably used to imply that family ties are always more important than the ties that we make among friends.

[1:11] Where friends, you could say they come and go. But family, it's for life. Because blood is thicker than water. And for the most part, we are protective over our own family.

[1:26] We love our own family. Regardless of whether we see them or not, we would defend them because of our relationship towards them. And that said, even though the proverb is true, blood is thicker than water, the same is true that of all human conflict and clashes in this life, the most painful and difficult to resolve and to reconcile are those between blood relatives.

[1:55] Family feuds are the most tragic type of feuds. And we see it all the time. Where there are feuds and long-standing disagreements in which the roots of these disputes are extremely bitter and they run deep.

[2:10] And despite many attempts to bring reconciliation, every attempt of pulling up the past is met with maybe deepening division. And the outcome is failure.

[2:21] And because blood is thicker than water, the dispute between blood, it affects subsequent generations. It affects the generations coming in which the family feud continues and it becomes a long-standing disagreement which no one fully understands the history and no one is willing to settle it.

[2:45] And believe it or not, that's what this little book, hidden among the pages of the Old Testament. That's what Obadiah is about.

[2:56] It's about a long-standing family dispute that lasted centuries. And it was a dispute which was woven into the fabric of their children and even their children's children.

[3:10] For the book of the prophet Obadiah, it could be described as a tale of two brothers. A tale of two brothers. But just an introductory note to point out that Obadiah, he's said to be one of the 12 minor prophets whose writings we find at the end of the Old Testament.

[3:31] And this group of 12 prophets, they're all called minor, not because they're insignificant or less important than the rest of Scripture. They're called minor, as you can see, because of their size.

[3:45] They're all minor in comparison to the major prophets, which are Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. But of the 12 minor prophets, Obadiah is the most minor of them all.

[3:58] Because Obadiah is by far the shortest, and not only the shortest of the minor prophets, he's also the shortest book in the whole of the Old Testament. For as you can see, it is only one chapter that contains 21 verses.

[4:14] However, this minor prophet and this minor book, it's also minor in another way, because it's minor in terms of our knowledge of it.

[4:25] Because prior to this evening, I wonder how many of us had ever read this book before. And if we had read it before, if we had read it before, I wonder how many of us had actually stopped to consider what it's teaching us.

[4:43] Prior to this evening, how many of us knew what Obadiah was about? And I have to confess that I didn't know much about this minor prophet myself.

[4:55] Or what he has to say to us on the pages of Scripture. Yet as with everything that's in the Bible, the Apostle Paul reminds us that all Scripture, it's God-breathed, and it's useful for teaching, for rebuking, for correction, for training in righteousness, that the man or woman of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

[5:16] And so this minor prophet, he has a major message to deliver. And it's a message which is still relevant for our day and our generation. And not much is known about the minor prophet of the Lord called Obadiah.

[5:30] We don't know much about him. Because even though there are at least 12 Obadiahs mentioned throughout the Old Testament, none of them can be identified as this prophet.

[5:42] So we don't know much about him. But as it is with all prophets, with the exception to Jesus, it's not the messenger which we're to focus upon, but his message.

[5:55] And Obadiah has a message to deliver, and he has a message to deliver us tonight. It may be a brief message, but it's a message which is from the Lord, and the message from the Lord is twofold.

[6:09] Because there was good news, and there was bad news. Good news and bad news. The good news is that there would be salvation for Israel. The bad news is that the Lord was going to judge the sin of Edom.

[6:22] And that's what we see in this prophecy. We see Edom's ruin and Israel's restoration. Edom's ruin and Israel's restoration. Where Edom's ruin is mentioned in verses 1 to 16, and then Israel's restoration is highlighted for us in verses 17 to 21.

[6:44] But I'd like us to look at Edom's ruin this evening, and God willing, next Lord's Day, we'll consider Israel's restoration. We'll look at Edom's ruin this evening.

[6:55] And so, as we think about Edom's ruin this evening, I'd like us to look at three things that Obadiah is presenting to us in these first 16 verses. And they are the siblings in question, the sin of Edom, and the sorrow of Israel.

[7:13] The siblings in question, the sin of Edom, and the sorrow of Israel. So we look firstly at the siblings in question.

