So we're in chapter three, verse 21, as we're picking up. Let me go ahead and open the word of prayer, and then we'll get started. Heavenly Father, as we begin this new day, a day of time to come before you and hear your word, to get to know you more intimately. We just ask for the spirit to illuminate our minds to understand and particularly the book of Proverbs help us to get the wisdom that we need to live a godly life that's pleasing to you and that would be an effective witness to the world around us. Thank you for Proverbs. Thank you for your word. Thank you most importantly for your son that has saved us and redeemed us. In Christ's name we pray. Amen. All right, if you would, open up to your Proverbs chapter 3 in the Bible. We're also on page 145, roughly. Again, sometimes the page numbers shift because I edit. And we're going to read verses 21 through 35. And as you know, I've got it structured. Sorry, Henry, you don't have a copy. So you can see the parallelism, which helps interpret. That's one thing that you really need when you're studying Proverbs, look at the parallelism. So let me pick up at verse 21 and read through the end of the chapter. My son, let them not depart from your eyes. Keep sound wisdom and discretion, so they will be life to your soul and grace to your neck, and then you will walk safely in your way, and your foot will not stumble. When you lie down, you will not be afraid. Yes, you will lie down, and your sleep will be sweet. Do not be afraid of sudden terror, nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes. For the Lord will be your confidence, and will keep your foot from being caught. Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in the power of your hand to do so. Do not say, your neighbor, go and come back, and tomorrow I will give it, when you have it with you. Do not devise evil against your neighbor, for he dwells by you for safety's sake. Do not strive with a man without cause, if he has done you no harm. Do not envy the oppressor and choose none of his ways, for the perverse person is an abomination to the Lord, but his secret counsel is with the upright. The curse of the Lord is on the house of the wicked, but he blesses the home of the just. Surely he scorns the scornful, but gives grace to the humble. You see that phrase throughout the scriptures. The wise shall inherit glory, but shame shall be the legacy of fools. It's a really amazing passage. And if you were to break this down, verses 21 through 26 is kind of like you and the Lord. Watch, walk, wait. And that waiting is wait on the Lord, waiting in prayer, and so forth. And then verses 27 through 31 is you and your neighbor. And there's actually, we're going to see a five-fold do not. And then we come to 32 to 35, you and the wicked. And there is that noise. I was waiting for it. Thanks, David, for getting that recorded. You and the wicked. Consider the contrast. So this is something you'll see often in Proverbs is these relational wisdom. And this is how we have to think. We think about first us and the Lord. That's your primary relationship. And then it's always you and the neighbor. Typically now we would say you and the church, right? And then just the general neighbors around us who are unbelievers. And then we would have you and the wicked. And so it's very important you understand who you're talking to and how you're applying the wisdom. All right, so let's look at you and the Lord, the watch, the walk, and the wait. I've already read 21 through 26, but let me hit some key words that I think are very helpful here. The first one is do not actually let me hold off. So let me give you some other passages Matthew 22 36 here is a great question a lawyer comes to Jesus and He asked teacher, which is the greatest great commandment in the law? And I love the way Jesus just summarizes the whole Bible like in a sentence. Jesus said to him, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind. There's that vertical relationship, us and the Lord. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. And then Jesus says, these two commandments hangs all the law and the prophets. So if anyone asks you, explain to me the Bible in one sentence, there you go, maybe two verses. I love it. True love for God, think about this, will always result in kindness for others. If you have a right vertical relationship, that should play out ultimately with a right horizontal relationship. The two are inseparable. And this is where sin comes in, right? We start to have interpersonal conflicts and struggles, right? Our selfishness, our pride, our loss, as James talks about. But to harden my heart against, listen to this. This is a quote from a book here, you can see here. Actually, here's the whole thing. True love for God always results in kindness towards other. The two are inseparable. To harden my heart against one who needs my kindness is to turn away from the face of God. Think about it, if you and I are made in the image of God, and we are owned by God, then how we treat others is indirectly how we treat God. And that's something that, I mean, the world will quote the Bible, do unto others, you know, they'll quote the golden rule, right? Do unto others that you would like to have done unto yourself. But as believers, we have a much greater perspective, right? We see everyone made in the image of God, saved and lost. For the lost, we want to see them saved, and for the saved, we want to see them grow. James 3.10 talks about what can happen when things go wrong, right? Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. And then there's the 21 through 26. Now some key words from this passage. The idea of not depart means escape from one's view on the path. In other words, don't depart, don't escape from the view of the path. Keep, it's a command, preserve, keep, guard, watch over. We've seen this over and over, this command. Now, sound wisdom, as we've talked about, there's a lot of words for wisdom in the Bible. This one is thinking wisely. It's the capacity. for understanding, for proper thinking, right? So this would be including having the right information and then applying that information. Look at discretion, acting wisely. So the two always go hand in hand. You think and act. the ability for wise decisions and proper judgments. And we're going to see this in 1 Peter. We're going to see this concept of sound judgment being paired up with sober spirit, the thinking and the doing. Grace is the favor of God, and to stumble, that literally means to fall and be injured, but many times it's used to talk about sinning. That's typically how it's used. The word afraid, Proverbs 3.24, fear and trembling, And then another word for fear, Proverbs 3 25, great fear, distressful circumstances. So there's degrees here. And then trouble is to be ruined. That's really the idea. It's not like a minor thing. This is ruined. And then confidence is to trust mentally, physically. I probably should throw in there emotionally and spiritually. And then caught means to be ensnared. So what's the process here? The command is to the son and the son is to watch. Guard your godly thinking. Guard your godly living. Don't leave the godly path. So I'd like to pause you just for a minute and think about this, okay? So if you want to grow in the Lord, what first has to happen? You get saved, right? And if you're truly saved, what are you going to gravitate towards? The Word of God, right? You're gonna gravitate towards the Word of God and the Word. You're gonna gravitate, hopefully, to believers who are obeying, who understand the Word, who have a godly life, right? And then what has to happen at that point? Some point you've got the Word, you're reading the Word, what has to happen after that? Exactly, apply the word. I know it sounds like, oh, come on, Pastor John, I know this already. But believe it or not, this is where we fall, right? We'll have a situation. We'll know the truth. We should usually know the truth. If we don't, then we'll go get it. But then it's like, oh, what do I do? And that's where we start to have this internal struggle. Should I? Should I not? And sometimes it's more subtle than that. Sometimes it can just be a quick reaction that you're not even thinking, you're just reacting. But this is the mechanism that we need to grow. Hearing the word, understand it, and apply it. If you don't apply it, you can't change. And you can have all the knowledge in the world. I'm sure you've heard stories, you know, there's always these illustrations. A man had a lottery ticket and he never cashed it in, right? There's these opportunities that are awaiting you, that God is providing for you. And unless you step in obedience, you can't experience that blessing, that opportunity. I know when you guys go out evangelizing, right, you never know what's gonna happen, right? Michael, you know, and Derek, you guys, you go out evangelizing, everyone's done this, and when you go share the word of God, you never know what's gonna happen. But when those moments come where someone takes the Bible, receives a tract, responds in faith, you're like, praise the Lord. You can only experience that, right, if you go out and apply the word and actually do it. And that can apply in anything with the Lord. All right. The purpose on being this godly path is salvation and sanctification. 