Don't walk as peacocks walk. Now, most all of you have seen a peacock at one time or another, but it's the male peacock that I'm primarily referring to because it's the male peacock that has that beautiful tail feather, or feathers, I guess, tail spread. And sometimes that old peacock will spread that thing around, and the saying is he'll strut around saying, just look at me. I'm something wonderful to behold. And sometimes we get the feeling just about like that peacock. I'm magnificent. Just look at me as I strut around, because pride and arrogance are as natural to man as sleep is when he gets tired. I have come to expect people to talk good about themselves. I have come to expect people to put on their very best uniform and their best conduct when they find out the preacher's around. I expect people to be good, to think themselves good, to see themselves good, and I expect most people are very well pleased with themselves. And I have found this basically true. And all I have to do to upset somebody is imply that they're not as good as they think they are. Then you have problems. In other words, I think a lot of folks in the church are walking around and outside the church as the peacock walks. They say, I'm good, and you better believe it. And I think they mean it. Oh, they say nobody's perfect, but I'm as good and as close to it as anybody can get. And would you like a demonstration of my Or listen while I tell you how wonderful my husband is. Or listen while I tell you how wonderful I am. Time and again I hear people say, isn't she a good person? Or isn't he a good person? Like that is what really matters. Well, let's go on in our parable. Again I say, Jesus had little success, to my knowledge almost none, in dealing with the Pharisees. They were the peacocks. of his death. His insinuations that they were not good only angered them. His claims that God rejected them, would have nothing to do with them, only caused them to seek this crucifixion. So that's the kind of attitude that people have when you insinuate that they are not good. And Jesus spoke this parable unto certain people listening, which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, that is, good, and despised others whom they said was bad. Verse 9, now verse 10. Our parable. Two men, and I don't think they knew each other. They did not travel together. It just so happens that they both ended up in the temple square on the same day. Two men went up into the temple to pray. Now, with the Jews, you went to the temple to pray. That was the place where it was commanded that you do it. If you wanted to pray to God in worship, you did it in the temple. That didn't mean you couldn't pray at home, but you had to have public worship And you had to go to the temple to have public worship. You couldn't have it in the home and have a church meeting. Everybody had to meet in the temple. So they went to the temple to pray. That was their purpose in going. One of them was a Pharisee, and the other was a publican. Now, all the Jews despised the publicans, especially the Pharisees did, because the publican was a Jew. who was hired by the Roman government to collect taxes from the Jews to be sent back to Rome. And so all the Jews really despised the publicans because they were the Jewish tax collectors. And their salary came from what they collected above what was owed Rome in taxes. In other words, if you owe $50 to Roan, the tax collector wouldn't get a penny unless he charged you above what Roan wanted. Roan didn't pay him. He collected his own salary, and he could collect anything he wanted to and get away with it. No wonder most Republicans were crooked, as the ballot says. They come out and say, well, your taxes are $500. You either pay or I'm going to take your land. Well, that was pretty severe, $450 for him, $50 for Rome. But all the people came to despise Republicans, you see. So here you have a Republican come to the Temple to pray. Now, the Pharisee was a religious leader. He was a respected man, the most respected man in the Jewish environment. In the eyes of the Jews, he was at the top of the social ladder. If you wanted to be somebody, then you become a Pharisee. And the publican, he was at the bottom of the social ladder. If you want to become the scum, then you become a publican. Now, it was probably not the regular hour of prayer in the temple. Both went there for some specific reason, to pray, and so they both found themselves there together. Again, I want to say this, that not everybody prays as Christians. Not everybody that worships in the temple or in the church house is accepted by God. Now, a lot of folks are putting on a show. They don't think so, but God thinks so. Now, the parable points this out, that these two folks came to pray, They both went through the same routine, they were both in the same service, and God said, I rejected the worship and prayer of the Pharisee and accepted the worship and prayer of the Pope. I've heard this a lot of times when you talk to people about really being true to God. They say, well, I pray. I read my Bible. Well, so did the Pharisee. So did the Pharisee. He even did some of his praying in the church. Just because a guy says he prays, I don't buy it. Maybe he does get through, and maybe he doesn't. I don't know. But the point is, you can have folks who worship God that don't get through and do not get their prayers received and accepted by God. That's what the parable says to us as we go on. Now, verse 11. and prayed with himself. Some versions say he went from the corner by himself to pray. He didn't want to associate with anybody else. Anyway, he 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. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess." Now, at first glance, you say, well, what's wrong with a Pharisee? I don't see anything wrong with him. First place, let me say this, I don't believe what he said here qualifies as a prayer. I think he was his own audience. He prayed, I think, with himself and to himself, and we find that God was not impressed with his prayer, nor was God pleased with what he had to say. That is, his prayer seemed to have a boomerang effect. If it did go up, it turned right around and came right back. You see, a prayer can be heard but not accepted. Our parable tells us that also. God does not have to accept the prayer. Of course, he'll hear it, but he does not have to accept it. And if he won't accept it, then he does not have a chance to be answered. But this man didn't make any requests. The day you have a theory by many people is that you should never ask God for anything. All you ought to do in prayer is to thank him and praise him and never ask him for anything. I disagree with that. Prayer is always asked. You have not because you ask not, the Bible says. Jesus said, Ask, seek, and you shall have. I think the key to this man's fault was, I thank God I am not his other man. You have to understand in thinking of a Pharisee to understand that statement. He was not thanking God for making him better, only he was saying that he was thankful that God allowed him the chance to make himself better. He was a self-made man. He was patting himself on the back for his own goodness. He was giving himself all the credit, and he was giving God no credit. In other words, the Pharisee loved to admire himself and compliment himself. He was saying, in a sense, look at me, God, how good I have made myself over the years. Look at me, God, how much better I am than other folks are. I mean, I buckled under and I disciplined myself, and look how much better I am than other folks are. Look at me, God, how fine life would be if other people would follow in my example. It's repulsive to me that other folks won't straighten their lives out like I straighten my life out." Now, there was no way in the world the Pharisee would call himself wicked. He wouldn't even call himself a sinner. He wouldn't even call himself a backslider. He says, I'm as good or better than any other man that I know, or that may even exist. The wrongs that he did were so insignificant to him that they did not in any way mar his goodness. I want to say that again. His wrongs were so insignificant to him that he did not consider them in any way to mar his goodness. He didn't ask for any forgiveness in his prayer. Pharisees didn't ask for forgiveness, because they considered themselves to produce their own goodness. And if I have produced goodness, then I don't need forgiveness. Good folks don't need forgiveness, because good folks aren't bad enough to need forgiveness. Not only that, but the Pharisee felt because he had produced himself such goodness and was so good that God owed him a favor, which would include pardon if he needed it. I want to say that again now. In other words, he says, I have been so good that God ought to be so happy with me being so good that if I need a favor, God owes me a favor. I deserve to go to heaven. because I'm good. And I don't believe that kind of thinking is prevalent in the minds of a lot of folks. And really, I hear a lot of it when you get around Kingleton. God owes a person heaven because they're good. A good neighbor, a good husband, a good worker, God owes them something. Now, that was the feeling of the Pharisee. I have worked real hard to make myself good, and therefore, God, you owe me a reward for it. Now, that's the way the Pharisee thought. I am entitled to everything God gives me. And I think we see this kind of attitude in people today. I see it. When I go out and witness, I mean, it's written all across folks' faces. You've got the hardest time in the world convincing them that they're sinners. No way, man. No way. To them, sinners are locked up in jail. They're the good guys. And God is going to save them because God owes them a debt for not beating up their wife and not stealing and not committing adultery and not being this and not doing that. Because they have refrained from doing that, God owes them forgiveness. And that's the attitude they get. And that's the feeling they have. And they'll tell you. I'm not bad enough, and that's the way the Pharisees think. In other words, I am so good outwardly that God will be partial when he comes to me. He'll make an exception when he comes to me, because I'm an exceptional person. God has to be pleased with my efforts to be good. God will overlook the bad that is there. Because the good in me far outweighs the bad, and thus God will wipe the slate clean." That's the feeling that the Pharisee had. I am so good there is nothing to worry about. I do God a favor by just being around. So