[7:25] The siblings in question. It says in verse 1, the vision of Obadiah. Thus says the Lord God concerning Edom. We have heard a report from the Lord, and a messenger has been sent among the nations.

[7:37] Rise up. Let us rise against her for battle. And so the prophecy of Obadiah, it's directed towards two nations. Two nations. The nation of Israel and the nation of Edom.

[7:51] And both these nations, Israel and Edom, they were neighboring nations in which they shared the same border. For Edom was the nation that was east and to the south of Israel.

[8:05] And the names of both of these nations, they're repeatedly mentioned throughout the Bible. Not only because of their close proximity to one another, but also because they are two nations which played a key part in the history of God's people.

[8:21] For as we know, and we're familiar, Israel was a nation which the Lord had called to be his own people. He had called them out and promised to their father Abraham by the way of a covenant that through him all the nations of the earth would be blessed.

[8:40] The Lord said to Abraham, he said, way back in Genesis 12, I will make you a great nation and I will bless you and make your name great and you shall be a blessing.

[8:52] I will bless those who bless you. I will curse those who curse you. And in you, all the families of the earth will be blessed. And we know the history as it unfolds in the book of Genesis that Abraham and his wife Sarah, they conceived and when Sarah was old and they received from the Lord the child of promise.

[9:15] Isaac was born to them. Isaac was born and he was to be the heir of the covenant promise. And it was through him that the covenant promise would continue.

[9:26] And it did continue because Isaac found himself a wife. He found Rebekah. And that's where we picked up the story of God's people, the history of God's people when we were reading it in Genesis 25.

[9:41] And we read there in that chapter that Isaac was 40 years old when he took Rebekah as his wife. But Rebekah was barren. She couldn't have children.

[9:52] Therefore the covenant promise, it was in jeopardy. So Isaac pleaded with the Lord for his wife. And we're told that at the age of 60, 20 years later, the Lord heard Isaac and granted his plea and Rebekah, his wife, conceived.

[10:11] But the ordeal wasn't over because Rebekah was struggling, we're told, in her pregnancy. She said, if all is well, why am I like this? Why am I struggling? Why is this such a problem?

[10:24] And so she too, she went to inquire of the Lord. And notice what the Lord said to Rebekah. The Lord said, two nations are in your womb.

[10:36] Two peoples shall be separated from your body. One people shall be stronger than the other and the older shall serve the younger. two nations are in your womb.

[10:50] And so when Rebekah gives birth, she has twins, she has two sons. And we're told that the first son that came out, he was red and he's said to be hairy, like this hairy garment.

[11:01] So they called him Esau. But afterwards, Esau's brother came out. He was born and we're given the detail about this second son. He came out holding Esau's heel.

[11:15] And so they named him Jacob. And so the sons of Isaac and Rebekah were Esau and Jacob. And the Lord had given this promise to Rebekah about them. Two nations are in your womb.

[11:28] Two peoples shall be separated from your body. One people shall, one people shall be stronger than the other and the older shall serve the younger.

[11:39] But in Genesis 25 we're told that as Esau and Jacob grew up, their personalities and their characteristics were very different as you'd expect with children.

[11:51] They're all different. Esau, we're told, he was a skillful hunter, a man of the field. He was rough and tough, always working outside. And then you have Jacob.

[12:02] He was the mild man. He was the quiet one. He liked to be in the kitchen and spend a lot of time reading. But the difficulty was that Isaac and Rebekah, they showed favouritism towards their children.

[12:18] Because Isaac, he was more partial to Esau. And Rebekah, she preferred Jacob. And as you would expect, favouritism with children is never a good thing.

[12:29] Because it brings competition with affection and animosity and it brings division. And that's what happened between Jacob and Esau. Because when Esau came home hungry one evening, Jacob, he had been cooking a pot of stew and so Esau requested that he'd have some.

[12:49] Nothing wrong with that. Nothing wrong. You would think that Jacob would share his dinner with his own flesh and blood, his own brother to give him some stew. But as we read, Jacob had this solteria motive.

[13:02] For in order to fulfil Esau's request, Jacob wanted Esau to grant him his own request. And so Jacob said, sell me your birthright.

[13:13] I want your birthright. And because Esau despised his birthright and he wanted to fulfil his hunger, he sold it to him for a pot of stew.

