WEBVTT 00:00:00.590 --> 00:00:05.790 Let's pray together. Heavenly Father, we're thankful 00:00:05.790 --> 00:00:09.789 for your help throughout the meeting, for the 00:00:09.789 --> 00:00:12.169 privilege it's been to meet with you thus far. 00:00:13.070 --> 00:00:15.730 We come now once again to confess our great need 00:00:15.730 --> 00:00:19.449 of you, our inability to accomplish or do anything 00:00:19.449 --> 00:00:25.149 apart from you. Come now in power upon your word. 00:00:26.390 --> 00:00:29.859 Overcome me with your Holy Spirit to... Enable 00:00:29.859 --> 00:00:32.840 me to bring forth all that your Word contains 00:00:32.840 --> 00:00:37.079 and only what your Word contains. Come upon us 00:00:37.079 --> 00:00:39.799 as hearers today, Father, that we might truly 00:00:39.799 --> 00:00:44.280 hear your Word as it is proclaimed. That we would 00:00:44.280 --> 00:00:47.479 be enabled to see you rightly, see ourselves 00:00:47.479 --> 00:00:52.659 rightly, assimilate your Word into our very lives, 00:00:53.380 --> 00:00:55.719 that we might be better equipped to serve you 00:00:55.719 --> 00:00:59.920 in this week. We plead again for the lost father 00:00:59.920 --> 00:01:04.620 we ask for mercy That you might yet save some 00:01:04.620 --> 00:01:07.200 who were in their sins here and elsewhere those 00:01:07.200 --> 00:01:09.459 who were gathered in amongst your people everywhere 00:01:09.459 --> 00:01:16.799 father Save some Be glorified then in the time 00:01:16.799 --> 00:01:22.620 to follow we ask in Jesus name Well, we're back 00:01:22.620 --> 00:01:26.170 in the Proverbs this morning so I invite you 00:01:26.170 --> 00:01:30.030 to turn with me to the second chapter of Proverbs. 00:01:31.510 --> 00:01:33.310 You'll remember last week I said we're going 00:01:33.310 --> 00:01:35.590 to be going through some of the Proverbs. We're 00:01:35.590 --> 00:01:38.590 not going verse by verse or every chapter, but 00:01:38.590 --> 00:01:42.250 we're going to spend some time, however the Lord 00:01:42.250 --> 00:01:46.969 leads, in the book of Proverbs. You remember 00:01:46.969 --> 00:01:50.090 the book of Proverbs and really all of the scriptures 00:01:50.090 --> 00:01:55.920 are given to display God before our eyes. to 00:01:55.920 --> 00:02:00.019 reveal Himself to us, the wonder of the God of 00:02:00.019 --> 00:02:04.599 the universe on display. All you have to do is 00:02:04.599 --> 00:02:12.000 open the book, read it with seeing eyes, hearing 00:02:12.000 --> 00:02:17.500 ears, believing hearts, and you can see Him yourself 00:02:17.500 --> 00:02:21.939 in the pages of the wonderful book that He's 00:02:21.939 --> 00:02:25.419 given us. So we saw that's the purpose of the 00:02:25.419 --> 00:02:30.680 Proverbs to reveal God, to guide us to Jesus 00:02:30.680 --> 00:02:35.240 Christ who is wisdom, to give us wisdom and understanding, 00:02:35.979 --> 00:02:39.199 enable us to live the Christian life, enable 00:02:39.199 --> 00:02:45.819 us to please God, enable us to enjoy God in our 00:02:45.819 --> 00:02:55.240 daily living. So last week, We saw that it may 00:02:55.240 --> 00:02:58.159 have been a new word for us. It's not a frequently 00:02:58.159 --> 00:03:03.219 used word simple And it's used to describe the 00:03:03.219 --> 00:03:09.960 people of God you and me were to be simple We 00:03:09.960 --> 00:03:13.460 grow from our simplicity from being simple to 00:03:13.460 --> 00:03:17.639 be being wise But the need for both the simple 00:03:17.639 --> 00:03:21.199 and the wise is the same more and more wisdom 00:03:21.289 --> 00:03:25.150 more and more understanding, more and more relational 00:03:25.150 --> 00:03:30.009 activity with our Lord God, Jesus Christ. That's 00:03:30.009 --> 00:03:33.949 what we all need. Simple. To be simple is to 00:03:33.949 --> 00:03:37.590 be ready to learn, to know that you need to learn, 00:03:38.449 --> 00:03:42.870 to know that you lack knowledge. Without knowledge, 00:03:42.889 --> 00:03:47.389 there's no wisdom. You can't apply through wisdom 00:03:47.389 --> 00:03:51.930 what you don't know. So we need to be humble, 00:03:52.330 --> 00:03:57.169 humbly simple before our God. But as I was thinking 00:03:57.169 --> 00:04:00.229 about that, and that's all true and wonderful, 00:04:01.150 --> 00:04:06.090 but additionally, we talk about the simplicity 00:04:06.090 --> 00:04:12.009 of God. God is simple, and by that we mean something 00:04:12.009 --> 00:04:15.150 entirely different than when we say we are simple. 