322, life to your soul, grace to your neck. And as we've been sharing, Proverbs is really a book of calling people to faith. And then now that you're saved, persevere, obey. And so this is a call to first salvation and then sanctification. That is becoming more and more Christ-like. And then the product of this is that this is the walk and the wait. Be obedient to God. And I put not sin significantly. The idea is you're going to stumble and fall. I'm not saying you go ahead and plan for sin. That's not the point there. But it says then you will walk safely in your way, and your foot will not stumble. Now, remember, we can't be perfect. And we strive for that kind of faithfulness. But we know that we're in the flesh still, and we will stumble at times. Sleep well in your integrity, not fearing judgment. This is a big one. I remember as an unbeliever making all sorts of bad, poor, sinful decisions and just never really comfortable always looking behind, will they catch this lie, that kind of thing. And then look at this, don't even be worried about the wicked and their plans. Do not be afraid of sudden terror nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes. So let me ask you this question. Do you have that kind of peace? I mean, we're right now going through a huge transition with a new president and all that kind of stuff. There's a lot of unknowns. Do we worry about what could happen next? We got wars in Ukraine and Russia. We got China and Taiwan, the dollar, the economy. I mean, you start looking at the headlines. The question is, can you still sleep at night? and rest that God's in control. That's the idea here. Now, it doesn't mean you turn off the TV and you shut down the newspaper and listen, you're not aware of what's going around you. You do need to be aware, but there's that balance, right? I remember being hooked on talk radio to the point where I'm like, it's starting to affect me in the way I act towards others, so I had to pull back. So there's a balance between being informed and then being overrun by it or controlled by it. And then ultimately it comes back, look at this, verse 26, trusting in the sovereignty of God for the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught. Interesting, and the way that's expressed is it's not like you're not gonna have troubles. You're going to come into a situation, but your foot will escape. And it feels like that sometimes, right? Like, whoa, man, I just literally dodged a bullet. And so table talk. What are some of the ways, and just out of curiosity for you guys to share, what are some of the ways that you've tried to deepen your intimacy with God? What are some ways that you've done that? Dennis. Set the day out right, get your mind focused on the Lord. Do you read scriptures at that time, or do you just pray? I read scripture in the morning when I first get up. Yep. And I'm sure there's been days where maybe you've missed it, and you feel a little bit off balance from that. All right, so reading in the morning together with your spouse, what are some other ways? Tell me your name again. Tom. Tom. Tom. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, so making a choice to renew your mind, right? There's a lot of ways we can put things in front of ourselves and that daily dose of the word throughout the day. And it's amazing though, isn't it? How something will be in there applicable for that day or the next day. And Derek? When I'm at farmer's markets or that stuff I try to, when I'm talking to customers, try to slip in bits and pieces of gospel. So sharing evangelism, witnessing. So now that's an active proactive as well, right? Now you're going from within to without with who's out there. And that can be exciting. Anyone else have anything? Michael? Carrying a backup rack, and when I leave someplace, I need one. Yep. Yeah, and that's sowing the seed, right? And you can trust in the providence of God that someone may take it. I've seen, as an unbeliever, those Chick tracts. You know, like, what's this cartoon? I end up reading it, you know? And who knows? You know, I'm sure that had an impact on me at some point. But yeah, so doing things like that. So what I'm hearing is obedience, right? Faithfulness. And I want to make sure you saw this. The intimacy with the Lord is always two parts. It's hearing him, but it's obeying him. Because only in the obedience can you understand him. Because it's there where you meet him as you try to obey and fulfill his word. And that's where you begin to really develop convictions and understand. You go, oh, now I really know what this word means. So great, great thoughts. Now let's talk about you and your neighbor, the fivefold do not. All right. And this is very interesting. So let me jump ahead of my slides I'm getting. So yeah, I'll just throw this in there. So there's a process, there's a purpose behind that, and there's going to be a product. If you're reading, praying, evangelizing, witnessing, and you're doing that as a habit in your life, you're going to see fruit in those areas of your life. If you invest, the Lord always usually provides a return. If not here in this earth, it'll be definitely at the judgment seat. All right, let me jump ahead and go to the next one. All right. OK, so you and your neighbor. And a neighbor is a person who can get to your house in less than a minute and takes two hours to go back home. You might