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00:00:00second installment of our getting God right in the way that we think and the way that we conduct
00:00:06ourselves out of the book of Proverbs. And as we look at this together, I'm going to,
00:00:12should I read for time's sake the whole thing? I think so. We're standing, I'll read it. Let's
00:00:18go to the passages. Proverbs chapter 1, verses 1 to 19. The Proverbs of Solomon, the son of David,
00:00:24king of Israel, to know wisdom and instruction, to perceive the words of understanding,
00:00:29to receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, judgment, and equity, to give prudence to the
00:00:35simple, to the young man, knowledge and discretion. A wise man will hear and increase learning,
00:00:43and a man of understanding will attain wise counsel. To understand a proverb and an enigma,
00:00:49the words of the wise and their riddles, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.
00:00:56But fools despise wisdom and instruction. My son, this is Solomon speaking to his son,
00:01:03hear the instruction of your father, and do not forsake the law of your mother, for they will be
00:01:08a graceful ornament on your head and chains about your neck. My son, if sinners entice you, do not
00:01:16consent. If they say, come with us, let us lie and wait to shed blood. Let us lurk secretly for
00:01:23the
00:01:23innocent without cause. Let us swallow them up alive like shoal, or another word for hell, and whole
00:01:30like those who go down to the pit. We shall find all kinds of precious possessions, and we shall fill
00:01:36our houses with spoil. Cast in your lot among us. Let us all have one purse. My son, do not
00:01:46walk in the way
00:01:47with them. Keep your foot from their path, for their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed
00:01:54blood.
00:01:55Surely, in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird. But they lie in wait for their
00:02:01own blood.
00:02:02They lurk secretly for their own lives. So are the ways of everyone who is gritty for gain.
00:02:08It takes away the life of its owners. Man! Father, just reading those 19 verses is testimony
00:02:19of how far our culture has fallen from God. Lord, we pray that if these truths that we just read
00:02:29were being lived out in our nation today, everything would change. Dear God in heaven, we pray that in
00:02:36our own lives and in the lives of our state and our nation, that there would be revival. That there
00:02:42would be a great move of your Holy Spirit. While there's yet time, you haven't returned yet. We're
00:02:48still alive for such a time as this. May none of us leave this building today thinking some ho-hum
00:02:55way
00:02:55of Christianity, some boring way of Christianity. May it not be. God, move in our midst, we pray.
00:03:01We ask it in Jesus' name and all God's people said, Amen. You may be seated, church. And as we
00:03:08look at this
00:03:08today, diving in, I want to remind you of the great way that God speaks to us to open up
00:03:19our
00:03:19understandings and our mind. We're obviously in the book of Proverbs. And a proverb is a pithy, quick way of
00:03:27God
00:03:28giving you and I a profound truth in a sentence. If you reverse it in that one sentence, you can
00:03:36expound
00:03:37upon it into deep and profound depths. A proverb. Those of you who are educators, listen up. This is
00:03:46pretty cool. A proverb from the scriptures, you look at them and the way that they reveal information and
00:03:55understanding is somewhat miraculous. Why? It's because a proverb has been introduced to us by
00:04:03God for our learning. And then remember, the other word is a parable. A parable is a God-ordained way
00:04:11of thinking and teaching where it is very graphic. So watch this. If God is trying to teach us all
00:04:18the
00:04:19great truths of the Bible, it all begins with wisdom. And how do we begin with wisdom? By a
00:04:26proverb. One proverb can open up your mind, if you're willing, to be introduced to the rest of
00:04:34the doctrines of God's word. Absolutely stunning. A parable can take God's deep truths and present them
00:04:42to you in a picture form that's technicolor and you'll get it. That's why Jesus spoke
00:04:49in parables. And God speaks to us here in the book of Proverbs with profound revelation of great,
00:04:57great knowledge. Now, apparently we all have a hunger for knowledge, a desire for knowledge. It depends on
00:05:03how we look at it. I took a picture of this. I was at P.F. Chang's the other day.
00:05:09And this is the way the world
00:05:11wants to communicate to us, uh, the world's wisdom. And I had to take a picture. I just had to
00:05:17do this.
00:05:18My fortune cookie told me that I have a lifetime of joyous celebrations coming.
00:05:27How did they know at P.F. Chang's that I'm a Christian and that when I die, I'm going to
00:05:31go
00:05:31to heaven and enter into all kinds of celebrations and enjoy the Lord Jesus Christ. How did they know
00:05:36that? I don't think P.F. Chang is wise. I think P.F. Chang got lucky because that cookie happened
00:05:44to be
00:05:44in front of me. But I took that word from the restaurant and I applied it in light of the
00:05:51Bible
00:05:51and I would say amen to that. Because there's truth that precedes the cookie. That is eternal truth.
00:06:01But listen, have you ever opened up a fortune cookie and it says, this week's going to be very
00:06:07horrible. You need to really hang on and double down and get strong and look to the Lord. No,
00:06:12everything is, it's going to be wonderful. You're going to see some interesting things.
00:06:17Uh, you're going to meet fascinating people. They tell you all this stuff that down deep inside
00:06:21you're looking for. Well, how about this? How about God giving you the truth that you may or may not
00:06:28be aware that you're looking for? And a lot of young people today, in fact, you guys, those of
00:06:33us who are gray, we should all be maybe golfing today in Palm Springs. I don't know. While this
00:06:38sanctuary should all be full of very young people. Why? They need this wisdom. Of course, we all need
00:06:46the wisdom of God. The Bible tells us in Hosea chapter 12, verse 10, that it is God. He says,
00:06:52I have also spoken by the prophets and have multiplied visions and have given symbols through
00:06:59the witness of the prophets. Meaning this, that when God speaks, he announces it's all to make
00:07:06things clear. And that's a very blessed thing. Last time together, we'll run over this very quickly.
