Amen. Oh my. Turn in your Bibles, if you would, to 2 Kings chapter 8. 2 Kings chapter 8. Putting this message together today. I was so excited to see how the Holy Spirit shows us our other depravity. Someone might say, well, how can that excite you? Because when the Holy Spirit shows one their utter depravity, that means he's drawn them to. And every time I prepare a message, and every time you guys hear a gospel message, right, we are told again and again the great things that God has done for us. And it's wondrous. It's absolutely wondrous. Tonight's message is called, Is Thy Servant a Dog? is thy servant a dog. Second Kings chapter eight, we'll be reading verses seven to 15. And the truth of man's utter depravity will be on full display tonight in this passage. Hazel, we will see in this truth represents the truth of depravity. In this text we'll see that he represents the truth of the poverty, the truth of human inability, and the truth, the truth that man do not know just how sinful we are unless the Holy Spirit reveals it to us. We have no clue just how sinful we are. until the Holy Spirit reveals it to us. Amen. Even after He reveals it to us, we still don't know, and I'll get that near the end of the message, we still don't know the depths of our sinfulness and the great amount that we've been forgiven through the precious, precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. In Isaiah we'll see in this text again he represents the truth of the poverty, inability of humanity to see themselves as utterly depraved. They don't see themselves as utterly depraved. Now we do now, God's people do now, we see ourselves as sinners. But natural man, natural woman will not see themselves as sinners. Utterly depraved with no ability to save themselves. Men and women in this world And we were there once. We were there once. Cannot see their own sinfulness. Now they'd be disgusted by things going on. They'd be absolutely disgusted when you tell them about things that occurred during Bible time. They'd be disgusted by things that they see on TV. Right? And yet they're unable to see their own utter sinfulness. You know why? Because they're in darkness. They're in darkness for the things of God. Listen to this. We were there. Beloved of God, we were there. But listen to this news, David. Listen to this, Brother Dave. God commanded the light to shine out of darkness. God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness has shined in our hearts, Brother. shine in our hearts, to give the light and the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Oh my! And we've not been the same since, have we? We've not been the same since. Nope. Not been the same since. Oh my. And isn't it wonderful, beloved? We've had Christ revealed to us. We've had Christ revealed to us when we were born again by the Holy Spirit of God. And by God's grace, we now believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. All by his grace, all by his mercy. It's wonderful. Let's read here verses 7 to 15 in the text here. And Elijah came to Damascus, and Ben-Hadad, the king of Syria, was sick. And it was told him, saying, the man of God has come to hither. And the king said unto Unto Hazel, take a present in thine hand, and go and meet the man of God, and inquire of the Lord by him, saying, Shall I recover up this disease? So Hazel went to meet him and took a present with him, even of everything good, every good thing of Damascus, 40 camels' burdens, and came and stood before him and said, thy son, Ben-Hadad, king of Syria, has sent me to thee, saying, shall I recover of this disease? And Elijah said unto him, go, saying to him, thou mayest certainly recover. How great the Lord has showed me that he shall surely die. And he settles his countenance steadfastly until he was ashamed. So he's looking at, he's looking at Haziel until Haziel was ashamed. My oh my. And the man of God wept. And Haziel said, why weepeth my lord? And he answered, because I know the evil that thou wilt do unto the children of Israel. Their strongholds wilt thou set on fire, their young men wilt thou slay with the sword, and will dash their children and rip up their woman with child. And Haziel said, but what is thy servant, a dog? That he should do this great thing. And Elijah answered, the Lord has showed me that thou shalt be king over Syria. So he departed from Elijah, came to his master, who said to him, what said Elijah to thee? And he answered, he told me thou shouldest surely recover. And it came to pass on the morrow that he took a thick cloth and dipped it in water and spread it on his face so that he died. And Hazel reigned in his stead. So that Hazel guy took water Right? And a cloth, dipped it in cloth and smothered the king. Suffocated him. He's the right-hand man. He's next in line. Now, religious men and women, they err in seeing their own sinfulness. They're seeing it in everyone else. And they say, man, those folks are so sinful. Look how evil they are. but they don't realize what dwells in their own heart. Don't realize what dwells in their own heart. They cannot, and because of that, they cannot receive the truth of predestination, election, particular redemption, because all those things show their inability to save themselves. And they also reveal who we really