WEBVTT 00:00:03.370 --> 00:00:06.309 Turn with me if you will then to Proverbs once 00:00:06.309 --> 00:00:25.410 again this morning 16th chapter And we'll begin 00:00:25.410 --> 00:00:32.049 reading in verse 16 How much better is it to 00:00:32.049 --> 00:00:36.310 get wisdom than gold, and to get understanding 00:00:36.310 --> 00:00:40.829 rather than silver? The highway of the upright 00:00:40.829 --> 00:00:45.210 is to depart from evil. He that keepeth his way 00:00:45.210 --> 00:00:49.929 preserveth his soul. Pride goeth before destruction, 00:00:50.829 --> 00:00:55.409 and a haughty spirit before a fall. Better is 00:00:55.409 --> 00:00:58.409 it to be of an humble spirit with the lowly. 00:00:58.670 --> 00:01:04.049 than to divide the spoil with the proud. He that 00:01:04.049 --> 00:01:06.989 handleeth the matter wisely shall find good, 00:01:07.810 --> 00:01:11.750 and whoso trusteth in the Lord, happy is he. 00:01:13.090 --> 00:01:16.810 The wise in heart shall be called prudent, and 00:01:16.810 --> 00:01:20.170 the sweetness of the lips increaseth learning. 00:01:21.790 --> 00:01:25.269 Understanding is a wellspring of life unto him 00:01:25.269 --> 00:01:29.840 that hath it. But the instruction of fools is 00:01:29.840 --> 00:01:36.319 followed We'll stop there So again we find in 00:01:36.319 --> 00:01:41.299 the Proverbs a Hardy recommendation of the Christian 00:01:41.299 --> 00:01:47.500 life Get wisdom get understanding get knowledge 00:01:47.500 --> 00:01:53.519 Get on the highway I Just want to read this one 00:01:53.519 --> 00:02:00.780 verse here Corinthians first chapter you don't 00:02:00.780 --> 00:02:07.920 have to turn but it's a description of the work 00:02:07.920 --> 00:02:12.159 of Christ and who he works in and how he doesn't 00:02:12.159 --> 00:02:15.500 work in the wise and the mighty but but the base 00:02:15.500 --> 00:02:19.060 and the insignificant people are the ones that 00:02:19.060 --> 00:02:25.129 he calls and then in verse And he says in verse 00:02:25.129 --> 00:02:28.490 29 that this is so that no flesh should glory 00:02:28.490 --> 00:02:36.110 in his presence. But of God are ye in Christ 00:02:36.110 --> 00:02:41.069 Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, 00:02:41.990 --> 00:02:46.610 sanctification, and redemption. That, according 00:02:46.610 --> 00:02:51.289 as it is written, he that glorieth, let him glory 00:02:51.289 --> 00:02:56.610 in the Lord. So you can see, and we've been saying 00:02:56.610 --> 00:03:01.469 here, that Christ is obviously the prerequisite 00:03:01.469 --> 00:03:04.689 in all these instructions that Proverbs give 00:03:04.689 --> 00:03:09.129 us. He is all that we need. There used to be 00:03:09.129 --> 00:03:13.110 a chorus like, Jesus Christ is all I need. All 00:03:13.110 --> 00:03:18.550 I need. And that's definitely true. But what 00:03:18.550 --> 00:03:24.169 we sometimes find is that We use that as an excuse. 00:03:25.750 --> 00:03:28.069 We say, Jesus Christ is all I need, I've got 00:03:28.069 --> 00:03:35.189 it. However we want to rationalize our walk with 00:03:35.189 --> 00:03:41.030 the Lord, that's what we do. I hesitate to say, 00:03:41.069 --> 00:03:43.650 but many times I've found it to be true, we make 00:03:43.650 --> 00:03:48.210 excuses for ourselves. We know what we should 00:03:48.210 --> 00:03:52.629 be doing, but we don't. I mean, it's true in 00:03:52.629 --> 00:03:56.229 my life. So, you know, I am kind of assuming, 00:03:56.229 --> 00:03:58.550 I suppose, that it's true in all of our lives. 00:04:01.449 --> 00:04:05.310 But as I've said before, and other people as 00:04:05.310 --> 00:04:08.069 well, we have to deal honestly with ourselves. 00:04:08.750 --> 00:04:11.669 We have to be able to ask questions of ourselves. 00:04:13.169 --> 00:04:16.290 Do I really believe this verse that I'm hearing 00:04:16.290 --> 00:04:20.490 or reading? Am I really going to put this into 00:04:20.490 --> 00:04:23.220 practice? What will I have to do in order to 00:04:23.220 --> 00:04:27.000 put this into practice? Do we talk to ourselves? 