00:07:12We saw this in point one. Today we're in point two. Point one was in verses one to seven. The
00:07:17way of the
00:07:18wise is getting God right. And we saw that it is being in awe of God. We talked about the
00:07:24thunderstorms of Job and the great moving of God throughout scripture in the Psalms, where God
00:07:30announces, this is who I am. And I speak this to the sea. I speak this to the mountains, the
00:07:37great God
00:07:38that we are to be in awe about. A friend of mine sent me a picture yesterday of them being
00:07:43at the
00:07:44Grand Canyon. And, uh, you know, what's funny about that? If you've never been to the Grand
00:07:49Canyon, you would think those pictures are beautiful. And they are. But if, listen, if you've
00:07:55been to the Grand Canyon, you know, forget about pictures. It's not going to work. If you've never
00:08:00been, Ooh, look, it's wonderful. If you've been, I don't even need to see your picture. You know what I'm
00:08:06saying? Because a picture can't do it. You got to be there. And God wants you and I as believers
00:08:13to
00:08:13live this world of his Proverbs, being in the moment, being here, being in the word and seeing
00:08:21him move. And it's all about the awe of God. And we saw in verses one to four, we saw
00:08:26that we obtained
00:08:27that by considering who God is. We talked about that. Secondly, we saw in verses five to six, that
00:08:33we're to remember who we are in light of who God is. We need to stop worrying. We need to
00:08:39stop being
00:08:39anxious because the Bible commands us to stop it. Why? Because it is very human of us. And we got
00:08:46to
00:08:46get away from that by the power of God. Our humanity will tear us down and bring us into the
00:08:51pit of
00:08:52despair. But when we look at God and when we remember who we are, we can stand up in the
00:08:57midst of
00:08:58difficult times and rejoice because God's on his throne. I got news. Listen, Satan knows it. Do you
00:09:04know this? God is on his throne on this Sunday morning and nothing's going to dislodge him from
00:09:10his throne. He's God. And you think about, I love the fact that on, well, every day of the week,
00:09:17I'm
00:09:17sure Satan has a bad day, but Sundays are extra bad for Satan. And then thirdly, last time we ended
00:09:23this
00:09:23by knowing who we can become in Christ and God. In Proverbs chapter one, verse seven, and remember
00:09:30verse seven is one of the great theme verses of the entire book. For the fear of the Lord is
00:09:35the
00:09:35beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. And that is a defining rod, like
00:09:43knife through butter in our world today. There are those who are seeking to give their lives to God or
00:09:50seeking to do the right thing or seeking to pursue God or to find out even if there is a
00:09:55God. And then
00:09:56there are those who might even know that there is a God, but reject him. There are those that will
00:10:01not
00:10:01learn a thing. They know everything. They're legends in their own mind. They are absolutely impressed with
00:10:07themselves. Everything about their world is narcissistic, where they are the theme and the center
00:10:14of everything. You can't teach them. They will not learn. And God says that that is a matter of the
00:10:20heart.
00:10:21I think that is a profound and clear observance of that. The Bible says regarding you and I
00:10:27in the transformation that as believers we have experienced. Now listen, 2 Corinthians chapter
00:10:33five, verse 17. You say, yeah, yeah, I know that. But let me ask you something. Is 2 Corinthians 5,
00:10:3817, can you say that this has really happened in your life? Check out this verse. It's on the screen.
00:10:43By faith you can see it. 2 Corinthians 5, 17 says, therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a
00:10:55new
00:10:55creation. All things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new. That is not some sort of a
00:11:04pixie dust display. Our verbiage from God. God says those who have come to Christ, what is old has been
00:11:15done away with. The past life that you and I used to be, we call it BC days, before Christ.
00:11:20God takes that
00:11:21and he applies his blood, the blood of Christ at the cross. When we come to him, he washes away
00:11:26our sins, which is radical. Listen, we don't, we won't go into this right now, but when he washes away
00:11:32our sins, this is a theological fact. It's just impossible for us to understand. He washes away
00:11:37our sins, past, present, and future. Now you say, wait, what? He washed away my past sins, but the sins
00:11:46of my
00:11:47present and of my future. Well then, does that mean I just to get, just should just keep going sinning
00:11:52then? Impossible. No way. Because when you realize that he's washed away your old sins, it transforms
00:12:01you in the now and forevermore. You don't use it as a cloak to go sin. You use it as
00:12:07power to not get
00:12:08into sins. You've been set free. Now, do we sin? Yes. But do we intend to sin? No. The believer
00:12:17does
00:12:17not get up in the morning and say, well, I'm going to minimize my sins today to 10 of them.
00:12:23We won't think like that. If you're not a Christian, but you're religious, that's how you think.
00:12:29I'm religious, but I'm not a Christian. So I'm going to rack up my sins and I'll take care of
00:12:33them
00:12:33later on in the week. And then I'll rack them up again and I'll take care of them later in
00:12:36the week.
00:12:37Friends, that is not believing in God and that is not a transformed new relationship. You're not a new
00:12:43creature. You may be religious, but you're not made new. God makes us new and when he does, he changes
00:12:49that. It's an awesome transformation. It's what God does in us becoming like him. One more thing on this
00:12:58before we get into the second point, and it is the fact that the Bible tells us that God, at
00:13:04the moment
00:13:04of our conversion, how can we know? Because he tells us that he gives us a new heart.
00:13:12It doesn't say he's going to give us a new heart. He says he gives us a new heart.
00:13:20And it would be wise for you today to evaluate, have you experienced a new heart? So how would
00:13:27I know? One of the things is that you have discovered that you get in an argument with
00:13:31yourself. Honestly. Why? Because your mind is set in a certain groove and a certain way
00:13:38of thinking and living life and processing life, but then you got a new heart.