[13:24] And in that moment of hastiness, Esau sold what was rightfully his as the elder brother. And he fulfilled the promise, the older shall serve the younger.

[13:36] But without knowing, he didn't know what the blessing was. He didn't know, Esau didn't know that he had sold the blessing and he didn't know that he had sold the covenant blessing of God that had been passed down from generation to generation from their grandfather, Abraham.

[13:54] And at that moment, that was the start of a bitter feud. this bitter feud between two brothers that would last centuries.

[14:05] It was the beginning of a tale between two brothers because when Esau learned that his brother had stolen the covenant blessing, he resolved to kill him.

[14:16] As soon as his father was dead, he wanted him dead. And this led to Jacob leaving home and fleeing from his brother. And so the animosity between them, it was never removed.

[14:29] And the tale of two brothers was to become the story of two nations. When Esau requested the pot of stew from his brother, it says in the passage in Genesis 25, therefore his name was called Edom.

[14:47] And when Jacob wrestled with the Lord all night in Genesis 32, he sought the blessing of the Lord. And as the Lord blessed Jacob, he said to him, your name shall no longer be called Jacob, you shall be called Israel.

[15:03] And so these two brothers, they were the foundation of two nations. Where Esau established the nation of Edom and his descendants, they continued this family feud for generations and generations.

[15:17] And Jacob, he fathered the twelve tribes of Israel to whom the Lord had promised to bless and protect. But what we must be clear on is that the animosity and the hatred, it came from Esau's side of the family.

[15:34] They were always the ones who were trying to attack Israel and trip Israel up and hurt Israel in some way. But when the Lord called Israel out of Egypt, the Lord gave them the law of Moses.

[15:52] And the Israelites, they were commanded to treat the Edomites like brothers. Treat them like brothers because the law stated, thou shalt not abhor an Edomite.

[16:04] He is your brother. He is your brother. And yet in spite of Israel's command to be gracious and merciful towards their brother, the Edomites, they harbored this animal generosity and hostility towards Israel.

[16:21] They took every opportunity to display their hatred towards them. And when the Israelites even were in slavery in Egypt, the Edomites didn't help them.

[16:32] They didn't come to their aid in any way. Because when the Israelites even fled from Egypt, and when they were making that journey from Egypt round towards the promised land, that 40-year journey towards Israel, they had to pass through the land of Edom.

[16:49] That was their direction. And we're told in Numbers 20 that the Israelites, they pleaded, pleaded with their brothers, the Edomites, that they might pass through their country instead of going the long way round.

[17:04] But the king of Edom, he refused their request. And he said to the Israelites, if you cross the border, I'll kill you. If you cross the border, I'll kill you.

[17:15] Such was the hatred and the animosity between these two neighbouring nations. And you know, if these two siblings, these two nations, if they teach us anything, they ought to teach us that life is too short for quarrelling and family feuds.

[17:36] They ought to remind us that life is too short for arguments and holding grudges. They ought to show us that life is far too short for having enemies.

[17:49] And was it any wonder that the greatest commandment ever issued to the Israelites was you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your soul, with all your strength, and your neighbour as yourself.

[18:07] The Israelites, they were commanded to love their neighbour, the Edomites. And even Jesus, he says in the Sermon on the Mount, love your enemies. Bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.

[18:27] And when we realise this background to Israel's history with this hatred between their own flesh and blood, God, it makes us see not only the importance of the command, but also the difficulty they would have had keeping it.

[18:43] Because the nation next door was a constant reminder of the broken relationship and the harboured grudge between Israel and Edom.

[18:55] Which is why Jesus always stressed the importance of forgiveness. us, where we're taught we all grew up with it, we all grew up with the Lord's prayer.

[19:07] Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And Jesus explained this by saying, if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive you your trespasses.

[19:27] And what's interesting is what Jesus says there. The word trespass is a word that describes the sin of crossing the boundary line of a nation.

[19:41] And my friend, the tale of these two brothers is teaching us that if we're holding a grudge against someone in our home or amongst our family or in our workplace or in this community, we need to seek forgiveness and be reconciled with them.

[19:57] But even more so, if we are still at enmity with God because of our sin, we need to seek forgiveness and be reconciled to God.

[20:12] Because the Apostle Paul, he says, as he said repeatedly as a preacher of God's word, I implore you on Christ's behalf. be reconciled to God.