are by nature. We would never choose God. We would never come to God. There's none righteous, no not one. And if God hasn't chosen, remember what D.J. Ward said, if God hadn't chosen some, heaven would have none. Praise God, God chose some. And praise God, if you're a believer, we're included in that number. What a great blessing. Oh, my. Now, when we are drawn to Christ, this is what the Lord shows us. He shows us we're desperate sinners, doesn't he? He did that for us, eh, Brian? He did. He showed us. He showed us our need. You heard in the gospel, and you're like, oh, my. I'm undone. I'm lost. I need Christ. And just like that, by God-given faith, by the power of regeneration, we fled to Christ. And as Zane mentioned earlier, even as believers, we're not able to plumb our sinfulness. We're not able to plumb just how sinful we really are. And think of that in a natural man. They don't have any idea at all. We've been enlightened to a little bit of how sinful we are and we just cover ourselves in sackcloth and ashes and praise God he had mercy on us, don't we? But natural men don't see themselves as sinful. They don't know the evil in their hearts. But God does. My, and then when we're saved, when the Holy Spirit regenerates us, we embrace the fact Now that we're the chief of sinners, I was telling a group of religious guys today, I said, I'm the world's greatest sinner to my shame. And they looked at me like I'd grown a third eye. But none of them said, so am I. You know why? Because they don't think they're chief of sinners. You, Brother Dave? We're beside each other then. Brother Zane, you're right there too, right? Sister Linda, yeah. Brother Brian, we're all, see God's people, they're all form a whole line that way. Not that way, that way. Horizontal. Oh my, we're all the chief of sinners, aren't we? My, oh my. Because we've been shown a little bit of the depths of our sinfulness, just a little bit. But we embrace the truth of the scripture. See, the reason why people don't think that they're as bad as they really are is because they don't believe the scriptures. The scripture says there's none righteous, no, not one. Which means we're all a bunch of sinners. Scripture says there's none that seek it after God. The only way we seek God is when he moves first and draws us to him. And that's a miracle, isn't it? It's wondrous. And scripture also says there's none that understand it. We can't learn this on our own. God has to reveal it to us. And part of the revelation of Christ is showing us just how desperate sinners we really are, and just how desperate we need Christ. Oh my. And if a sinner's showing that they are lost, then they are in that state by the Holy Spirit of God. That's God working on their heart. Natural men will never admit they're sinners. Oh my. And if we are saved, it must be, it absolutely must be by sovereign grace in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. There's no other way. No other way to be saved except through Christ Jesus our Lord. And that all comes about by the sovereign grace and power of God. Grace, grace, wonderful grace, grace to cover what? All my sins, praise be to God, all of them. My, makes me want to shout, I'll tell you. And I don't mean shout like I'm yelling, I mean shout with praise and joy in my heart. What a Savior, what a Redeemer is Jesus Christ our Lord. My. So if we're saved, it has to be sovereign grace, beloved. And it all comes in and through the Lord Jesus Christ, and we are redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. We're redeemed by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what pays that which God demands for our souls. The precious, precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. What great love was manifest at the cross. What great love, Christ dying for the ungodly. Oh my. Think upon this. If we are restrained from any evil, if we are restrained from any evil in sin, it's all by the sovereign hand of God. It's not by our doing. Now you think about that. How many times a day did God restrain us? We don't even know, do we? We can't put a number on it. Oh my. But if we're restrained from sin and evil, it's all by the sovereign hand of God. My, it's a result of sovereign restraint. Sovereign restraint. My, we keep a dog on a leash, right? When we walk him sometimes, you get close to a road, dog don't know it, he gonna chase the car, right? My, Christ is that good shepherd. He just puts that crook of that shepherd's staff around our neck, just gently pulls us back. Oh, he's a loving, wonderful savior, isn't he? And I don't mind being a dog on a leash if it's for the Lord, let me tell you that, right? I don't mind that at all. I'm thankful for restraining grace, are you? Because I know where I'd be, and I know what I'd be doing. My, oh my. Praise God for restraining grace. Why do men and women refuse the gospel? Well, beloved, because they really don't think they need it. They really don't think they need it. They don't know the depths of their own depravity. Remember us before the Lord saved us? We didn't have any idea of the depths of our sinfulness or the depths of our depravity. We see in our text tonight, Elijah tells Haziel that he's going to do a great evil. Look at verse 12. And Haziel said, why weepeth my Lord? And he