Shall we now turn to the book of Psalms and turn to Psalm 10. Psalm 10 and we shall read verse 2. Verse 2. The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor. Let them be taken in the devices that they have imagined. And the title this morning is The Characteristics of the Wicked. The Characteristics of the Wicked. Every one of us have had enemies and perhaps you continue to have some. When we don't like a person, we try to analyze that person's moral character, moral qualities. May you be religious, atheist, communist, satanist, democratic, liberal, conservative, poor or rich, it does not matter who you are. Actually being an atheist, communist or satanist, you should not bother to consider the moral character of a human being at all. Since according to you, life has come to existence by itself, with an instant, like a magic. So the idea of moral should not arrive at all. Since they say that we are evolved from animals and our primary goal in life is to survive, according to the communists, the atheists, immoral acts like murder, rape, violence, war, injustice, human rights should not bother them at all. Because whatever humans do, they will do it for their survival. And in war, there is neither right or wrong, they say. Yet they cannot do without morals. They simply cannot avoid speaking and dealing with it. Since the creator of the atheist is the primordial soup or simply magic, both cannot have morals because according to these, humans were not created by a God from whom all morals originate. The reality of life is that we have enemies. If not many, at least one. If we do not have enemies directly, at least there are people whom we dislike and hate from distance. We call our enemies wicked. We call them wicked because they do wicked things. We point their faults. Actually, we are very quick to observe, recognize, and point out the wicked deeds of the people. We talk about it all the time. We can spend hours, isn't it? We can be thinking on and off during the day about the wickedness of people whom we know Let us remember that while we are analyzing, scrutinizing their wickedness, they are doing the same about us. We pick on their wickedness and they pick on ours. Of course, what I think about them and feel about them is, true or not, is something that needs to be verified. Now there are many words used to describe the term wicked in the Bible. The wicked is described as a person who is guilty of crimes. Wicked person is hostile to God. He is guilty of sin against God and man. He is described as an ungodly person. There is another word used for the wicked and it describes the wicked as a character who brings much annoyance, hardship, harassment, and labor. Such a person brings peril, especially towards Christians' faith, causing pain and trouble. At another place, the word used for wicked is simply bad person, evil. Beside this, the word given for wicked is one who is bankrupt in the law of God. Totally bankrupt. He has no knowledge of the law of God. He violates the law. He is lawless. Again, the word used for the wicked at another place in the Bible is described as a person who breaks through the restraints of the law and gratifies his lust. This is open rebellion, anarchy. Lastly, there is a word used to describe the wicked as a person who's very thinking, feeling, And acting is base, evil. It is troublesome, injurious, poisonous, destructive. Much of this evil nature comes from envy and jealousy and hatred and all manner of things. We don't even want to stand in his or her presence. In the Greek language, there are different words to describe each of these characteristics of the wicked. Our English language falls short and covers all these ideas of wicked with one word, wicked. The Bible speaks about many wicked people. The wickedness of the heart of humans are exposed from the time of Adam and Eve, our first parents. Eve was tempted and she crossed the boundary that God set for her. She not only broke the law, but moved the heart of a man to break the law set by God. Satan activated the lust of the flesh which was dormant but could be freely used. Eve being tempted, she lusted after the things that she was offered. She took courage. She weighed the possibility of profit and feeling confident that she will become like the gods, she proceeded forward to violate the law that God had put for mankind. God said, if you eat of the fruit of the tree of good and evil, you shall die. Satan said, no, you will not die. You will become like God. She preferred to turn her back on God and his law in order to grab what she lusted after. Let me mention a few more of them. There are many, but let us just name a few. There was Cain. who planned in his heart to kill his brother Abel. There was a king of Egypt who was wicked and made the people of Israel into slaves. There was King Saul of Israel, the first king. He was so jealous of David that he constantly planned attacks against David. He just wanted to annihilate him. We have Joab, the army general of David. This man deceitfully slaughtered anyone that was made higher than him. Then there are many kings of Israel and of other nations that are mentioned. And you must read about Haman in the book of Esther, and King Herod in the New Testament, the high priest, and Judas The list goes on. Besides, we have wicked women. We mentioned Eve. The Bible also described the wickedness of Zizabel, the wife of Ahab. There is Delilah. Then there is the wicked wife of Potiphar, also the wife of Lot, and many more. The Bible is the only book, dear friends, that deals in detail the characteristics of the wicked. The Bible is the only book