therefore, you see, he would never admit that he has any kind of faults or sins that need God's attention and God's forgiveness. He's the kind of person that would say, well, look here, God, I feed my family, and I clothe my wife, and I give my employer a full eight hours. Look here, God. And any time that God begins to look at his temper, no, no, God, you don't look there. You don't go over there and look up under the rug. That's not anything important. Look here. I give 10% of my money to church. Here's where you ought to look. So a lot of folks tell God, you can look at this part of my life and this part, but don't you look over there. I mean, that's not even worth looking at. That's trivial. That's nonsense. That's silly over there. Don't be worried about that. That's not important. What you ought to be concerned about is what I'm doing that's good. So we play up our good points constantly. I never heard a person play up their bad points. I never have. Only when a wife is picky at her husband will she play up his bad points. Otherwise, she plays up his good points. And the same thing a husband does with a wife. I think the Pharisees make a common error that most folks make today. When you begin to measure yourself, you'll always compare yourself with another person. It's always what's doing. And it's always typical that you will pick a person that's inferior to make the comparison. So the Pharisee looked around and met another Pharisee over there. Well, I better not compare myself to him. Ah, there's that public. Man, I can outshine that for any day of the week. And so he compares himself to the public. That way you'll always come out smelling like a rose. Compared to the Pharisees, I mean, the Republicans say the Pharisee was a saint. And I don't mind saying, brethren, the Pharisee was a better man than the saint. When it comes to being good and bad, the Pharisee was a good man. The Bible doesn't deny that. I don't take that away from him. If you want to compare the publican and the Pharisee, really the publican was in far worse spiritual shape than the Pharisee, morally and every other way. Yet we always compare ourselves to other folks that we know are below our level. That keeps us on safe ground. Now, the Pharisees complement themselves in two basic ways. One, and we do the same thing today, or we find people doing this, number one, they do no harm to others. All this is, I find the Pharisees practice the golden rule. That's wrong. Do unto others as you'd have them do unto you. Man, a Pharisee would be one of the best neighbors you would ever have. He wouldn't borrow your lawn mower and break it and not pay for it. Now, that publican, he'd probably sue you for it. Yeah? He'd take it away from you, plus your lawn, you see? But I mean, that Pharisee, he would do harm to nobody. He'd pay you back for that broken lawn more and pay you probably for barring it. I mean, he might even go out and buy you a brand new one. Number one, he wasn't a robber. He wasn't dishonest. He wasn't crooked. He had control over his material appetite. He would take nothing that was not his. He was as honest as the day was long. What's a good guy, you see? A lot of folks like that. They wouldn't touch anything that wasn't theirs. What they bought, they'll return. A Pharisee, if he got 10 cents or a penny and overchanged at the supermarket, he bought back 15 miles to get it back to him. That's a Pharisee. He's honest. He wouldn't do harm to anybody. Number two, he wasn't an adulterer. He had control over his moral appetite. He wouldn't shame anyone. He wouldn't break up any home. I mean, he's the kind of guy you can trust for money with. Real gentleman all the way. He wouldn't insult a woman. He wouldn't insinuate foul stories. I mean, boy, he would be a good person to have living next door to you. And if you were worried about your marriage, he would never upset you. Number one, they did harm to nobody. They were friends of people. And the second thing is, they kept all the outward ordinances of the law. Boy, they were sticklers about this. Number one, they fasted twice a week. They had control over their bodily appetite. The old boy was going up on me there. He was able to control his eating. That is, he didn't eat, folks. You know what the fast means. He didn't touch a bite of food two days out of every week. He just didn't have ice cream. That was his trouble. He would have succumbed, I believe. But the point is, you see, he fasted twice a week. And then he says he tithed all. Oh, man, all. And the fasting would take Now, it says time, God has the right to ten percent. He says, man, God has the right to ten percent, that's it. He put out ten grains of corn on his plate, he said, God gets one of those and pick it out of there. I mean, he was, I'm not going to cheat God. The Bible says time, time on time. Jesus said, you can go out there in the salt, cast the salt out, you know, and give God that tenth one. He said, that's penance. That's Pharisee. If you want to try to compare your life with a Pharisee, you might get in trouble. You wouldn't want to cook a Pharisee for the comparison. He might tear you up. These are good things. I can't say there's anything wrong with being morally good. I can't say there's anything wrong with being honest. I can't say there's anything wrong with fasting twice a week or tithing to God. These things are good. You see? Pharisee was a good guy. 