00:04:16.329 --> 00:04:19.129 When we say God is simple, we mean He cannot 00:04:19.129 --> 00:04:23.399 be divided into parts. He is of one substance. 00:04:24.220 --> 00:04:27.879 So we need to keep that in mind when we think 00:04:27.879 --> 00:04:29.819 and learn about God, that when we're learning 00:04:29.819 --> 00:04:32.420 about His justice or if we're learning about 00:04:32.420 --> 00:04:36.399 His holiness or His love, His faithfulness, these 00:04:36.399 --> 00:04:43.379 aren't separate pieces of God. There is only 00:04:43.379 --> 00:04:47.079 one God and He's all of these things at the same 00:04:47.079 --> 00:04:51.689 time. There's no division in Him. even though 00:04:51.689 --> 00:04:57.410 we learn of him in divisions. So applying that 00:04:57.410 --> 00:05:01.649 to ourselves, we can say that we should be simple 00:05:01.649 --> 00:05:04.910 in our understanding of ourselves, but we should 00:05:04.910 --> 00:05:08.410 be simple also in our refusing to be divided. 00:05:10.189 --> 00:05:13.329 Refusing to divide up our lives into categories, 00:05:13.629 --> 00:05:17.430 or places, or we're this when we're here, we're 00:05:17.430 --> 00:05:22.720 that when we're there. We're not divided We're 00:05:22.720 --> 00:05:26.560 one person before God We have a lot of different 00:05:26.560 --> 00:05:30.920 activities different Roles to play different 00:05:30.920 --> 00:05:34.759 responsibilities, but we are all one thing before 00:05:34.759 --> 00:05:38.699 God and that is his person his son his daughter 00:05:38.699 --> 00:05:44.579 We're not divided and we shouldn't think we can 00:05:44.579 --> 00:05:48.149 neatly carve out different places in our lives 00:05:48.149 --> 00:05:51.810 for different things. That's a dangerous thing 00:05:51.810 --> 00:05:55.850 to be involved with. So we want to be simple 00:05:55.850 --> 00:06:02.230 in that way as well. So we're going to continue 00:06:02.230 --> 00:06:04.730 on here for one more week in this pursuit of 00:06:04.730 --> 00:06:08.370 God, pursuit of wisdom. To pursue wisdom is to 00:06:08.370 --> 00:06:11.649 pursue God. Don't forget it. There's no separation 00:06:11.649 --> 00:06:16.170 there. Jesus Christ is wisdom. And to pursue 00:06:16.170 --> 00:06:20.009 wisdom is to pursue Jesus Christ. So we're going 00:06:20.009 --> 00:06:23.490 to spend today, again, looking at this pursuit, 00:06:24.189 --> 00:06:27.389 perhaps hopefully in a little more detail than 00:06:27.389 --> 00:06:31.430 what we did last week. But the goal of the Proverbs 00:06:31.430 --> 00:06:35.509 here in chapter 2 is that, that we would be those 00:06:35.509 --> 00:06:41.189 who are after God. We're hard after God. We're 00:06:41.189 --> 00:06:45.079 continually searching Him out. So let's read 00:06:45.079 --> 00:06:48.259 these first few verses here in Proverbs chapter 00:06:48.259 --> 00:07:16.620 2. and searches for her as for hid treasures, 00:07:17.040 --> 00:07:21.060 and we're going to pause there. So the common 00:07:21.060 --> 00:07:24.980 word here is what if. All throughout here we 00:07:24.980 --> 00:07:30.100 see the word if. In other words, there's no guarantee 00:07:30.100 --> 00:07:34.060 here that you're going to do this. I can make 00:07:34.060 --> 00:07:37.459 this proclamation as clear and as concise as 00:07:37.850 --> 00:07:42.029 Draw it out as much as I want the words if still 00:07:42.029 --> 00:07:48.910 apply I can't Make anything happen in your lives 00:07:48.910 --> 00:07:54.829 It's the word of God God has to own the word 00:07:54.829 --> 00:07:59.370 in your life God has to do the work He has to 00:07:59.370 --> 00:08:02.170 change your heart change your mind. He has to 00:08:02.170 --> 00:08:06.449 give you hearing ears Whatever you need