A Relationship With God

Wisdom Keeps Us In Right Relationships

Proverbs 8-10


The word relationship actually means the state of being relative to someone or something else.

The word relationship can also mean, not existing by itself such as belonging to someone else and or depending on someone else.

Most of this world denies a Supreme Being, A Creator of our world and God says they are fools who have no excuse for what they say they believe.

Rom 1:19  Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
Rom 1:20  For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

The fact remains that God wants a close and personal relationship with each of us!

It is only through the wisdom of God that we can have a "right" relationship with our Creator and our God!

God may operate in realms far beyond what we can comprehend but He longs for us to explore and personally experience things that are not obvious to us in this world He made.

It does not require some unique ability or some great intellect to search the things of God, we just need to listen to His Words!

When we come under Holy Ghost conviction, God is then speaking to us about what He is about to do and it is always our invitation to adjust our lives to His will and not our own will.

This is where our "Faith" will be demonstrated by our actions!

For the foolish to become wise we must listen to the instructions in the Word of God!

1) Wise people will have that reverent fear of the Lord.

2) Wise people will associate with others who have a reverent fear of the Lord.

3) Wise people will be good stewards of the things that God as provided, especially our "faith".

4) Wise people will "flee" from sin!

5) Wise people will seek to influence others to trust the Lord with God's truths!

6) Wise people will understand the love of God and show that love to all others!

*****Pro 8:5  O ye simple, understand wisdom: and, ye fools, be ye of an understanding heart.
Pro 8:6  Hear; for I will speak of excellent things; and the opening of my lips shall be right things.
Pro 8:7  For my mouth shall speak truth; and wickedness is an abomination to my lips.

Truth is conforming to the facts and/or reality!

The Bible does not just contain the Word of God, the Bible "is the Word of God"!

Wisdom is then personified in the Lord Jesus Christ!

Therefore wickedness is anything that does not conform to the Word of God!

It does not matter what the wisdom of this world teaches, you will find that the Word of God is always the truth!

Rom 3:3  For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?
Rom 3:4  God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.

God's truth will still be standing as we see this world fall into more wickedness!

2Ti 3:12  Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
2Ti 3:13  But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.

Wickedness is contrary to the truth, therefore false lips are an abomination in the sight of God!

Righteousness comes by the Word of God!

*****Pro 8:8  All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing froward or perverse in them.
Pro 8:9  They are all plain to him that understandeth, and right to them that find knowledge.

Without righteousness there is no eternal life!

We already know that our own righteousness is as filthy rags.

Isa 64:6  But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

Rom 7:18  For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.

Without the righteousness of the Lord we can never make it into God's Heaven!

Rom 5:21  That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.

Jesus Christ is not Allah's servant, Jesus Christ is God and the only way to Heaven!

Joh 14:6  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Joh 14:7  If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

There is nothing perverse about saying Jesus Christ is God for He himself said He was!

If you have seen the Lord Jesus then you have seen the Father!

I have not yet seen Him with my own eyes, but I know that day is coming!

These words of God are very plain to all those that have understanding!

All those that listen and accept the words of "Wisdom" find the Word of God to be simple and to the point!

The Word of God will form an even path to righteousness and then Heaven, without any means to stumble along the way!

Remember "discernment" also comes from "Wisdom" and we will make the right choices most of the time.

None of us are perfect and will not be, until we meet the Lord in the air but the Lord is always extending His arm of strength to overcome life's miseries.

The "Wisdom" of God is the most valuable commodity in our universe!

*****Pro 8:10  Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold.
Pro 8:11  For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it.

Knowledge must be "received" by way of instruction!

Instruction is necessary, because it does not come naturally!

God gave us the Scriptures for the purpose of teaching:

2Ti 3:16  All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
2Ti 3:17  That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

Teaching the Word of God is the answer to false doctrine.

Teaching the Word of God produces love among believers.

Teaching the Word of God provides nourishment to the Church!

1Ti 4:6  If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained.

Teaching the Word of God provides a proper focus on life!

1Ti 6:17  Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;
1Ti 6:18  That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate;
1Ti 6:19  Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.

Teaching the Word of God makes disciples.

2Ti 2:2  And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.

There is nothing in this world that can compare to the Wisdom of God!

It is the Word of God that shows us what life is all about!

*****Pro 9:6  Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding.

God gives us the ability to choose and why would we not choose life rather than death?

Deu 30:19  I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:

To choose life over death, is to choose the way of "understanding" instead of the way of fools!

The world teaches just the opposite!

The world calls a man a fool if they do not make the things of this life their desire.

Our world is failing because mankind is in pursuit of worldly riches and worldly honors and ignoring the true riches of the knowledge of a Holy God!

Mat 6:19  Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
Mat 6:20  But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
Mat 6:21  For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Life is all about choices and true wisdom is in the Lord Jesus Christ!

*****Pro 9:7  He that reproveth a scorner getteth to himself shame: and he that rebuketh a wicked man getteth himself a blot.
Pro 9:8  Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee.
Pro 9:9  Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.

Reproofs are a means of correction and making things right if properly used. Reproofs can be like sharp knives, needful and useful, but should not be in the hands of children.

Reproofs are wasted on a scorner!

A scorner is someone who hates anyone who is trying to rebuke them!

We see this today on our college campuses and in the many movements going through our nation today.

To be quiet honest, we have a president who absolutely hates to be rebuked for the things he does and says!

Scorners harden to any attempt to convict their actions!

A man of true wisdom welcomes and is thankful for godly correction!

A scorner will magnify himself above all those that disagree with him!

There are some people beyond the reach of constructive criticism and it is worse than a waste of time to try to improve their ways!

A scorner in the midst of his followers, seems to have power but get them alone and they are meek individuals!

A wicked man will only see someone trying to help them as their enemy because they do not see themselves as being guilty!

What did Jesus teach of these things?

Mat 7:6  Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.

A man of true wisdom is just the opposite, he will cherish those who are only trying to help him.

What is the truth?

Godly wisdom promises life, but is silent about enjoyment!

Those that ignore the Word of God offer much enjoyment but are silent on the death that is sure to come!

*****Pro 9:10  The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.

We already know that the fear of the Lord is the whole duty of all mankind!

Even as Christians that know the love of God, we are still to honor a reverent fear of the Lord.

Php 2:12  Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
Php 2:13  For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

It is not so much our own pleasure that is important, as realizing the things we do that will bring joy to the eyes of God!

Those who fear the Lord are blessed!

Psa 112:1  Praise ye the LORD. Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD, that delighteth greatly in his commandments.

Those who fear the Lord enjoy God's goodness!

Psa 34:9  O fear the LORD, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him.

Those that fear the Lord enjoy God's provisions and the reality of God promises!

Psa 111:5  He hath given meat unto them that fear him: he will ever be mindful of his covenant.

It is only by the Lord Jesus Christ that life has any real meaning!

*****Pro 9:11  For by me thy days shall be multiplied, and the years of thy life shall be increased.

Patience, calmness, moderation, freedom from the mind altering substances of this world, and control of our appetites, will in most every case add days to our lives.

Wisdom in the human life, is to use the enjoyments of this world so that they themselves do not shorten our time to enjoy them!

The fear of the Lord is to hate every evil thing!

The knowledge of the Holy is understanding all the things that can cause us harm!

There is true wisdom in living the Christian life!

As Christians we are prepared to go home to Heaven at any moment and at the same time we would live as long as possible in order to serve the Lord in this life!

As Christians we know that the longest life we live on earth is but a blink of the eye in the eternity of God's Heaven!

In the world we see that mankind has the tendency to destroy themselves!

There is very little wisdom in self-destruction!

Men may be wise in all the things of this world but have no real wisdom for themselves.

This is not God's way!

Without the wisdom, that comes from a reverent fear of the Lord, life is meaningless!

*****Pro 10:6  Blessings are upon the head of the just: but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked.

To be justified is to have already received the gift of God's "Grace".

