A Path to pass on, a Path to pass by...

Whenever you become a Christian, God miraculously gives you a new heart! He takes out the heart of stone, a heart that doesn’t really have any interest in the things of God, doesn’t have any desire to obey Him, doesn’t have any feeling or love for Him, and He gives us a heart of flesh. A heart that hungers for God, that wants to follow Jesus, that desires to obey Him and grow in our knowledge of Him!

But, if you’re a Christian this morning, if you’ve experienced this new birth, then you’ll know that there is still daily, moment by moment, a battle! By nature we’re still so prone to foolishness!

Left to our own devices we’re like a car, that if you’re driving along on a straight road and you let go of the steering wheel, you won’t stay straight! You start to veer to the left, and left long enough, you’ll crash!

But God knows that! He remembers we are dust, He sees that we are weak! And in His grace He doesn’t save us and then say ‘Ok you’re on your own now’. Rather, He gives us His Spirit, and He speaks to us His Word! And as His Spirit ministers to us His Word, we begin to change! The parts of our lives that are bent, that are so prone to veer off track, He little by little straightens out. Gradually remaking us into the image of His Son, it a work that takes a lifetime!

They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth. ()

We have been saved through faith alone, in Christ alone, by grace alone. But that’s not where it ends, now God is at work in us, to make us like His Son, and the main means of that work is as His Spirit ministers His Word!

So this morning, let’s come humbly again before Him, and let’s listen to what He will say through this wise father as he speaks to his son. Let’s come to the mirror of His Word, and be changed that bit more, through faith!

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Up until chapter 10 of Proverbs, the writer is wanting to draw us in, to create in us a hunger for wisdom, to wet our appetite! And again here we see this, as the wise Father gives his son, and all of us great reason to turn our ears again to this Word!

Listen, because this truth is tried and tested (v.1-9)

We’re all constantly listening to something! And what we pay most attention to, will have the biggest influence on what shapes us!

If we listen mostly to the media, the culture of our day, the lyrics of songs, the rants of celebrities, the agendas of tv programmes, then that will shape how you think and what you think.

If it’s our friends we listen to most, then depending on what kind of friends we have, that will be a huge influence on what we think and how we see things. Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals (1. Cor.15:33). If you have friends that gossip, talk about people behind their backs, criticize, then you can be sure that you will begin to be shaped in that way!

We’re all constantly listening to something! But again in our passage this morning, we’re called along with this son to listen, to be attentive (pay attention), to the words that this wise father offers, and ultimately to the words that God offers! Because only when they are the loudest in our minds and hearts, will we truly learn wisdom and gain insight!

In this first section we see that what the father is telling his son is not just something that originates with him! But rather it has been passed down by his father also (v.3-4a)! So we see Grandad, Dad, son here! There is a generational passing on of truth, a discipling within the family!

Now that alone is a challenge for us! I thought this week about my own children, and if I were to pass away soon, what would they remember as the main thing I taught them? What would they recall as my main encouragement to them? Work hard in your schooling, when you get the ball get your head up, always look for the person by themselves in the room and go to them, when you play with something put it away after you!!

All stuff that I want them to remember! But would that be it?! What about those you love, what would be the words that would stay with them, what would be the advice they’d hold, as most dear to you if you passed away?

Just look at what this Grandfather leaves with his son, and is now passed on…v.4-9...

True life is not found in the best exam results, the best career path, the popularity, the financial security, the husband or wife, the kids, the house, the health, the holidays. Even though that’s often the voice we hear more than any and are shaped by! Rather this Grandfather is telling his son, life is found in these words! So hold fast to them!

Like if you were drowning in a lake, and someone throws you in a life ring, and you grab that ring and you hold fast for all your worth! You are not going to let it go, because if you know your life depends on it!

And just like a life ring, the way you benefit from it is you grab it! You don’t have to be smart, you don’t have to have things all together, you don’t have understand how this ring works and the proper use of it! You just have to grab it, and hold on to it, trust in it!