you have 00:08:06.449 --> 00:08:12.319 to get it from God So what does that mean? We're 00:08:12.319 --> 00:08:17.879 not going to do anything? Of course not. The 00:08:17.879 --> 00:08:22.639 if is there. If you do these things. There's 00:08:22.639 --> 00:08:30.339 an expectation. If you do these things. So again, 00:08:30.740 --> 00:08:35.679 there's man's responsibility and God's sovereignty 00:08:35.679 --> 00:08:39.889 is throughout the scripture. If you want to have 00:08:39.889 --> 00:08:43.090 wisdom, you should do these things. If you lack 00:08:43.090 --> 00:08:45.649 knowledge and understanding, you should do these 00:08:45.649 --> 00:08:48.789 things. That's what the scripture is telling 00:08:48.789 --> 00:08:52.950 us. So what about it? What is there to do? Well, 00:08:53.250 --> 00:08:57.690 the first thing off is that, will you receive 00:08:57.690 --> 00:09:02.809 my words? That seems like an odd thing to say, 00:09:02.970 --> 00:09:06.070 doesn't it? Does that sound odd to you? That 00:09:06.070 --> 00:09:11.090 you the question is will you receive God's words? 00:09:12.970 --> 00:09:16.250 Well For those of us who know God and that's 00:09:16.250 --> 00:09:19.470 the overwhelming majority here in the room Why 00:09:19.470 --> 00:09:21.850 would there be some doubt as to whether or not 00:09:21.850 --> 00:09:26.049 you would receive his word? But there always 00:09:26.049 --> 00:09:29.710 is isn't there because we were not perfect folks 00:09:29.710 --> 00:09:33.549 We mess up we fall we fail. We don't receive 00:09:33.549 --> 00:09:38.700 the word What does the word receive mean? Well, 00:09:39.980 --> 00:09:43.559 there's no better thing that I could come up 00:09:43.559 --> 00:09:47.580 with was that you receive a present from somebody. 00:09:47.879 --> 00:09:51.980 It's a gift. You get it. You take it into your 00:09:51.980 --> 00:09:56.220 hands. You open it. It's just what you wanted, 00:09:56.340 --> 00:10:01.659 you say. It's beautiful. I'll cherish this my 00:10:01.659 --> 00:10:06.409 life. I'll put it to use immediately. Whatever. 00:10:06.730 --> 00:10:10.710 Some word of acknowledgement. And then what? 00:10:11.269 --> 00:10:13.629 The thing goes on the shelf and that's it. You've 00:10:13.629 --> 00:10:17.169 forgotten all about it. That's not receiving 00:10:17.169 --> 00:10:20.830 it, is it? That's just a temporary reception 00:10:20.830 --> 00:10:27.590 that you discarded. Receiving that gift is, yes, 00:10:27.649 --> 00:10:31.330 taking it into your possession and then using 00:10:31.330 --> 00:10:37.809 it. making use of what you've received. That's 00:10:37.809 --> 00:10:41.029 what the question is. We're all going to receive 00:10:41.029 --> 00:10:44.889 these words today, really. You can't. Help it. 00:10:44.909 --> 00:10:49.809 You're here. You're going to hear them. And on 00:10:49.809 --> 00:10:52.629 that level, you're going to receive them. But 00:10:52.629 --> 00:10:55.490 are you actually going to receive the words? 00:10:57.789 --> 00:11:00.750 Are you going to receive the Word of God today? 00:11:02.669 --> 00:11:04.950 Are you going to learn something? Are you going 00:11:04.950 --> 00:11:09.990 to treasure what you learned? Receive it. If 00:11:09.990 --> 00:11:13.230 you do that. And then he goes on to say, and 00:11:13.230 --> 00:11:16.710 if you hide my commandments with thee. That's 00:11:16.710 --> 00:11:20.169 what we're talking about. We don't put it aside. 00:11:21.149 --> 00:11:25.750 We don't forget about it. We keep it with us. 00:11:26.110 --> 00:11:29.370 It's all through the Bible. Thy word have I hidden 00:11:29.370 --> 00:11:31.870 in my heart that I might not sin against you. 00:11:34.960 --> 00:11:40.039 the parable of the sower they got good seed they 00:11:40.039 --> 00:11:43.240 got good soil the word took root what they bore 00:11:43.240 --> 00:11:51.919 fruit they actually received it store up the 00:11:51.919 --> 00:11:58.059 word in our hearts keep it with us so if you 00:11:58.059 --> 00:12:01.659 receive it if you keep it if you put it to use 00:12:01.659 --> 00:12:05.210 that's the that's the first emphasis there