00:13:44God touches your heart and he causes you to be quickened or made alive. And he gives you a new
00:13:50heart. And when you have a new heart, you wind up getting in an argument internally with the old
00:13:57you. Because your mind has been conditioned to do the old things. But God's got a plan for that. He
00:14:04gives us a brand new heart. And I wish that God would have given us a brand new mind. But
00:14:09in his
00:14:09wisdom, he knows all things. That's not the way to do it. God says, I want you to renew your
00:14:15mind.
00:14:16So he gives us a new heart. Clearly the new heart gives us the ability to renew our minds. And
00:14:22how do
00:14:22we do that? In the word of God, the Bible. You say, you Christians are brainwashed. Would to God
00:14:30that we were brainwashed more? I want my brainwashed, scrubbed, sterilized. I want my mind purged
00:14:39of the things of the past. But in God, in Christ, he takes the things of the past. He washes
00:14:46them away
00:14:47as sin. But we learn from them in the time now, in the time to come, in the word of
00:14:53God, we make the
00:14:55conclusion, I've been down that road before. Boy, I ain't going down that road again. And God says,
00:15:00that's right, because I've given you a new heart. And you keep renewing your mind in the word of God.
00:15:06Scrub your mind with the Bible. In fact, one more verse. I keep saying that to you. Romans chapter 12,
00:15:13verse 2. Romans 12, verse 2 says, and do not become or do not be conformed. The words and do
00:15:22not,
00:15:22it means stop it. In the Greek, it means stop being conformed to this world. Stop being like this
00:15:28world. Oh my goodness, young people today. Or maybe, isn't it, maybe all of us, huh? I feel like in
00:15:34the
00:15:34book of Proverbs, because I'm old, I want to bring a bunch of young people around and tell them. But
00:15:41then
00:15:42the reality is they could probably point right back at me.
00:15:47What things in the world try to creep in to give you some sort of value? That's conforming to the
00:15:53world. Don't do that. What things creep into your life in the way of thought or the way of appreciation
00:15:58or the way of direction that's of the world? And you derive something out of it. The Bible says,
00:16:04watch out. But be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove, test,
00:16:10what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Remarkable. So here we go. Number two is in
00:16:18verses 8 to 19. And that is the way of wisdom and getting God right in our lives is by
00:16:24leaving bad
00:16:25behind. Can you write that down? Leaving bad behind. We're going to let everybody who gets convicted run
00:16:33out of the house today with their hair on fire. Because God is going to speak to some of us
00:16:38today about
00:16:39leaving bad behind. I cannot tell you. It's not legal for me to tell you. But the things
00:16:49that we have not only learned but continue to learn that people will, you know, we get this
00:16:56information, get that information. Wait a minute. This person or this family or this group's been coming
00:17:01to the church for so long. And then you find out that all of these horrible activities are going on
00:17:08in
00:17:08their private life. And as a pastor, it makes me sick to my stomach. And then I'm thinking, well,
00:17:14how did I fail? You know, that's how you, right? If you're a chef, if you cook and somebody doesn't
00:17:18like it, you don't blame the person that's eating it. You wind up seeing if you left out a recipe.
00:17:24So
00:17:24when I hear that somebody's living a fake life and they get found out, but I recognize their face
00:17:32by association, something's wrong. And a truth comes out because the reality is made known.
00:17:47And when we think about these things, the fact of the matter is leaving bad behind, you cannot claim
00:17:53to be a Christian and continue on in your life that was how it was before you were a Christian.
00:18:02The world looks at us today and they say to the Christian, I don't need to be a Christian. I
00:18:06know
00:18:07Christians. Their lives, they didn't change at all. How did, listen, I always tell those unbelievers,
00:18:12how do you know those people are Christians? Well, they say they are. It doesn't matter what you say.
00:18:20God is calling us to leave bad behind. And in verse 8, he says to his son, my son, hear
00:18:27the
00:18:27instruction of your father. This is tender. And do not forsake the law of your mother. Verse 9,
00:18:33for they will be graceful ornaments on your head and chains about your neck. So the first thing we
00:18:40see here is that we ought to be listening or learning, I should say, on how to listen. Learning.
00:18:47How do we leave bad behind? We learn how to listen. The instruction that is coming here is,
00:18:53notice, it's coming from Solomon, the father. Now, I'm going to make this blanket statement.
00:18:59This whole book assumes that we're believers and this whole book assumes that the father loves his
00:19:05child and the mother loves her child and that this is a home of believers. So you might sit here
00:19:14today
00:19:15and say, well, that my home is not like that or my life was not like that. Listen, just let
00:19:19God speak
00:19:20to you and pick up and go. But keep this in mind. The instruction is from the father and from
00:19:25the
00:19:25mother. And it's a beautiful thing. The voice of the father is speaking instruction vividly. Dads,
00:19:33fathers, we're to speak to our kids in a very vivid way. My son, hear the instruction of your father.
00:19:40The word implies that the instruction given by dad is vivid. It means hands-on.
00:19:48Very powerful way of teaching. Listen, young people today are not taught well when you tie them.
00:19:54I'm going to get hate mail for this, but you know what? When you put a kid in a chair
00:19:58and they've,
00:20:00they, there's some, you know, at eight years of age, they've got wiggles. But even if you strap
00:20:06them in with leather straps to the chair, it doesn't mean they're going to learn. Kids are kids.
00:20:12And you need to realize, we need to realize as parents that the best way to teach our kids is
00:20:17to take the classroom outside. Get out there. Kids want to climb trees. Make it a teachable moment.
00:20:25Kids want to dig up worms and give them names. Let them do that. Study worms. Get into it. Find
00:20:33out.
00:20:33When a kid runs across the backyard because he saw a butterfly, then get that kid to learn everything
00:20:39they can about butterflies. But when you strap 40 kids in a classroom and you bore them to death,
00:20:46you, you, you basically kill their curiosity for learning. And the, the dad, the father should be
00:20:54one who gives instruction in a vivid way. Dads, listen, you can't say to your kid,
00:20:59I don't want you to do that. And they say, why? They're not being disrespectful. Why? They want to know
00:21:05why. Tell me why. And when you say, because, that means you don't know what you're talking about.