answered, because I know the evil that thou wilt do unto the children of Israel. Their strongholds will thou set on fire, their young men will thou slay with the sword, and will dash their children, and rip up their woman with child." So remember, he's in Damascus. Elijah's in Syria. He's in Damascus, and the king of Syria sends Hazel, his second-hand man, to come and ask if he's going to live. And this is what Elijah tells Hazil, and look at Hazil's response. Look at, he don't believe it. Look at, look at verse 13. And Hazil said, but what? Is I serving a dog? Am I a dog? Am I a dog? That he should do this great thing? And Elijah answered, the Lord has showed me thou shall be king over Syria. See, Hazil can't even see the depths of his own depravity, can he? He can't see the depths of his sinfulness. And they shall say, surely we cannot... You ever hear people say, well, I'm not quite as bad off as what the Bible says. I'm not. I'm not that bad. I'm a good person. Well, are you calling God a liar? That's exactly what they're doing. Because God said there's none good, no, not one. Right? There's none righteous in his sight. There's none that understands the sinfulness of man. The other depravity of man. There's none that seeks God on their own. That's why scripture says that we all love, as believers, we love this scripture. That we'll be made willing in the day of God's power. I rejoice over that scripture, beloved. I didn't understand it for years and years and years. I was religious, but lost. And since the Lord showed me grace, that's become one of the dearest verses to my soul. He makes the unwilling willing. He takes the rebel and turns him into a servant. He takes the blasphemer and turns him into appraiser. Isn't that wonderful? I love it. That's what he did for me. Does he do that for you? He's Lord, man. He's king. He can do whatever he pleases. And he pleased God to save us, brother. Pleased God to save us. My! It pleased God in eternity to choose us in Christ. And it pleased God. He's bound, remember? They shall be saved from their sins. He shall save them. He's legally bound to that covenant, isn't he? And he sent his son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to die in the room and place of sinners such as we. And He saved us from our sins. You know why? Because the angel said, Thou shalt call His name Jesus, and He shall save His people from their sins. And He has, praise God. He has. Oh, it's wonderful, isn't it? Isn't it wonderful? I'll tell you. Turn, if you would, to the book of 2 Timothy, not Titus. 2 Timothy chapter 1. We see the wonder, work, and power of God the Holy Spirit brought forth here. This is just wondrous. Verses 1 to 11 here. My oh my. We're going to get to our text pretty soon here. So a long introduction tonight. 2 Timothy chapter 1, verse 7. For God hath not given us a spirit of fear. Now there's a lot of fear in this world. Right? And I'll tell you what, you turn the news on, it's fear mongering. I was talking to a dear brother this week, and he was saying, you know, he turns the news on, and somebody he loves dearly says, what are we going to do? He goes, I'm not going to worry about it. And this dear brother who attends here, he goes, I'm not going to worry about it. He goes, number one, I can't do anything about it. It's happening in another country, or it's happening here. I can't do anything about it at all. So why am I going to get all worked up about it? and ruin my whole day over something I have absolutely no control over. And I said to our brother, I said, I'm going to use that. It's true, isn't it? God has not given us, it says right there, He's not given us the spirit of fear. But what? But of power and of love and of a sound mind. My oh my. And then he says this, now he's going to bring us right in front to Christ here. Be not thou ashamed of the testimony of our Lord. Don't be ashamed. No, we're not ashamed. Paul says, I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. It's the power of God unto salvation, to the Jew first and also to the Gentile, right? Oh, nor of me, his prisoner, but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God. Look at this. This is past tense, right? Who has saved us? We're saved right now, right? You'll say, well, I'm not sure if I'm saved. Well, I am. He saved me right there. I believe on Christ. He's my only Lord. He's my savior. And I see my desperate need for him, right? And I believe on him right now. And look at this. Don't worry about something you said way back then. What do you believe right now? Who are you trusting right now? Is Christ your Lord? Is He your Savior? Is He your all in all? Do you see your desperate need, your great sinfulness? Well, praise God if you do, because God's showing you that. That's a miracle. Look at this. Who has saved us? He saved us, brother. See? We're saved. We don't have to doubt. He saved us. That's not being presumptuous either. He saved us. When? Two thousand years ago. See, the preacher's just telling people that something's already been done. And then the Holy Spirit regenerates that person, applies that, like we talked about, applies that, and we believe. Oh my. Who has saved us and called us. When did he call us? Well, he called us with an effectual call, didn't he? Called us by