00:04:27.060 --> 00:04:31.639 Do we question ourselves? That's how you apply 00:04:31.639 --> 00:04:33.959 the Word. That's how you get understanding. That's 00:04:33.959 --> 00:04:37.720 how you get wisdom. Yeah, I know. It comes from 00:04:37.720 --> 00:04:43.639 the Lord. These are not contradictory. The Lord 00:04:43.639 --> 00:04:48.040 has given us minds to reason. He expects us to 00:04:48.040 --> 00:04:53.540 use them. And He does meet us when we do use 00:04:53.540 --> 00:04:59.740 them. It's not a simple self -effort. That would 00:04:59.740 --> 00:05:03.100 be vain for us to think that we could, of ourselves, 00:05:03.199 --> 00:05:07.420 accomplish a successful Christian life. That's 00:05:07.420 --> 00:05:14.139 impossible. But when we have Christ, who is our 00:05:14.139 --> 00:05:17.360 wisdom, who is our righteousness, and we apply 00:05:17.360 --> 00:05:21.860 our minds to understand His Word, therein we 00:05:21.860 --> 00:05:27.959 find Christ. There are we to be successful. And 00:05:27.959 --> 00:05:32.079 really only there. You can slouch through the 00:05:32.079 --> 00:05:37.500 Christian life. You can. And we do at times. 00:05:38.899 --> 00:05:43.879 All of us do. And we miss the blessing. That's 00:05:43.879 --> 00:05:46.800 all. I'm not proclaiming that you can lose your 00:05:46.800 --> 00:05:49.339 salvation, but I am proclaiming that you are 00:05:49.339 --> 00:05:54.360 missing out on the great value, the great privilege 00:05:54.360 --> 00:05:59.019 of knowing and experiencing God. The more that 00:05:59.019 --> 00:06:04.879 you slouch through, the more that you miss. You 00:06:04.879 --> 00:06:07.939 miss the opportunity to grow in the grace and 00:06:07.939 --> 00:06:10.079 knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is 00:06:10.079 --> 00:06:14.269 exactly what we're commanded to do. in the scriptures. 00:06:16.209 --> 00:06:19.230 You miss out on the opportunity of serving others, 00:06:20.449 --> 00:06:22.470 of loving our neighbors, loving our brothers 00:06:22.470 --> 00:06:28.730 and sisters. It's like Jake said, Jesus Christ 00:06:28.730 --> 00:06:33.750 willingly sacrificed himself. And if you ever 00:06:33.750 --> 00:06:38.730 get a hold of that completely, let me know. But 00:06:38.730 --> 00:06:44.500 just in the very little bit of it. Christ is 00:06:44.500 --> 00:06:50.139 our what? Our example. Can we follow that example 00:06:50.139 --> 00:06:55.759 at all? Have we followed that example? Have I 00:06:55.759 --> 00:06:59.800 willingly laid down my life in any area for the 00:06:59.800 --> 00:07:05.699 good of somebody else? Or am I so focused on 00:07:05.699 --> 00:07:11.199 myself that that's all I can see? It's a legitimate 00:07:11.199 --> 00:07:13.850 question. It's one that we need to ask. probably 00:07:13.850 --> 00:07:18.430 more frequently than we do. Many times, I mean, 00:07:18.470 --> 00:07:22.449 you know, we get cross. We don't get our way. 00:07:23.069 --> 00:07:30.050 We pout. We get mad. Giving up ourselves for 00:07:30.050 --> 00:07:32.649 our husbands, for our wives, for our kids, for 00:07:32.649 --> 00:07:36.149 our brothers and sisters. We willingly do that. 00:07:36.329 --> 00:07:46.560 That therein is love. Well we've got these few 00:07:46.560 --> 00:07:51.540 verses here this morning and it's just really 00:07:51.540 --> 00:07:56.660 one admonition and after the other and it's just 00:07:56.660 --> 00:07:59.540 beautiful the way the scriptures do these things. 00:08:02.980 --> 00:08:07.439 In the New Covenant and the Proverbs may be one 00:08:07.439 --> 00:08:10.920 of the closest to the New Covenant in the Old 00:08:10.920 --> 00:08:17.750 Testament but It never comes with a hammer Never 00:08:17.750 --> 00:08:20.910 comes with it with a sledgehammer or anything 00:08:20.910 --> 00:08:26.970 to beat us or a whip It always comes with a carrot 00:08:26.970 --> 00:08:32.730 It always comes with a reward It always comes 00:08:32.730 --> 00:08:36.710 with this This is obvious folks. This is that's 00:08:36.710 --> 00:08:38.850 what that's what the what's solemnness. This 00:08:38.850 --> 00:08:44.659 is so obvious How can you miss this? Don't you 00:08:44.659 --> 00:08:48.960 want this? Don't you want to be like this? Don't 00:08:48.960 --> 00:08:53.200 you want to experience these things? Here's what 00:08:53.200 --> 00:09:00.059 you do. And he starts off with the very basic 00:09:00.059 --> 00:09:04.019 question for us in verse 16. How much better 00:09:04.019 --> 00:09:09.379 is it to get wisdom than gold and to have understanding 00:09:09.379 --> 00:09:15.080 rather than silver? Is this true for us? Do we 00:09:15.080 --> 00:09:19.879 believe that? Do we believe that these are the 00:09:19.879 --> 00:09:22.960 greatest things that we can possess in this life? 00:09:24.200 --> 00:09:28.740 That's what he's telling us. It's better than 00:09:28.740 --> 00:09:31.259 anything that you can buy with gold and silver. 