Rom 3:24  Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:

Through justification we can have a personal relationship with God!

"Blessings" as used in this verse means "prosperity".

"Prosperity" is the good and desirable things of a godly life!

Those that are wicked are all those that reject the Word of God.

Have you ever noticed that when a wicked man gets caught, the first thing they say is they want a lawyer because they know if they open their mouths their wickedness will be exposed.

Those that are wicked are always damaged by the things they say!

The wicked man's ways will turn out to be his shame, when his body is in the grave and his name is spoken in contempt.

Psa 7:16  His mischief shall return upon his own head, and his violent dealing shall come down upon his own pate.

*****Pro 10:7  The memory of the just is blessed: but the name of the wicked shall rot.

There is coming the day when we will all cease to live and be nothing but a memory!

Heb 9:27  And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

Most all of us would like to be remembered in a good way after we have left this world!

The true good man will strive to honor God first with his life but most all men want to be remembered as being a good man or at least good at what they accomplished while they lived.

The truth is, we will never hear what those say about us after our death, good or bad!

It is in our best interest to honor the Word of God because we will certainly hear His words after our death!

These are the words we should all desire of the Lord:

Mat 25:23  His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

A good reputation comes by proper motives and by proper means.

To be justified by God before our death and it show in our life, is a much greater reward in this life!

Life on this earth is very short as compared to eternal life but everyone will leave behind some memory in this world!

We should all strive to make that memory a good one and to be called a Christian and it be the truth, by those you leave behind, is as good as it gets.

In most cases those that lived wicked lives, will continue to live on in their children.

Wicked men are never content to travel on the road to Hell alone. This is Satan's greatest act upon the people that God has made!

It is Satan's desire to take as many of God's children with him as he can and he instills that in all his followers!

Psa 34:16  The face of the LORD is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.

*****Pro 10:8  The wise in heart will receive commandments: but a prating fool shall fall.

The truth of our world is that the wise will accept advise but fools only give advise! If you do not believe this just watch any news channel and see it displayed daily!

The results of true wisdom is that it receives rather than gives!

The wise heart will long for and live for the Word of God!

Mat 5:6  Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

Prating, suggest idle talk or babble, add that to a fool who is an idiot, destitute of understanding and you have a self-conceited human being who will never accept the truth of God and will certainly fall into the depths of Hell.

Pro 29:1  He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.

*****Pro 10:9  He that walketh uprightly walketh surely: but he that perverteth his ways shall be known.

Walking represents our daily lifestyle.

Uprightly means "in perfection" or as close as we can to being perfect and means "with integrity"!

When we are sincere and pure in all the things we do, it will not go unnoticed.

Those that are upright are always on firm ground and he builds on safe and solid principles.

To walk upright is to be secure in your salvation and walk with others who are also upright and secure in their own walk.

Isa 26:7  The way of the just is uprightness: thou, most upright, dost weigh the path of the just.

The Lord Jesus is the only righteous one to have ever walked on this earth and to walk uprightly is to walk with the Lord!

We can only be justified by faith in the Lord so the closer we walk with the Lord the better life will be now and forever!

Those that pervert the Word of God will be exposed and punished and put to open shame!

Those that pervert all the laws and who's sin are so great, they will receive instant condemnation from all.

Those that are perverts reject all truth!

*****Pro 10:10  He that winketh with the eye causeth sorrow: but a prating fool shall fall.

To wink in the Bible is always associated with sin!

Pro 6:12  A naughty person, a wicked man, walketh with a froward mouth.
Pro 6:13  He winketh with his eyes, he speaketh with his feet, he teacheth with his fingers;
Pro 6:14  Frowardness is in his heart, he deviseth mischief continually; he soweth discord.

To cause sorrow means to cause pain and I don't know of anyone that can say they love pain!

Sorrow always comes with sin and is part of sins punishment.

The Lord Jesus felt all our sorrows when He took all our sin upon Himself on Mount Calvary!

Isa 53:3  He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Jesus Christ took our shame and our sorrows along with our sin and nailed them to His cross because we were unable to do this and live!

Now we can rejoice in our own sorrows!

2Co 6:10  As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.

Again a babbling fool is incapable of understanding the beauty of the Cross!

*****Pro 10:11  The mouth of a righteous man is a well of life: but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked.

Those that have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ are like a well of life:

Joh 4:14  But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

Anyone who denies the Lord Jesus Christ is a waterless well, dry all the way to the bottom, enticing from a distance but all hope is lost upon arrival.

You can only tell the good well by it's flow and a good well will flow for the benefit of all others!

There are some wells that are not empty but are still useless because they are filled with bitter water. This is the path of the modern day church, the last of the church ages and some of these even contain stagnant water!

The mouth of the wicked can only speak of violence!

Joh 8:44  Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

*****Pro 10:12  Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins.

Hatred is inconsistent with the knowledge of God!

1Jn 4:20  If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
1Jn 4:21  And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.

Love on the other hand is the greatest attribute of God!

1Jn 4:16  And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.

Love is the perfection of God's divine nature!

God's love is not an emotional impulse but is truly a rational and voluntary affection for those of faith and grounded in truth and holiness and comes because God has chosen to be this wonderful thing called love.

Even though we are worthless sinners we can still have the perfect love of God!

It was love that went to the cross!

It is love that covers all sin!

1Pe 4:7  But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.
1Pe 4:8  And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.

Questions!

Let's Pray!

Wisdom To Avoid Disaster

Wisdom Helps Us Avoid Disaster

Proverbs 5-7


A "disaster" is a sudden calamity, an unfortunate event we witness in our lives.

A disaster can come suddenly in our lives and many times it will break us and we will see no way out.

Pro 6:15  Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; suddenly shall he be broken without remedy.

It is in our best interest to not be the cause of our own disaster!

Sin will always lead to disaster!

The best way to avoid a disaster in our lives is to attend to the wisdom of the Lord!

The only way to overcome a disastrous life is to attend to the wisdom of the Lord!

*****Pro 5:1  My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding:
Pro 5:2  That thou mayest regard discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge.

That word "attend" means to "prick up your ears" or "pay attention to what is said".

When God says to listen to His advice, then that advice must be very important!

We already know that wisdom is the proper use of knowledge.

Wisdom is as much about discernment and choices, as it is righteousness.

God has given us all the freedom to choose and no one teaches us the right way to choose better than Joshua.

Jos 24:15  And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: "but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD".

When we choose right, we have a better chance of avoiding the disasters of life!

When we choose the Lord Jesus Christ to be our Savior, we have chosen the best of God's wisdom and knowledge!

Col 2:2  That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ;
Col 2:3  In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are in Christ Jesus!

When we have chosen Christ Jesus, then we can have the ability in regard to discretion.

To regard is to establish in our minds the things that are important and things that are in our best interest and disregard all evil thoughts!

When our lips keep knowledge then we are able to speak of things worthy to be known by others!

We are not all chosen to be preachers, but we are all chosen to be messengers of God and to witness for the Lord Jesus Christ.

2Co 5:20  Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.

As ambassadors for Christ our lips should also keep the knowledge of salvation!

Mal 2:7  For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts.

But the lips of those foreign to Christ, will always bring disaster!

*****Pro 5:3  For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil:
Pro 5:4  But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword.

The strange woman appears some 10 times in the Book of Proverbs.

It seems she is a foreign woman but the emphasis is on the fact that she has not been taught the Word of God,

She is also called the "foolish woman" and is in "typology" foolish as compared to wisdom!

In reality an adulteress is someone who does not regard family bonds or relationships to be important.

Those "lips" will speak words more enticing than a dripping honeycomb, in other words, she will flatter you with her conversation!

Flattering words are words of enticement and their intent is to cause us to sin!

Those words "smoother than oil" also describe treachery, especially the treachery of a false friend.

Wormwood is a plant with a bitter and nauseous taste and can be considered "poison" in reality and in meaning.