look at that as positively or negatively, depending on who that neighbor is. Here's a little Farsight cartoon. I just don't like Al. Whenever Billy goes outside, the new neighbors seem compelled to watch every little thing he does. You'll notice that his neighbors are two hungry alligators looking at his boy. All right. So let's pick up at some of these do nots. Let me just read this. Do not withhold good from those whom it's due, when it's in your power to do so. Do not say to your neighbor, go and come back, and tomorrow I'll give it, when you have it with you all along. Do not devise evil against your neighbor, for he dwells by you for safety's sake. Do not strive with a man without cause, if he has done you no harm. So this idea of withhold means to refuse or deprive. It might be inconvenient for you to go get it, whatever they're asking for. It might be, you know, maybe you're kind of having an attitude that day and you just don't feel like helping. Or maybe that neighbor is, this is the 10th time they've come over to borrow something and you're still missing one thing. Do, this is owner, rightful possessor, power, strength and ability, devise, plan in detail, strive, quarrel, contest, argue, attack, lawsuit. Sometimes it's translated that way. Envy, jealousy, get heated, annoyed, tormented over. Oppressor, it's actually two Hebrew words, and I don't know if you knew this, but Hamas, it means the word oppressor or violent, and man is in there. So it's literally violent man, Hamas-ish. and then choose to select desire. Just a couple other. So here's another thought. The way in which we repay any kind of debt is a mark of character. Think about that. An obligation that you will fulfill. This is something we lose sight of today, I think, sometimes. But it is important that if you make a commitment to do something, you will fulfill that debt. And of course, we have a debt of love that we will try to fulfill lovingly and so forth. Let me go to the next page here. Yeah, process of moving. So let's talk about verse 27, because that's pretty straightforward. Do not withhold good. All right, let's pick up there. So this is kind of interesting. So there's a higher authority. Do not withhold moral obligations when you are able. So this is kind of a perspective of, well, why should I? Because there's a God above who hasn't withheld to us. And so as we've been given, we should then give to others. Romans 10, 13, 7, render therefore to all their due, taxes, customs, fear, honor. Galatians, therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, believers and unbelievers alike, especially to those who are the household of faith. Interesting, the distinctions in the relationships, we do show to each other, we should, more love to each other than we should show to the world. That's how the world knows that we love one another and how they know the Lord is true. Titus 2 14 he gave himself for us that he might redeem us from every lawless deed purify for himself his own special people here it is zealous for good works and James 2 15 if a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food and you One of you says to them depart in peace be warm be filled But you do not give them the things which are needed for the body. What does that profit? We're familiar with that passage There is a sense when you get down to brass tacks and practical. Are you really actually helping them or not? It's easy to hide behind excuses and things like that, but we have to guard against that. I remember hearing MacArthur in one of his early sermons how they had set aside a special fund to help people and it was very early in their marriage and he was like, Lord, please don't take all this in one opportunity, you know. But now look, you know, the money is not a problem for him at this point. Proverbs 3.28, let's talk about the neighbor. Do not delay material ownership, okay? When you have it, meaning you're able. This is the idea. Let me jump ahead to my slide here. Here's some other passages that bring the same principle out. Leviticus 19.13, you shall not cheat your neighbor nor rob him. The wages of him who is hired shall not remain with you all night until morning. Interesting there. And then another one. 329, neighbor, do not devise misfortunate opportunities when you're their protection. This is interesting. This is something I think we've lost, I think. I mean, how many do you really know your neighbors well? And it's just what society has become to. And I think we as believers have to somewhat make an extra effort to at least let them know our names, here we are, let us know we're available, things like that. Micah 2.1, woe to those who devise iniquity and work out evil on their beds. At morning light, they practice it because it is in the power of their hand. Of course, that's very bad. And let's look at verse 30. People, do not pick a fight, that's the idea here, with others who intend