Sunday Worship the July 9th

So we continue with our study of practicing. Please please, God. The practice of pleasing God. This week, we're going to take a look at learning from his wisdom. and will be in Proverbs the first chapter quite a bit in the second chapter of b as well, but before it to us, before we get there, we're going to take a look at Matthew, the 7th chapter verses 24 through 27, one of the things that, Is true about Jesus. Is that not only was he here saving us. But he and here in a man's body actually live every bit of the Book of Proverbs. And taught, most of it not by direct quotations of passages, but by things that he taught in here and Matthew 7, 24 through 27, he tells us teaches us that wisdom and knowledge are not the same thing. It seems to confuse a lot of people, they think, if they have a lot of knowledge there. Automatically wise, some think if they're wise, but must have a lot of knowledge, but they are two separate things. Jesus is going to Define force, Matthew 7, 24, through 27, He says everyone who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain fell, the floods came winds blew and beat on that house but it did not fall because it had been founded on the Rock. Now that first line, he says everyone who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man. I suggest you, he just said knowledge combined, with action of God's word, hear these words of mine and do them that makes you a wise person. And he says, you build your house upon a rock when you do that. And then the house is a metaphor for our lives and you build them our lives. Like doing what he says to do. Notice he says the storms going to come Just because we become Christians, We Begin following. God's word does not mean you will not have a storm in your life. In fact, it means you will have some storms but I'm like the next person who's not wise and he says everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. In the rain, fell and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house. And it fell and great was its fall. This story, this Parable that Jesus puts at the end of The Sermon on the Mount. Really talks about wisdom. You hear God's words? You take them in and you live by them to do that makes you a wise person. Now we're going to get a few little, a few more specific. As we go through this lesson, but that is Jesus defining for us. In this story of the house, built on the rock, or the sand. What wisdom is the application of knowledge. The doing the Bible says man's Wisdom. Just does not work. Proverbs 14:12. There is a way which seems right to man, but its end is the way to death now, I put a pair on that slide. If you can read it, if you doubt the truth of this passage of Holy Scripture, I suggest you stand strongly suggest that you take a long, look at the history of mankind. Take special note. That every form of government, every philosophy, every man-made system of Ethics has always failed and failed again. And again, and again, we were talking about that in our class this morning in Amos human beings are in the Taurus. At doing just exactly that trying something we think is new that we've come up with and we do it and it fails and then we want to turn around and do it again. Anyone who looks at our history with half cents and one, I ought to be impressed. At the skill and the talent we humans have and the ability to mess up everything and anything. And we will if you give us half a chance We need some help.

Spell words ago. I keep losing my cursor here to move on. Just a second up. There it is.

We humans continue. To replay all the mistakes of our past. Now, somebody said experience is a great learner and I used to say that to my student, teaching flying, if you lived through it, I would add But when you look at us human beings and you take the statement experience is a great teacher, really? We haven't learned anything. This must be the person who says this, this must be that other person who's missing half cents in one eye because us human beings when we go our own way and even when we set out to go. This way, we will have the ability and we're really good at. We're skilled to mess it up. the Bible says, Lips and is the big problem in Ephesian, or I'm sorry I'm not a thing. Isaiah 59:1 & to behold the Lord's hand is not shortened that it cannot save, or his ear dull that it cannot hear, but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, your sins have hidden his face from you. So he does not here. I would suggest that's at the core of everything. We do wrong. It's our own since I've said it last couple weeks when it comes to practicing pleasing. God, the constant practice of it. The greatest enemy you're going to have is your cell? Yes, Satan's Anatomy, he'll tempt you but it's us who fight the fight inside of our hearts and we can be Our Own Worst Enemy because of the sins that get in our way. And separated from God, we don't have to be separated. God wants us to be one with him. We were created to please him, we were created to live in such a way that we would make him happy and ourselves as well.