name. My, but he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world. What? with a holy calling. Remember what we looked at in Sunday school? We're not to use grace for lasciviousness, right? We're not to use our liberty to go out and sin more. God forbid, Paul says. God forbid. Who has saved us? Not, look at this, not according to our works. Well, that means exactly what it says. We're not saved according to our works, brother Dave. Praise be to God. That's wonderful. But according to his own purpose and grace, when did he purpose our salvation? Hey, amen. Before the foundation of the world, brother. Hey, amen. Look at this. Purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. My. But now as made manifest by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, Who had abolished death and had brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. We're going from darkness to light. Who did that? God did that to us, didn't he? He made us to differ. Where unto I am appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher of the Gentiles. My oh my. So man by nature love and embrace the false notion of free will. Because in their mind and heart, it's proof that they're able to rise above what the scriptures declare. See, people who exalt their free will is actually exalting themselves over the scriptures. They're saying, I don't believe what that says. Even though you ask them, oh no, no, I believe. Your free will has reigned supreme over God even. But that's not true. That's a false God. That's a false God. That's not the true and living God. No, no, no, no, no. My. And they do not believe. You know what else they don't believe? They don't believe they're as sinful as the scripture says. Nope. They refuse the truth that is set before them in the scriptures, which is man's total inability to save themselves. Say, well, I got my free will. That free will gonna take you right to hell. You cling to that free will like it's your God, you're going straight to hell. Thy people shall be made willing in the day of God's power. And as I've said many times, if God makes you willing, there ain't no one gonna stop you from coming to Christ, right? And we're living proof of that. We're living proof of that. So the refusal of the truth about themselves governs their many errors, and then they get into all kinds of other errors. I heard, I think it was Brother Chris Cunningham said one time, you get it wrong on the fall, you got it wrong on it all. That's so true. See, because they say, well, everything fell in man but his free will. No, everything in man fell in the garden. Everything. Yeah, plunged into utter darkness, spiritual darkness. My oh my. So they cook up in their imagination a God who they can control. See? That's the thing. That's the error, the great error of free willism is that they've cooked up a God who they can now control. And they begin to reinvent gods of their own imagination. And Scripture warns that there's another Jesus, and there's another Spirit, beloved. And that's what it is. Will-worship, it's called in Scriptures, too. Will-worship. We've talked about that, Zane. Will-worship. My, oh, my. They change attributes with God. Because they make him subject to their will, instead of us being subject to his will, which is the truth. If God doesn't have mercy on us, we will never see mercy. But if God has set his eyes upon us from eternity, we will receive the grace and mercy of God in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. Undeserving sinners we are, and yet, oh, what a great Savior. A radio preacher once tried to explain away the fact that God hardened Pharaoh's heart by saying that this hardening took place because God offered Pharaoh his word. But Pharaoh refused and thus his heart was hardened. That is so false it's not funny, isn't it? That man on the radio was simply stating that that man's not totally depraved. That's what he was saying. Unless he only becomes totally depraved when he refuses the kindness of God. I have news for you, sir. Men will always refuse the kindness of God, unless God does something for us, right? My, oh my. Men will always refuse God's grace, unless we're made willing in the day of God's power by God the Holy Spirit. So many have believed wrong this way. And it reveals the ignorance of humanity in our natural state. And I'm not saying that looking down, because I was right there too, and so were you, right? We might not have had the same God that fellow had, but I definitely had a God in my imagination who was going to weigh me in the scales of good and bad. Thinking my good would not weigh my bad. Man, I'm just a little far down there. I'm as far down as that scale can go. But then the Lord puts himself on the scale for me. And it goes like that. Oh, my, isn't that wonderful? Isn't that wonderful? The great substitute. See, in our natural state, we're weighed in the balances and found wanting. But not of Christ is the great balance. Oh, it's wonderful, isn't it? Oh my. So man refuses the kindness of God because we're depraved. That's why before we were saved, we refused the kindness of God. That's why we didn't want to hear about Christ. Because in our natural depravity, we did not want God. And depravity is not a choice. It's who we are by birth. It's who we are, dead in