The thought behind the "two-edged sword" is a cutting that cuts much more than a sword with a single edge!

To fall into the trap of this adulteress, will leave you with self-condemnation, anger, anguish of heart, and destructive judgement.

*****Pro 5:5  Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.
Pro 5:6  Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them.

Just a an adulteress will lead to destruction of  at least two families, false religion will lead those that follow it down to death and hell!

Pro 2:18  For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead.

Pro 7:27  Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death.

Pro 9:18  But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell.

She will lead her victims to ruin!

To be led by false religion, is to ignore the wisdom of God!

Just as the adulteress offers the man the luxury of sensual joy without responsibility and commitment, so do the words of all false religion!

Her ways are movable, you will never know where she really stands on the issues of life.

Those who do not trust in the Lord, believe that life is just a game in which the rules are constantly changing and nothing spoils a good game more than those that take life to seriously!

God does not take all the fun out of life, God does certainly teach us to avoid destruction!

It is the intent of these Proverbs is to teach us to look ahead to see where our actions will take us before we fall into sins traps.

Sexual sin will most always lead to destruction of the body, the destruction of the family, and the destruction of the soul.

The world thinks they can violate God's Laws and avoid the consequences of sin but violating God's Laws can only lead to death and destruction!

We must have a clear understanding of the Word of God!

*****Pro 5:7  Hear me now therefore, O ye children, and depart not from the words of my mouth.

Children includes both male and females.

The male child of God is not to partake of the adulteress and the female child of God is not to become an adulteress!

These things can only take place by keeping the Word of God!

Heb 12:25  See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven:

The only workable method to avoid sin is to steer clear of it!

*****Pro 5:8  Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house:

When we trust in the Lord we trust in the promises that He has made, knowing that Christ has never broken a promise.

Temptation also includes hopeful promises, other wise, people could never be caught in the Devil's snares.

These are promises that are never kept.

Sin has no mercy but God is full of mercy and grace!

Removing our way means, to remove this thing from the thoughts of our mind, from the conversations of our lips and most important the path that we take!

We already know that the "fear of the Lord" is the beginning of wisdom, but "the fear of the Lord" is to also hate evil!

Pro 8:13  The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.

This includes, evil thoughts, evil words, evil actions, evil company, evil worship, and all evil doctrine!

We must call sin what it is, Sin Is Death, and this death is the eternal separation from God!

We must avoid it, we must remove our way from it and we certainly must not come close to sins door.

This is where we were at, before we knew the Lord!

What will happen if we do?

*****Pro 5:9  Lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel:
Pro 5:10  Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth; and thy labours be in the house of a stranger;
Pro 5:11  And thou mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed,
Pro 5:12  And say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof;
Pro 5:13  And have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me!

There are reasons we should strive to avoid sin while we are still young.

That word honor as used here, is not as much about reputation as it is about extending our years of tender youth.

Sometimes while we are still young, we do not realize how valuable those years are. Most of us who have aged will always say to the young to stay that way as long as possible.

This means to avoid the harlot and avoid lose morals and to avoid sin.

To just give those years away by some ever regretful sin to someone who is determined to end your days of innocence, will always bring bad memories and most of the time will completely change your outlook on life.

This is a cruel world we live in, stay innocent as long as you can because this world has no love for it's youth!

Most of our youth have very few riches or wealth except for their innocence and energy, and to give these things up before they have reached a more mature age, will only make them slaves to their mistakes.

A life of impurity will only transfer innocence and energy into the hands of those who have no real concern for them.

Very few of us look back on our lives without realizing our foolishness in the days of our youth that have caused us so many problems as we have grown older.

Many of the reasons we suffer as we grow old are because of the things we did while we were young!

Most all of us will say, "if I had just listened to my parents or even my grandparents my life could have been so much better".

In fact many of our youth today end their lives while they are still so young because they see no remedy for the mistakes they have already made so early in life.

They will say "if I had only listened to those who were trying to teach me the truth"!

*****Pro 5:14  I was almost in all evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly.

We should all have a clear understanding of the truth!

God in His "grace" will forgive us of our sins but God in His "truth" will still see that we reap what we have sown!

We can confess our sin, even be disciplined, and forgiven, but the innocence and the energy of our youth cannot ever be restored!

Far better it is to save ourselves until we can find that true love of our life and that is first to be the Lord Jesus Christ!

*****Pro 5:15  Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well.
Pro 5:16  Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad, and rivers of waters in the streets.
Pro 5:17  Let them be only thine own, and not strangers' with thee.
Pro 5:18  Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth.
Pro 5:19  Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love.

A cistern is a natural place that contains clean water. Running water represents clean, refreshing water.

When we are hot and thirsty, a drink of refreshing cool water is very satisfying.

When we have saved ourselves till we have met that true love, we will find that we can also find that special one to be satisfying refreshment sexually and affectionately!

Sexual sin is like drinking water from a sewer.

We can drink from the water of life, "The Lord Jesus Christ" or we can drink of the polluted water of this world.

Rev 21:6  And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.

Verses 16 and 17 describe the children that come from a committed marriage.

The committed marriage is like the banks of a deep running river that keep the river from becoming a swamp!

A premarital affair or an adulteress affair, is like shallow water that is easily polluted as a marsh.

The fruit that comes from a committed marriage is children that can go forth to do public good and not illegitimate children who suffer for the lack of a real family!

We should always remember the first unit to receive the blessing of God was the family!

By being true to your own wife you can be sure your children are your own and not that of some stranger.

God's intended purpose was for one man to wed one woman and that bond remain until the death of one or both.

Not multiple wives as both David and Solomon had and we know both had tragedy in their families!

Not a homosexual union which goes against the Word of God and is called an abomination!

Let the wife of your youth also be the mother of all your children!

There is rarely an animal as graceful and as loving as the doe to her young and those "breast" are the imagery of affectionate love for that husband!

These things are not the same for the adulterer.

*****Pro 5:20  And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger?
Pro 5:21  For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and he pondereth all his goings.

Because of all the advantages of the secure marriage, why would anyone give that up for a few moments of pleasure?

To forsake your spouse is to forsake the Word of God!

The truth is, if Christ Jesus be my fountain of living water, and He has given Himself to the church for eternity, why should I be so foolish to throw it all away for sin that will only give pleasure for a season?

Remember the strange woman is in typology one of your own culture who rejects the Word of God.

The stranger is in typology someone from another culture that not only rejects the Word of God but actually worship false gods!

Verse 21 assures us all that we have a "Judge" who sees all things that go on in His created world!

Secrecy is the hope of the wicked!

As sinners we always try to hide our sin.

BUT, Nothing escapes the the watchful eyes of God!

God says: Num 32:23  But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and "be sure your sin will find you out".

In most all cases God will allow our sin to be our punishment!

When we are so foolish to ignore the Word of God, and to ignore His watching eyes, God will allow our sin to trap us in it's clutches.

It is only repentance that can begin to mend that transgression!

The most important fact we should realize when we are a child of God, is that when we veer from the path of God, we will live in misery until we return to the right path.

God smiles on goodness but God's wrath is seen in evil!

Pro 15:3  The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.

*****Pro 5:22  His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins.

If we would just realize that God knows everything about each of us, and everything we do and not only that, but everything we even think to do, will help us in the choices we make!

It will allow us to have a closer relationship.

It will make us think twice before we openly commit sin.

It will certainly increase our desire to repent.

It will be our strength in our daily walk!

There is nothing in this world as deceptive as sin!

Sin will always bring the judgment of God!

Only God can cut the cords of sin and that only by the Lord Jesus Christ!

Sin can never exhaust itself! Continual sin involves continual penalty!

No sin is acceptable to God!

We are to hate sin but not the sinner!

Sin brings death!

Death being the eternal separation from a Loving God!

*****Pro 5:23  He shall die without instruction; and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.

It is a fact that we are all born into sin and are all ignorant of the things of God!