that does not cover up the sins of men. God exposes even the sins of those that he loves. Yes, and those who love God. God exposes the wickedness of people from all over the world. He exposes the wickedness of the kings and of the citizens. He exposes the wickedness of the rich and the poor, of the priests and the lay people. We know that the mighty nations never write about their own defeats. great kingdoms who conquer nations after nation and they become the lord of many nations. These countries, when writing their history, always paint a very black picture of those they rule over. Those that write history are never truthful of the whole events that take place during their tenure as lords and victors. They do not publish. They are evils. It's a known fact. God chose Israel as his own nation. And from one man, Abraham, he made it into a huge nation. God, in writing the history of Israel, wrote the truth about men involved in this nation. He disclosed the very inner heart of men of this nation, and so also of the men from other parts of the world. You want to read the accurate account of history? Read the Bible. Read the Bible from the beginning to the end. You can check out many things by going to British Museum or any other similar museum. Pastors, priests, Sunday school teachers, have you taken your people? Your Sunday school scholars? to British Museum or to other historical places of Christians in this land. It is full of it. Please do it. If you get opportunity, take them even to the biblical archaeological site in Israel. Some archaeologists who had been atheists and skeptics have been converted to Christ after they saw the truths hidden under the earth. When men shut their mouths to proclaim the truth of the gospel, the rocks cry out. I met one of them, an archaeologist, about 22 years ago in the Metropolitan Tabernacle. He was called to give the seminarians a couple of lectures. He was an atheist, but he was an archaeologist. And while he dug in Israel, the hidden things came to light. And he began to compare. If you're an archaeologist working in Israel, you have to read the Bible, not once, but many a times. And so what the scripture said matched up with what they found. Could not deny it, that this book speaks the truth. And he has written many books. Well, let us come back to our topic on the characteristics of the wicked. By the way, you have seen how the world today takes the words like wicked and make it into a likable thing. Have you eaten a chocolate called wicked? Chocolate bar? No? Yes, there is a chocolate bar called wicked. We have drinks called naked. Are you aware of that? Yes. You see, this is how the world, the enemies of God desensitize evil. We don't try to think of it. You know, the Lord says in Jeremiah chapter 17, you should never forget this verse at any time. The Lord says in Jeremiah chapter 17 verse 9 and 10, the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it? Who can know it? Humans cannot understand their own self. We do not have the ability to look at our inner self. In fact, we refrain from doing so. We don't want to. It is too harmful for us. It is too painful. That's why we talk about other people's wickedness all the time. We do not have the courage to righteously evaluate our character. We are too afraid to admit the truth. We put on the mask over our wickedness from birth to death. We wear a mask over our wicked souls. The Lord says, I, the Lord, search the heart. I try the rains even to give every man according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings. You want to learn psychology. You want to know in depth the nature of human heart. Go to the Bible, dear friend. Go to the Bible. The Lord God, the Creator, the Engineer, the Doctor will not tell you lies. Psychology is a subject that really flourished only in modern times. A lot of things spoken about in psychology is very good, but fails to understand that it has spiritual and moral bearing. You cannot know man without his spiritual nature. He is not just a ball of chemicals. He is not just a ball of nerves. Humans are not animals. Humans are definitely wired to their spiritual manufacturer. The problem is humans have short-circuited themselves and have disconnected themselves from the positive line that is God. We are living on the negative power. All wickedness comes from this problem. You will often hear psychologists say that there is neither right nor wrong. They are afraid to utter the word right or wrong. They have come to believe that we should not make a person feel that he's bad. They believe that we should not bring down a person's self-esteem. But the true doctor tells the truth. He will be gentle, he will be compassionate, careful, loving, but firm in telling the truth. He must tell in order to repair the damage done in the body or you die. If there is wickedness in our heart and if you are filled with anger, hatred, prejudice, racism, revenge, lording over others, dominating others, oppressing others, meddling in the life of others, living an immoral life, committing social and political injustice, causing tyranny, then this is bad and it needs to be corrected and healed. This kind of thing, which is rampant in society, needs God's intervention. Only God can bring spiritual healing, dear friends. This is the most important healing that every person requires. Our wicked minds and hearts must be transformed. Our wicked minds and hearts must be reset and be made according to the mind and heart of Christ Jesus, the perfect man. The man Adam and the woman Eve failed. Jesus came to reset our lives once again. He lived the perfect life. He died and