00:09:31.820 --> 00:09:33.899 And you can buy anything you want if you've got 00:09:33.899 --> 00:09:41.120 enough gold and silver. It's just incomprehensible. 00:09:42.159 --> 00:09:45.899 That we would spend more time trying to acquire 00:09:45.899 --> 00:09:51.419 gold and silver Rather than what then wisdom? 00:09:52.799 --> 00:10:00.059 Understanding There's no reason for it it's um, 00:10:00.220 --> 00:10:04.240 it's in you can't You can't explain it to me. 00:10:04.240 --> 00:10:11.419 You can't explain it to yourself And on top of 00:10:11.419 --> 00:10:14.399 it all, you all know that this is what God has 00:10:14.399 --> 00:10:18.080 promised that you would attain when you seek 00:10:18.080 --> 00:10:23.019 it. When you seek after God, you will be granted 00:10:23.019 --> 00:10:25.919 wisdom and understanding. He will beat that need. 00:10:26.919 --> 00:10:31.019 He's told us to pray for it. He's told us to 00:10:31.019 --> 00:10:35.639 find it in His Word. It's not like you've got 00:10:35.639 --> 00:10:38.139 to wonder, am I going to spend all this time 00:10:38.139 --> 00:10:41.940 and just waste it? No, you already know it's 00:10:41.940 --> 00:10:46.779 a sure thing When you seek after God you find 00:10:46.779 --> 00:10:51.899 him he doesn't hide He's always right there He's 00:10:51.899 --> 00:10:54.059 always waiting to hear from you. He's always 00:10:54.059 --> 00:10:57.820 waiting for you to draw near to him What's the 00:10:57.820 --> 00:11:08.899 proud draw near to you? You lack wisdom ask You 00:11:08.899 --> 00:11:14.379 know, in the Bible, the advantages of money are 00:11:14.379 --> 00:11:20.159 not denied. There's great advantages to having 00:11:20.159 --> 00:11:29.259 money. So, how much greater is wisdom and understanding? 00:11:29.320 --> 00:11:32.980 How much greater is a full -orbed relationship 00:11:32.980 --> 00:11:36.659 with God through Jesus Christ than gold and silver 00:11:36.659 --> 00:11:55.830 or money? in verse 18 or 17 sorry the highway 00:11:55.830 --> 00:11:59.389 of the upright is to depart from evil he that 00:11:59.389 --> 00:12:06.429 keepeth his way preserveeth his soul what's more 00:12:06.429 --> 00:12:11.850 important to us than our soul what's more important 00:12:11.850 --> 00:12:18.370 what do we want to preserve says god tells us 00:12:18.370 --> 00:12:22.539 not to fear those kill the body only. They can't 00:12:22.539 --> 00:12:25.740 hurt us. You got to fear the one who killed the 00:12:25.740 --> 00:12:33.340 soul. You got to fear God. Every one of us needs 00:12:33.340 --> 00:12:36.320 to apply ourselves through the preserving of 00:12:36.320 --> 00:12:41.580 our soul. You say God's going to preserve you. 00:12:41.759 --> 00:12:45.659 Again, it's not a contradiction. How does God 00:12:45.659 --> 00:12:53.149 preserve? preserves by when we persevere. That's 00:12:53.149 --> 00:13:02.190 how he preserves. Now, the highway of the upright. 00:13:02.289 --> 00:13:04.610 We are on a highway, right? We all know that. 00:13:04.690 --> 00:13:07.690 We're on the highway. I love that description 00:13:07.690 --> 00:13:10.590 of a road. The highway. In St. Louis, there's 00:13:10.590 --> 00:13:13.429 the King's Highway. It's the name of the street. 