It is in our best interest to learn of Christ Jesus as early as we can.

God's says: Pro 22:6  Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

Satan totally understands this also and he will use all of his methods to destroy our children.

We all need a time to rest but Satan never rest, he is always on the job and his job is death!

Satan uses every method he can to hinder the Word of God from reaching our youth!

The truth is, they will die without instruction!

The truth is, they will go astray and never return to the Lord and perish in their sin!

Children are apt to catch everything they hear and for this reason the entire world goes after them to lead them astray.

The truth is, children will never live as Christians unless they know the fundamentals of Jesus Christ.

This is the failure of the "Body of Christ" and our youth will surely be rejected of God, if we do not reach them!

To deny the Creator of our world is to believe that you are a product of chance and not part of God's plan!

If you by chance believe in a Supreme Being of any sort, then why deny the Scriptures that He has provided for us all?

God says: Rom 1:18  For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
Rom 1:19  Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
Rom 1:20  For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
Rom 1:21  Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

We must remember that God hates sin and all those that reject the Lord will die without any remedy to help them!

*****Pro 6:15  Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; suddenly shall he be broken without remedy.
Pro 6:16  These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:
Pro 6:17  A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
Pro 6:18  An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,
Pro 6:19  A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.

God sees sin as an object of disgust, a detestable act, as pollution, as an abomination!

Pride is actually self-ignorance!

A lie is anything that is not true!

Those that shed innocent blood are heartless!

There are some hearts so bad that they are always inventing some new evil thing to accomplish. (ISIS and terrorists are perfect examples)

Those that have a greed to do mischief are eager to do so!

Slander is among the greatest of the social curses because it robs us of our reputation.

And false gossip destroys friendship, when God wants us all to live in love and in one accord.

All these things begin in the heart and God says: Jer 17:9  The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

Only God can look into our hearts to see what we really are!

Jer 17:10  I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.

The truth is we must keep the royal commandments of King Jesus to have life.

*****Pro 7:1  My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee.
Pro 7:2  Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye.

To "lay up" is to hide God's Word in our hearts so it can never be lost!

Life does not exist in it's own right!

True life is never spoken of as having been made!

True life exists only through Jesus Christ!

True life can only "be given" by the Lord Jesus Christ!

Joh 5:24  Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

Joh 20:30  And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:
Joh 20:31  But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing "ye might have life through his name".

There is no other means to have real life without the Lord Jesus Christ!

Life comes by faith and  faith by the Lord Jesus Christ!

I would rather be an apple in the eye of God, than the richest man in this world!

Questions?

Let's Pray!

Godly Wisdom Directs Our Path

Wisdom Directs Our Path Through Life

Proverbs 3; 4


To direct is to point out a course of proceeding.

What is life?

Most people will say life is not being dead but that is only partially true.

The truth is that there is no real life without Jesus Christ!

Joh 11:25  Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
Joh 11:26  And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?

True life then is a life that has no end!

Only those that know how to obtain true life will ever know real life!

Joh 14:6  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Joh 14:7  If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

True life then comes only by Jesus Christ!

While we walk in this life on this earth then we will need some direction.

That direction comes from the same place that real life comes from, the "Wisdom of God".

*****Pro 3:1  My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:
Pro 3:2  For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.

What is the most important thing for us to do in this life we now have?

Ecc 12:13  Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.

God designed a purpose into each of us, our life has purpose!

So many today commit suicide because they feel they no longer have a purpose to live.

If they knew the Lord Jesus Christ, they would know just how wrong they are but even the saints of God are vulnerable to these thoughts.

God is the architect of life and God designs each of us to answer a specific purpose!

God had some end in view in making this cosmos where all life abides and in making each of us what we are!

The first thing we must all do when the Holy Ghost calls, is to get into the right relationship with God!

There is no one, God will not attempt to call before their physical death!

It is then that we must take the opportunity to learn the doctrine of God to a point where we can also teach others!

The heart is not only the seat of life in each human being but also the seat of affections, emotions, and passions but the heart is also the seat of our understanding!

In order to worship the Lord, we must cause our heart and our understanding to be in harmony with the Word of God!

We can immediately see the benefits of understanding the Word of God.

1) The length of days, not our existence but the time and purpose of our life.

2) A life of peace rather than commotion and turmoil.

3) A long life, the years we can serve the Lord that will extend into eternity.

*****Pro 3:3  Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:
Pro 3:4  So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.

As the Word of God is filled with mercy and truth, then we are to exercise mercy and truth in every part of our relationships with all those that cross our paths.

And again since our heart is the seat of our understanding, we are required to write God's law of kindness onto the tables of our heart.

God is well pleased with these things because these are the traits of Christ Jesus and we are to walk in His ways!

There is no other way to find favor in the eyes of God and others like us, will also notice these things!

Favor is like a friendly disposition!

Pro 18:24  A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.

Understanding simply means grasping a hold onto the truth!

Rom 14:16  Let not then your good be evil spoken of:
Rom 14:17  For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
Rom 14:18  For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men.

*****Pro 3:5  Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
Pro 3:6  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Pro 3:7  Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.
Pro 3:8  It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.

To trust in the Lord is to depend on Him!

The Old Testament uses "trust" as the New Testament uses "faith"!

This dependence on the Lord must be actual and factual, being persuaded that God is the only, all-sufficient object of our confidence and His faithfulness to do what He promises!

We must not make our own understanding a dart into our hearts!

The promise of God's divine guidance in our life choices is conditioned on that complete trust in God's "wisdom" as revealed to us all in His Word!

But we must also acknowledge Him before all men telling them of this trust we have!

God will direct us by the Holy Ghost who will never lead us astray!

God will bind Himself to us by His own covenant which He will never break when we honor His Words!

The truth is, as unforgiven sinners we simply have no means of choosing the right path for our life!

To repent is a complete change in direction and a complete change of mind, when we are wise in our own eyes then we are headed in the wrong direction.

The spirit of self-dependence is the opposite of "the fear of the Lord" and can only lead to evil!

When we were all babes within the womb of our mothers, the umbilical cord was the center of our strength.

In life, when we have that reverent fear of the Lord, He has become our umbilical and the center of our strength.

The marrow is the nourisher and the strengthener of our bones and it is said to moisten the bones making them less brittle.

Psa 63:5  My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips:

Again God is promising physical well-being to all those that follow the Word of God, which will bring us all eternal spiritual health!

We must know that a broken spirit will dry up our bones!

Pro 17:22  A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.

And then God will meet all our needs.

*****Pro 3:9  Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:
Pro 3:10  So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.

Our substance is the things that God has provided for us to live and since God provided it, then it all really belongs to God!

To tithe is to give back a tenth of what God has provided for our own living!

To tithe is a sign of faith that God will continue to provide our every need!

Heb 11:4  By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.

By "Faith" Abel offered the firstfruits of his flock.

Jacob also realized that all of our substance is provided by the Lord and set the standard for the tithe.

Gen 28:22  And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.

Our earthly substance is necessary for us to live but we are called to make no use of that substance till we have set apart  of our substance for the service of God!

We are to honor the Lord by our "Faith" in everything we do and in everything that God provides!

The Lord expects and He certainly deserves the best and the first that we have, not the leftovers.

The tithe should not only include our substance but also our time, and our talent, and any other thing that God has given to us!

You can only give an offering after you have already given your tithe!

How does God reward the cheerful and faithful tither?

No one can out give God!

Very few people understand, that it is by giving back to God that will bring an increase in our own substance!

The barns of that day were storehouses for grain and God says those that had "faith" that He would provide for those that gave of their firstfruits those barns would be filled with plenty.

Plenty always means more than enough!

New wine from the wine press is fresh grape juice, still non-fermented.

God will never go against His Word and God said, to not even look upon fermented wine!

Pro 23:29  Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes?
Pro 23:30  They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine.
Pro 23:31  Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright.
Pro 23:32  At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.
Pro 23:33  Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things.
Pro 23:34  Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast.
Pro 23:35  They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again

*****Pro 3:11  My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction:
Pro 3:12  For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.