So it is with this wisdom that is on offer! The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight.

‘What is takes is not brains or opportunity, but decision. Do you want it? Come and get it?

The offer is there for everyone of us this morning? Do you want wisdom, do you want to walk in a way that pleases God, and enjoys the blessings that this brings? Then grab the ring! Make the decision! By God’s grace decide in your heart right now, this is what I want, this is how I want my life to be spent! And I’m prepared to let go of all else that I might get this!

Obviously for those here who are outside of Christ, that begins by recognizing that we’re drowning! It starts with seeing we need rescued, and seeing that God in Christ Jesus has done everything that is needed for that rescue! All we need to do is grab Him by faith! Bow before Him as our Lord and Savior, ask Him to come and take control of our lives!

But for those of us in Christ already, we need to make that decision for wisdom constantly! As we said at the beginning, we’re naturally foolish! We need that continual work of shaping us, changing us, making us into the image of Jesus! And in that, we must decide, each day, in each situation, ‘I want this! It is only as I submit to God in His Word that I will truly know honor, beauty, safety, satisfaction! Even if that means in this world it looks like shame, sacrifice, ridicule, abuse!’

Remember this is something the father is passing on to his son! He’s lived it, He knows the reality of it! It’s tried and tested, it’s proven advice and counsel! Listen to it and know true life!!

Listen, because this truth is what keeps us from stumbling (v.10-19)

This father has led his son, he’s walked with him along the way, he’s taught him the value of wisdom and the effect it has on life. But there comes a time when the father can no longer be by his side. There comes a time when the Son has to make his own choices. And the question is, will he listen and accept what he has been taught, or will he chart his own course?

Our culture hates the notion of following the counsel and instructions of others! It sees it as weak, as a form of bondage (slavery). If we want to be free we need to go our own way and not be influenced by other people, this is our life, and we need to live it!!

How foolish and arrogant to ignore tried and tested words, just so we can claim we are the captain of our own lives! So we can come to the end and sing with sinatra, ‘I did it my way’!

It’s like picking up a bottle of bleach, reading the warning signs on the back of the bottle, and then saying ‘They aren’t going to tell me what to do’! And then drinking down the bottle!

The father lays out 2 options in these verses, a path to pass on, and a path to pass by! And if you notice in this section, stumble occurs three times. If this son will hold on to these words he has been taught, if he will listen and be shaped by the instruction of his father, and the instruction of the Lord! Then it will keep him from stumbling! He will walk, he will run, and as he does he will be guarded! He will know true life!

Again this doesn’t mean we’ll live lives free from trouble, trial, pain, failing! The stumbling isn’t talking about the type of stumbling that we all deal with daily as we fall short of God’s glory! But rather, it’s the type of stumbling as you’re walking at the edge of a cliff, when you stumble it’s not something you can get up from! It leads to destruction!

…for the righteous falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked stumble in times of calamity. ()

But look at the alternative here, look at the path that must be passed by! v.14-17...

You can picture it in your mind, you’re walking along a certain road, with your destination in sight. You’ve been given the directions, you’ve been told the way to go, and warned not to step off that way. A bit like Christian in Pilgrim’s Progress when he see by pass meadow. This other way look easy, it looks pleasant, it seems appealing! But it will lead to great trouble!

It’s a path to avoid, to stay clear of! Because here’s what happens, sin is subtle but deadly! It lures you in, invites you to just step on the path, and before you know it, it enslaves us!

Just look at v.16&17...

Sin has become the obsession of these people! It’s their focus as they lie on their beds at night! Sleep evades them unless they have settled on a plan to bring others down with them! When they wake, it’s this evil that sustains them through the day, it’s their food and drink! Sin does that! And it begins with a simple small step onto the path!

I spoken to quite a few people in recent days, who testify to this. Being in school and someone encouraging them to look at one indecent picture on their phone. It’s just one picture, one look, that’s it! And from that came an enslaving to pornography! That’s what sin does, it’s never content with you falling once. It’s aim is to destroy you! To bring you to a place you never in your wildest dreams thought you would go!!