00:13:14.860 --> 00:13:17.899 I'd like to live on the King's Highway. That'd 00:13:17.899 --> 00:13:20.700 be great, wouldn't it? So that's what it is, 00:13:20.820 --> 00:13:22.919 right? That's where we're at. That's what we're 00:13:22.919 --> 00:13:24.759 walking through. That's what we're going on. 00:13:25.279 --> 00:13:29.279 And when we're on that highway, we depart from 00:13:29.279 --> 00:13:39.120 evil. Do you know what evil is? Oh, I know what 00:13:39.120 --> 00:13:41.220 evil is. That's when somebody comes up from behind 00:13:41.220 --> 00:13:45.460 you and stabs you in the back. or shoots you 00:13:45.460 --> 00:13:50.259 or does some despicable thing to you robs you 00:13:50.259 --> 00:13:53.039 breaks into your evil evil evil there's evil 00:13:53.039 --> 00:13:56.799 all over the world yeah there definitely is there's 00:13:56.799 --> 00:14:00.120 no doubt about it is that what we should be thinking 00:14:00.120 --> 00:14:04.580 about and considering we that's not that's not 00:14:04.580 --> 00:14:09.379 it is it we may have an encounter with something 00:14:09.379 --> 00:14:14.279 like that maybe But how are we encountering evil 00:14:14.279 --> 00:14:22.840 day by day? What do you think of evil? If you 00:14:22.840 --> 00:14:25.019 come across evil, what are you supposed to do? 00:14:25.019 --> 00:14:28.659 You're supposed to get away from it, right? You're 00:14:28.659 --> 00:14:30.919 not supposed to be anywhere around where evil 00:14:30.919 --> 00:14:34.860 exists. Well, what is evil? Well, sorry to say, 00:14:34.980 --> 00:14:38.200 but evil is anything that is in opposition to 00:14:38.200 --> 00:14:43.980 God. That's a simple basic definition. That's 00:14:43.980 --> 00:14:50.340 evil. Somebody that is set up in his departure 00:14:50.340 --> 00:14:54.759 from God, his refusal to hear God, his refusal 00:14:54.759 --> 00:15:07.200 to honestly deal with God, that's evil. So again, 00:15:07.200 --> 00:15:09.399 you've got to ask yourselves, you've got to ask 00:15:09.399 --> 00:15:12.519 questions. Is there something, is there evil 00:15:12.519 --> 00:15:15.720 in my life? Am I still associating with evil? 00:15:16.940 --> 00:15:19.679 I'm on the king's highway. How can I associate 00:15:19.679 --> 00:15:25.779 with evil? Do I have a real relationship with 00:15:25.779 --> 00:15:32.539 an evil person? How's that? That might be a good 00:15:32.539 --> 00:15:35.039 thing if you're constantly sharing the gospel 00:15:35.039 --> 00:15:37.100 and telling them about Jesus Christ. That might 00:15:37.100 --> 00:15:40.090 be a wonderful thing. But it's not a wonderful 00:15:40.090 --> 00:15:42.649 thing just to sit there like he's just a he's 00:15:42.649 --> 00:15:45.889 one with you And you never say a thing about 00:15:45.889 --> 00:15:49.909 the Lord with Jesus Christ You'd never been never 00:15:49.909 --> 00:15:53.289 trying to point out his sin or her sin You're 00:15:53.289 --> 00:15:57.389 just having a good old time Well, that's that's 00:15:57.389 --> 00:16:02.090 what you're supposed to depart from So that's 00:16:02.090 --> 00:16:09.009 that's it's a personal We can't depart from Iran 00:16:09.009 --> 00:16:19.409 or Trump. We shouldn't be any way influenced 00:16:19.409 --> 00:16:23.909 by those people. But we can depart in a very 00:16:23.909 --> 00:16:27.289 real way from our personal relationships with 00:16:27.289 --> 00:16:32.830 evil. That's what the Bible is calling us to 00:16:32.830 --> 00:16:37.830 do. And that's how we're going to preserve our 00:16:37.830 --> 00:16:42.830 soul. Bad company corrupts good manners. That's 00:16:42.830 --> 00:16:46.730 true, isn't it? You believe that. Eventually 00:16:46.730 --> 00:16:50.169 it's going to get to you. Eventually it's going 00:16:50.169 --> 00:16:52.669 to knock off some of that sharp edge that you 00:16:52.669 --> 00:16:58.049 used to have for the gospel. I mean, we see that 00:16:58.049 --> 00:17:03.830 all the time, don't we? We see it in this whole... 00:17:03.440 --> 00:17:08.440 homosexual thing people this this was a dividing 00:17:08.440 --> 00:17:12.579 point for ever now all of a sudden it's it's 00:17:12.579 --> 00:17:14.660 all trying to mesh together they're trying to 00:17:14.660 --> 00:17:18.920 tell us it's all okay what happened well they 00:17:18.920 --> 00:17:22.160 just associated with evil they let it affect 00:17:22.160 --> 00:17:36.220 the way they thought 18 and 19 pride goeth before 00:17:36.220 --> 00:17:39.880 destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall 00:17:39.880 --> 00:17:42.960 Better is it to be of a humble spirit with the 00:17:42.960 --> 00:17:46.240 lowly then to divide the spoil with the proud 00:17:46.240 --> 00:17:52.339 So there we have it What's the mark of a Christian 00:17:52.339 --> 00:17:54.400 what's one of the basic marks of a Christian 00:17:54.400 --> 00:17:58.259 that we always talk about humility, right? There's 00:17:58.259 --> 00:18:01.140 no such thing as a proud Christian. There's no 00:18:01.140 --> 00:18:05.309 such thing as somebody that's all conceited and 00:18:05.309 --> 00:18:09.190 self -centered and prideful. That's not Christianity. 