[20:25] Be reconciled to God. So we've considered the siblings in question, which are Jacob and Esau and the nations of Israel and Edom.

[20:38] But secondly, Obadiah points out that what stopped the Edomites from seeking forgiveness and the need to be reconciled was sin, the sin of Edom.

[20:51] So we'll look secondly at the sin of Edom. The sin of Edom. We'll read again at verse 1. It says, the vision of Obadiah. Thus says the Lord God concerning Edom.

[21:03] We've heard a report from the Lord and a messenger has been sent among the nations. Rise up, let us rise up against her for battle. Behold, I will make you small among the nations.

[21:15] You shall be utterly despised. The pride of your heart has deceived you. The pride of your heart has deceived you. And like many of the other prophets such as Isaiah and Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Obadiah received his message from the Lord by way of a vision.

[21:36] That's why it says the vision of Obadiah. And when Obadiah received the vision, he spoke with this authoritative prophetic phrase. thus saith the Lord God concerning Edom.

[21:51] Obadiah's prophecy was about Edom, Edom's ruin. And from the outset, the very outset, the Lord indicates to Edom the cause of their ruin.

[22:02] And the Lord points out why they're going to be judged as the brother of the nation of Israel. And the Lord says at the beginning of verse 3, the pride of your heart has deceived you.

[22:14] the pride of your heart has deceived you. What was it that stopped the Edomites seeking forgiveness and desiring reconciliation?

[22:24] What was it that caused the feud between these two brothers to fester and germinate and last for centuries? What was it that brought division and animosity and hatred between these two nations?

[22:39] And the Lord goes right to the heart of the problem, which he says is the problem of the heart and the Lord says the pride of your heart has deceived you.

[22:50] The pride of your heart has deceived you. The Lord spoke in judgment against the Edomites for many reasons, but they can all be summed up in one word, pride.

[23:06] Pride. And the Lord tells us plainly, he tells us in the book of Proverbs, which is a book about how we ought to be wise.

[23:17] It says in Proverbs 8, verse 13, the Lord hates pride and he hates arrogance. Proverbs 13, 10, the Lord reminds us that pride only breeds quarrels, but wisdom is found in those who take advice.

[23:35] The Lord says in Proverbs 29, 23, a man's pride will bring him low, but the humble in spirit will retain honour. And again in Proverbs 16, 18, which is a well-known proverb, pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.

[23:57] Pride comes before a fall. And that's what the Lord was saying to the nation of Edom. He's going to destroy them because they're proud and arrogant.

[24:08] And so the sin of Edom was pride. And as the Lord condemns the sin of Edom, he indicates here a number of reasons as to why they were so proud.

[24:19] And the first reason for their pride was their security. Their security. The Lord says in verses 3 and 4, the pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rock, in your lofty dwelling, who say in your heart, who will bring me down to the ground.

[24:39] Though you soar aloft like the eagle, though your nest is set among the stars, from there I will bring you down, declares the Lord. And the Lord here, he describes the proud Edomites as those who dwell in the clefts of the rock and whose habitation is high.

[24:59] Which was a true picture of the way in which the Edomites lived. Edom was a nation and it had a land landscape of rugged mountains and high cliffs and very, very narrow valleys.

[25:14] And so many of their towns and their villages, they were located well, well above sea level. In fact, most of them were said to be located at about 3,500 feet, which means that they would have been hidden in amongst all the mountains and the hills.

[25:31] But what made the Edomites proud was that they knew that the terrain of their nation, it would alone put off any invading army or anyone attempting to attack them.

[25:43] The nature of the landscape made it absolutely impossible for an army to come and attack them, especially because they lived on the cliffs and the high mountains. And because their height and their elevation, because of it they would have been able to see an enemy approaching.

[26:01] They would have been able to see for miles someone coming. But not only that, because of their height and their elevation, the Edomites they overlooked every other nation.

[26:14] Where they lived on the high mountains and they looked down upon all the other nations including Israel with this attitude of condescension. And just because they were higher than everyone else and they thought that they were better than everyone else and their pride had caused them to think that they were something.

[26:34] Where they thought highly of themselves. And this caused the Edomites to boast that they were in a sense immortal. They thought that they were this impregnable nation that was untouchable.