Though most people see chastening as punishment, to the child of God it is for instruction!

God's chastening is always for the purpose instruction even if it is painful at times!

God's chastening should never be ignored nor should it be resented.

Remember God only chastens those He loves!

And God chastens only as a loving Father!

God has already condemned those who reject Him as their Father to an eternal life of torment!

Those that are chastened should then be happy they are no longer condemned!

Rom 5:1  Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
Rom 5:2  By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

*****Pro 3:13  Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding.
Pro 3:14  For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold.
Pro 3:15  She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.
Pro 3:16  Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour.
Pro 3:17  Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.
Pro 3:18  She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her.

The truth is that all the treasures of wisdom are hidden in Christ Jesus!

That being true, then the greatness of wisdom appears in those gifts of the Lord beginning with His "Grace"!

We already know that wisdom brings with it a long and happy life.

The advantages of wisdom is that we will miss out on much of the chastening of the Lord.

The advantages of wisdom is that we will certainly miss out on the wrath of God!

The glories of Heaven are much more valuable than silver and gold.

The wisdom of God is much more precious than rubies.

There is nothing on this earth that can compare to the wisdom that comes only by the Lord Jesus Christ who is the author of true life!

Rev 2:7  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

Wisdom is knowing our Creator!

Col 1:16  For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Col 1:17  And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

*****Pro 3:19  The LORD by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens.
Pro 3:20  By his knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew.

Since Christ Jesus was the one by whom God founded this earth it should be clear that in this Book of Proverbs "Wisdom" is actually the person of Christ!

Joh 1:3  All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
Joh 1:4  In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

That word "depths" is the same word as "deep" in the Book of Genesis.

Following "Creation" the next great physical event in the history of this world was the great worldwide flood in the day of Noah.

This is the time when all the fountains of the great deep were broken up!

Gen 7:11  In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.
Gen 7:12  And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.

These are things that are facts and therefore require our understanding!

*****Pro 3:21  My son, let not them depart from thine eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion:
Pro 3:22  So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck.
Pro 3:23  Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble.

The title of our lesson is that "Wisdom Directs Our Path Through Life" and this is the theme of the Book of Proverbs.

Since the wisdom of the Lord is so powerful, then this wisdom should be retained and guarded and never allowed to depart from our view!

Since the wisdom of the Lord designed and created our world, surely by knowing that wisdom, we can use it to live in His created world!

Since the wisdom of the Lord is life, and the way of life, then He is also our spiritual life and our eternal life of the soul of all those that look upon Him in "Faith"!

Joh 12:48  He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.
Joh 12:49  For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.
Joh 12:50  And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.

When we look away from Christ we look away from true "wisdom"!

Since the soul and the neck stand for the complete man in our sin nature and our eternal soul, eternal life is given to the soul rather than to sin!

When the soul is saved then there will be less sin, and this will be noticeable to those that cross our path thus an ornament of "Grace" about our neck!

Only then can we walk safely not veering to the right or to the left, but avoiding the pitfalls that could cause us to stumble in our walk of "Grace"!

Then comes peace.

*****Pro 3:24  When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.
Pro 3:25  Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh.
Pro 3:26  For the LORD shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.

When our walk with the Lord is right, then we can rest in the safety of the His presence!

Confidence is a trusting reliance in the truth of God, an assurance of the mind in the facts of Christ Jesus!

The peace that the wisdom of God gives is surely pass all understanding!

Php 4:7  And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Jesus said this is the peace that I will give to each of you.

Joh 14:27  Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

We should remember that shortly after Jesus said these words He was beaten, bruised, and crucified for our sins, because He had no sin of His own.

Because He is the all knowing God, He knew all these things were about to happen but the Lord Jesus was at peace with Himself for what He was about to do!

Jesus tells all His disciples that this is the peace that I leave with you.

No matter what we are about to go through or what we are already going through, we can have the peace of the Lord Jesus Christ!

When we lie down in order to take sleep and have committed ourselves into the hands of the Lord we do not have to be afraid of anything.

The worst thing that can happen, our death, is the best thing that could happen as we will wake up in Heaven, our sleep will be sweet!

Psa 4:8  I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.

When we are safe in the arms of Wisdom, we are under the watchful eyes of our Creator!

We have no reason to fear what this world can do to us!

Luk 12:4  And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.
Luk 12:5  But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.

As we sit here today, there is a group called ISIS by most of us, who actually fit this verse as the wicked who bring desolation to many people of this earth.

We do not have to be afraid of terrorist when it comes to our shores, for the Lord shall be our confidence!

That confidence is that nothing can happen to us unless the Lord allows it and if the Lord allows it, we will be made better because of it!

Rom 8:28  And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Satan has many snares:

2Ti 2:26  And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

But the Lord will not allow our foot to step in any of them!

We can no longer be captured at the will of Satan when we possess the "wisdom" of God!

And we can be of a help to others!

*****Pro 3:28  Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee.
Pro 3:29  Devise not evil against thy neighbour, seeing he dwelleth securely by thee.
Pro 3:30  Strive not with a man without cause, if he have done thee no harm.
Pro 3:31  Envy thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways.
Pro 3:32  For the froward is abomination to the LORD: but his secret is with the righteous.
Pro 3:33  The curse of the LORD is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just.

The wisdom of God will teach us the royal commandments of King Jesus to love God with all our heart and to love our neighbors as ourselves.

If we owe our neighbor a debt then pay it, if we have it.

If they are poor and in need, help them if we are able.

We honestly never know what the next day will bring!

Every child of God should devise ways to show the goodness of God and certainly not evil things!

If we have been the Christian we have said we are, then our neighbor will have no need to suspect us of evil, and that we will help them rather that cause any harm to them!

We should never be envious of anyone but especially someone who is an oppressor to others.

An oppressor is a man of mischief and we must avoid them and their ways!

Those that are froward are perverse and obey only their own laws and so are an abomination to the Lord!

It is only those that walk the right path of "wisdom" that know the secrets of the Lord!

The truth is that the curse of the Lord has been removed from every believer but we are all still exposed to the curse on this world!

The truth is, that the curse of the Lord is a real thing and will be fulfilled by the power of God!

On the house of the wicked lies the curse of God.

On the house of those justified lies the blessings of God.

These are both facts!

*****Pro 3:34  Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly.
Pro 3:35  The wise shall inherit glory: but shame shall be the promotion of fools.

A scorner is someone who scoffs at Christianity!

They hate the Word of God!

They mock sin as non-existent and claim their will be no judgment for sin.

They claim there is no Heaven nor a place called Hell!

God will be a scorner to those who are scorners to the Church!

Psa 2:4  He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.
Psa 2:5  Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.

Those that have the "wisdom" of God shall inherit glory!

Psa 73:24  Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.

On one side of the Christian is salvation and justification, on the other side is the hope of glory yet to come!

Shame is the painful sensation excited by the consciousness of guilt!

Those that reject the Lord will one day feel their own guilt knowing that Christ Jesus had paid their sin debt and they refused to accept that fact!

What does the Lord do? He begs us all to hear what He says!

*****Pro 4:1  Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding.
Pro 4:2  For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law.

Godly parents are a true blessing to any family.

God our Father in Heaven clearly wants us to understand that He will never give us bad instructions!

Since we are the children of God once we believe, then we need receive those instructions and act on them!

We can just imagine, that it was in this manner that the Lord Jesus trained His disciples.

It is the "Gospel" that is called the "good doctrine"!

1Ti 4:6  If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained.

The "Doctrine" of the Lord Jesus Christ is the God-given "wisdom" that we need and that this world needs!

We know not to forsake the law, but this is the law of Mount Calvary and not the law of Mount Sinai, we are not to forsake the royal law of King Jesus!