trespasses and sins. It's a terrible and incurable condition of man. Man himself can't cure it. But you know who can? Amen, brother, the Lord Jesus Christ. And he done that for us, doesn't he? We got a new heart, brother. We got a new nature. My, it's wonderful. Oh, my. My, oh, my, oh, my. It's wonderful. What's Scripture to declare? Now listen, people don't believe this, but this is what Scripture declares. The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it? Man. Like you said, we can't even know our own hearts, right? My. So the heart's deceitful above all, desperately wicked, and Scripture declares that a man can no more change that depravity or control it than an Ethiopian can change the color of his skin or a leopard can change his spots. Scripture says this, can an Ethiopian change his skin or a leopard his spots? Then may ye also do good that are accustomed to do evil. Jeremiah chapter 13 verse 23. My oh my. Now let's look at our text. That was a long introduction, but let's look at our text now. And I did that because we're gonna see depravity on full display here. So Elijah's going to, he's traveled to Damascus. Several commentators said this is during the famine. All I can see here, he's went to Damascus and he's going there because God sent him there. God ordained that he go there. And do you know that God had ordained that Haseel would be king over Syria? He told Elijah, in 1st Kings 19.15. And the Lord said unto them, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus, and when thou comest, anoint Haziel to be king over Syria. And Jeru son of Nimshi, shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel. And Elijah the son of Shephed of Abimelech, shalt thou anoint to be prophet in Nile. Remember, he didn't go over there. He didn't go to Syria. He went right to, remember when we were looking at that, he went right to where Elijah was. There's a reason. Because our text had to come to pass tonight. And basically, this is Elijah anointing him, but telling him, you are going to do wicked things. You are going to do wicked, wicked things. My, because had God not ordained that he would be king, If you want to write it down for reference, it's 1 Kings 19.15. And he said, when thou comest or return on the way to the wilderness of Damascus, when thou comest, anoint Hazel to be king over Syria. So God had said it. But Elijah didn't do it. So that which has been purposed must come to pass, right? Elijah is now in glory. He's now in glory. He's now face to face with the king. He's in the presence of the Lord. My oh my, but Haziel had to be anointed king to fulfill the word of God. In the details, Brother Tim James says this, the details of this anointing are remarkable as this anointing will take place by blatant homicide. So we see the wrath of man shall praise God and the rest he will restrain. He's anointed king, even though he's going to go and slaughter a bunch of people. My, oh, my. But see, the wrath of man shall praise God, and the rest shall he restrain. Now, Ben-Hadad, the king of Syria, is sick. Look at verses 7 and 8. And Elijah came to Damascus, and Ben-Hadad, the king of Syria, was sick. And it was told him, saying, The man of God has come hither. So he's told, well, the man of God's in Damascus. And the king said unto Haziel, Take a present in thy hand, and go, meet the man of God, and inquire of the Lord by him, saying, Shall I recover of this disease? So we see here the unbowed one is now made to bow. He never bowed to the Lord, this king. So now he's sick. And people can change their view on God when they become sick. And then when they get better, They forget all about them. My, oh, my. How many have we talked to that have no interest in the gospel who suddenly become believers when sickness comes to their door? Or they seek out believers to pray for. Now, we'll gladly pray for them, won't we? Oh, yeah. It's an honor to pray for people. We're happy to pray for anyone who asks for a prayer. But we see here that wealth and power are not a fortress against sickness. The rich, the poor, everyone gets sick. And everyone will die. My oh my. Now, men may exalt their false gods in times of health, but they don't seek their help, do they, when they're sick? My oh my. Or if they do, there ain't nothing coming. No man can no more save himself by something he does than cure a toothache by his own free will. Right? If all these folks believe what they believe about free will, they should be able to cure all kinds of toothaches and headaches. What do they do, though, when they get a toothache? They go to the dentist. Free will can't do nothing. Can't do nothing. So we see Ben-Hadad sends his chief of staff, Hazel, to fetch Elijah to go talk to him. And notice he refers to Elijah as the man of God. Turn if you would to 2 Kings chapter 6 verse 9. This is a big change because now he's calling Elijah father. He's saying, thy son. But look at this in 2 Kings chapter 6 verses 8 to 14. Let's see what this king thought about. Let's see what this king thought about Elijah over here. Then the king of Syria, that's Ben-Hadad, warred against Israel and took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be my camp. And the man of God sent unto the king of Israel, saying, Beware that thou shalt that thou pass not such a place for thither the Syrians are come down. And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him, and warned him, and saved himself there, not once nor twice. Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was troubled, sore, or sore troubled for this thing. And he called his servants and said unto them, Will you not show me which of us is for the king of Israel? He thought there was a spy in the midst, but God knows all the intentions and thoughts of the heart. It's God who told Elijah this. And one of the servants said, None, my lord, O king, but Elijah the prophet. That is in Israel. Tell the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bedchamber. And he said, Go and spy where he is, that I may send and fetch him. And it was told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan. Therefore sent he hither thither horses and chariots and a great host. And they came by night and passed the city about. He wanted, he wanted Elijah. Remember? And Elijah's servant comes out and goes, Oh my goodness, we're dead. And Elijah just comes out of the house and says, no, there's more for us than there are against us. And his servant goes, what? And he said, open his eyes, Lord. And he opened his eyes and he beheld, oh my, what did he behold? All those, all those angels round about. So Ben-Hadad's sick and he sends presents to Elijah too, refers to him as son. because the children of Israel called the prophet's father. And he even honors the prophet by saying that surely Elijah knows the future of the secrets of heaven by asking, shall I recover? And Elijah's response to Hazel's inquiry is by saying that he may recover the sickness, but he will die. Look at verses 9 and 10. So Hosea went to meet him and took a present with him, even of every good thing of Damascus, forty camels, burden, and came and stood before him and said, Thy son, Ben-Hadad, king of Syria, has sent me to thee, saying, Shall I recover of this disease? And Elijah said unto him, Go, say unto him, Thou mayest certainly recover. Howbeit, the Lord has shown me that he shall surely die. And take note of what follows here. Let's read verses 11 to 13 now. And he settled his countenance steadfastly until he was ashamed, and the man of God wept. And Haziel said, Why weepest thou, my lord? And he answered, Because I know the evil that thou wilt do unto the children of Israel. Their strongholds wilt thou set fire, their young men wilt thou slay with a sword, and wilt dash their children, and rip up their women with child. And Haziel said, But what is thy servant, a dog? That he should do this great thing? And Elijah answered, The Lord hath showed me that thou shalt be king over Syria. Oh, there's that word shalt again, isn't it? My, oh my. We see in verse 11 that Elijah fixes his eyes on Haziel and in belayering silence just stares at him. And he continues to do so until Haziel is embarrassed. And then the prophet begins to weep. And Haziel, he's taken back by this. He's taken back by this. Stirred within and asks the prophet why he weeps. And we see in verse 12 that Elijah tells him that he's going to do all manner of evil. And that he will murder Ben-Hadad and take his place as king of Syria. Let's read verse 12 again. And Haziel said, why weepeth my lord? And he answered, because I know the evil that thou wilt do unto the children of Israel. Their strongholds wilt thou set on fire, and their young men wilt thou slay with the sword, and wilt dash their children, and rip up their woman with child. Now take note here that Haziel, his response to Elijah betrays the fact that he doesn't know just how evil he really is. And this is true of all of us. This is true of all of us, beloved. Natural man especially, but even us, after we're saved, we're learning just how sinful we are, aren't we? Oh my gosh, and as we grow in grace, I believe we grow in the knowledge of I'm the chief of sinners. We see ourselves more of sinners rather than less. I called Donnie, you guys know I called Donnie one time, I said, Donnie, I'm getting worse instead of better. He goes, you're growing in grace, brother. Oh my. But look at this. He betrays the fact that he doesn't know his own heart by saying, am I a dog? And Haziel said, but what is thy servant, a dog, that he should do this great thing? And Eliza answered, the Lord has showed me that thou shalt be king over Syria. Now Haziel can't imagine that he would kill women and children, women with child. He couldn't imagine that he'd murder this many people. He couldn't imagine that he's a murderer at heart. And he can't believe that he's a murderer already. And this is the dilemma of depravity, beloved. This is the dilemma of depravity. Depravity prevents the heart from knowing and owning its own condition. The property believes that lack of evil behavior flows from personal goodness. That's how we thought, right? Yeah, it does. Therefore, it's unable to realize that lack of evil behavior is solely the result of sovereign restraint. Why didn't we go crazy before the Lord save us? because of God's sovereign, and I mean headlong into sin when I say that, because God restrained us. Now, we were bad enough as it was, weren't we? We sinned more than one day to damn a thousand souls, didn't we? And we still do, but praise be to God, we're saved, washed