[26:47] The Edomites thought that they were great people and that they were puffed up with pride. They were so full of themselves and so full of their own glory where they would say in their proud hearts who will bring me down to the ground.

[27:01] Who will bring me down to the ground? And yet the Lord reminds the Edomites they can't escape his judgment. They can't hide in their mountains from his fury.

[27:13] They can't run from his wrath. No, the Lord says to the Edomites in verse four, though you soar aloft like the eagle and your nest though it be made among the stars, from there I will bring you down, declares the Lord.

[27:29] They cannot escape the judgment of God. And my friend, the same is true for all of us. It doesn't matter who or what we think we are in our own minds, we will not escape the judgment of God.

[27:44] It doesn't matter how secure we feel in our own homes and in our own lives and that everything is going well and taking on the way it is always done, we will not escape the judgment of God.

[27:58] And my friend, if you are without Christ in your heart and you think that you're safe, then what's in your heart is pride.

[28:10] Because you're proud to ever think that God will accept you because of your good works and your charitable deeds and your faithful church attendance.

[28:21] Instead, the Lord is saying to you tonight what he said to Edom, the pride of your heart has deceived you. The pride of your heart has deceived you.

[28:34] And so the first reason for Edom's pride was because of their security. But the second reason for their pride was their prosperity. Their prosperity because he goes on to say in verse 5, if thieves came to you, if plunderers came by night, how you have been destroyed.

[28:52] Were they not steal only enough for themselves? If great gatherers came to you, would they not leave gleanings? How Esau has been pillaged, his treasures sought out.

[29:04] So the people of Edom, they not only boasted their landscape, they also boasted in their location. The nation of Edom, it was located on several major trading routes.

[29:17] And all of these trading routes they had to pass through the nation of Edom, which meant that Edom could amass all the riches of the other nations by trading with them. But not only that, Edom was a land which was full of copper and full of other minerals that could be mined out of the ground.

[29:36] So that was more income. But Edom, it was also a fertile land that was perfect for growing grapes, which meant it was full of vineyards. And also another reason for their great prosperity.

[29:50] And because of their prosperity, the Edomites thought that they were self-sufficient, self-reliant, self-contained, self-supporting. And because they had everything they needed, and more than what they even needed, they thought that they were autonomous.

[30:10] And this is what's really interesting about the Edomites. Because as a nation, they didn't worship anyone or anything. of course, their neighbours, the Israelites, they relied upon the Lord for their provision.

[30:25] They thanked the Lord continually for their provision. They looked to the Lord in everything. And so, they worshipped the Lord. And also, many of the foreign nations, they worshipped idols and bowed down to different gods in the hope that these gods would provide for them.

[30:44] For many of the foreign nations, they worshipped a god called Baal. and he was the god who was in control of the weather. And if Baal was worshipped correctly and faithfully, he promised a good harvest.

[30:58] But for the Edomites, they didn't worship anyone or anything. Their self-sufficiency made them think that they didn't need to worship the Lord and ask for his provision.

[31:11] They didn't need to pray to all these foreign gods and bow down to idols in order that their crops would grow and that they would have this good harvest. They didn't need to be like their brothers, the Israelites, pleading with the Lord to help them.

[31:26] They were so prosperous, so secure, that they thought that they didn't need anyone or anything outside of themselves. And the Edomites, they didn't worship anyone or anything because they were atheists.

[31:43] They didn't worship any god. they were atheists. That's the amazing thing in the Old Testament. There are atheists to be found there too. And because they had everything they needed, they didn't see the need of God.

[31:59] They didn't see the need of worshipping a god. They didn't see the need of asking god for help. They did it all themselves. They did it all themselves. And there are so many like that in our nation today and in our community can't see past themselves as the only source of all they have.

[32:23] Where they attribute all their wealth and all their prosperity and they attribute it to their provision, to their own efforts, to their own work. All their own work.

[32:36] And their pride has led them to believe that they don't need God. They don't need God in their life. They don't need church. They don't need Jesus. They don't need any of that.

[32:46] That's only a hindrance. It doesn't help. Because everything they need and everything they have, they've got it already. They don't need to ask God for it. That is until God takes it from them.

[33:04] They have everything until God takes it from them. and when the Lord comes, like he did with Edom, when he comes in judgment, how much do you think we will leave behind?