you no evil. And there's a lot of insight on this. Like I've been telling you, I've been going through the Elon Musk biography. He is definitely one who likes to pick a fight and throw people off in that way. Proverbs 22, 24, make no friendship with an angry man and with a furious man do not go, lest you learn his ways and set a snare for your soul. Proverbs 29, 22, an angry man stirs up strife and a furious man abounds in transgression. Have you ever been in a restaurant, maybe a fast food restaurant, and maybe you're about to order or you just ordered and you're sitting down eating and someone comes in and starts creating a scene? What do you do? Stand back? Anyone left? We had a situation like that where like, I don't like the way this is going. I'm going to just kind of exit out. And then as we were exiting out, several others were exiting out because it just, you start to see this escalation and this day and age, you don't know what's going to happen. And then going on Romans 12, 18, if it's possible, as much as depends on you live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath for it's written, vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. And I can say this with just not only experience, but the truth of scriptures. When you don't respond as the world expects you to respond, it creates a question in their head. Why? and it can lead to some really good gospel opportunities. And it can lead to them respecting maybe your character and open up a door for the gospel. So you never know. So those opportunities, they come your way, boy, restraint can be a really powerful thing. If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him a drink. For in doing so, you'll heap coals of fire on his head. And now the idea is not you're not like punishing them with doing good, but by doing good, you're leaving them with this question. Why? Why were they so nice to me? It is. It can be hard to love your enemies like that. Michael. Absolutely. And you should. Well, wisdom, right? And it's a both and proposition. It may require intervention, it may not. Each circumstance is different, but you're absolutely right. All things should be lifted up in prayer. and then take that action, because sometimes coming in the middle of two people can be very dangerous. Officers have this problem all the time when they come onto a scene with a husband and wife fighting. First, they're fighting each other, but when the cop intervenes, then they both turn against him. They get those kind of situations. 2 Timothy 2.14, remind them of these things, speaking to Timothy as he plants churches, charge them before the Lord not to strive about words to no profit to the ruin of the hearers. Sometimes we can get caught up on our own that we lose sight of those watching in on us. And then we have on 331 this idea of the oppressor. Do not envy this violent man or prefer his ways. We have that psalmist, right? I looked at this rich person whose evil is getting away with everything, and I started to envy, but then I was brought into the temple of the Lord. And then he realized, wait a minute, the end of the wicked is bad in the ultimate end. Proverbs 23, 17, do not let your heart envy sinners, but be zealous for the fear of the Lord all the day. It's perspective, isn't it? What are you choosing to dwell on? If you're envy of a sinner, what is it in that sinner that you're envying? Is it something they have, don't have? Michael? Oh yeah, it's by design to let you have empathy. We all have a little warm heart in our place for Darth Vader, right? Luke's father. Oh, did I do a spoiler alert? You should be able to take your vengeance on that man if somehow that makes it really mean. You gotta be careful what goes in doesn't come out. Yeah. But what's interesting about when stories are written that way, to have empathy towards the evil character, in some ways that is a little bit biblical, isn't it? To love our enemy. And so again, there's wisdom in how we do that, but you're right. We don't want to become like that evil character and be empathetic and say, oh, if he can get away with it, so can I. But there is a sense in which when we see someone evil, we should immediately pray for them. Maybe we can find an opportunity to share the gospel with them. Maybe no one's ever prayed for them or shared the gospel, and we could be that person. And there are stories, you know, of, you know, Individuals, believers going up to a very, you know, difficult individual and just taking the risk. And we have stories like, what would be a good one? Well, Esther going to the king, so to speak, making an appeal. Or was it Ezra going before the king? He wasn't supposed to have a sad face. He had a sad face, makes an appeal. I miss my home, Jerusalem. You know, I think it's Ezra, right? Nehemiah, thank you. All those prophets start to blur sometimes. That's why Henry's here. He's my fact checker. All right, he's my Snopes. All right, so Psalm 37, seven, rest in the Lord and wait patiently for him. Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. Cease from anger, forsake wrath, do not fret. In other words, don't worry. It only causes harm. For evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait on the Lord, they shall inherit the earth. This is extremely relevant for the Hebrews chapter 11 people, right? For Peter, who's writing to those being persecuted. We're fortunate, we live in a country, for the most part, our persecution is soft. We're not shedding blood for the faith. But that day may change, we don't know. But we can wait on the Lord in obedience, not getting angry, not getting wrathful, not worrying, and we can persevere through that. But that only is possible in the Lord. You have to be praying and reading the word and obeying it. Thoughts, comments on that? All right. Let's go to two key ideas here. Selfishness and antagonistic. Sorry, I couldn't make a rhyme for you. All right, here we go. Implication, as one becomes morally compromised, their treatment of others becomes more fleshly. Think about that. Failing to honor authority leads into self-centeredness. Unwilling to be inconvenienced are subtle ways of selfishness, right? My wife is constantly reminding me, you know, when I'm out of light, come on, hurry up, let's go, you know. Can't you just be patient? I can. I'm just not right now. Don't they read the speed limit? It says 45, not 35. As the heart hardens towards others, one begins to think evil of others. We start to kind of put on and kind of put things on people and start to think we know their thoughts. We can become aggressive towards other and their perspective and priorities shift, envying and preferring a violent person's path. So this is like a frog in the boiling water, right? It doesn't always happen immediately, but it can happen in small ways and then it can grow and grow. So here's a question for you. Actually, I have a story. All right. In 1953, Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgier climbed the 29,000, 35-foot peak of Mount Everest. They were the first. Thousands followed, thanks to Nepal lifting its tight restrictions on climbing the legendary mountain. By 2006, more than 2,700 people had reached the summit of the world's tallest mountain, many paying more than $60,000 for the experience. One result of this commercial influx has been the erosion of the traditional moral code of mountaineering. In the rush to the top, amateurs who have paid a fortune will do anything it takes to get to the summit, including abandoning other climbers. David Sharp became a casualty in March 2006. 34-year-old engineer from Cleveland managed to reach the summit on his own. However, he ran out of oxygen on the way back down. As he lay dying, 40 climbers passed him by, too eager to achieve their own goals, took a chance on offering their oxygen. to someone else. David Sharp froze to death. Ed Vistris, who has scaled the 14 of the world's 8,000 meter peaks, says passing people who are dying is not uncommon. Unfortunately, there are those who say, it's not my problem. I spent all this money. I'm going to the summit. This attitude has produced disgust in many climbers, including Sir Edmund Hillary. On my expedition, there was no way you'd left a man under a rock to die, he said. Now, we're not climbing Mount Everest, but Is life any different? I think today, when we see a car outside a road, we just assume they got a cell phone, everything's gonna be all right. And those are things we need to think through as a believer. And who knows, maybe there's something else going on. Okay, so I read that. So here's a question. What are some ways that you could practically serve your neighbor? What are some ways? Hey, there you go. That's a great one, Michael. Yeah. But you have to know they're sick. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, simple thing of serving a meal. Any other suggestions? Cookies. It's Jason, right? Is that us saying you're a cookie lover fan? Good to know. Yeah, Derek said it great. Just stop and say hi. Be that friendly wave. Let a familiar face become more familiar. Yeah, it's harder and harder today. It really does require an extra effort, and sometimes that can be a hindrance. Yeah, yeah, oh yeah, because of the distance between people. Oh yeah, yeah. Okay, let's continue here. Let's go to the next page, and page 150. So Proverbs 32, 35, you and the wicked. Let's consider the contrast, okay? I'll read those verses again. For the perverse person is an abomination to the Lord. but his secret counsel is with the upright. The curse of the Lord is on the house of the wicked, but he blesses the home of the just." You can see this parallelism and contrast. Surely he scorns the scornful, but he gives grace to the humble. The wise shall inherit glory, but shame shall be the legacy of fools. Some key words here is