00:21:13And it means that they will go get the answer somewhere else. God has ordained fathers to
00:21:19vividly instruct their children. What an honor to be called a parent. And God wants to encourage you
00:21:27in that area. And then the mother, look what it says, the voice of the mother, she brings the law.
00:21:33Ah, what is that? The law? You know, listen, your teenager doesn't want to hear this. My mom's,
00:21:39of course my mom brings the law. You don't understand though. That's a very compassionate
00:21:45thing. Your mom is telling you that to have you be comforted. So what do you mean comforted?
00:21:54Your mom is trying to take the instruction that your dad just gave you. And your mom is trying to
00:21:59paint it in such a way that it's guardrails to your life. Moms are to give guardrails.
00:22:09It's quite amazing. God's design, by the way, mom, dad, family.
00:22:16According to human history, God invented the family. And he invented the family in such a way
00:22:22where it is a unit, one family. God loves the family. Notice how the family's under attack.
00:22:32It's been under attack in America for many decades. And I don't think we're winning
00:22:38this battle. Families are broken, splintered, divided. Satan hates family.
00:22:46You know, the other day Lisa and I were driving through, we were in another state, driving
00:22:51through a certain part of town to get to the other side of town. And we noticed that there
00:22:57was a lot of poverty. And I don't say this to offend anybody. I say this to hopefully get
00:23:03you engaged. It happened to be an area where it was a heavily dense black community and it
00:23:11was very, very poor. And you know what we saw in the street corner? The fanciest building in town
00:23:18was Planned Parenthood. And if you know anything about the history of Planned Parenthood and the
00:23:24black community, it makes your blood boil. Satan hates the black community. Clearly he's trying to
00:23:34destroy them. He takes out the father, he takes out the mother, and in some cases takes out the
00:23:40child before the child has a chance to live. Satan hates the family. God loves the family.
00:23:49And you've got the father and you've got the mother and you've got the child. God calls that a family.
00:23:56I think, by the way, I think the only way that we can really, I shouldn't say the only way,
00:24:02a great
00:24:03help in understanding the Trinity of God. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. God's one,
00:24:08everybody. There's one God. As Christians, we worship one God. But the theology is that he
00:24:16manifests himself in three distinct personalities. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit.
00:24:22You say, I don't get it. Join the club. None of us get it. If you can figure out your
00:24:27God, you need a bigger
00:24:28God. All three are absolutely equal. Neither one of them lack anything. Neither one of them are
00:24:38dependent upon the other, but they make absolute unity. Perfect. Elohim is the very meaning of that
00:24:46word. God in a singular plurality. Go figure that out. In the beginning, Elohim created the heavens and
00:24:52the earth. Think of that. God never calls himself, and we would not call him a family.
00:25:06But on earth, the family is a picture of a unit, and everybody has their place, and it's kind of
00:25:14cool
00:25:14this way. So if you're, if you live, if you're a papa bear, and if you're mama bear, and you're
00:25:20baby bear,
00:25:23y'all, y'all live in the bear house on 123 Sugar Bear Lane, and y'all, you have the
00:25:32same last name,
00:25:33bear. What's your name? My name's Yogi. What's your name? My name's Smokey. What's your name? My name's
00:25:40Pooh. They all got their different first names, but they all have the same last name. Are you with me?
00:25:47They're Mr. and Mrs. Bear and Baby Pooh. Bear. Under one address, think of one God, and under that roof,
00:25:56there's God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. Remarkable. And God wants a family to be
00:26:04blessed. And God says, I want the dads to tell their kids instruction on how to live life. You say,
00:26:10Jack, I don't know if you want, I don't know if I should tell my kids how I lived my
00:26:13life. It was
00:26:14horrible. Tell them what you can. They can learn from your mistakes. Why would they ever have to repeat
00:26:21them? And he says to them something that is very, very beautiful, I think, and powerful here,
00:26:31where he talks about the very dressing, as it were. And all this leads to choices, people.
00:26:39How are we listening? Are we listening? We need to condition ourselves. Jesus said in Revelation 3,
00:26:47verse 22, he who has an ear, this is fine, watch this, let him hear, the word in Greek is
00:26:55aku,
00:26:55aku, or aku-oh, and he says what the Spirit says to the church. He who has an ear, let
00:27:04him hear what
00:27:05the Spirit of God is saying to the church. And the word aku-oh means to take your ear and
00:27:12to bend it
00:27:14and put it. So watch this. This is what it actually means. You guys ready? I'm going to actually be
00:27:20giving you some graphic instruction. The word means to take your ear and to bend it and put it to
00:27:29the point of interest, the source. So I got my ear on the word. I had to move it out.
00:27:37I brought the
00:27:38word up to it. I'm pressing the word against my ear. Are you hearing me? Listen, God says,
00:27:45that's what Jesus says, that's what I want you to do. I want you to take your ear and I
00:27:50want you to
00:27:50press it to the mouth of the Holy Spirit as he's speaking to you. Make it in efforts to hear
00:27:57what
00:27:57he's saying. Isn't that the heart of God? God says, I will be found by you if you seek after
00:28:04me with
00:28:04all of your hearts. Jesus says, press your ear to the truth. Isaiah chapter 50, verse 4 says,
00:28:15the Lord God has given me the tongue of the learned that I should know how to speak a word
00:28:22in season to him who is weary. He awakens me morning by morning. He awakens my ear to hear
00:28:29as the learned. That's a great, great prayer to pray for your own life. And those who loved religion
00:28:38in Jesus's day, but they didn't know God. And John chapter 8, verse 43, listen to this.
00:28:43Why do you not understand my speech? Jesus said, because you are not able to listen to my word.