in the precious blood of Christ. My, so, and think of this too. I was thinking about this today. Think how truly evil this world would be if God's restraining hand wasn't upon the world. Oh my, we think it's bad now? It's scary, isn't it, brother? It'd be living hell. My, oh my. Oh, praise God for his restraining hand. Hmm. See, he doesn't know that there's an unrighteous, no, not one. He doesn't understand the depravity of his heart. He's saying, am I a dog? You know what he's doing there? He's attributing such evil to a wild beast. He's actually exalting himself over the animal. I'm not a dog like that. That's what a dog would do. No, that's what a human would do. And we've seen proof of it, right? We've seen proof of it through history. I was watching this thing today on the Roman society and everything. They were saying that the Romans, when Caesar went into Gaul, he basically destroyed generations of Gauls. And basically, he wiped out 2% of the world's population at that time. And then this fellow was going, well, you know, they're wondering why the Romans were so evil and so wicked. And they said, well, maybe there was lead in the pipes, because they used leaded pipes to take their water and deliver it. So this guy's saying, well, maybe it was lead in the pipes. And I'm on my lunch, eating my lunch, right? I've already got to hop the message down. I'm eating my lunch. I'm going, it's sin! It's sin! That's why. Lead in the pipes. Come on. They're like they are because they're a bunch of sinners. They're depraved. My, come on. See, but natural men don't see that. They don't see that. My. He attributed again such evil to a beast and not man. And again, he was equating this evil that Eliza spoke of to like an animal. And was therefore exalting himself. I'm not like that. Oh, it's in all of us, beloved. My, oh, my. It's the nature of depravity to think that we're capable of guarding against that which easily overwhelms us. Turn if you would to Matthew chapter 26. Matthew chapter 26. My, oh, my. And as we read this section here, keep an eye on verse 35. We're going to start in verse 30, but keep an eye on verse 35 when we get there. And this shows you it's in all of us. And when they had sang a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Then saith Jesus unto him, All ye shall be offended because of me this night. For it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad. But after I am risen again, I will go before you into Galilee. Peter answered and said unto them, All men shall be offended because of thee, yet I will never be offended." My, we see ourselves in Peter, don't we? Oh my. Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, this night before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And then look at this. Peter said unto him, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. And then look at this last part. This last part is what struck me. Likewise also said all his disciples. He said, Well, we're not going to leave you, Lord. We're with you. And what happened? They all scattered. All of them. See, the Lord knew their heart. The Lord knew what was in them. And they're his people and he loves them. See that look, you know that look that the Lord gave Peter after the cock crowed the third time? You know that look? And Peter was ashamed and he ran off. That was a look of love, beloved. That was a look of love. He wasn't looking at him going, there you go, Peter. That was a look of love, beloved. He knew he's just a weak sinner. My oh my. Now let's read verses 14 and 15. Oh, look at this. So he departed from Elijah and came to his master who said unto him, what said Elijah to thee? And he answered, he told me that thou should surely recover. And it came to pass in the morrow that he took a thick cloth, dipped it in water, and spread it on his face, so that he died, and Hazel reigned in his stead." There it is. Hazel could not believe that he would do the things which Elijah had said he would do. He couldn't believe it. He didn't know the wickedness of his own heart, did he? But when he was made king, he now has a newfound authority. I was working one time at Circuit City years and years ago. And I was a salesman, did really well there. And in the store, I did really well. And there was another young man that was in audio video. And they had asked me if I wanted to get into management. And I said, no, I can make more money selling stuff than being in management. And plus, I don't want the headaches. And so this other guy they hired, you know what happened? It went right to his head. It went right, he changed overnight. Now if he had stayed the same guy he was before, he'd have been a great leader. But he changed just like that. How many times have you seen people change when they get a little bit of power? Just a little bit of power and they start winging it around. See, that's why I always say that Brian, you and I, and Dan and Travis, we're all in the midst of everybody. There's no vaulting anybody over anybody else. We lead in the midst. We're all the same, just safe sinners, gathering here, rejoicing about the great things Christ has done for us. But see, power changes people sometimes. And if it wasn't for the grace of God, it'd change all of us. Right? And think of this. Think of