rose so that we can have life through his death and resurrection. He died so that his death may become a healing for our souls. Dear friends, you learn about so many things. You take degrees in so many intellectual streams. You spend so much of time and years studying, even trying to become an expert in a certain field. That is good. Yet you neglect the most important of all studies, and that is to know your own self. The truth is all that you study perhaps might be helpful only here on this earth while you live, but your soul will last forever. Your soul will last forever. It will be judged. It will not be judged according to your degrees or medals won and money earned, but according to how you have exercised your soul towards your creator and towards your neighbor. You and I will be judged according to how we have loved God and how we have loved our neighbor. Jesus said, if you love me, keep my commandments. His commandments are life, dear friends. Life. You and I will be judged according to how we have lived obeying God's command. You know, one of the wisest men on earth, Solomon, who was a philosopher, a scientist in many fields, and a man of culture, failed. Failed in many things. He was reputed to be international, having international culture, because he had wives from every place, every culture. and probably you can call him a one world religion man because he had wives and each one had their own religion and he made for them the images of their gods and temples. He did many wicked things. But somewhere in his life he realized he knew God but he departed from him But then again somewhere in his life he realized that if he does not return to God, he is doomed for eternity. He turned his life around. He returned back to God. For he realized and he said in Ecclesiastes chapter 12, verse 12 to 14, and further, by these my son be admonished. He began to tell his children, and in doing so he has told all the children of the world all the people of the world be admonished of making many books there is no end and much study is a weariness of the flesh Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter. What is the conclusion? After he has known so much of the world and people and so on, he says the conclusion of the whole matter, fear God and keep his commands. For this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil. Let us now go to the lesson on wickedness. In Psalm 10, the author of this Psalm being inspired by the Holy Spirit, gives us the picture of the wicked soul. Of course, we will not be able to finish all. God willing, we can take it the next week, but let us go as far as we can go. This man is troubled. The author of this psalm is troubled. He is troubled by wicked men. He is surrounded by wicked people. He feels that God is far away from him. Verse 1, Why standest thou afar off, O Lord? Why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble? We find ourselves in such a situation, isn't it, so many a time, as if the Lord is so far away and those are oppressing us and doing all kind of nasty things against us. We are left all, we are left to their mercy. But then in verse 2, he points out to the wicked, the wicked that have caused him trouble. Psalm 10 verse 2, the wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor. Let them be taken in the devices that they have imagined. The wicked are proud people. They devise a plan. They are busy planning in their minds how to destroy the poor and the weak. They cannot sleep. They cannot be at ease. Their minds are active. They pass on from one imagination to another, one plan to another. They love to breathe upon the necks of the poor and the weak, whom they can devour. They like to be in control of other people's lives. They want to run the lives of the people according to their heart's desire. It's very important to know this. Very important. Now, as we are going through the traits of the wicked person, Don't bring to your mind those that you think are proud and wicked. That's a very common thing. You know, even when we read our Bible in devotions and things like that, or when we hear the gospel being preached, our minds switch off to somebody else or some other person. Ah, he is like that and she is like that. But no, don't bring your mind those people whom you think are wicked and proud. Rather, think and reflect and analyze your own heart. Am I proud? Do I plan the destructions of my enemies? Or do I put my trust in the Lord, my God, who says vengeance belong to me? Do I persecute the weak, the poor, the vulnerable, the humble, and the meek? Do I make another person's life miserable for my own pleasure? Do I do things and I think that I'm better than him or her, that I'm stronger and cleverer than the rest? This is important. when reading the Bible, when hearing the Gospel messages, because it is for you and me, dear friends. I'm reading it, it is for me. And then if we understand ourselves, we will understand the minds of others. Verse 3, Psalm 10, verse 3. For the wicked boasts of his heart's desire. and blessed the covetous whom the Lord abhorred. How true this is. The wicked boast of their heart's desire, I will do this and I will achieve that. I imagine in my heart doing great things. I plan of achieving things to boost my self-image and bring power and wealth to myself. but we don't see God and his will for us. From the time you have entered university, I'm sure even before that you begin to think of riches and fame and power. You begin to fantasize of doing great things, even helping the poor maybe and becoming the savior of the world. Young people, do you do this? Older men and women, did