*****Pro 4:3  For I was my father's son, tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother.
Pro 4:4  He taught me also, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments, and live.

We know that Solomon's father was King David, and David's father was Jesse.

We also know that the Father of Jesus was God the Holy Spirit the only begotten Son of God!

We also know that Jesus was also 100% human and truly beloved in the sight of his mother Mary.

Luk 2:19  But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.

Our Savior came to this earth to be obedient to His Father in Heaven.

Joh 12:48  He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.
Joh 12:49  For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.
Joh 12:50  And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.

It is because Jesus was obedient to His Father that we can be saved!

Heb 5:9  And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;

Obedience will bring perfection to all those who trust in the Lord!

Obedience begins with "wisdom" and "wisdom" begins with the fear of the Lord!

*****Pro 4:5  Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth.
Pro 4:6  Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee.
Pro 4:7  Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.

The reverent fear of the Lord is something that we must possess and not willing to give up!

We must have moral wisdom which is lacking in society today.

We must have political wisdom of our civil government.

Much more important than either of these, we must have the wisdom that comes by Jesus Christ and the knowledge of Him!

Understanding these things is to take a firm hold on the real state of the truth of God!

Understanding is the only means we can obtain our knowledge of the Lord and the hope of His calling!

Eph 1:17  That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:
Eph 1:18  The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,

How do we forsake true wisdom?

One way we forsake true wisdom is in our lack of gathering to worship the Lord!

Heb 10:25  Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

Psa 89:7  God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him.

Another way is when we forsake the Word of God!

Psa 89:30  If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments;

After all "wisdom" is the principle thing.

The word "principle" means "the source", "the beginning", and that beginning is the "fear of the Lord"!

The power to use knowledge must come from something outside the knowledge itself!

It is only the wisdom that comes from Heaven that can allow us to use our knowledge in this life.

Jas 3:17  But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.

*****Pro 4:8  Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her.
Pro 4:9  She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee.
Pro 4:10  Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; and the years of thy life shall be many.

True godly wisdom will allow us to choose what is best for us and will also cause us to select the best possible means of obtaining those things!

Many men exalt worldly wisdom as a means to improve the condition of humanity but these things begin outside.

God always begins inside with the heart!

Christianity is not just following the commandments of God, Christianity is a life here on earth and knowing the truth of eternal life!

Christianity is knowing the peace of God and showing that peace of God in the way we live!

It is the wisdom of God that brings honor to the Christian!

The wisdom of God will bring with it the honors of Heaven.

2Ti 4:8  Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

It is a fact that a sinful life can impair the health and shorten the days of all those that follow in it!

1Jn 2:16  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

It is also a fact that the wisdom of God promotes a healthy life!

It is the Word of God that teaches us in the ways of God's wisdom.

*****Pro 4:11  I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in right paths.
Pro 4:12  When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble.
Pro 4:13  Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life.
Pro 4:14  Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men.
Pro 4:15  Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away.

The object of every parent is to have their children fixed and established on the right path of life.

This is instilled in us because this is the way God works!

The difference being the ways of the world will not build a godly character, only the wisdom of God can do this thing!

The godly parent will lead by example.

The godly parent will lead by prayer.

The godly parent will keep their children under the influence of a godly church!

As we know, a path represents our walk in this life. We go through this life one step at a time, this is how we learn to walk.

The path of wisdom is the walk of Christ Jesus.

Col 2:6  As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:

Once we are on that path before we take the next step we need to confer with God to know that next step.

Running in most cases is escaping from danger! God says:

Joh 10:5  And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.

When God provides the way to escape, He certainly will not place a stumble stone in that path!

"Faith" means we have taken hold of God's instructions and are relying on them to keep us safe until the Lord returns!

The truest of all wisdom is the revelation of God in the person of Jesus Christ and then the saving truths which God has set before us in His Word! Amen!

This is the wisdom of life!

This is the wisdom to avoid the path of the wicked!

This is the wisdom to avoid the ways of evil men!

To avoid means "pass not by it", "turn from it", and "pass away from it"!

This does not mean we are to be separatist, we are to avoid the ways of those that walk the way that this world walks.

Psa 1:1  Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
Psa 1:2  But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

Some of the reasons we are to avoid the ways of the lost are these.

*****Pro 4:16  For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.
Pro 4:17  For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence.
Pro 4:18  But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.
Pro 4:19  The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.

Those that God calls wicked, do not sin because of weakness, their sin arises from premeditation and a great desire to do evil!

The truth is, that when evil men have made a plan and put it into action, they will not sleep until they have accomplished what they set out to do.

This is the truth also of the terrorist!

As Christians eat the bread of life, the Word of God, provided by the Lord, wicked men eat the things they have obtained them selves, they make their own law.

As Christians are washed in the blood Jesus who took all our violence at the cross, wicked men drink of the wine of those that are innocent as they take their lives from them.

The light that shines on the path of those justified is the light of Jesus Christ!

2Co 4:6  For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

That light shines through the Word of God!

2Pe 1:19  We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
2Pe 1:20  Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.

This is the only light that will lead us to the land of the "perfect day" where there is no more night!

Rev 22:5  And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.

It is the way of the wicked that leads to darkness and there will be no darkness in Heaven!

It is foolish to reject the Word of God. To stumble in the darkness will always lead to death!

*****Pro 4:20  My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.
Pro 4:21  Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.
Pro 4:22  For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.
Pro 4:23  Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
Pro 4:24  Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee.
Pro 4:25  Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.
Pro 4:26  Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.
Pro 4:27  Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.

We must attend to the Word of God which means to have it in our presence!

We must keep the Word of God constantly in view.

We must cherish the Word of God.

It is the Word of God where we learn of the way of life!

It is the Word of God where we learn how to extend our days.

In Scripture, the heart is not only the physical organ of our circulatory system but it is also the seat of our emotions and our intellect.

The health of our heart and our circulatory system are essential to our earthly life and a heart that is right with God is essential to our Christian life!

Perverse lips is deceitful speech, which twists and distorts the truth of God!

We must fix our eyes on the truth of righteousness and not deflect to the left or to the right!

We must remove every obstacle that may impede our Christian walk!

To ponder is to consider and compare the right from the wrong and choose right!

If our gaze is not to deflect to the left nor to the right, then our hands and our feet will not turn to the left or to the right and if we depart from evil the Lord will make our paths straight!

Questions?

Let's Pray!

Wisdom And Salvation

Wisdom Leads Us To Salvation

Proverbs 1; 2


What is a proverb?

According to the Webster dictionary a proverb is a short sentence expressing a well known truth that has been gained by experience or by observation!

The Book of Proverbs is a collection of established truths on a wide range of subjects and should be used to aid us in practical living.

The Book of Proverbs lets us know that God expects us to use common sense and practical measures in our decisions.

When "truth" is used in our decision making then we will most often choose the right path!

The Book of Proverbs was written or at least gathered by Solomon, the son of King David and it is said that Solomon wrote some 3000 proverbs and those that are contained in this book may be a selection of those he wrote.

These proverbs can be used to apply the truth of God to our daily walk with the Lord!

In fact the Book of Proverbs is a book that needs to be taught to the younger generation as soon as they can understand the need for wisdom!

What is wisdom?

Wisdom is the right use of knowledge!

Some wisdom is gained by experience which sometimes may be harsh but wisdom that is gained by instruction can save us from a lot of those harsh moments in our life!

The greatest wisdom we can have is the knowledge of the truth of God!

Jas 3:17  But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.

Knowledge is a clear and certain perception of the truth!

We can have no knowledge of things that do not exist!

We can have knowledge in the things of God because God has a perfect knowledge of all His works.

Ignorance is the curse of God!

1Pe 2:15  For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men:

*****Pro 1:1  The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel;
Pro 1:2  To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding;
Pro 1:3  To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity;
Pro 1:4  To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.
Pro 1:5  A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:
Pro 1:6  To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.
Pro 1:7  The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

The object of the Book of Proverbs is "to know"!