00:28:50The word implies that they had their ears plugged with the world, plugged up. Can you imagine stuff
00:28:56hanging out of your ear? Now, Lisa and I, it's kind of funny. We're going through this age of our
00:29:03lives where, what did you say? I didn't say anything. It's so funny. I hear her when she's not speaking.
00:29:10And when she's speaking, I don't hear her. But it's mutual. She'll say, what'd you say? I didn't say
00:29:18anything. No, I think you did. No, I didn't. Well, you did. You just forgot. Growing old in Jesus is
00:29:27awesome. There's grace. You have to use grace. But it's part of us having to train ourselves to
00:29:45listening. And the great thing about getting old is so great. I want you young people, I want to
00:29:52encourage you. As you get older, you actually, from your vantage point, you actually start looking
00:30:00better in the mirror as you get older. It's amazing. It's a miracle because your eyesight starts fading.
00:30:15And there's this portion of some years where everything you eat or look at, you start to gain
00:30:19weight. And then God in his goodness, as you get older, you start losing weight because your teeth
00:30:25hurt and you can't eat what you'd like to eat. And this is something that I've been going through for
00:30:34a long time is people will say, I'm so sorry. You know, I told you two weeks ago that, you
00:30:41know,
00:30:42this horrible thing about you. And I tell them, just stop talking. I don't even know. I don't even
00:30:47remember what you said. It's so great. I'm not at war with anybody. Somebody could be attacking me up
00:30:55one side down the other and give me two weeks. I'll forget it all and we'll be best friends.
00:31:04But we are to incline. We have to make effort to hear. I'm going to give you a lot of
00:31:08verses
00:31:08on this because friends, it goes right into, I think this is a good way to take it.
00:31:12One of the ways. Friendships. Friendships. A lot of young people today, maybe all of us today need to
00:31:21watch out regarding friendships. And in my notes, if you have my notes on page seven,
00:31:26I said something to the effect about, we've all heard the term marry up. You know what that means?
00:31:33Marry up. Marry up means you want to do better in your life? Marry up. That's what I did. I
00:31:39may be
00:31:39ugly, but I'm not dumb. I married Lisa and I married up. Young people today, if you're single, marry up.
00:31:47Marry up. Well, listen, it starts with friendships first. Pick your friends wisely, folks.
00:31:56Just because you have something in common doesn't mean you're supposed to hang out with each other.
00:32:01You can go out to the, in fact, today's Sunday. There's a lot of people golfing today. They think
00:32:05they're enjoying things. Satan's out on the golf course today. Think about that.
00:32:16Maybe somebody at work. Could be a neighbor. Everything seems cool. But is God calling them?
00:32:29Has God brought them in to your life to be a friend? I've concluded in life, you don't need many
00:32:36friends.
00:32:37friends. Just, you want to make sure that they're true friends.
00:32:422 Corinthians chapter 6, this applies to a broad spectrum of life in total.
00:32:48Do not be unequally yoked. Don't be hooked up to a yoke that's pulling a load together with
00:32:55unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light
00:33:01with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Another word for Satan.
00:33:07Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with
00:33:12idols? Speaking of your body.
00:33:16For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said, I will dwell in them and walk
00:33:22among them. I will be their God and they shall be my people. Therefore, come out from among them
00:33:27and be separate, says the Lord. Unequally yoked.
00:33:31People who are believers getting deeply involved, emotionally involved, maybe even falling in love
00:33:37with a non-believer. And then one of the cover-ups is, oh, I just, but I love them. And,
00:33:44and, and,
00:33:45you know, I, you know, we just advanced to this situation. And I may, I'm going to pray that God
00:33:49saves them. That's noble. But just know this, God warns you. Unbeliever and a believer, they can't
00:33:56mix like oil and water. It doesn't work. Listen, when you have two believers married together, it's still
00:34:02going to be a challenge. When you get an unbeliever and a believer together in marriage, it's so, so
00:34:11unnecessarily difficult. And then to add drama to dynamic when children come. I want to take them
00:34:19to Sunday school. My kids are not going to Sunday school. You know, all that kind of stuff. Watch out
00:34:26who you hang out with because you'll be like them. Inevitably, you'll be like them. And godliness
00:34:35is hard to maintain. Evil pulls and tugs and brings it down. It's hard to maintain that. It's
00:34:44best, what does the scripture say? A three strand cord wrapped together is not easily broken. That's
00:34:52husband. I'm in this, in this analogy, friends or husbands and wives wrapped around God as the core.
00:35:02Proverbs chapter 18, verse 24. One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there
00:35:11is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. I love that. Why? Because that friend is a friend
00:35:17in the spirit. Get yourself a good, godly friend. How do I do that? Get involved. Find somebody. Get
00:35:24involved in a ministry. Let God open up the door. That's how it happens. Birds of a feather. It's true.
00:35:31Amen. It's true. 1 Thessalonians 5.11. Therefore, comfort each other and edify one another just
00:35:41as you also are doing. This is the way believers work. This is the way believers live. To encourage
00:35:50each other. I hope you have somebody as a friend or a spouse that's encouraging you. Encouragement
00:35:59is an amazing thing. We all need it. 1 Corinthians 15.33. Do not be deceived. Evil company corrupts good
00:36:08habits. Or the word can be translated, evil company will corrupt or taint right or good morals.
00:36:21I think about these young people all the time. In my mind, I don't say it much, but in my
00:36:25mind, when we're
00:36:25praying for them into the military, I'm always thinking, oh God, may they be the salt. Because the whole
00:36:33universe is going to align itself against them. Like Daniel in Babylon. But you don't have to cave in.
00:36:44Surround yourself with one or two or three good people that will build you up. Proverbs 9, verse 6 says,
00:36:55forsake foolishness and live and go in the way of understanding. Forsake foolishness. Decision making.
00:37:05When somebody says, hey, let's do this. Stop and stop for a moment. Just pause for a second or two.