00:18:09.269 --> 00:18:11.450 That's not what the Spirit works within us. Now 00:18:11.450 --> 00:18:14.670 we might fall into those sins temporarily, but 00:18:14.670 --> 00:18:17.890 when we do, God is not going to leave us in those 00:18:17.890 --> 00:18:25.230 sins. And that will lead to a fall. All of that 00:18:25.230 --> 00:18:33.589 pride. Again, giving an example of pride. You 00:18:33.589 --> 00:18:36.710 know what pride is, surely, right? You know what 00:18:36.710 --> 00:18:39.630 pride is. Well, let me ask the question then. 00:18:40.029 --> 00:18:45.710 If you go through a day without praying, you 00:18:45.710 --> 00:18:49.569 do not pray. Is that prideful? Do you think that 00:18:49.569 --> 00:18:55.390 that's pride? Yes, that's pride. That's exactly 00:18:55.390 --> 00:18:59.210 what that is. You told God that whole day you 00:18:59.210 --> 00:19:02.730 didn't need Him at all. You were self -sufficient. 00:19:05.710 --> 00:19:07.849 That's pride. Is that how you think of pride? 00:19:08.609 --> 00:19:13.589 Do you get mad when people insult you? Why do 00:19:13.589 --> 00:19:16.549 you do that? When they say something bad about 00:19:16.549 --> 00:19:21.250 you? Does that start to rile you up a little 00:19:21.250 --> 00:19:27.670 bit? You resentful? That's pride. The way we 00:19:27.670 --> 00:19:30.430 should think about that is if they really knew 00:19:30.430 --> 00:19:39.200 me, they'd say a lot worse than that. i'm trying 00:19:39.200 --> 00:19:41.839 to make it personal i guess that's obvious right 00:19:41.839 --> 00:19:45.140 it doesn't do any good if we don't take it personal 00:19:45.140 --> 00:19:49.500 the scripture has got to be personally understood 00:19:49.500 --> 00:19:58.180 it's got to be received by us where we are that's 00:19:58.180 --> 00:20:01.339 how we get understanding that's how we get wisdom 00:20:01.339 --> 00:20:06.160 what would your wife or your husband say if he 00:20:06.160 --> 00:20:09.089 went through all day and you didn't pay a bit 00:20:09.089 --> 00:20:11.109 of attention to them you didn't listen to what 00:20:11.109 --> 00:20:13.390 they were saying you didn't talk to them you 00:20:13.390 --> 00:20:15.509 didn't what would that would that be something 00:20:15.509 --> 00:20:20.089 oh well no that wouldn't be a well that'd be 00:20:20.089 --> 00:20:24.690 a big deal right it should be but that's the 00:20:24.690 --> 00:20:28.069 same that's the same thing we're talking about 00:20:28.069 --> 00:20:34.029 only it's worse because it's an offense to god 00:20:34.029 --> 00:20:40.170 and it sure Pride will surely destroy us. It's 00:20:40.170 --> 00:20:45.930 left to itself. That's what it says. Remember 00:20:45.930 --> 00:20:49.529 Pilgrim, the Christian, the Pilgrim's Progress? 00:20:50.769 --> 00:20:54.650 Christian? He had a terrible time in the Valley 00:20:54.650 --> 00:20:59.029 of Humiliation. And he went down into the valley. 00:20:59.170 --> 00:21:02.910 He didn't like it. But Christian loved her. I 00:21:02.910 --> 00:21:06.920 mean, Faithful loved him. Because he was already 00:21:06.920 --> 00:21:10.079 down. He already had the right opinion of himself 00:21:10.079 --> 00:21:13.960 He wasn't getting chopped down. He wasn't getting 00:21:13.960 --> 00:21:17.700 worked over like Christian Because he was already 00:21:17.700 --> 00:21:21.240 at the right place and he could peacefully walk 00:21:21.240 --> 00:21:25.559 through the valley of humiliation And he just 00:21:25.559 --> 00:21:29.779 enjoyed all the sights That's what we're shooting 00:21:29.779 --> 00:21:37.779 for folks. That's what it says here Better is 00:21:37.779 --> 00:21:43.019 it to be of a humble spirit with the lowly. Again, 00:21:44.299 --> 00:21:47.079 watch who you associate yourself with. Somebody 00:21:47.079 --> 00:21:51.299 that's... I had a friend, well we all knew him, 00:21:51.359 --> 00:21:55.500 I mean he could keep you humble. He knew how 00:21:55.500 --> 00:21:59.500 to keep you humble, he'd get right on you. And 00:21:59.500 --> 00:22:05.140 you could do the same with him. That's a good 00:22:05.140 --> 00:22:09.329 sword. A lot of people just got aggravated at 00:22:09.329 --> 00:22:14.349 him or whatever, but he really was performing 00:22:14.349 --> 00:22:24.769 a useful service if you could receive it. All 00:22:24.769 --> 00:22:28.109 right then, verse 20. He that handleeth a matter 00:22:28.109 --> 00:22:32.490 wisely shall find good. And whoso trustseth in 00:22:32.490 --> 00:22:39.299 the Lord, happy is he. Those who listen to the 00:22:39.299 --> 00:22:45.160 Lord's instruction prosper. Those who trust in 00:22:45.160 --> 00:22:52.079 the Lord are blessed. Another alternate. Those 00:22:52.079 --> 00:22:55.720 who listen to the instructions of the Lord prosper. 00:22:57.000 --> 00:23:02.799 Because we trust in the Lord, we are happy. Those 00:23:02.799 --> 00:23:05.640 are all true. Those are all wonderful sayings. 00:23:07.559 --> 00:23:10.660 You can't go wrong, can you? You can't go wrong 00:23:10.660 --> 00:23:14.559 with this frame of mind, with this way of thinking. 00:23:17.259 --> 00:23:23.319 You want to prosper? You want to find good? Listen 00:23:23.319 --> 00:23:27.920 to the Lord and do it His way. That's wisdom. 00:23:27.980 --> 00:23:33.059 That's handling it wisely. And then when you're 00:23:33.059 --> 00:23:36.539 going, you're trusting. As you're putting into 00:23:36.539 --> 00:23:39.759 practice living the way that the Lord has instructed 00:23:39.759 --> 00:23:42.819 us to live, you're trusting the Lord to make 00:23:42.819 --> 00:23:49.140 it all good, to grow me up, to prosper me, to 00:23:49.140 --> 00:23:51.859 make me more like Christ than I was the day before, 00:23:52.200 --> 00:23:55.059 however it applies, whatever it is. We're trusting 00:23:55.059 --> 00:23:57.660 the Lord and He's going to be, you're going to 00:23:57.660 --> 00:24:02.339 be happy because He's going to bless you. Listen 00:24:02.339 --> 00:24:06.099 and luxuriate, that's what I wrote. Listen and 00:24:06.099 --> 00:24:09.099 luxuriate. Luxuriate. That's what we're talking 00:24:09.099 --> 00:24:13.880 about. This abundant life, this great wonderful 00:24:13.880 --> 00:24:17.200 relationship with Jesus Christ. It's a luxury. 00:24:17.640 --> 00:24:21.680 It's luxury personified when you listen to the 00:24:21.680 --> 00:24:26.799 Lord. It's not a fool's errand. It's a luxury. 00:24:28.519 --> 00:24:33.140 Your life is going to be happy. Believe and be 00:24:33.140 --> 00:24:37.750 blessed. Listen and luxuriate. Believe and be 00:24:37.750 --> 00:24:40.190 blessed. That's what the Proverbs is saying. 00:24:43.250 --> 00:24:46.690 Do things the way the Lord decides to do it. 00:24:46.990 --> 00:24:52.910 Do it His way. Seek Him first. Don't wait till 00:24:52.910 --> 00:24:55.829 you get in trouble and then say, I need help 00:24:55.829 --> 00:24:58.210 to get out of this mess that I made for myself. 00:24:59.410 --> 00:25:02.190 He'll get you out of it alright, but you went 00:25:02.190 --> 00:25:05.970 through a lot of stuff for nothing. Seek him 00:25:05.970 --> 00:25:17.970 first In verse 21 then the wise in heart shall 00:25:17.970 --> 00:25:21.589 be called prudent and the sweetness of the lips 00:25:21.589 --> 00:25:25.730 Increases learning this is so important. This 00:25:25.730 --> 00:25:32.109 is so much for everybody everybody That in any 00:25:32.109 --> 00:25:35.890 way tries to teach somebody else And we all do 00:25:35.890 --> 00:25:38.289 at some point. Some people do it a lot more than 00:25:38.289 --> 00:25:47.230 others. But, everybody does it. The wise heart 00:25:47.230 --> 00:25:51.730 shall be called prudent or discerning. You can 00:25:51.730 --> 00:25:56.970 discern things. If you're wise, you have discernment. 