on 00:12:05.210 --> 00:12:09.169 receiving something from the Lord. If you're 00:12:09.169 --> 00:12:15.409 going to do those things, if, if, if, it says 00:12:15.409 --> 00:12:20.169 yea, or no, it says, so that thou incline thine 00:12:20.169 --> 00:12:24.429 ear unto wisdom. Now remember Mac's words? Have 00:12:24.429 --> 00:12:28.190 you been able to return any of the sermons from 00:12:28.190 --> 00:12:31.289 Mac that he preached when he was here? Do you 00:12:31.289 --> 00:12:36.440 remember? What are you hearing he said? What 00:12:36.440 --> 00:12:41.419 are you bringing into your life? Do you guard 00:12:41.419 --> 00:12:46.779 your ears? To guard your ears is the beginning 00:12:46.779 --> 00:12:51.639 of guarding our hearts. What are we taking in? 00:12:53.740 --> 00:13:01.269 So again, you know. Do you think that this is 00:13:01.269 --> 00:13:08.870 possible to be neutral in this? Can you be neutrally 00:13:08.870 --> 00:13:15.330 hearing? No. You are hearing. You're hearing 00:13:15.330 --> 00:13:20.570 something. All day long, you're hearing something. 00:13:20.970 --> 00:13:23.169 Maybe it's your own voice talking to yourself. 00:13:23.210 --> 00:13:26.590 Hopefully it is. But you're hearing something. 00:13:27.730 --> 00:13:31.990 You're taking something in. Constantly. What 00:13:31.990 --> 00:13:38.730 are you taking in? That's for you. That's a question. 00:13:41.350 --> 00:13:43.690 You've got to take in good stuff, don't you? 00:13:45.710 --> 00:13:51.750 Jump in, jump out. That's true, right? Bad company 00:13:51.750 --> 00:13:58.820 corrupts good manners. That's true. So you've 00:13:58.820 --> 00:14:01.360 got to be careful about what you hear. You've 00:14:01.360 --> 00:14:04.080 got to make an effort. It's your responsibility 00:14:04.080 --> 00:14:09.019 for what you hear. God's put all manner of things 00:14:09.019 --> 00:14:12.460 at your disposal. We've got more stuff we can 00:14:12.460 --> 00:14:14.700 listen to and hear today than there ever has 00:14:14.700 --> 00:14:17.720 been. There was nothing when I was converted. 00:14:18.000 --> 00:14:22.980 Nothing. Nothing but false teaching everywhere, 00:14:23.179 --> 00:14:28.720 on the radio, everywhere. There's all manner 00:14:28.720 --> 00:14:31.919 of good solid biblical truth that's available 00:14:31.919 --> 00:14:38.279 to us Are you are you are you using it are you 00:14:38.279 --> 00:14:41.259 hearing something that's going to profit you 00:14:41.259 --> 00:14:45.399 Or is it just idle chit -chat just entertainment. 00:14:45.639 --> 00:14:50.620 I think they call it Maybe it's trash Christian 00:14:50.620 --> 00:14:54.419 music. I don't know what it is what you're listening 00:14:54.419 --> 00:15:00.720 to what you do But it's your responsibility, 00:15:01.039 --> 00:15:03.779 folks. You want to be wise? You want to gain 00:15:03.779 --> 00:15:06.179 knowledge of God? You want to walk with Jesus? 00:15:07.639 --> 00:15:10.679 What are you listening to? Maybe it's good Christian 00:15:10.679 --> 00:15:18.480 music. But you do have that responsibility, folks. 00:15:20.120 --> 00:15:22.940 So that you could apply your heart to understanding. 00:15:28.850 --> 00:15:33.610 It's a privilege, isn't it, to have ourselves 00:15:33.610 --> 00:15:38.190 conform to Jesus Christ, to gain understanding 00:15:38.190 --> 00:15:41.909 in the way that we live and move and have our 00:15:41.909 --> 00:15:46.190 being, that it's all in Christ, that we're applying 00:15:46.190 --> 00:15:52.830 our heart in this thing. It's not anything really 00:15:52.830 --> 00:15:57.389 outward until it is inward. You can't possibly 00:15:57.389 --> 00:15:59.629 live right if you're not right on the inside. 