[33:23] Everything. Everything. It's only pride that deceives us into thinking that all we have will remain with us forever.

[33:35] And the Lord is saying the pride of your heart, it's deceived you. It's deceived you. And so the reason for Edom's pride was because of their security, their prosperity, but also because of their military.

[33:48] Their military. It says in verse 7, all your allies have driven you to your border. Those at peace with you have deceived you. They've prevailed against you.

[33:58] Those who eat your bread have set a trap beneath you. You have no understanding. Will I not in that day, declares the Lord, destroy the wise men out of Edom, understanding out of Mount Esau, and your mighty men shall be dismayed, O Taman, so that every man from Mount Esau will be cut off by slaughter.

[34:20] Because the Edomites considered themselves as self-sufficient and autonomous, they were too proud to depend upon the Lord to help them.

[34:32] And they were so prosperous and so secure that they felt they didn't need anyone or anything outside of themselves. But in order to make their fellow Israelites feel completely isolated as a nation, the Edomites, they allied themselves with all the surrounding nations.

[34:52] They allied themselves. They allied themselves with all the surrounding nations, not because they thought they needed them or that their army was insufficient or weak in any way, but simply to make sure that the Israelites couldn't ally themselves with these nations.

[35:08] They allied themselves with all the surrounding nations just because, just so the Israelites couldn't ally themselves with these nations. And on the face of it, it seems like childish nonsense, which in effect it was.

[35:26] Because all they were doing was trying to show the weakness and the fragility of Israel so that the other nations would attack them and not Edom. And what Edom was doing was bullying Israel.

[35:41] Edom was bullying his own brother, where their pride had deceived them into thinking that all these allies and all these friends and all their military support, they were claiming it all for themselves in order to make Israel the loner and without anyone to help them.

[36:01] It was childish mind games to oppress and suppress Israel. And it all found its root in pride. And you know, I would hate to ever think that any of us acted proudly, so proudly that we would speak down to other people or act like a bully towards others.

[36:25] And you know, I hate bullying. I think it's disgusting and childish, especially when it's in the workplace. But what we're reminded of here is that even the bullies will meet their judge.

[36:42] Because the Lord announces to the bully Edom that all their allies are going to turn on them and destroy them. All your allies, he says in verse 7, have driven you to your border.

[36:53] Those at peace with you have deceived you. they have prevailed against you. Those who eat your bread have set a trap beneath you. You have no understanding. And so we see here in the sin of Edom, it was a deadly and dangerous sin, the sin of pride.

[37:11] The sin of pride. The Lord said, the pride of your heart has deceived you. The pride of your heart has deceived you. Therefore, the reason for Edom's pride was because of their security, prosperity, and their military.

[37:29] And so we've considered the siblings in question. We've first of all considered the siblings in question, and we've looked at the sin of Edom, and I was hoping to look at the sorrow of Israel in verses 10 to 16, but I don't think we have enough time to do it any justice.

[37:49] So, God willing, we'll pick up that next Lord's Day. But looking at what we've discovered already in the book of Obadiah, what can we learn from the message of this minor prophet?

[38:01] What can we learn from it? What can we learn from the siblings in question and the sin of Edom? What can we learn from it? Well, it seems that the overarching message are the words of the familiar proverb.

[38:16] Pride comes before destruction, destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. The problem of Esau's heart, the problem of Edom's heart, was the heart, was the problem of a proud heart.

[38:31] Because the Lord says, the pride of your heart, in verse 3, the pride of your heart has deceived you. The pride of your heart has deceived you. And you know, my unconverted friend, looking at this word from the Lord, I want to ask you, is this the problem of your heart too?

[38:55] Where the pride of your heart has deceived you? Because you not only have security in your life, where you have nothing to threaten you, you have no fear of anything, you have no need to seek the Lord's help, there's no war, there's no persecution, you're safe in your home, you have security in your life, and you also have prosperity.

[39:21] There's none of us here that lacks anything. We have everything we want, everything. We have everything, a nice home, good job, good pension, you have good health, lovely family, maybe children, maybe some grandchildren, you've got everything, you lack nothing, absolutely nothing.

[39:41] You lack nothing, and the pride of your heart, it's deceived you into thinking that you lack nothing. The pride of your heart has deceived you into thinking that you lack nothing.