00:25:57.410 --> 00:26:03.289 You're prudent. A wise heart is a discerning 00:26:03.289 --> 00:26:06.420 heart. In other words... Truth from error, right 00:26:06.420 --> 00:26:10.740 from wrong. You can discern these things. And 00:26:10.740 --> 00:26:14.039 you have an interest then, or perhaps you have 00:26:14.039 --> 00:26:18.980 a responsibility, in instructing others in these 00:26:18.980 --> 00:26:25.160 same matters. What does it say about that? Well, 00:26:25.259 --> 00:26:34.250 it says that the sweetness of the lips increase 00:26:34.250 --> 00:26:38.329 of learning I don't know what you have you might 00:26:38.329 --> 00:26:43.849 have what pleasant words you might have that 00:26:43.849 --> 00:26:50.109 in your bottles pleasant words promote instruction 00:26:50.109 --> 00:26:55.230 sweetness kindness how we say something matters 00:26:55.230 --> 00:27:01.519 that's what it amounts to how you use The wisdom 00:27:01.519 --> 00:27:08.160 that you have to instruct others matters. And 00:27:08.160 --> 00:27:13.180 the Bible's telling us here that the kindest, 00:27:14.079 --> 00:27:17.339 most loving way of expression is the best way. 00:27:19.779 --> 00:27:23.079 And that sometimes takes a lot of grace and a 00:27:23.079 --> 00:27:28.000 lot of thought and a lot of restraining our flesh 00:27:28.000 --> 00:27:31.750 to accomplish that goal. If you're trying to 00:27:31.750 --> 00:27:35.069 teach your kids, this is important. You're going 00:27:35.069 --> 00:27:39.430 to have to do it with pleasant words. You're 00:27:39.430 --> 00:27:41.730 going to have to make it so they can understand 00:27:41.730 --> 00:27:45.029 it. You're going to have to make it so that they 00:27:45.029 --> 00:27:50.450 know that this is in their best interest. You're 00:27:50.450 --> 00:27:52.890 not going to do it with threats. You're not going 00:27:52.890 --> 00:27:56.329 to do it with losing your temper. You're going 00:27:56.329 --> 00:28:00.150 to do it with kindness and loving, consistent 00:28:01.190 --> 00:28:04.710 Discipline. Discipline is a great word. It's 00:28:04.710 --> 00:28:07.150 what we all need. It's what we all want, or we 00:28:07.150 --> 00:28:11.029 should anyway. We want the Lord to discipline 00:28:11.029 --> 00:28:15.609 us. We want that instruction in our life. But 00:28:15.609 --> 00:28:21.630 how we give it out matters. Surely you've all 00:28:21.630 --> 00:28:24.410 had experiences with a good teacher and a bad 00:28:24.410 --> 00:28:30.369 teacher. Preachers are... This is so important 00:28:30.369 --> 00:28:32.329 to somebody that's going to teach the word. If 00:28:32.329 --> 00:28:35.789 it's in a Sunday school class or up here or however 00:28:35.789 --> 00:28:40.269 it is, wherever it is. The way we say something 00:28:40.269 --> 00:28:42.829 is critically important to getting the point 00:28:42.829 --> 00:28:46.150 across. I'm not saying that you don't tell the 00:28:46.150 --> 00:28:49.490 truth, you always tell the truth. But there's 00:28:49.490 --> 00:28:54.769 always a myriad of ways of expressing it. And 00:28:54.769 --> 00:28:58.029 the kinder, most loving way is more likely to 00:28:58.029 --> 00:29:02.509 be successful in what you're trying to accomplish. 00:29:04.430 --> 00:29:08.509 That's what the Bible says. I just read it to 00:29:08.509 --> 00:29:17.069 you. So, let's be mindful of this. Husbands, 00:29:17.589 --> 00:29:23.779 when you try to instruct your wives. Parents 00:29:23.779 --> 00:29:28.920 and their children. When you have to go to some 00:29:28.920 --> 00:29:33.660 adult and try to help them and give them some 00:29:33.660 --> 00:29:40.200 good advice. It's constant. This is applicable 00:29:40.200 --> 00:29:45.240 throughout our lives. That we speak the truth 00:29:45.240 --> 00:30:00.019 in love. We're going to do this 23 of it, 22. 00:30:02.059 --> 00:30:05.359 Understanding is a wellspring of life unto him 00:30:05.359 --> 00:30:09.279 that hath it, but the instruction of fools is 00:30:09.279 --> 00:30:13.839 followed. The Bible always makes a big deal out 00:30:13.839 --> 00:30:16.900 of an abundance of water, probably because it 00:30:16.900 --> 00:30:21.019 was in desert lands, dry lands. So if you had 00:30:21.019 --> 00:30:24.480 a well of water, you had a good thing there. 