Every car made these days least the higher higher in ones and if I guess every car is supposed to be hiring cuz I saw a thing the other day and it said the cheapest cars announced $30,000 for a basic type car. That's just crazy.

You remember those of us to my age group, when you bought a car and you had some instruments in front of you or oil pressure water temperature, Lowe's kind of things and you were supposed to watch him. You knew that if you watch the oil pressure, drop the temperature go up. You better pull over before you burn the engine up, right? But us humans as being away. We are somebody decided we weren't paying enough attention to that. So they came up with idiot lights, we called him. And so when you got oil pressure, dropping in temperature, going up red, light comes on. And then they got to where people weren't paying the red light, tension, red light. So we'll put a little message there. Check engine. Lot of people would pull over pop the hood. Yep, I've got an engine. Shut it and drive on. Today, the owner's manual is virtually built into cars that are being made, the computers in their computer runs. Everything runs your whole car tells a car, how much fuel and air mixture. It needs what? The balance Auto V will actually announce to you these days when you need to change the oil, when you need to do this, when you need to do that, they literally have built the owners manual into cars. your car know you must follow the owner's manual for it to function as it was designed It's sad, most human beings, don't realize and refused to follow the owner's manual, that God has given us so that we can function. As designed This lesson is not our, this lesson is for those who have chosen or may choose to live for Jesus and die for him. We put this up a lot in the last couple weeks, the necessity of dying for Jesus and being willing to give one's life physically for him. It is about that very thing and therefore, what we're interested in this lesson is how we as his children can root out the programming that we get dumped into our brains, in our subconscious is in our lives and we play it out how we can get rid of it and changed the programming. We start with an investigation. If we dig in into Proverbs God's wisdom, God's owners manual. We've talked about that in our classes when we study Proverbs. It's one of those books, like, all of the books that actually, you can go back and study and study and study and constantly get more in it, is the owner's manual as to how to go about living a life that will be pleasing to God, and you'll, like, the benefits that come from it. Jesus himself, as I said, actually, did everything in there. So yes, we're going to have some scripture and we're going to have a few thoughts. First thought the conflict between Godly instruction versus sinful enticement and the consequences. Proverbs deals with this more than one time chapter 1, chapter 2, chapter 3 and then throughout the book he'll go back in and once again remind us of this very Now, you and I know about the conflict inside you. Had it Paul talks about you and Galatians, chapter 5, or the Spirit In the Flesh, fight with each other. Jesus just mentioned it. When we look at the parable of building the house, on the rock lists and there's a battle that goes on, which how, how do I build a house. So our first thoughts, the conflict The Bible says here in Proverbs and verse 7, the first chapter, and we begin with a proper understanding of the relationship of fear of the Lord. With love verse 7, says, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Fools despise wisdom and instruction and it is a sad thing. For some reason. Preachers have one or two lb into children, the fear of the Lord. And that's not something, the bible really asking preacher to do but we don't need to have since it says fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. We need to have an understanding. The way God wants us to understand it of the relationship between fearing the Lord and loving. So to do that, we're going to turn to 2nd Corinthians. The fifth chapter Verse 11 through 15. Now we've used verse 14 and 15, the last few weeks, a lot where he says that the love of Christ controls us, but up up and actually could have start, I guess it bursts 10, verse 10 of this chapter Paul said to the crane things but we must all appear before the Judgment seat of Christ. And then he says, and by the way, I put it up this way cuz I wanted to have the whole context up there in front of us to see. He says this and I remember he just said the first 10 the Judgment Day is coming. He says, therefore in verse 11, there for knowing the fear of the Lord we persuade others. Now in this chapter and in the most of 2nd Corinthians Paul is dealing with the fact there have been professional philosophers or tours. Teachers come into port and begin to take people away from following Jesus to go follow man-made stuff. In what Paul saying here, is that as Apostles, they know the fear of the Lord, that being there's going to be a Judgment Day. And that Judgment day is going to happen for everyone and he says because we know that we persuade others to the professional or Thor's and philosophers, they don't believe in a judgment day they weren't speaking and teaching to save Souls, they were speaking and teaching the filter wallet and have a sense of power and control over other people. So Harry says, is Apostles and Christians, we know the fear of the Lord. So we go persuade others who are interested in people's Souls notice. But he says now, but we are But what we are is known to God and I hope it is known. Also to your conscience, we're not committing ourselves to you again, but given you cause to boast about us. So that you may be able to answer those who boast about outward appearance and not about what is in the heart. So, the professional people that he's dealing with, who are snatching Christians into false teaching, they weren't dealing with the heart, they were dealing with the intellect. There were dealing with stuff out here that you can see, feel touch with your hands and seven, six senses. Knowing the fear of the Lord. He says, we persuade others. And we're not about what's outside. We're about, what's in the heart. And then we come to verse 13, or if we are beside ourselves, it is for God. If we are in our right mind, it is for you for the love of Christ. Controls us here in that same paragraph, always talked about the proper use of the fear of the Lord, motivating us to go talk to those who are lost. But for us who have been come Christians and her walking the path of pleasing. God now we allow voluntarily the love of Christ to control. What we do, see feel thinking say and he tells us why in verse 15, he died for all that those who live might no longer live for themselves, but for him, I suggest this passage gives a proper understanding of how we who are spiritual adults are becoming such mature adults. How we use, both love and fear, there's going to be a judgment that you don't want to be not ready. But there's a lot of souls out there who are not ready and we need to go grab them and we let the love of Christ hymn dying for us and now we're willing to die for him. We let that control us for now we live for him. Moving on Bible says Godly instruction is in content in conflict, with sinful enticement and its consequences Proverbs 17 through 23.