you do this? Just try to think of all the things that you have dreamed about and planned about. Have you achieved it? Have you achieved it? I used to dream a lot, analyze and fantasize when I was young. But there was nothing connected about being connected back to God. There was nothing about seeking God's kingdom and repairing the damage in my soul. There was nothing about being reconnected to God, my creator. There was no awareness and regret that I am cut off from the source of my life. I would create imaginary enemies of the world, the rich and whoever, you know, and I want to defeat them and finish them and help the poor and raise them up. Our pride does not allow us to think that we are lost from God and that we have to humble ourselves to come back to God. Unless you become like a little child, you cannot enter into the kingdom of God. in the beginning of the coronavirus. Our Prime Minister Boris Johnson proudly declared, we will send back the coronavirus packing. It is over one year now, and according to the rulers of the world, they say there is no chance of it being packed back. It has come to stay. He again boasts of saying that the vaccine will be our savior. then there will be no deaths until next Christmas. Now he says it is not vaccine, but the lockdown, the mask, the social distancing that saved lives. And then they say freedom is around the corner, but the new strains have arrived. First from China, then from Brazil, then from South Africa, now from India. And other countries are claiming that they have got the deadly virus from Britain. the wicked boasts of his desires. I'm just showing how foolish we are, how foolish we are. What is the desire of the wicked? To reset the world. To control the lives of the world. To build one world order, one world economy and religion. It is amazing how the leaders of the world are parroting the same ideas. The phrases like, build back better, reset, new normal. And all this is uttered by almost all the rulers of the world. It looks like they are controlled by some higher force. It looks like they are the mouthpiece of an unseen wicked force. For the wicked boasteth of his heart's desire and blesseth the covetous. The wicked blesses the covetous. Friends, be careful. Let us not be covetous. The wicked blesses the covetous. Who is the most wicked being? Satan is the most wicked being. The Bible calls him the wicked one. The wicked one. The wicked blesses the covetous. If you are covetous, you will receive blessings from Satan. Satan is a father of covetousness. He coveted the throne of God. He desired to be higher than God. Adam and Eve accepted the blessings that would come from Satan's knowledge and they died. They brought death. in this world. Jesus Christ refused a blessing from Satan. Remember he said, I will give you all the kingdoms, the whole earth, the whole world, if you but fall down and worship me. He was telling Christ Jesus to be covetous. Jesus refused refused to be covetous and receive blessing from Satan. He said, I will worship God alone and obey him alone. I want blessings from my father, who is the truth, who is holy and righteous. The 10th commandment is thou shall not covet. Covetousness is a deadly sin. It permeates in every section of our lives. If you are a preacher, a pastor, an evangelist, and if you are doing well and are well-known and have large following, you will hear yourself saying in the depth of your soul, you are risen to this point because of your goodness, your hard work, because you are brainy. You are a good person. You deserve it. You see how we covet the place of God? I hear these things when I am praised, although I am known only by my little flock. Yes, the whispers come in. You are a great guy. It is because you work hard. Yes, you are brainy. Yes, you are this. Oh, dear friends, we must be aware of these things. We must be aware of this thing. We must be aware of these whispers within us. It can make us take wings and make us rise up above God saying, I am God. Crush it. Mortify the flesh. Now let me tell you, dear friends, there's a great danger for businessmen to become very covetous. If you are not God-centered and do not have self-control, your life can become very ungodly. The Bible exposes the covetousness of businessmen. Of the wicked Ephraim, God says in Hosea chapter 12 verse 7, There are many references for many people, the prince of Tyrus and Tyre and so on. But let me just take this one, Hosea chapter 12 verse 7. The Lord says to Ephraim, he is a merchant. The balances of deceit are in his hand. He loved to oppress. And Ephraim said, yet I am become rich. I have found me out substance in all my labours, they shall find none iniquity in me that were sin. The wicked covetous person boasts and having got what he desired, he believed that no one can find out his sins. No one will say that he has got what he wanted. That is his riches, his power and his pleasures through sin. And how true it is. We exalt such people, isn't it? We look up to them. What a great man. He's become so rich. He's become so famous. He's got such a lot of wealth and property and power. We exalt such men. What does Psalm 12 says? The wicked walk on every side when the vilest men are exalted. It shows the heart of the rest of the people. Be careful when multi-billionaires begin taking charge of making decisions for your lives. They are godless, and they are merciless, and they are power-hungry. Power-hungry. When people get the fill of money, they covet after power. They covet after controlling others. Money, power and bought knowledge makes them insane. They become the slaves of Satan. They become