00:37:10God
00:37:10will speak to you. But listen, somebody will say, hey, let's just do this. And if you're the first thing
00:37:15out of your mouth is, okay. If somebody answers too quick, they haven't thought about it.
00:37:22Wait, think about it. It's not a sin. In fact, it's something of a good character to say,
00:37:28let me think about that for a second. Or let me get back to you tomorrow.
00:37:33Why do we think? We have to have everything now. We've been conditioned.
00:37:40God says, wait upon me. You guys alive? Okay. Proverbs 13, verse 20. Just checking. I was feeling
00:37:49kind of alone here. Proverbs 13, verse 20 says, he who walks with wise men will be wise.
00:37:56Wise. Oh, that's good. Are you not wise? Nope. I'm pretty unwise. Find yourself a wise guy
00:38:03and walk with them. You're in the family of God. Get connected. Don't be isolated.
00:38:17But the companion of fools will be destroyed. Man, do we all, do we not all know people like that?
00:38:26It's like, man, you hear about their life every so often, right? You get a phone call or they send
00:38:31you a text or whatever. And here's another, here's another chapter of their life being ruined.
00:38:36And then they say things like this. I don't know what's going on.
00:38:40Well, why don't you think cautious like that before you made the, make the decision? You should
00:38:45have thought of that before you made the decision to do that thing. Well, I thought the bungee cord would
00:38:49hold me. You're supposed to put on the parachute before you jump out of the airplane.
00:39:03It's God's desire for every one of us, his children to walk with the wise.
00:39:12One of the great answers to this, and you'll hear this a lot in this study in the book of
00:39:15Proverbs, is to walk with somebody that's got gray hair or no hair. And they've been walking
00:39:24with Jesus. I'm telling you, I said it a few weeks ago, I'll say it again. The young people,
00:39:31when I say young people today, I'm talking about 40-year-olds and under. I know, I'm being
00:39:38generous. I get it. Young people, 40 years of age and younger, you should find someone
00:39:45who's older. That's what we read in 1 and 2 Timothy. That's what we read in Titus, is
00:39:51find someone who's older, who's wise in the Lord. So this church, listen, I mean it. How
00:39:57does a big church get small? This is how. Young people, go up to some older people. First of
00:40:03all, look and see if they're carrying a Bible. That's the first thing. They got a Bible, that's
00:40:08a good start. Go up to them and say, hey, did you hear today's message? I did. Yes, I
00:40:13did. Well, you know what? Maybe we can reconnect next week, pray about it, but I'd like to be
00:40:20able to contact you. You've walked with the Lord for a while. I'd like to exchange phone
00:40:25numbers and I'm a 40-year-old trying to figure things out. And I'd love to have you be involved
00:40:32in my life. If any old person says to you, I don't want to be involved in your life, you
00:40:37point them out to me. But you know, I have more fathers and more mothers in this church
00:40:50church that instruct me and give me the law and it's beautiful. You'll do well if that
00:40:59happens. Learn how, listen, one of the things that we need in our culture today is to learn
00:41:08how to not reject God's authority. Learn how to not reject his authority. In our culture
00:41:16today, I mentioned the word authority and people get all, all, authority. Listen, friends,
00:41:24yet you have to acknowledge authority because God is the authority. And when parents, listen,
00:41:30mom and dad, when we let our kids run amok, drive the car and take over the home and they're
00:41:36still in their diapers, it's a scary thought. You know, those kids will grow up with no ability
00:41:42ability to cope or to adhere to authority. They won't let anyone instruct them or give
00:41:50them the law. But God ordains authority. Moms and dads, they're like gods to the eyes of
00:41:57the little kid. The little kid is learning. The parents say, no, you can't do that because
00:42:04this is what's going to happen. Can't lick the wall socket. Isn't good, no good. Don't stick
00:42:08the fork in the, in the outlet. Okay. But the kid, notice the kid is like this. Why are
00:42:16you, what are you telling me this for? I want to do my own thing. They don't know what they're
00:42:21doing. They would get themselves killed if it wasn't for us. They don't know what they're
00:42:25doing. They need parents. Well, I believe in being a friend to my child. You're destroying
00:42:33that kid. The kid will never grow up to hold a job or to be pulled over by a police
00:42:41officer
00:42:41when they're speeding or fill in the blank. If you're trying to be their friend, you try
00:42:48to dress like her friends. You try to dress like his friends. You try to talk like their
00:42:52friends because I don't know what's going on with you, but you need your identity with Jesus
00:42:57because you're trying to be their buddy so that you what? That you what? That you win
00:43:02them over to what? The parent, listen, the parent says, listen, I'm not your buddy. I am
00:43:08your parent. Just like God is our parent in the most divine sense. God has made me, you
00:43:15got, you came into this family because God wanted me to be your dad or your mom. And this
00:43:22is the deal. According to the Bible, I'm to love on you by giving you instruction and
00:43:28I'm to love on you by giving you the law. And you're going to learn how to live a life
00:43:32with guardrails. And when you, when you're out of here, you know, your, your time here
00:43:36is very, very short. You've come into this family and 18, 19 years old, you're going to
00:43:43be gone and we're going to go sailing and you're going to have to cope with life. If you love
00:43:50them, you'll prepare them. Dr. James Dobson said that somebody asked him on his program,
00:43:58at what point do we start to let our child go? And Dr. Dobson said, when you bring them
00:44:06home from the hospital, you're preparing them for the big let go. Powerful, remarkable, for
00:44:17sure. And when the scripture says here that they will be, look at verse nine, and they
00:44:26will be graceful ornaments. The word ornament, by the way, is the word wreath, garland, or
00:44:31crown on your head. Wow. That's amazing. So dad's instruction will be like an ornament
00:44:37on your head. And you know, your head contains your brain. A wreath, a garland, a crown. And
00:44:47look at this, what about the law and mom and her input? And chains, the word is necklace,
00:44:54necklace, the word implies necklace. Technically it's necklaces of gold and silver. Around where?