So yes, turn the proverbs. The first chapter.

He says this dope up before we get into it important observation to be made. Whenever God repeats something. He wants us to get it now, you might say well of course there's more that's true but but we don't always do that when he repeat something over and over In A Book Like Proverbs the first chapter, the second chapter, the third chapter, the 4th chapter and all through the book. That is, why were you want? He's convincing us. Why you want to use his wisdom, the benefits of it and the consequence of not using it. And he does so over and over and over again. Yes, we'll get to some specifics as we go through the book. But the first couple chapters, he ran into chapter 3, he's telling us. Why, when God repeats himself over and over, he warns about fruit, that is both sweet and rotten for each path, will have its own consequences and some of them are great. So the first chapter verse 7, through 10, The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. It's not the end-all be-all of knowledge. Is we seen with what Paul said? But because of the fact that judgements coming, it, perks are interest it. Grabs our attention in our heart and our soul. He says, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, fools fools despise wisdom, and instruction, that is the application of the knowledge. Hear my son, your father's instruction forsake, not your mother's teaching for. They are graceful Garland for your head and Penance for your neck. My son is centers and tie shoe, do not consent. You might remember. This is Solomon, remembering how he was taught, what David taught him and what does Sheba has taught him about wisdom and God's word. He goes on verse 11 through 14. He says, if they were Sinners come with us say come with us, let us lie in. Wait for blood, let us ambushed the innocent without reason like show. Let us swallow them alive and whole like those who go down to the pit. We shall find all precious good. We shall fill our houses with plunder throw in your lot among us. We will all have one purse.

Let's go take advantage of people. He says come on, join up, we'll go wait for blood will ambush people and we'll fill our houses with all the good things that we steal. Now, there's an interesting statement here at the very last. He says, you're throwing your lot in among us. We will all have one purse.

Boy if that isn't socialism and communism there, nothing else has defines it. Throw in together at all be equal. What it turns out to be? As we all have equal share 70/30.

My son, do not walk in the way with them. Hold back your foot from their path, for their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed blood for in vain, is a net spread in the sight of any bird. But these men lie in wait for their own blood, they set an ambush for their own lives.