godless. The love of money is the root of all evil. Yes, the wicked are godless. Verse 4. It's wonderful to see how one thing leads into the other. The wicked, through the pride of his continence, will not seek after God. God is not in all his thoughts. His ways are always grievous. Thy judgments are far above, out of his sight. And for all his enemies, he puffeth at them. He puffeth at them. The wicked person is destitute, totally bankrupt of God's character, God's mind, and God's laws. The wicked has no knowledge of God. He does not have any idea of how God thinks and judges. He does not want to. He does not want to. God is nowhere near to him. He is God unto himself, and he looks down upon others. Are you one of them? The sad part is that he does not know that he is under a spell. He does not realize that he is a slave of the wicked one. But he thinks he's free because of the money. Satan says, I will give you all the kingdoms if you worship me. He does not realize that he's a slave of the wicked one. The Bible says in 1 John chapter 5 verse 19, the whole world lies in wickedness. Meaning the whole world is under the power of the evil one, under the power of the wicked one. And that is what you must ask yourself, young people. Wait, hold on. Under whom am I? I'm just a human being. Under whom am I? Am I under the wicked one? What the Bible calls Satan, the devil, the serpent? Or am I under God, the one who has created me. God who frees us, speaks to us the truth and makes us live by the truth. Again, Ephesians chapter 2 verse 2 says that the people without Christ Jesus walks according to the prince of the power of the air. Are you under the prince of the power of the air? You must search diligently, dear friend, your heart. But how will you know? Who will tell you? The Word of God. The Word of God. God knows everything. And this is the truth, dear friend. Satan is the father of wickedness. Wickedness is rebellion. Wickedness is witchcraft. There is no safety in wickedness. There is no hope in wickedness. Your only hope is the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Pure Light, the Righteous One, the Holy One, the Anointed of God. He is the Deliverer. He has conquered wickedness. He has conquered covetousness. The Bible tells us that although he is God, Jesus is God, he did not hold on to his godly power and godly wealth and godly intelligence. The Bible tells us that he made himself of no reputation. Very difficult to be in that position and live in that position, to humble yourself and be of no reputation. We think joy comes only in being a reputed person, a famous person, an acceptable person. If you come for the evening service, you will learn what the child of God, the follower of Christ is supposed to be. He's the cross. But come in the evening and hear So Jesus being God did not hold on. He did not hold on to his godly power, godly wealth, godly intelligence. The Bible tells us that he made himself of no reputation. He became humble to remain submissive to his father. He obeyed his father even to the point of death. What was he trying to show? He was showing if you live the way I lived under my father, according to his commands and believe in what he says and what he asked you to do, you're free. You're free and you will live forever. Nothing can bind you. Nothing. Jesus Christ is the antidote to wickedness. Jesus conquered wickedness and the spell of witchcraft and rebellion by becoming submissive to God and obeying his commands. God's laws, dear friend, converts and bring great joy. You must, by faith, accept the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ lived by total faith in his Father, and we are to do the same. Jesus Christ rose from the dead. God, by raising Jesus Christ, showed that the life of Jesus was pleasing to the Father. Oh dear friend, we must put our faith in the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ. You must put your faith in His death and His resurrection. You must put your faith in what He claims to be. Turn to Jesus. He will teach you and give you the art, the wisdom, to overcome wickedness. He will give you the power to have peace. If you're willing, He will show you your true self and show you His holiness, the Lord's holiness, His righteousness, and the power to save you. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved from your wickedness. There's a place prepared for the wicked and that is eternal hell as Jesus told that wicked servant, isn't it? He told him what he was going to do. I'm ending with this. He told him. that, O thou wicked servant, I forgive thee all thy debt, because thou desirest of me. Should not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow servant, even as I did pity on thee? And his lord was wrought, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. Dear friends, if you are not willing to be like Christ, then behave towards others like Christ, we are in big trouble. Trust in the Lord. Shall we pray? O God, our Father, we want to thank thee and praise thee. O Lord, for revealing the truth to all mankind through thy word. And yet, O Lord, there is famine, there is famine in the world of thy word. And Lord, even though the word is there everywhere, yet, O Lord, there is no desire for the young people among the young people and the older people to, O Lord, go and feed themselves. and to drink of thine truth. O Lord, we pray that thou, O Lord, be merciful towards many, especially towards those who are seeking to come to draw near to thee. Lord our God, we pray that thy will be done in the lives of the people. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.