00:45:00The neck. But it says, it says chains. Yeah, I understand that. It's not chains like what
00:45:07you might be thinking, where my mom won't let me do anything. The word that your mom speaks
00:45:14to you, the word that God wants moms to speak to their kids, it's like ornamental, beautiful,
00:45:20gorgeous, gold and silver around the neck. I find that interesting because the world puts
00:45:30all kinds of bling. Are you watching the NBA playoffs and you see these guys before the
00:45:36game? They got chains around their neck. All this bling. The guy's walking like this. He's
00:45:43got who knows how much, a million dollars worth of stuff around his neck. Well, the next time
00:45:49you see that, God's word says, I want my law to be around your neck like gold is around somebody
00:45:55else's neck like that. I remember speaking some years ago at the Hawaiian Islands. They
00:46:01had the prayer, the mayor's prayer gathering and they asked me to be the speaker and it
00:46:07was crazy. The hospitality is over the top, but I got to tell you, it was so funny because
00:46:12I'm meeting these people and then the guy from the Air Force, he's there and then the guy
00:46:16from the city council and this guy's from Maui and this guy's from Kauai and they put the
00:46:22lay on you and then another lay and a lay and a lay and I'm like this and I come
00:46:27up and
00:46:28I'm like this with the Hawaiian lay around my neck and it smelled fantastic. But let me
00:46:35tell you something. In my mind, right on, because I could only look straight ahead. If I was going
00:46:45to look over here, I'd go like this. The law instruction will cause you to look straight
00:46:53ahead. Didn't Jesus say straight and narrow? Direct is the way that leads to eternal life.
00:46:59Listen, a distracted life, notice this, in our own lives, both naturally and physically,
00:47:03a distracted life gets into trouble without guardrails. Verses 10 to 14 teaches us this.
00:47:10My son of sinners entice you. There's no one exempt from this. Do not consent. If they say,
00:47:18and notice what they say, hey, come on, let's go do some mischief, man. Let's get into, let's do some
00:47:24violence. Now you say, well, this is kind of extreme, isn't it? Come with us. Let us lie in
00:47:30wait to shed blood. Excuse me, have you seen the violence that's taking place in our cities?
00:47:36Where people are standing there reading their phone or talking to somebody, and somebody comes
00:47:40up and hits them with a baseball bat from behind. All over America. Our body slams people now. This
00:47:45is the big deal. Everybody, you better be very situationally aware. When you're in public, no
00:47:50looking down at your device. You better be looking around. Listen, look, I sound like your dad. When
00:47:56you go to get gas, don't be on your phone. Either get back in your car or be looking all
00:48:02around like
00:48:03you're expecting the third world war to take place. You know that?
00:48:09Be ready. Why? Here's the Bible, 3,000 years old, telling us there'll be those who will plot
00:48:16to go out and take innocent blood. They love it. They're bloodlust. And they love it.
00:48:23They say things like this, let's swallow them alive like hell or like shoal, like those who go down to
00:48:29the pit. We shall find all kinds of precious possessions. In other words, we're going to rob
00:48:32them and we shall fill our houses with spoil. Looters. Looting. Go take what's not yours and put
00:48:42it in your home. Wow. And then it gets worse. Cast in your lot among us. We shall all have
00:48:51one purse.
00:48:53Are you kidding me? Hey, you can, let's go out and do all this stuff. Oh, by the way, you
00:48:58can trust us.
00:48:59Put your money in our bag. But that's how evil talks. Hey, if you do this, we'll give you that.
00:49:10It all starts with consent. God's word here says in verse 10, don't consent. When somebody says,
00:49:17hey, let's go, I don't know, let's just go, let's go. It's midnight. It's one o'clock. Let's go driving
00:49:22around. Why? Did your dad tell you this? Nothing good happens after 10. Now you say, that's how I was
00:49:33raised. But everybody said, no, it's midnight. Nothing happens good after midnight. Not in the Marine
00:49:38Corps home I grew up in. It was 10 o'clock. I got to tell you, I thought my parents
00:49:45were nuts
00:49:45until I got older. And then they were very wise. You know, parents get smarter as your kids get
00:49:52older. You know that? Some of you need to think that through for a moment. In 1 Corinthians chapter
00:49:5910, verse 13, it says, no temptation. This is awesome. No temptation has overtaken you except
00:50:06such as common to man. Remember Flip Wilson for those of us in this room, like all three of us?
00:50:11The devil, the devil made me do it. That's not true. The devil cannot make you do anything.
00:50:19Temptation is launched against all of us. It's common. It's normal. But God is faithful,
00:50:27who will allow you to be tempted, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able.
00:50:31No. Please let that sink in. My old girlfriend called me up from high school. She said she
00:50:41wanted to talk. I don't know why, but I met her down at the store. I don't know why. And
00:50:50then we went out and had dinner, and then we crossed the line, and now my wife wants to leave
00:50:56me. I don't know why. Wow. Everybody's going to be tempted, but do not consent. He goes on.
00:51:09You're not going to be tempted beyond what you are able. Watch this. But with the temptation,
00:51:14so whenever a temptation comes, know this. He will also make the way of escape that you may be able
00:51:20to bear it. Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. Are you being tempted? Run. Get out of there.
00:51:36Hear what he's saying. The scriptures tell us that in 1 Corinthians 15, 33,
00:51:44do not be deceived. Evil company corrupts good habits, moral decisions. Get away from them.
00:51:56It's interesting because, and I'll just touch on this, one of the most profound depictions of this
00:52:02in the Old Testament. You remember when Moses went up to the mountaintop, and Joshua was at the base of
00:52:06the mountain, and Aaron is watching over the entire people of Israel? And the people said, we want to,
00:52:13we don't know what's happened to Moses. We haven't heard from God in a while. We need a new God.