[39:54] Because my friend, there is one thing you do lack. There is one thing you do lack, and it is needful, and it's salvation in Jesus Christ, and whether you're aware of it or not, that's the biggest void in your life, the biggest void in your life, and it's the biggest void that needs to be filled, where you need to be saved, but the pride of your heart, it seems to be deceiving you.

[40:27] And, I wasn't going to mention it, but something I noticed when preparing for this evening, we quoted earlier a few times from the book of Proverbs, and in Proverbs 29 it said, a man's pride will bring him low, but the humble in spirit will retain honour.

[40:46] But right beside that proverb was another proverb which says, the fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe.

[41:00] The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe. The fear of man brings a snare. And if you were to be honest, well if I'm to be honest, I think that's what stops you.

[41:18] The fear of man. That's what holds you back. That's what keeps you from coming out on the side of the Lord. That's what you fear most. You fear what others think. You worry about what others say.

[41:30] You're afraid what others will be like towards you. You're conscious of people looking, conscious of people talking, conscious of everyone else. And that's what it's like.

[41:41] It's hard to come out on the side of the Lord. Everyone who's come out on the side of the Lord has experienced it. The fear of what other people think.

[41:53] But following the Lord is far better than what other people think. But do you know what the root of that fear is? The root is pride.

[42:05] It's pride because you don't want to be considered as weak among your friends and family. Maybe those who you work with. You don't want to be known as someone who doesn't have it all together.

[42:16] You don't want to be seen that there is something missing in your life. And yet the Lord is speaking to you and saying to you the pride of your heart. It has deceived you.

[42:28] It has deceived you. Do you know it was pride that stopped the Edomites seeking forgiveness and seeking to be reconciled. It was pride that stopped them.

[42:40] I just hope it isn't pride that stops you too. And that after all you've heard over all these years and throughout your life about the salvation that is in Jesus Christ, I hope you're not too proud to come to Christ.

[43:00] I hope you're not too proud to bend your knee before Jesus. Well, if that is the case, if you are too proud to humble yourself to Jesus, always remember the proverb.

[43:21] Always remember the proverb, pride comes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall. my friend, you have nothing to lose by following Jesus.

[43:38] You have everything to gain. Everything to gain. So why don't you start following him tonight? Why don't you start tonight?

[43:51] By bowing before him and acknowledging Jesus Christ as your Lord. Amen. May the Lord bless these thoughts to us. Let us pray.

[44:03] O Lord, our gracious God, enable us, we pray, to humble ourselves before thee. For thou art one who is gracious and merciful, thou art one who is high and lifted up, whose name is holy.

[44:19] Help us to acknowledge thee as our King, our Lord, and our Saviour. Bless us, we pray. Bless thy word to us, that thou wouldst apply it to our hearts and our lives.

[44:31] Thou wouldst keep us in the week that lies ahead, a week that is unknown to any of us, but known to thee. So help us to trust thee and to cast everything into thy care.

[44:43] Do us good then, we pray, for Jesus' sake. Amen. Amen. We shall conclude by singing in Psalm 46.

[44:56] Psalm 46 on page 271 in the Scottish Psalter. Psalm 46 from verse 7 down to the end of the psalm.

[45:14] Psalm 46 46 from verse 7 The Lord of hosts upon our side doth constantly remain.

[45:25] The God of Jacob's our refuge, as safely to maintain. Come and behold what wondrous works have by the Lord been wrought. Come see what desolations he on the earth hath brought.

[45:37] Down to the end of the psalm, where the psalmist says, Our God, who is the Lord of hosts, is still upon our side. The God of Jacob, our refuge, forever will abide.

[45:48] These verses of Psalm 46 to God's praise. The Lord of hosts upon our side doth constantly remain.

[46:08] come and behold what wondrous works amazing that know.

[46:40] God's hatched down están Happyудиían todos tires s humify ins The air forms into peace he turns.

[47:11] The boat he breaks, the spear he cuts, In fire the chariot burns.

[47:26] Be still and know that I am brought among the heathen.

[47:40] I will be exalted, I honor. We'll be exalted, I.

[47:59] Our God, who is the Lord of all, Is still upon our side.

[48:14] The God of Jacob, our refuge, Forever will abide.

[48:31] The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, The love of God the Father, And the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, Be with you all, now and forevermore. Amen.