this. Honor and power changes man's attitudes. And rarely for the better. More for the worse. Think of us. We're, and I'm just saying lower society in the sense that we're not government officials, right? We're not government officials. But folks who are always on the bottom always think, man, those guys. Right? Those fellas. Man, all they do is evil. And then the guys in the power go, I'm not going to listen to those little fellows. See, they're drunk. They're intoxicated with power. They're intoxicated with it, beloved. My, oh my. My. We may disdain David taking Uriah's wife and having him killed, but we know that nothing of intoxic- we don't know anything of that intoxicating power that he had when no one could tell him what to do. The king's word is it. Right? We have no idea of that power. We don't understand that power. And once the seeds had been planted and the possibility was in Haziel's heart, it was no big deal for him to murder the king. He went into the king's chamber to tell him Elijah's report, and the next day he went in and smothered him. My, oh my. He felt like he wasn't a dog. Oh, only a beast would do such a thing, he said. But we see the king lay there in his weakness. And the opportunity presented itself. Right? And at the same time, inclination. And what he was truly capable of came to the forefront. What he was truly capable of came to the forefront. And he murdered the king. He murdered the king. To think that he had a choice in the matter to deny what was in his heart and what is in ours. It's only the restraining grace of God that keeps us from the most wicked sins, beloved. That's all. My, oh my. Because of his depraved heart, he couldn't do anything else. Again, why were those Romans as brutal as they were? Because they're a bunch of sinners and they have depraved hearts, just like we did when we were born into this world. My oh my. Such is the case with everyone born of a woman. If we harbor in our minds the delusion that we are somehow above certain sin or certain behavior, you know what we're doing? We're deceiving ourselves. Left to ourselves, the true you, the true me will emerge. And we can't imagine how vile that person is. Oh, I know what we went through, Dave, but we can't even imagine how vile we would be. Oh, amen, I know. But for the grace of God, eh? And the believer knows this about himself or herself. And we constantly seek the Lord. That's why we constantly seek the Lord. We know who we are. Even as safe sinners, we know who we are. And the only hint, what's the only remedy? You must be born again. You must be born again, beloved. Oh my, that we who are the redeemed remember we've not risen above our depravity. Our depravity is sovereignly subdued by our great God. That's what it is. This flesh wants to do so many wicked things, doesn't it? And what subdues our flesh? The sovereignty of God. Isn't that wonderful? And when we do give into the flesh, what happens? We're on our face. God forgive me. My. Turn if you would to Romans chapter 7. Romans chapter 7. Oh. What's the believer's cry? God be merciful to me the sinner, right? That's the believer's cry, isn't it? Oh my. Look at this. Romans chapter 7 and we're close shortly after this. Romans chapter 7. Look at this. Starting in verse 15. Autobiography of the believer here. Paul's rightness, he's a believer. Some folks foolishly say, oh he wouldn't say that. He's a believer when he's writing this. He's a believer, beloved, because he says, therefore there is now no condemnation to those in Christ Jesus who walk not in the flesh, but after the Spirit in chapter 8 verse 1. Look at this. For that which I do allow not, for what I would, that do I not, but what I hate, that do I. Is that so with you and I? Oh my. If then I do that which I would not, I can send unto the law that it is good. Now then there's no more I that do it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that in me, that's my flesh, this flesh we have dwelt, no good thing. For the will is present with me, but how to perform that which is good I find not. Well, the will's no good there, is it? Oh my, oh my. For the good that I would do, not, but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now, if I do that, I would not. It is no more I that do it, but sin that dwells in me. I find then a law that when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warned against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin, which is in my members. Oh, wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from this body of death? Now here we go. Here we go. I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin. And then in Romans chapter 8 verse 1, there is therefore now no condemnation to those, right, to those who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit. So you gotta tie that verse in. That's why that chapter break, oh my! Yeah, let's take that chapter break and move it away. There's no condemnation to those in Christ Jesus. Isn't that wonderful? Oh, praise God for the restraining grace of God, beloved. Oh, may God in his mercy continue to restrain us. Continue to restrain us. Praise God for his mercy. Praise God for his mercy in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. And when we say amen and amen. Brother Dave, can you close us in prayer?