"To know" is to have a clear understanding of the truth!

The fear of the Lord is the foundation, without which all other knowledge is vain!

Those that reject the Word of God are so far from attaining true wisdom that they despise it and all the means of getting it!

The fear that is spoken of here is not the fear of punishment or of hell that every non-believer must realize but in this verse the fear of the Lord is that fear of a son or a daughter in relation to their parents!

This fear is the duty of a child toward his parents!

We are to understand the knowledge of God as a Father to His children!

We are to be confident in the truths of God, and the "Gospel" of the Lord Jesus Christ, with a humble, reverential affection for Him!

Without this we can never worship Him as we should!

Joh 4:23  But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
Joh 4:24  God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

*****Pro 1:8  My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother:
Pro 1:9  For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.

When we have parents that are following the Word of God then that child should at least hear the instructions from that parent!

Notice the phrase "my son".

This phrase emphasizes the importance of heeding to the Word of God!

The Word of God should be our teacher all the days of our lives.

This one phrase points us to the fact that we are to be "Born Again" into "newness of life" and become a child of God and listen to His instructions!

What is the truth of the Scriptures?

Wise children will handle constructive criticism in the right way!

Pro 15:5  A fool despiseth his father's instruction: but he that regardeth reproof is prudent.

To "hear" means to pay attention to what is said.

Moral qualities are the true adornments of a human being!

When that child loves, obeys, and respects godly parents it will show in the way they live their own lives!

Godliness is profitable unto all things!

*****Pro 1:10  My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.
Pro 1:11  If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause:
Pro 1:12  Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit:
Pro 1:13  We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil:
Pro 1:14  Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse:

Peer pressure is the downfall of many of our youth in our own generation!

In this verse, sinners are all those that do not obey the Word of God and do not know the Lord Jesus Christ.

The truth is when we begin a sinful life it is hard to stop!

When we begin a sinful life we will find that it can be dangerous not only to ourselves but also to those we are close to.

When we begin a sinful life we will find it to be disgraceful to our parents and to our family!

The two places we fail the most to do are these:

1) We need to get rid of the sins we have committed.

2) We need to try to keep from sinning any more!

This world will entice us to do otherwise.

What is the greatest danger of Satan?

He does not threaten or argue, he simply entices with flattery, tells you how wonderful things could be if you just forsake the Word of God!

Dan 11:21  And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries. 

Satan's tactics have never changed because they have continued to work for 6000 years!

Satan's servants will lie in ambush waiting until you are vulnerable to Satan's traps.

Satan has been hidden behind the scenes not yet willing to present himself because he knows that he would be rejected until God allows him his time.

Isa 14:15  Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
Isa 14:16  They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;
Isa 14:17  That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?

Satan does not release those he has imprisoned easily!

It is Satan's goal to cause the death of every human being before they have the chance to repent and be reconciled to God!

He wants to swallow them up while they are alive!

He wants to take all he can directly into the burning fires of hell as quickly as he can!

Num 16:32  And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods.
Num 16:33  They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation.

Satan entices with short cuts to wealth!

There have been very few that actually profit from crime.

There is nothing on this earth that can compare to the things of Heaven!

Luk 12:15  And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.

What do we actually find to be the truth of our world?

1Ti 6:10  For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

It's not the money or riches themselves that are so wrong, it is all the evils that are done to possess earth's riches which in the end are meaningless!

Notice this thing that is first required.

The lies of communism and also socialism is that for equal hazards there will be equal hopes big lies to mankind!

Gain and pleasure are two of the great charms that have seduced all mankind and make all those that succumb, captives taken at the will of Satan!

2Ti 2:26  And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

If we avoid all these things while we are young, we will not have to suffer so much when we are old!

*****Pro 1:15  My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path:
Pro 1:16  For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.

We must not walk in the ways of the world!

Whenever sin takes hold of any person it will soon become the master of that person!

Sin cannot exist without seeking to dominate and there is never one who is lost who will not try to make another like himself!

Satan is devious and he will not tempt you with the truth and the results of sin, but he will set before you some real or some imaginary pleasure which you can only obtain by a commission of that sin!

There is always a cost for going against the Word of God!

There is always a cost to assert your liberty to do as you please!

We must force ourselves to make the right decisions!

Those that reject the Word of God have an eagerness to commit crime against God and they most always will attack the innocent who have no means to protect themselves.

We would have to be blind to not see this truth in our world today!

*****Pro 1:17  Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird.
Pro 1:18  And they lay wait for their own blood; they lurk privily for their own lives.
Pro 1:19  So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; which taketh away the life of the owners thereof.

Surely a bird with such keen eyes to see with can see the net spread for their capture, yet they still fly into that net and are trapped!

It is the same with sin!

God has clearly said that the "wages of sin are death".

So it is for that bird!

Pro 7:23  Till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life.

So it is for the sinner.

As they lay in wait for the innocent it is their own lives they are loosing!

As they lurk in private for the innocent it is their own lives that they have placed in jeopardy!

A sinner cannot see the traps they laid for themselves so we need to avoid associating with them!

*****Pro 1:20  Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets:
Pro 1:21  She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying,
Pro 1:22  How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?
Pro 1:23  Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.

If we can see wisdom as a person then that person would be Christ Jesus!

Joh 1:1  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Joh 1:2  The same was in the beginning with God.
Joh 1:3  All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
Joh 1:4  In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

If that person be Jesus Christ then it is now the Church that should be crying out with the Word of God!

We should witness in the streets.

We should witness in places where people gather.

We should witness at the entrances and the passage ways.

We should witness in the cities.

And what should be our message?

How long will you people be so easily seduced by workers of Satan?

How long will you that mock the Word of God be fooled by the lies of Satan?

How long will you all be so foolish to ignore and to reject the truth of the Scriptures?

To turn is to repent!

To repent is not only to feel sorrow and regret but more important, to turn away from sin and turn toward God with a complete change of mind!

It is God Himself who will pour out His Spirit unto all those that repent!

So "WISDOM" then is God Himself who will make known His Words unto us all!

Joe 2:28  And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:
Joe 2:29  And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.

Those days are the "Church Age" in which now we live until the return of Jesus Christ!

Joh 6:63  It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

What is the truth of most of this world?

God has called and most have refused!

God has warned of the coming judgment, but most just reject the Word of God!

*****Pro 1:24  Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;
Pro 1:25  But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof:
Pro 1:26  I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;
Pro 1:27  When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you.
Pro 1:28  Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me:
Pro 1:29  For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD:
Pro 1:30  They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof.
Pro 1:31  Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.

Those that reject the truth of God will bring upon themselves the wrath of God!

Rom 2:5  But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;
Rom 2:6  Who will render to every man according to his deeds:

God says "as you mocked and laughed at the Word of God then on Judgment Day, I will mock and laugh at your eternal situation you have placed yourself in"!

Be not a fool all your life because it is a fact every knee will bow to the Lord Jesus one day!

Psa 37:12  The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth.
Psa 37:13  The Lord shall laugh at him: for he seeth that his day is coming.

What is the truth of Divine Judgment?

Calamity, terror, destruction, distress, and anguish!

What is derision?

The act of laughing in contempt!

Desolation is a place of waste, ravage, ruin, gloominess, sadness, and destitution!

These things of desolation will come as a violent wind moving in a circle.

The vicious cycle of eternal life of the burning lake of fire, will be a thing of misery and doom!

Why would anyone seek to go there?

Those that hate the knowledge of God and did not choose to fear the Lord, which by the way is the beginning of becoming wise, will certainly find themselves in a Devil's Hell!

God's rejection of sinners is carefully detailed in these verses.

Wisdom will one day turn a deaf ear to those who wait to late to call on the Lord!

What is the truth of God?

Gen 6:3  And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh:

To follow the Lord is to come when He calls!

God gives us a choice!

Choice means we have the option of choosing the way of God or the ways of this world we cannot choose both!