Throw in together. We'll have one purse. By the way, you're about to Ambush yourself. He's telling us some of the consequence of not following God's wisdom, and listen to the enticement of the lust of the flesh, the pride of life, the last of the eyes. Proverbs lays out Force the benefits and consequences. If he goes on us as such are the ways of everyone who is greedy for unjust gain. So if you're greedy and you're willing to cheat to get it, you set yourself up to destroy yourself. He goes on, says it takes away the life of its possessors. There's no real satisfaction and living that way wisdom cries aloud in the street. In the market, she raises her voice at the head of the noisy street. She cries out at the entrance of the city, Gates. She speaks

How long was simple ones? Will you love being simple? How long will scoffers Delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge? If you turn it my reproved the whole I will pour out my spirit to you, I will make my words known to you. So he's presenting here the conflict. Between being enticed to send and calling out to wisdom and following her way. Wisdom cries out, I will make my words known send entices. Come on satisfy your lust. This is why I become so important. That we pay attention to what we think. What we feel, what we say, what we do. Those are the only four things you can really be responsible for what goes in what you keep in and what's going to come out? And this, we talked about from Hebrews, where where's the constantly practice discernment. We pay attention to those Fox. Here's where we take our responsibilities. And we take our thoughts captive to Christ by constantly, choosing, their for practicing God's wisdom, not my way, but his and thoughts develop the skill at pleasing. God.

And this is about growth and getting better at it. Second thought. The failure experienced in rejecting God's wisdom. We've seen in our study, the prophets. God, laid out to those who were centers. Both the northern tribes in the southern through the prophets, what they were doing wrong, he laid out the consequence. He told him in detail, what he was going to do, how he was going to do it, but he also told him you can repent and turn. Here in Proverbs, he's telling us about the consequences in, this is not following verses, 24 through 33, and not following wisdom. The Bible says, they did not choose in. This is who he's going to talk about. Don't just pass over these words. God wants you. And I to get this and understand the value of what's being said, Proverbs 1 24 through 26. He says because I've called you and you refused to listen have stretched out my hand and no one has heated because you have ignored all my counsel and what it would have done and would have none of my reproof. I also will laugh at your Calamity. I will mop when terror strikes you When terror strikes, you like a storm in your Calamity comes like a whirlwind, then distress and anguish will come and find you, then they will all call upon me. But I will not answer, they will seek me diligently, but will not find me because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord.

This is a dangerous place to get into. He's saying here you can get so far away from God. You send can have such an impact on separating you that you can come start seeking him and you're just too far gone. Because you hated knowledge, he says, would have none of my Council despised, all my reproof. Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way have their fill of their own devices for the simple or killed by their turning away, the complacency of fools destroys them. But whoever listens to me, will dwell secure and will be at ease without dread of disaster. Isn't that what Jesus said? In Matthew 7. You hear my words and do them, you build your life, your house on the rock and there'll be a storm, but it won't be a disaster for you. Same thing being taught right here, the latian six 8:7. Paul wrote and said, do not be deceived. God is Not mocked as you sow, so shall you reap? I guess these days, we called that Karma. And in this case, the result of rejecting God is certain you reject his knowledge. You don't pay attention to what's in this book. Proverbs specifically right now, you don't pay attention to that and it's going to lead to a life of delusion. And confusion started out saying. Take a look at the history of mankind. Look at our own country right now, how much confusion, and how diluted are people that they can't even tell that if they're a male or female when they're born either way. Totally turning against God's wisdom. The Bible says claiming to be thought wise, they became fools. You might want to turn the Romans 1:20 and 20 through 22. From the beginning mankind has rejected. God's wisdom and has become fools Romans 1:20 his invisible attributes, namely his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