00:52:18And Aaron is influenced by the people. Instead of Aaron influencing the people, the people influence
00:52:23him. And instead of Aaron saying, knock it off. Flee that idolatry way of thinking. Stop that.
00:52:30Aaron goes, give me all the gold that you have, and I'll throw it into the fire, and we'll see
00:52:35what pops out.
00:52:39He caves in. Peer pressure. Peer pressure is a great, great, and it comes, by the way, it comes to
00:52:46all
00:52:47people in all ages. It could be the owner of the company, and they're pressuring you. Yeah, you know,
00:52:53fudge, just fudge a little bit on this one. We'll catch it up next quarter. Or you don't have to
00:53:00report
00:53:00that. Or it's happy. It's, it's, it's a, what's it called? Friday, whatever that thing is. A happy
00:53:08hour. You've got to come, because there's a new client in town. And they're tempting you to compromise.
00:53:15Well, there's a new client in town. He loves to drink. Go there and make sure you secure the deal.
00:53:22No. God says, don't compromise. You can go there and do your job, and he can say, why aren't you
00:53:28drinking? So I don't drink. I'm free from that. What do you mean you're free from that? I can't live
00:53:33without a drink. Yeah, actually, you can if you know Jesus. And you, listen, God will take care of
00:53:40the account. But when we, who've been delivered out of the world, go back into the world and act like
00:53:47the world to win the world. Not good. We're en route to heaven, folks. And we'll never be a witness
00:53:59to
00:53:59anyone if we're just like them. Our pursuit is to be just like Jesus. And then finally, it's walking
00:54:08away from what's bad. Verses 15 to 19. So he says, my son, do not walk in the way with
00:54:17them. Keep your foot
00:54:19from their path. That's great instruction. For their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed
00:54:28blood. Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird. That's amazing insight. But they lie
00:54:36in
00:54:36wait for their own, watch this. Look, but they lie in wait for their own blood. They're so foolish and
00:54:44bent on evil that they're not even realizing that judgment can fall upon them. That they're the ones
00:54:54who could wind up being destroyed. Surely, or excuse me, verse 18, but they lie in wait for their own
00:55:01blood. They lurk secretly for their own lives. So are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain.
00:55:08It takes away the life of its owners. The Bible tells us in 1 Timothy that godliness with contentment
00:55:16is great wealth. The world says, you've got to have this. You've got to have the other.
00:55:28I'm going to end with this. You guys want to stand, please? So listen, there are believers that get
00:55:36caught up into this. And if this has happened to you, don't condemn yourself. Just run from it. And it
00:55:41is
00:55:41this. When a young man says, for me to live out my Christianity, I've got to, you know, I've got
00:55:55to
00:55:55do these, I have to be responsible, of course. And I've got to do these things. Well, if God's leading
00:56:01you, but when he goes down the path where I ask him, so did you ever make that decision? No,
00:56:13I'm
00:56:13still, I'm still, I've decided that I'm going to have at least $500,000 in the bank before I make
00:56:19that decision. And how long is that going to take? Well, it's going to take, I mean, I'm eating pork
00:56:25and
00:56:25beans right now. I, I, it's going to take me a few years. And then what? And then, then I'll
00:56:31be able
00:56:31to ask someone out and then marry them. Do you want to have a family? Sure do. How old are
00:56:40you? I'm 30.
00:56:43So you're not going to get married unless you have $500,000 in the bank. And you don't know exactly
00:56:49when that's going to happen, but you want to start a family. You do know that if you keep
00:56:55waiting, you're going to wind up being a grandparent to your own kids. Because by the time you get that
00:57:01kind of money, which you probably won't, that can will keep being kicked down the road because Satan
00:57:08is always saying tomorrow. And you will wake up and your life will be gone. Instead of you trusting God,
00:57:18not being wise, but trusting God. Christians, I say this trusting that you'll seek God on this.
00:57:28The most successful Christians I know in life and for those who have been successful in wealth
00:57:41and witness, they will tell you they didn't know what God was doing along the way. Every
00:57:50situation they stepped out, they were praying, they were terrified. There was no way only God could do
00:57:56this. Friends, there is a way for you and I to be on the road with guardrails of the law
00:58:02and instruction
00:58:03that will steer us clear from the evil temptations that come to our lives by which we will be a
00:58:10witness
00:58:11in a dark world. We'll be that light and we'll be led by the spirit of God. Guess what, folks?
00:58:17Without
00:58:18faith, it's impossible to please the Lord. You're not going to know everything, but he does. He's not
00:58:23going to tell you things deliberately because he asked you to follow him.
00:58:29The Christian life is free because he's promised to take care of us. Draw close to him. I have
00:58:39never in 50 years of being a Christian, next month, 50 years. Listen, never have I ever heard someone
00:58:50say, you know what, I determined to pursue God with all of my heart and boy did that turn out
00:58:54rotten for
00:58:55me. It's never been heard. Father God, we pray, Lord, your good hand upon these, your precious
00:59:04people. Father, we pray, Lord, that you would bless us and that you would keep us. Lord, that you'd make
00:59:10your face to shine upon us. And Lord, that you'd be gracious unto us. Father God, we ask you to
00:59:15lift up
00:59:16your countenance upon us and give us your peace. Father, in every way, shape, and form, may we honor you
00:59:21to the glory of Jesus Christ, the one who died on the cross for our sins and paid the price
00:59:27we could
00:59:27never pay to give us that which we could never afford. Eternal life in him, transformative life,
00:59:35a life of wisdom, a life of vitality, a life of meaning and purpose. If you would only today, friend,
00:59:43trust him, the one who died in your place, rose again from the dead, the eternal son of God,
00:59:51your savior, your sacrifice, your redemption. It's in him. And all God's people said, amen.
01:00:00God bless you. See you Wednesday night.
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