There are only two type of people in this world!

Those that love the Lord and those that do not!

Those that hate the knowledge of the Lord Jesus have not chosen the wisdom of the fear of the Lord!

God's method of punishment is to let us punish ourselves!

When we will not accept the guidance of the Holy Spirit then God will grant our wishes and desires to show how foolish and miserable they are!

It is a fact that we are our own worst enemy!

The promises of God are conditional!

God has given every human being the dignity of freedom which involves the possibility that we may be disobedient to God's Word.

Most everyone that looks back on their lives can trace most of their errors to making bad choices!

This should tell us all that we have a great need of a Savior and that Savior is the Lord Jesus Christ!

*****Pro 1:32  For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.
Pro 1:33  But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.

The salvation of Christ Jesus is a simple thing.

2Co 11:3  But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

It is the turning away of such a simple salvation that will slay all those that reject Him!

There is only one way to get to Heaven!

Joh 14:6  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

In other words not my own but the Bible says, all wicked and vicious persons are fools.

When God gives us what we all desire, eternal life with Him, they perish even when it is so close to them.

Jesus Christ paid the sin debt of every human being but this must be accepted or He died in vain for your own sins!

There is no wealth of this world that is worth eternal damnation!

The secrets of life has been the quest of mankind throughout history, yet God has written down and given it to us in the perfect love letter from above and it is still rejected by most of this world!

The fear of evil used to be a constant in the life of men but it is now just accepted!

Now the world is beginning to see the fear of terror and we are told we must just accept that also!

It is terror that grows out of the acceptance of sin!

What does God teach the Christian?

Rom 8:37  Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
Rom 8:38  For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Rom 8:39  Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Those that hearken to the Word of God can still dwell in safety anywhere in this world!

Mat 10:28  And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

So therefore, those that understand the fear of the Lord can truly find knowledge!

*****Pro 2:5  Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.
Pro 2:6  For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.
Pro 2:7  He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly

The phrase "the fear of the Lord" occurs 14 times in the Book of Proverbs.

This fear implies reverence, such as a good son would feel for his godly father.

A reverent fear of God is truly the first step to true wisdom!

Here wisdom is described as a virtuous woman.

The truth is that a God-fearing man is a wise man but without a reverent fear of God it is impossible that to call any man wise no matter their intelligence level!

Wisdom is something that we must work for in this world but God freely gives the wisdom we need if we ask Him with a pure heart!

Heavenly wisdom is a great prize!

Heavenly wisdom goes far beyond our own thoughts!

Heavenly wisdom is far different from what the world calls wisdom!

Worldly wisdom may direct us in some things in this life but Heavenly wisdom direct us toward things which concern things of the life that is to come of those who have that "fear of the Lord"!

God and God alone is the author of true wisdom!

Those that are righteous are those that "walk upright".

Goodness in all moral humans, is a walk that progresses as we grow in the knowledge and understanding of the Lord!

Those that are reconciled to God are His saints and set apart for His use!

As those that belong to the Lord are to be bright and shining lights in this world, the Lord is then the "Father of Lights".

The wisdom of God will light up our pathway in this world!

*****Pro 2:8  He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints.
Pro 2:9  Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path.

God is the protector of His saints!

It is God who keeps the path of all those He has justified!

It is God who preserves the way of His saints!

Psa 66:9  Which holdeth our soul in life, and suffereth not our feet to be moved.

When we understand that once we are reconciled to God, we are under His divine protection, "THEN" we can understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity, and every good path!

And wisdom will enter into our soul!

*****Pro 2:10  When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul;
Pro 2:11  Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee:
Pro 2:12  To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things;

Once we are wise enough to know we have a new owner then that wisdom will not only come into our soul but it will rest there forever!

Discretion means we will able to judge things correctly and properly with the right amount of caution.

We will know how to conduct ourselves in this world!

Understanding then is the faculty of the human mind that separates truth from fiction!

Eph 1:17  That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:
Eph 1:18  The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,

What is the truth of evil men?

Their character.

Their speech is corrupt!

Their habit is corrupt!

Their heart is corrupt!

Their influence is corrupt!

The truth is everything dies under the influence of wickedness!

Rom 6:23  For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

They refuse to walk the path of righteousness!

*****Pro 2:13  Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness;
Pro 2:14  Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked;
Pro 2:15  Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths:

The way of evil is following in the ways of Satan!

Joh 8:43  Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.
Joh 8:44  Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

The path of darkness is the path of ignorance and error and the roadway to evil deeds!

To walk in the ways of darkness is to insist on a course of wilful ignorance and deliberately reject the light of true knowledge!

Those who are wicked not only rejoice to do evil themselves but they rejoice when they hear of evil done by others.

This is the world we live in today!

This is the arm of terrorism today!

They are just as crooked as their ways!

They are just as perverse in their thoughts!

They will always turn toward evil whether to the left or to the right!

Then there is the temptation that is most used against the righteous, the alluring female.

*****Pro 2:16  To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words;
Pro 2:17  Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God.
Pro 2:18  For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead.
Pro 2:19  None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life.

The true wisdom of God will deliver His saints even from the strange woman!

The strange woman is the harlot and adulteress.

If we remember Balaam, God would not allow him to curse Israel but Balaam did offer King Balac a suggestion on how to cause Israel to sin.

It was women.

If we remember Job who was righteous in the eyes of God, even Job knew about strange women and had his own remedy!

Job 31:1  I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid?

Job said to himself that he simply would not look upon a woman to lust after her.

Mat 5:28  But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

A wise man once wrote "Gaze not on beauty too much lest it blast thee; nor to long, lest it blind thee; nor too near lest it burn thee. If thou like it, it deceives thee; if thou love it, it disturbs thee; if thou hunt it, it destroys thee. It is a wise mans bonfire, and a fools furnace".

That "stranger" would be foreign women with other gods and other moral standards than those who were just the "strange woman".

This also represents spiritual adultery, with God's people not only consorting with strange women but also worshipping strange gods.

All those that forget the covenant that was made with the Lord when they prayed the sinners prayer!

We must be more like Job and less like the world.

The greatest danger of each and every human, is not the evils of this world and it certainly is not climate change, it is forsaking and forgetting God!

To the Christian ignoring and forsaking the "wisdom" of God is our greatest danger!

Today in the church, we loose our youth to the world at that age when the world entices them to forget the covenant they made with God!

All those that make their home with the wisdom of this world and reject the wisdom of God, incline to death rather than life.

Pro 7:27  Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death.

All those that follow the path of the wisdom of this world and reject the wisdom of God, walk on the pathway of the dead!

Pro 21:16  The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding shall remain in the congregation of the dead.

The truth is, only God can resurrect the dead!

Those that choose the path of death, the wisdom of the strange woman or the stranger, almost never recover form their fall.

The sin of spiritual adultery is extremely hard to overcome!

Eph 5:5  For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
Eph 5:6  Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.

What is the path of life?

*****Pro 2:20  That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous.
Pro 2:21  For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it.
Pro 2:22  But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.

The truth is that mankind cannot walk in good ways unless they leave the bad ones.

Good and evil are contrary to one another, one will keep out the other!

It is not enough to just avoid evil, we must also do good!

To Israel the promise to dwell in the promised land was their reward for obedience.

To the Church the promise to dwell in Heaven is the reward for obedience!

To remain means to eternally dwell in peace and harmony with the Lord!

Contrary to the teaching of liberal theology, the wicked shall be cut off!

The farmer knows that if he just cuts down a tree it will send forth new sprouts so to eliminate that problem that tree must be rooted out!

So does God deal with wicked men!

Wicked men are restless in evil because they remain in that body of sin.

This world provides an abundance of opportunities because it is led by Satan.

God will leave them on their own to run to death because He gives us all a choice.

Wicked men are never weary of their sin because they have rejected the wisdom of God!

To be wise in the ways of this world is to be a fool!

Questions?

Let's Pray!