00:16:02.049 --> 00:16:05.190 You can't possibly live right unless you're living 00:16:05.190 --> 00:16:10.070 right. You're governing yourself right. Then 00:16:10.070 --> 00:16:18.909 you can expand that area of influence. Becoming 00:16:18.909 --> 00:16:24.250 who you are, I wrote. There you are. Very brief 00:16:24.250 --> 00:16:28.120 and to the point. We are the saints of God. We 00:16:28.120 --> 00:16:31.799 are the representatives of God. We are the ambassadors 00:16:31.799 --> 00:16:39.799 of God. Is that how we're living? Have we applied 00:16:39.799 --> 00:16:42.860 our hearts to these things? Is this our hearts 00:16:42.860 --> 00:16:48.419 desire? Is this what we want? We want a closer 00:16:48.419 --> 00:16:53.259 walk with God. We want to know more of Him. We 00:16:53.259 --> 00:16:56.409 want to be able to speak for Him. We want people 00:16:56.409 --> 00:17:00.009 to be able to watch us and see us not sinning, 00:17:00.350 --> 00:17:03.070 refusing to go along with the crowd. Have you 00:17:03.070 --> 00:17:05.210 lost any friends since you became a Christian? 00:17:07.710 --> 00:17:10.269 I lost all of my friends when I became a Christian. 00:17:12.049 --> 00:17:14.890 We were all nothing but a bunch of sinners bent 00:17:14.890 --> 00:17:19.329 on sinning. But there were some friends there. 00:17:25.480 --> 00:17:28.759 So this is the ifs. If we do these things, if 00:17:28.759 --> 00:17:36.299 this is the desire of our heart, if, if, if. 00:17:37.000 --> 00:17:41.599 Not the big one here. If thou cryest after knowledge 00:17:41.599 --> 00:17:44.519 and lifteth up thy voice for understanding, what's 00:17:44.519 --> 00:17:48.400 he talking about? It's a recognition that you 00:17:48.400 --> 00:17:52.480 don't have it. You don't have it within yourself 00:17:52.480 --> 00:17:57.349 to produce it. It's prayer folks. That's what 00:17:57.349 --> 00:18:00.609 he's talking about. He's talking about praying 00:18:00.609 --> 00:18:05.509 He's talking about crying out lifting up your 00:18:05.509 --> 00:18:08.849 voice Praying for all your words in other words. 00:18:08.849 --> 00:18:12.410 This is an important thing. I've got a seek God 00:18:12.410 --> 00:18:16.210 for this I've got to go after God for this There's 00:18:16.210 --> 00:18:19.109 no place else to go. There's nothing for me to 00:18:19.109 --> 00:18:22.369 do. I can't do it. I've got to get it It's got 00:18:22.369 --> 00:18:26.019 to be received It's got to be given, and I've 00:18:26.019 --> 00:18:29.559 got to go to the giver and ask and beg and plead 00:18:29.559 --> 00:18:32.819 whatever it takes for me to get the wisdom and 00:18:32.819 --> 00:18:35.119 knowledge and understanding that I need to live 00:18:35.119 --> 00:18:41.819 a life that's pleasing to Him. Some serious prayer 00:18:41.819 --> 00:18:47.400 needs to go into this. There's no getting around 00:18:47.400 --> 00:18:51.160 it. There's nothing else to do after you've done 00:18:51.160 --> 00:19:02.000 all of this. If you do all of this, prayer is 00:19:02.000 --> 00:19:05.339 vital. Prayer is vital to the Christian life. 00:19:05.519 --> 00:19:08.700 It's vital for your survival in the Christian 00:19:08.700 --> 00:19:13.039 life. All the armor has to be put on in prayer. 00:19:14.920 --> 00:19:16.880 Yeah, you got to put the armor on, but you got 00:19:16.880 --> 00:19:39.869 to pray. I don't know. I don't know how anybody 00:19:39.869 --> 00:19:44.990 else feels about it, really. I've never heard 00:19:44.990 --> 00:19:54.549 it expressed very often. But do you draw close 00:19:54.549 --> 00:19:59.049 to God in your prayers? Is that the closest that 00:19:59.049 --> 00:20:04.049 you get to God when you pray? And if you don't 00:20:04.049 --> 00:20:07.750 pray... How can you claim to be in a walk that 00:20:07.750 --> 00:20:18.049 is close to God? That should be the dearest aspect 00:20:18.049 --> 00:20:21.769 of our walk with the Lord is our fellowship with 00:20:21.769 --> 00:20:30.529 Him in prayer. It's when we get real. It's when 00:20:30.529 --> 00:20:37.880 we cry out. It's when he speaks to us many times. 