Anybody been to the Grand Canyon? First time I went to the Grand Canyon, got this big flat space, you just driving and driving kind of like going through Texas order driving and driving and then all the sudden you park and you walk in there and your mouth just brought soap. God's power in creation is described there in that Grand Canyon. It's awesome. And what he saying here in Romans is that has been true throughout history. Manon man has been able to see God and who he is. Men have been able to see his power, his attributes, all of that has been demonstrated and yet man has chosen not to and so he says man is without excuse Look at the design of the universe. Someone designed it, it runs like a clock, all kinds of things. Look at your body on. We could go with all the evidence in man turns. In fact, man takes what evidence in front of him and flips it around to be negative. Verse 21 through 22. Romans 14, although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking and their foolish Hearts were darkened claiming to be wise, they became fools and where is people today, claim to be wise, claim to be these smartphones, got a doctorate in here, a doctor, they're all this studying. So on and actually, what we've done man's way is become fools the promise in Proverbs, is you follow God's way? You won't be a fool. Now, this text does not imply that people cannot come to knowledge of the truth and repent. What it does warned us about is when you see the truth to accept it as the truth, and let it be what it is. Kind of hard for people to do. Sometimes those who reject God's wisdom. Romans 11 E320 to become fools. This passage expresses our personal responsibility.

Those folks we just ran about in Romans. They chose not to believe the evidence that was in front of them of God's power. And instead of worshipping God the Creator, they began worshipping the creature. And worshipping the creature, they came up with all kinds of God's. If you remember, when Abraham left chaldea. That we know that that nation of the time way back with over 5,000 different. And instead of worshipping God, they worship the creature in. This is telling us, we are responsible for what we think, what we say, what we feel and what we're doing, God's grace is provided forgiveness for us and eternal life. It's also provided for us to be pleasing to him. That's what we were designed to do. That's living up to what we were supposed to live up to Bible says Proverbs 18 verse 5. Let the wise hear and increase in learning. And the one who understands obtain guidance. You know, Jesus said, pay attention to what you hear and how you hear. Same thing being said here in Proverbs pay attention to it. To please God you and I must learn to live the listen to live in to do what he says. now, I'm not saying that we're not We know there's gross involved all the way. From now, till the time that we just cannot grow anymore, Regardless of the amount of knowledge we gain and God's word. It can be easily taken away from us. Satan is going to do everything he can to yank that word out of your heart. He's going to do everything. He can to mix lie with the truth and then you take your own self. How you can trip your self up and it can all go away. So very fast, some refused to receive God's were, but for those who've accepted it, well, this conflict takes place in the heart which takes us to our third thought. The storehouse of wisdom. And that's what he's going to talk about. Hear Proverbs next. He's going to talk or that Storehouse of wisdom is to be this Storehouse for wisdom. Is where we fight the good fight for our lives, our souls for our destiny. This Storehouse is where inside our hearts. And I've mentioned these voices, we can have not Little voices and sometimes they are but it's like that noise. It's in the back your head or like you got someone on your shoulder. Telling you you're not good enough. That's the credit or you got someone on your shoulder telling you you're still a child and be magical. Go play have a good time. That's the child part and then there's the adult part. We have all those different kinds of noise in our heads. And what Proverbs will do, what God's word will do when we put it in? Is push that other stuff out. How many times have you read in the New Testament? That God said, you die to your past and you're supposed to put on this new person? When you're baptized, we died in the old, sinful self. In God's eyes that takes place. Completely. In our eyes, we find ourselves having to deal with some of that old stuff. When you push something out, you create a vacuum and you need to put something in. It it knows voices that say You're not good enough for the voices who say, don't do that, do this and the voices who are critical in your head and all that noise that trips you up. Whenever you start to try to go do something right? Has to be reprogram and it's putting God's word in that. Does that? The Bible says something is needed to obtain God's wisdom. Turn now to Proverbs the second chapter

Verse 1 through 9.