00:30:25.279 --> 00:30:29.779 real possibility of flourishing in your life. 00:30:30.980 --> 00:30:34.460 And so he's making this comparison of understanding 00:30:34.460 --> 00:30:38.019 is a wellspring of life unto him that hath it. 00:30:38.900 --> 00:30:43.599 So get understanding. Let the well spring forth. 00:30:45.200 --> 00:30:53.150 Let it enrich your life. You can know the importance 00:30:53.150 --> 00:30:55.369 of it just by the opposite of it. If you don't 00:30:55.369 --> 00:30:58.970 have any water, you got big trouble. If you don't 00:30:58.970 --> 00:31:01.589 have a well spring of water, you got problems. 00:31:02.829 --> 00:31:06.230 If you do, you don't. It's the same with understanding. 00:31:07.009 --> 00:31:09.769 If you can't understand a thing, you got problems. 00:31:10.990 --> 00:31:13.309 As soon as you understand something, the problem 00:31:13.309 --> 00:31:17.369 is over. Then you go around, you go about correcting 00:31:17.369 --> 00:31:21.690 it, changing it, fixing it. Whatever it is, understanding 00:31:21.690 --> 00:31:26.029 is a life -enriching thing. And it doesn't come 00:31:26.029 --> 00:31:29.269 without application to it. It doesn't come without 00:31:29.269 --> 00:31:31.890 work. It doesn't come without study, reading, 00:31:32.369 --> 00:31:35.549 putting into practice that which you know, gaining 00:31:35.549 --> 00:31:43.009 understanding. It's a wellspring of life. Conversely, 00:31:44.490 --> 00:31:49.980 the instruction of fools is folly. So remember 00:31:49.980 --> 00:31:54.480 that as well. I don't think we've got any fools 00:31:54.480 --> 00:32:00.500 here. But I'm sure we all come across it in our 00:32:00.500 --> 00:32:03.359 daily lives. People that don't know the Lord. 00:32:04.180 --> 00:32:08.000 People that have no interest in the Lord. People 00:32:08.000 --> 00:32:12.920 that claim to be wise but are fools. Don't be 00:32:12.920 --> 00:32:17.220 deceived. Don't be easily tricked. It's folly. 00:32:17.299 --> 00:32:21.240 It's empty. Their advice is worthless. Their 00:32:21.240 --> 00:32:26.240 teaching is worthless. Anytime they contradict 00:32:26.240 --> 00:32:30.220 the word, forget it. Don't care who he is, who 00:32:30.220 --> 00:32:36.019 she is. Doesn't matter. Anybody that tells you 00:32:36.019 --> 00:32:39.259 corporal punishment is unnecessary, that's not 00:32:39.259 --> 00:32:44.240 good advice. That's in direct conflict with the 00:32:44.240 --> 00:32:58.779 word. So you decide. So as you can see these 00:32:58.779 --> 00:33:01.880 proverbs that we've looked at today they're extremely 00:33:01.880 --> 00:33:07.420 practical and like they're all They all require 00:33:07.420 --> 00:33:09.720 effort on our part. There's no doubt of that 00:33:09.720 --> 00:33:13.660 But they all carry a wonderful reward. They all 00:33:13.660 --> 00:33:16.799 carry a great promise They are all carrying the 00:33:16.799 --> 00:33:21.319 blessings of God unto us This is how you have 00:33:21.319 --> 00:33:25.319 a relationship with me the Lord says And I will 00:33:25.319 --> 00:33:29.859 repay you abundantly. You're going to be blessed. 00:33:29.940 --> 00:33:33.039 You're going to be happy. You're going to prosper. 00:33:34.579 --> 00:33:37.559 Why? Because your life is going to glorify God. 00:33:38.539 --> 00:33:40.900 And on the road to glorifying God, you're going 00:33:40.900 --> 00:33:48.140 to be enjoying God in your life. Or you can just 00:33:48.140 --> 00:33:53.220 go on and slip -shot through life. Every now 00:33:53.220 --> 00:33:55.160 and then you have a little bit of an encounter 00:33:55.160 --> 00:33:57.460 with God and you think you're satisfied with 00:33:57.460 --> 00:34:04.779 that That's not luxury that's not luxuriated 00:34:04.779 --> 00:34:10.980 So wallow in the luxury of the Lord like he would 00:34:10.980 --> 00:34:17.539 have us to do be happy in him seek him Seek him 00:34:17.539 --> 00:34:22.679 in his word seek him in prayer Seek them in your 00:34:22.679 --> 00:34:27.079 relationships and in your evangelistic efforts. 00:34:28.019 --> 00:34:31.860 It's a happy life. It's a blessed life. It's 00:34:31.860 --> 00:34:37.360 a life God has for all who will. Amen.