00:20:38.720 --> 00:20:41.099 Have you ever received the assurance of an answer 00:20:41.099 --> 00:20:44.720 to your prayer? Either right when you were finished 00:20:44.720 --> 00:20:47.859 praying or even during your prayer? Have you 00:20:47.859 --> 00:20:51.140 ever known for a fact that what you prayed about 00:20:51.140 --> 00:20:54.380 is going to be answered? Have you ever received 00:20:54.380 --> 00:21:06.029 that? Well, it's possible. It's possible to. 00:21:11.029 --> 00:21:14.369 Praying for wisdom. Praying for a heart that 00:21:14.369 --> 00:21:19.609 loves God above all else. Pray, cry, get serious 00:21:19.609 --> 00:21:25.029 with God. Want to amend your life. Want to grow. 00:21:25.069 --> 00:21:32.519 Be simple. It's your responsibility, folks. And 00:21:32.519 --> 00:21:35.019 it's, you know, I almost hate using that word 00:21:35.019 --> 00:21:38.599 all the time because it's such a privilege. It's 00:21:38.599 --> 00:21:42.539 such a great thing. It's such a beautiful life 00:21:42.539 --> 00:21:49.640 to exercise your responsibility before God. It's 00:21:49.640 --> 00:21:54.500 a privilege. Then lastly in the, in the if columns, 00:21:54.599 --> 00:21:58.660 verse four, if thou seekest her as silver and 00:21:58.660 --> 00:22:03.309 searches for her as for hid treasures. Well, 00:22:03.309 --> 00:22:05.650 that's something that you can easily understand, 00:22:05.650 --> 00:22:10.849 right? That's the simplest thing. How do you 00:22:10.849 --> 00:22:15.509 seek after treasure? How do you? How do you go 00:22:15.509 --> 00:22:18.109 after that thing which you desperately want? 00:22:20.589 --> 00:22:22.890 It doesn't, whatever it is, it doesn't have to 00:22:22.890 --> 00:22:25.930 be monetary, it doesn't, whatever, whatever your 00:22:25.930 --> 00:22:31.029 heart really desires. How do you go after it? 00:22:32.650 --> 00:22:37.130 That's how you go after God. And it's obvious 00:22:37.130 --> 00:22:41.130 because God is our best treasure. Supposedly, 00:22:41.150 --> 00:22:45.710 that's what we declare. Jesus Christ is precious 00:22:45.710 --> 00:22:49.450 unto us. To those who know Him, He's precious. 00:22:51.589 --> 00:22:57.410 He's the pearl above price. How do you seek treasure? 00:22:57.509 --> 00:23:01.130 How do you seek that which you desire? All of 00:23:01.130 --> 00:23:03.849 these illustrations here that the Proverbs used, 00:23:03.950 --> 00:23:07.470 they're easy to understand. They're easy for 00:23:07.470 --> 00:23:11.470 me to get up here and talk about. But the hard 00:23:11.470 --> 00:23:15.549 part is the doing. What are we going to do with 00:23:15.549 --> 00:23:22.609 this information? What are you ready to do? I 00:23:22.609 --> 00:23:24.829 could have started with how do you visualize 00:23:24.829 --> 00:23:27.529 or how do you think about the Christian life? 00:23:28.650 --> 00:23:31.490 It's an excellent question we all should face. 00:23:32.150 --> 00:23:37.150 How do you plan out your Christian life? How 00:23:37.150 --> 00:23:40.349 are you going to use this day, the only day that 00:23:40.349 --> 00:23:43.049 the Lord has given you, to bring glory to God 00:23:43.049 --> 00:23:46.309 and to enjoy Him? You know, we've got to remember 00:23:46.309 --> 00:23:49.390 that second half of that catechism. It's not 00:23:49.390 --> 00:23:51.730 only the fact that we're supposed to glorify 00:23:51.730 --> 00:23:55.369 God, we're supposed to enjoy God forever and 00:23:55.369 --> 00:23:59.359 ever, every day, one day at a time. to glorify 00:23:59.359 --> 00:24:05.259 God and to enjoy Him forever. That's God's will 00:24:05.259 --> 00:24:09.180 for us. That's what He wants. What do you want? 00:24:14.420 --> 00:24:18.339 Remember, this is all encompassing, all of our 00:24:18.339 --> 00:24:21.380 life's areas, all of the roles that we play, 00:24:22.299 --> 00:24:24.680 all the responsibilities that have been given 00:24:24.680 --> 00:24:32.230 us. You young men, do you understand the responsibility 00:24:32.230 --> 00:24:36.990 that you have in this world? It's overwhelming 00:24:36.990 --> 00:24:41.650 to me. It always was. I couldn't do a thing without 00:24:41.650 --> 00:24:46.369 prayer. Oh, I could, but I'd mess up inevitably. 