He says my son. If you receive my words and treasure up my Commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining, your heart to understanding, there's that personal responsibility we have. Yes, if you call out for insight, Raise Your Voice for understanding, if you seek it, like, silver and search for it, as for hidden treasure. I know Darren and Harry and Marv know about seeking hidden treasure. You go out there with those metal detectors and you're looking for the big thing, aren't you? Or maybe the little ones. That's taking for Treasure. This seeking is for The Treasure of God's word to be put in placed into your heart. Proverbs to be specifically since it is the wisdom about how to live in this present world, he continues on in verse five, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God for the Lord gives wisdom from his mouth, come knowledge and understanding. He stores up, sound wisdom for the upright. He is a shield for to those who will walk in Integrity regarding the path of Justice watching over the way of his Saints. She never has a promise of some consequences of negative now, there's promise of consequences positive. There is a benefit of actually digging into this book. Verse 9, then you will understand righteousness, and Justice and equity in every good path.

So here's what he just told us, inclining your heart to understanding you receive his word and you treasure, it up his Commandments, you seek it like silver search for Hidden Treasure. Obtaining spiritual wisdom is not a once-a-week hobby. It is a daily discipline. That's why Paul said in Hebrews we constantly do this. That's why he said to the crane things we take every thought captive that's why he said to the Corinthians, we let the love of Christ. Controllers, daily investing time, and energy in digging deep into scripture. Now, the digging deep will vary for each one of us, but where if I have this attitude that we dig in, then we understand will have the good path and will be living to please him. Still Proverbs chapter two. This time. Verse 10 through 22. And this is the effect that it's going to have on your heart. For wisdom will come into your heart and knowledge will be pleasant to your sole discretion will watch over you understanding will guard, you delivering you from the way of evil from the men of perverted speech who forsake the passive, right? Uprightness to walk in the ways of Darkness who rejoice in doing evil and Delight in the perverseness of evil. Men whose Pastor crooked who are devious in their ways. So you will be delivered from The Forbidden woman from the adulteress from her smooth words, who forsake the companion of our youth and forgets the Covenant of her God for her house, sinks down to death and her past two Departed.

We're going to run into the adulterous woman multiple times in Proverbs. It is also how Godfather of his people when they went out and followed a different religion, when they became those who were worshipping Idols, he considered that spiritual adultery. So, yeah. Don't Tree in itself. Yes. But what's really being talked about here, you taking God's word and you don't have to, you will not have to go down the path of being a spiritual adulterer. He says None who go to her home, come back nor do they regain the paths of life. So you will walk in the way of the good. Keep to the path of righteousness for the upright will inhabit. The land. Those with Integrity will remain in it, but the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the treacherous will be rooted out. 7 promises, he just talked about there.

He promises wisdom will come into your heart. If you study his word, he promised his discretion will watch over you. He promises, he'll deliver you from evil. He promises. You'll be delivered from The Forbidden woman. He promises you will walk in the good way he promises and you will keep the paths of righteousness and that you will inhabit the land. But the Jews and have it in the land was there. Great promise for us as Christians, the land is the new Heaven and the new Earth and those are seven promises God makes you go after wisdom tooth in his book.

There is no reason to ever doubt. That you and I cannot do this. No reason at all that they've got. We can that we can discern understand. Apply God's wisdom. In our lives. We walk by faith. And I want to remind us about faith and walking by it. Humility. That part which starts to serve others. Instead of serving self, surrender of your will to God's will trusting God, even though you can't see the outcomes in front of you and put your trust in all that, he says, and does

We conclude these thoughts with a couple suggestions and homework. And this is suggestion. I'm not going to be testing you. Proverbs 1:10 to memorize my son. If the center's entice, you you do not consent. Proverbs 211. Discretion will watch over you understanding, will guard you. And yes, I'm going to be trying to work and memorize those completely too, but that's a suggestion to get started. There's an awful lot of negative stuff that comes in. You've got to replace it with something positive, Proverbs promise, if you put this in your heart, those seven promises will happen. The invitation this morning. The invitations to take the Book of Proverbs at its face value, it'll do exactly what it says it will do commit to its reading commit to study commit to reflection commit to prayer, commit to developing your skill at pleasing. God, he gives all that you need to do right there in the book. so,