perverse, devious, that idea of crooked because like a path is not straight, misleading, or an incorrect path. Scorn to mock, show no respect. And legacy is increasing shame and disgrace. It's interesting how some names we still have today, but it's a name of shame. Hitler, legacy of shame. Right? Still used today. All right, so let's look at this table here. This might be helpful in seeing the contrast. Look at the affections, okay? You have the perverse person who's an abomination to the Lord, distance relationship, right? There's no relationship, not to be envied is implied there. And then you have the upright, secret counsel of the Lord. There is an intimacy. There is a relationship. This is to be desired. So look at the affections. And then look at the actions. One, the wicked has the curse of the Lord is on the house of the wicked. Man, do you want that? And then of course the righteous, but he blesses the home of the just. And then look at the advantage. Surely he scorns the scornful. So now God is in opposition versus the righteous, but gives grace to the humble. and then the apex of it all. It didn't show up in my slide, bummer. But shame shall be the legacy of fools, but the wise shall inherit glory. And that is a picture of hell and heaven. Proverbs kind of hides that a little bit, but that is ultimately the end. James 4. Let me hold off on that verse. So here's one, two, three, and four. I got this from the preacher's source book. God will get close to the nonviolent person, verse 32. God will bless nonviolent homes, verse 33. God will help the nonviolent person in times of trouble, and God will reward the nonviolent person. Now, this is not talking about self-defense and those kind of things. This is talking about how you treat others. That's the idea. Implication, Solomon reveals the contrast between the perverse and the upright. And we should be acting in such a way that no one would ever put us in that other category. But it's not like that, is it, always? Sometimes the Christians, I put them in quotes, act worse than unbelievers. We have that in the book of Corinthians. For the perverse, there is nothing but trouble and judgment. For the upright, there is nothing but grace and glory. It's an incredible contrast between the unbeliever and the believer. And for those of us who are saved later in life, we have that real perspective. We've lived both lives. So, yeah, let me, Where's this James one? I think this one comes later. Just want to make sure I don't get ahead of myself. Let me read this. So is there, yeah, let me, there it is. Ta-da. Okay. Let me jump ahead. Here we go. So is there a difference between the Old Testament and New Testament when it comes to the wicked and the believer's response to them? No, there is not. It's true, Jesus emphasized a lot more loving your enemy, right? But what he was doing was not introducing new revelation. He was correcting, at the time, a misunderstanding of existing revelation. It has always been love your enemy, love your neighbor. That's who God is, and that's never changed. And now you do have situations like David where he's praying against his enemies in precatory prayers. That's a whole different situation. That's when that person has declared, I'm an enemy of God and I'm coming for God's people. And there's a place for us to certainly love them, but there's a place for us to also pray, God, stop this evil. And that's appropriate too. But it's the same, Old and New Testament. We are to love our enemies, but we're to be wisely how we deal with those situations. All right, I think we did it with just a few minutes to spare. Let me double check here. 151, is that it? Because I have all my pages folded together, so I didn't know if there was a 151. Yeah, I think that is it. We ended a few minutes early today. So as we wrap up Chapter 3, any additional thoughts or questions from 3? And we'll get into chapter four next week. Yep, we're still not the end of the month yet. So let me go ahead and close in prayer. Heavenly Father, as we just contemplate the truths that we've covered this morning, we wanna be, so to speak, as the jingle goes, be a good neighbor. But we're gonna be more than that. Not in a worldly sense, but in a true Christ-like sense. It does take energy and effort and sacrifice, but that's how people know that we truly love them. And I would ask even Lord this week, if there's an opportunity to say hi, an opportunity to encourage, build up. Just be compassionate and encouraging. I would just ask that we would be alert, aware, and take advantage of those opportunities, both at home, in our neighborhood, at work, or just as we're out, to be just a little gracious. And if we've got some tracks to share the gospel, but let's show the people this week that we do love them, and we love them because God loves them. In Christ's name we pray, amen. All right, we'll take a break and resume worship at 10 a.m.