00:24:47.450 --> 00:24:53.849 I mean, think about it. Husband, father, employee, 00:24:54.329 --> 00:25:02.880 employer, deacons. Elders. Church members cleaning 00:25:02.880 --> 00:25:08.200 the church. It's overwhelming what's before Christian 00:25:08.200 --> 00:25:14.660 men. Standing against the world. Protecting your 00:25:14.660 --> 00:25:18.160 family. It's overwhelming. How are you going 00:25:18.160 --> 00:25:20.140 to do it without God in your life? How are you 00:25:20.140 --> 00:25:22.700 going to do it without a close walk with him? 00:25:23.420 --> 00:25:26.539 You're not. You're going to fail. Let me just 00:25:26.539 --> 00:25:29.880 tell you. You're all gonna be failures if you 00:25:29.880 --> 00:25:37.220 don't get on the program Seeking God first seeking 00:25:37.220 --> 00:25:41.460 him above all else the greatest treasure Getting 00:25:41.460 --> 00:25:45.220 the wisdom that we need to go through this life 00:25:45.220 --> 00:25:52.119 Well, that's the ifs what are you gonna do that's 00:25:52.119 --> 00:25:55.039 the scripture wants to know if you do this if 00:25:55.039 --> 00:25:59.339 you do that If you pray, if you're in the Word, 00:26:00.579 --> 00:26:03.759 if you're seeking God with all of your heart, 00:26:05.079 --> 00:26:08.700 then we come to the good part, so to speak. The 00:26:08.700 --> 00:26:12.819 promises. The promises are there. So after he 00:26:12.819 --> 00:26:17.140 tells us what our responsibility is, he then 00:26:17.140 --> 00:26:21.660 says in verse five and following, then shalt 00:26:21.660 --> 00:26:24.660 thou understand the fear of the Lord and find 00:26:24.880 --> 00:26:31.099 the knowledge of God. For the Lord giveth wisdom. 00:26:31.920 --> 00:26:35.839 Out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. 00:26:36.980 --> 00:26:39.900 He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous. 00:26:40.839 --> 00:26:45.079 He is our buckler to them that will walk uprightly. 00:26:45.619 --> 00:26:49.839 He's the helper, the keeper. He keeps the paths 00:26:49.839 --> 00:26:54.240 of justice and preserveth the way of his saints. 00:26:54.890 --> 00:26:58.650 Then shalt thou understand righteousness and 00:26:58.650 --> 00:27:03.170 judgment or justice and equality every good path 00:27:03.170 --> 00:27:09.930 God's gonna do his part Remember last week let 00:27:09.930 --> 00:27:14.390 God be true and every man a liar Here's the promise 00:27:14.390 --> 00:27:18.630 of God. We sang about it today Coincidentally, 00:27:19.869 --> 00:27:23.670 no the spirit worked it out Standing on the promises. 00:27:23.769 --> 00:27:26.349 How do you stand on the promises? By doing all 00:27:26.349 --> 00:27:30.950 those ifs. You don't have a promise without the 00:27:30.950 --> 00:27:34.170 ifs. You don't have a promise without the responsibility 00:27:34.170 --> 00:27:39.609 of man. But when we are responsible before God, 00:27:40.009 --> 00:27:44.730 God does what he promised to do. Meet our every 00:27:44.730 --> 00:27:48.839 need, guide, guard, give us wisdom. Give us understanding. 00:27:49.079 --> 00:27:51.940 Take us through life. Enable us to overcome every 00:27:51.940 --> 00:27:55.980 obstacle. Give us the victory in Jesus. Amen. 00:27:58.640 --> 00:28:04.000 When we walk seriously with our God. I mean, 00:28:04.240 --> 00:28:08.680 what better, is there anything better? What better 00:28:08.680 --> 00:28:13.059 word could we be given today? All I gotta do 00:28:13.059 --> 00:28:15.759 is have the greatest time in my life following 00:28:15.759 --> 00:28:18.720 hard after God. And He's going to do all the 00:28:18.720 --> 00:28:23.680 rest. You mean all I have to do is be in the 00:28:23.680 --> 00:28:27.359 Word? Well, Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet. 00:28:27.400 --> 00:28:31.079 I love His Word. Why is that? That's easy. I 00:28:31.079 --> 00:28:35.500 have to pray? Yeah, I love to pray. I love to 00:28:35.500 --> 00:28:40.799 commune and fellowship with my God. Hopefully, 00:28:40.900 --> 00:28:43.099 I mean, it's such an encouraging word, is it 00:28:43.099 --> 00:28:48.109 not? You don't have to wonder. Life loses all 00:28:48.109 --> 00:28:52.630 of its vagueness. You're going to receive from 00:28:52.630 --> 00:28:57.069 God all of these great things. Your life is going 00:28:57.069 --> 00:29:01.309 to be meaningful. It's going to have purpose. 