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." He probably hasn't been in a temple in years. He doesn't come now to be seen. You see, he's come now because of his past deeds undoubtedly. He's ashamed of himself and he's worried about his future. And he knows that he needs God's help, and probably there's a real bind, and he needs God's forgiveness to get God's help. So here he is. He knows he's bad. He knows he's done things that are evil. He knows this. He's not even sure that God will hear a prayer of a guy like him. And so he keeps his head bowed and his eyes on the ground, because the Jews normally, when they pray, look to the heavens with their eyes wide open. He wouldn't do that, that would be too bold. So he'd just bat his head and keep his eye on the grunt. Then it says that he beat upon his breast as an outward sign of shame and confession that he deserved punishment for the way his old evil heart had gotten the best of him and he had obeyed it. He was saying, in a sense, God is so good I don't stand a chance unless he gives me I have no hope unless he gives me mercy. The Pharisees said, I am so good I have nothing to worry about. The Republicans said, God is so good that I have everything to worry about. So they prayed in the outer courtyard. That's where the Jews had to pray. They couldn't go inside the temple in the holy place. Only the priest could go there. So the Jew would come up to the brazen altar in the courtyard. That's where they had to sacrifice lamb. And they stand there before their sacrifice lamb, and they pray to God before the brazen oath. Now, when he says, be merciful, he was really saying, will you be propitiated? Be merciful to me, a sinner, will you be propitiated to me, a sinner? Or will you be reconciled to me? In other words, the sinner was saying, man, God sees me as his archenemy. I have fought God, and we're not friends at all. And I'm afraid of what God will do to me. What I need is for God and me to be friends again. I need some kind of way to be reconciled to God, and I don't want to be punished for my sin. And there's that little old lamb in God's The plan was, all right, I'll punish the lamb for your sin, and then I can be reconciled to you. The substitute will pay the price for your sin. That's the story of Jesus. I am God's friend tonight because of Jesus. So he was saying here, God, I need to make this request. I want you to lay all the punishment on that little old lamb out there. I want you to forgive me, and I want to be your friend. That's the way God promised to do it. In other words, he was making a plea for pardon on the basis of a substitute dying in his place. Verse 14, I tell you, this man, the publican, went down to his house justified and forgiven, but not the Pharisee. For everyone that exalts himself before God is going to be abased by God, and everyone who humbles himself in confession before God God will lift up and forgive him. Let me say this to you in closing. God judges man on the basis of divine righteousness. Now, you may compare yourself to a publican, but God's going to compare you to him. That's going to be the only comparison God will ever make. God compares you not to human standards of good, but God judges you the divine standards of good. Now, the Pharisee was good, but I want to say this. He wasn't as good as God, and that's what cost him, and that's what will cost him, and that's what's going to cost all the good guys heaven. They may be good, but they're not good enough to be compared to God. The Bible says all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. No man will be able to measure up to God's goodness. Now, the Republican was declared righteous in God's sight. The word righteous simply means all of the sins forgiven, all of them. And the Pharisee, who was a good guy, was declared to be unrighteous in his sight. I think a lot of folks still reason like the Pharisee, and it's going to cost them, I'm afraid, eternity. If they don't change their way, I know it will. They don't understand the Bible well. There's nothing wrong with being good, but, folks, being good is not being righteous. To be righteous, you cannot have one sin in a whole lifetime of any kind in word, thought, act or deed. That's God's standard of goodness, and he won't lower his standard. And when he measures us in judgment, he will measure us either by his standard of righteousness or by our acceptance of a substitute Lamb. What was Jesus? God's standard of righteousness. Jesus never sinned, and therefore Jesus can become the Lamb. And if I will give my life to him, then I have my substitute. And on the cross, he died for me and took my punishment. And that's the only way good guys and bad guys and all guys can be forgiven of their sins. Father, we're thankful tonight for the parable. We know it's a very difficult thing in our minds to truly grasp what God is trying to say. We are prone to bring God down to our level of good. and say we're as good as God, or as good as God wants, not realizing God is perfect and God is holy. Father, we ask this night now that you enable us to realize the importance of repentance and forgiveness of our sins. In Jesus' name we ask it. Amen.