Look at the contrast the father paints here between these 2 paths in v.18-19...

One picture is so beautiful! The sun begins to rise, light penetrates the darkness, and although there’s still a way to go, it’s getting brighter! As the minutes go by the light is taking more ground, dispelling the areas where darkness still clings on! That’s the picture of the Christian life! We’re a work in progress! There are areas that still need the light of His Word! But as nothing can stop the sun from rising, so nothing will stop God’s work in the lives of His people. What He has began, He will finish! The light will shine brighter until full day!!

But for those in darkness, it comes to the point where it is deep darkness! Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness to be felt.” So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was pitch darkness in all the land of Egypt three days. They did not see one another, nor did anyone rise from his place for three days, but all the people of Israel had light where they lived…()

Not only do they live for the stumbling of others, but their own lives are marked by stumbling, and they don’t even see it! They’re blinded to it! We all know people like that don’t we?! And how sad and scary it is!

Maybe you’re here today and you’re tempted to take that first step! You’re being asked to come on the path with friends, by the things you watch, the things you hear! Avoid it; do not go on it!!! Speak to someone about it and ask for help and support. And listen to His Word, without the light of His Word we don’t even see the dangerous paths!!

Maybe you feel like you’ve already stepped onto a path that you know you should not be on! If you can hear this warning, and it’s still troubling you, then it’s not too late!! God in His grace is still offering you the chance to turn! But you must do it now, before the light fades all together and all you know is deep darkness!

We must listen, because this truth is what keeps us from stumbling. It’s His Word that is a lamp to our feet and light to our path!

Listen, because this truth is what guards our hearts (v.20-27)

Here we have that beautiful and familiar Scripture, Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. Jesus no doubt has this in mind when he talks about the heart being the source of where our unrighteousness springs (Mtt. 15), and also () that it’s from the heart that rivers of living water come can come!

The heart is the control center for all that we do! It’s the very core of our being, the place where thoughts, feelings, desires, all come together and then pour out!

If our hearts can be kept with all vigilance, like a guard standing watch at the door of a dangerous prisoners cell! Then as we see in v.24-27, it works itself out in the day to day of our lives, the things we say, the things we see, the way we go! ‘If the son listens to the father, the whole body will be healthy’.

So how can we guard our hearts? Again the wise father tells us the importance of listening, the importance of paying attention to his words, the the Lord’s word! v.20-22...

The springs of life flow from the heart, and the Word kept within the heart is life! Therefore to guard this spring of life that impacts every area of our lives, we must guard it using His Word! We must listen because it’s through the keeping of His Word in our hearts that we know life!

Imagine a river outside your house, and ever since you moved there this river stank! It was polluted, and everything in it died! Until one day, the river agency found the source of the pollution right at the heart of the river, and they dealt with it! Now the water was no longer polluted, life was able to flourish again in it! However, there were still threats! From the source the river was now clean, but it was still possible along the way for rubbish, and chemicals to be added in and impact it downstream! Your job was to guard it, and when you saw things that might contaminate the river and make it dirty, you removed them!

Jesus makes us clean through all He has done for us at the cross! The polluted heart has been dealt with! But we now must be on guard, because the springs of life can easily get muddied! They can easily be contaminated, and when they do, it impacts every area of our lives! It effects how we live and enjoy the life God has given us in Christ! And the way we guard this is through His Word!

I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. ()

God’s Word has such an impact on our lives as His Spirit ministers it to us! It changes us in ways we never thought were possible!! We must listen to it this morning, and every morning! Will you make sure it is the voice you allow to speak louder than every other! Its a truth that is tried and tested! It’s a truth that keeps us from stumbling, and its the only truth that guards our hearts!

Maybe it an area of life you really struggle with. Why not sure that with someone after the service and ask for prayer and ask for help. I know there would be so many that would want to walk alongside others as we fight to listen, and be transformed into the likeness of Christ!