00:29:01.609 --> 00:29:04.410 You're going to be useful to your kids, to your 00:29:04.410 --> 00:29:09.089 wife, to your husband. When all of this stuff 00:29:09.089 --> 00:29:13.130 works together. That's what he's telling us. 00:29:14.210 --> 00:29:18.380 That's the Proverb. He's going to give us again 00:29:18.380 --> 00:29:22.119 specifics in a lot of areas as we as we continue 00:29:22.119 --> 00:29:26.640 on through the book But it's there's a reason 00:29:26.640 --> 00:29:29.440 that it starts here. It's there's a reason that 00:29:29.440 --> 00:29:33.720 Solomon put this right here in front Because 00:29:33.720 --> 00:29:37.380 this is how you do it. This is how you walk This 00:29:37.380 --> 00:29:40.180 is how you stand. This is how you resist the 00:29:40.180 --> 00:29:47.740 devil This is how you avoid sin seeking after 00:29:47.740 --> 00:29:52.599 God for all that you're worth. It's not a part 00:29:52.599 --> 00:29:56.039 -time job, folks. It's not a part -time activity. 00:29:57.839 --> 00:30:00.019 It's not something you do in this section of 00:30:00.019 --> 00:30:02.759 your life, and then when you walk out the door, 00:30:03.000 --> 00:30:05.400 you're an entirely different person out there. 00:30:06.799 --> 00:30:12.920 That's not it, is it? They call that hypocrisy. 00:30:13.099 --> 00:30:18.799 They don't call it Christian life. So at the 00:30:18.799 --> 00:30:27.019 end of it all then, in verse 10, 10 and following. 00:30:28.660 --> 00:30:32.339 When wisdom enters into your heart and knowledge 00:30:32.339 --> 00:30:36.980 is pleasant unto thy soul, discretion shall preserve 00:30:36.980 --> 00:30:41.259 thee. Understanding shall keep thee, to deliver 00:30:41.259 --> 00:30:44.839 thee from the way of the evil man, from the man 00:30:44.839 --> 00:30:54.410 that speaketh un... unwise things, foward. That's 00:30:54.410 --> 00:31:00.470 the end of it. Your problems are solved. That's 00:31:00.470 --> 00:31:04.309 it. You can do it. You can go through life. The 00:31:04.309 --> 00:31:06.589 end is better than the beginning. It's another, 00:31:06.829 --> 00:31:10.730 I think, was that a please -ee -esty? The end 00:31:10.730 --> 00:31:12.670 is better than the beginning. This, but that's 00:31:12.670 --> 00:31:15.009 not, this is really the end, the middle, and 00:31:15.009 --> 00:31:22.240 the beginning. when wisdom entereth into thine 00:31:22.240 --> 00:31:26.460 heart and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul 00:31:26.460 --> 00:31:30.279 discretion shall preserve thee understanding 00:31:30.279 --> 00:31:33.599 shall keep thee to deliver thee from the way 00:31:33.599 --> 00:31:40.279 of the evil man praise the lord praise god for 00:31:40.279 --> 00:31:43.180 his great salvation praise god for his beautiful 00:31:43.180 --> 00:31:48.269 word praise god for the privilege we have uninterrupted 00:31:48.269 --> 00:31:52.210 access to Him anytime that we want. Come into 00:31:52.210 --> 00:31:55.109 His presence with singing. Come into His presence 00:31:55.109 --> 00:31:58.970 with lamenting. Come into His presence with any 00:31:58.970 --> 00:32:04.170 type of prayer, any place, anywhere. And be assured 00:32:04.170 --> 00:32:07.309 of a hearing. You know, when the Bible says that 00:32:07.309 --> 00:32:11.329 God remembers or hears, it means He's going to 00:32:11.329 --> 00:32:15.940 take action. It's not, you know... When he's 00:32:15.940 --> 00:32:18.740 not remembering, there's no action. When he hears, 00:32:18.779 --> 00:32:20.940 if the Bible says he hears our prayers, that 00:32:20.940 --> 00:32:24.819 means he's going to answer our prayers. When 00:32:24.819 --> 00:32:27.559 he says he sees the righteous, that means he's 00:32:27.559 --> 00:32:30.980 guarding, he's with you, he's with me. It doesn't 00:32:30.980 --> 00:32:34.819 just mean he's looking and seeing. He's involved 00:32:34.819 --> 00:32:41.180 with the righteous in all areas of life. So serve 00:32:41.180 --> 00:32:44.799 him today. Put these ifs into practice. Come 00:32:44.799 --> 00:32:48.500 to knowing better. Get a closer walk in a relationship 00:32:48.500 --> 00:32:51.859 with Jesus Christ. Gain wisdom and understanding. 00:32:52.859 --> 00:32:56.420 What could be better? Right? Amen.