Proverbs chapter 24, look in verse 1. Be not thou envious against evil men, neither desire to be with them. For their hearts studieth destruction, and their lips talk of mischief. Through wisdom is a house built, and by understanding it is established. And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches. A wise man is strong, yea, a man of knowledge increases strength. For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war, and in a multitude of counselors there is safety. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we come to you this morning. We come before the throne of grace. and asking you for some help this morning. Lord, you know everybody's need in here. God, we just pray that you'd meet that need where there's one of salvation. I pray God that you would just help that heart to realize that they're lost without you and all they have to do is come. and trust you this morning. Help the one that just may need direction, that just may need encouragement, that just may need to come and draw close. I pray you do that today. Give us a good spirit and that of liberty this morning and that while we do our best and to preach and God that you would touch us and anoint us afresh this morning and we'll take in it. We love you. Most of all we thank you for the sacrifice that you made for us. yonder at Calvary so that we could be saved. And thank you for that. Meet with us now this morning. Save that sinner's nearest tail for these things in Jesus' name. Amen and amen. You can be seated this morning. As we look in Proverbs chapter 24, as Solomon starts out writing, he tells us in that to be not envious against evil men nor desire. to be with them. As a matter of fact, He said they study in that destruction and they talk of mischief. And we see a contrast between verses 2 and 3 that in the wicked heart and with the evil heart we see that they study in that destruction. But in verse 3 we see that through wisdom a house is built. So we see that evilness is going to tear down, but we see that wisdom is going to build. Do you realize what built our nation this morning? I realize that God and that blessed our country. I know that God has touched our nation and made us the greatest nation up on the face of the earth. I understand that outside that little nation called Israel over there. But listen, He gave some men and women some wisdom and that in how to build this nation. The reason it's being torn down today today is because of evilness and wickedness. You put evil men in position and evil women in position and all they're going to do is destroy what God has already set up. But I want to preach on that for a little while. I want us to look in verse 6. In verses 3 through 6 it talks about getting wisdom and having wisdom. And in verse 6 it talks about having wise counsel and having a multitude of counselors. Now that word counsel simply means advice or an opinion or instruction for directing the conduct or judgment of another. You know, there's been times that I've had to go ask for counsel. You know what that means? I simply went and I asked for advice. I said, what do you think I should do in this position? I said, what do you think that, listen, if this happens, the wrecks that ought to go in my life, and so on and so forth. And so I was soliciting and asking for some help. But listen, the greatest place that we can go as Christians and that to find help is the Word of God. And get on our knees and spend time in prayer with God. and I believe we'll find all the counsel that we need for our life, amen. I believe you and I need a prayer to get into the word of God. Proverbs chapter two said, my son, if thou wilt receive my words and hide my commandments with thee, so that thou shalt incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thy heart to understanding. Yea, if thou cryest after knowledge, and lift up thy voice for understanding, if thou seekest hers silver for searches, and searchest for hers hid treasures, then thou shalt understand it through the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord giveth wisdom, and out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. Hey, listen, friend, it takes time. It takes digging for it, and you can have what God wants you to have this morning. What did he say right here? I thought about this, if thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as hid treasure. Have you ever went, I've never went treasure hunting before. I can remember when we was kids, we'd go up to the Autumn Gold Festival, up there in Coker Creek, I remember doing that, and we'd go up there and paying for gold, and we were searching for hid treasure. hoping to find something. But you know the promise of God's Word is that if you'll begin to dig and you'll begin to seek God's Word, you'll find what you need. Amen? We were by happenstance going to find a piece of gold, but the best counsel that you can have and that I can have is the Word of God. Now let me say that ain't to say that you can have people or not have people tell you some things about the Word of God. If you look back in David's life, you'll find out he even had a man by the name of Ahithophel, that was he as a counselor. They said when Ahithophel spoke, that he spoke just like the oracles of God. He was a man that was full of wisdom, but yet when Absalom put David on the run, David prayed, Lord, let Hithophel's counsel be turned at that under foolishness. And it was. And so we can find that people's counsel can be wrong. And I told you what I was going to preach on Wednesday night. And here's the title of the message. You better be careful who you listen to. You better be careful who you take counsel from. Listen, if David was taking counsel from Ahithophel, when Ahithophel was right, that was okay. But listen, then he began to give counsel to Ahithophel there, and that to Absalom, and that how to defeat his own daddy. Listen, you'll find that Eve listened to the devil. and it got her in trouble, didn't it? You know when you listen to the devil, he's going to get you in trouble every time. Do you know that Adam listened to Eve and it got him in trouble, didn't it? Got us all in trouble. Then Abraham listened to Sarah, And it got him in trouble, didn't it? About Hagar, her handmaid of earth. And that's how they come up with... Do you realize that there's consequences, and I'm getting ahead of myself, there is consequences to taking bad counsel. Listen, Adam plunged all of humanity off into sin. Abraham started a race of people that the Bible said over there that he would be a wild man and his hand would be against every man and every man against him all because he didn't wait on the promise of God. He took bad. Counsel. There's a lot of homes being headed in the wrong direction because of bad counsel. I won't lay it all at the wife's feet or at the husband's feet, but I'm going to tell you this morning, it does matter whose counsel that you take today in your home. You get headed in the wrong direction and there are consequences that does matter. Take your Bible quickly before we get started and go to the book of Numbers chapter 13. Look with me in Numbers chapter 13 and you find the story of the 12 spies that went over into the land of Canaan and that spied out. Now what did he do? What did he say? He said in the book of Proverbs to have wise counsel and in a multitude of counselors there is safety. Now the first thing you have to understand that you want wise counsel. Just because somebody is giving you a piece of advice does not mean that's what you need to do. Now I'm talking about spirits, even physically and in your home. Hey, there's nothing that I don't do anymore without talking to God about that. And we're going to see that here in just a little bit. But look in Numbers chapter 13. Look in verse 25. And they returned from searching of the land after forty days. And they went and came to Moses and Aaron, and to all the congregation of Israel, and to the wilderness of Paran, and to Kadesh, and brought back a word unto them, and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the lamb. So they've got something to say right here. And they told him and said, We came in the land where thou sinnest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey, and this is the fruit of it. Nevertheless, the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are wild and very great. And moreover, we saw the children of Anakbar. That's the giants. The Amlekites dwell in the land of the south, and the Hittites in the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the mountains, and the Canaanites dwell by the sea. and by the coast of Jordan. Now watch this right here. And Caleb stilled the people before Moses and said, let us go up at once and possess it for we are well able to overcome it. Caleb comes back and he says, look, everything they've said is true. These men are great. This is a land that flows with milk and honey. This is the fruit of it. There are walled cities over there. Yes, there is. But we are well able to overcome it. That was the counsel of Caleb. As we read in the next chapter, we understand that was also the counsel of a man by the name of Joshua that he said, we can go into the promised land. Verse 31, But the man that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we. Now we've got a problem right here. There is a problem. Somebody is wrong. Caleb said, We can go. But yet I've got ten men over here that says we can't go. Somebody's wrong. You both can't be right. My daddy's always got a favorite saying, not everybody can be right, but everybody can be wrong. He'll say that sometimes. I don't know what makes him say that. I guess he's looking for somebody that's wrong. I don't know. I'm looking for somebody that's right. Amen. And Caleb was right right here. And they brought up, now look what your Bible says, an evil report. So they're giving counsel, ain't they? Is that not what they're doing? They're giving counsel. They brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying the land through which we have gone to search it is a land that either the inhabitants thereof and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature. And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants, and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight. So the majority of the people said, we cannot go. If you look in chapter 14, they even tried Joshua and Caleb. I even tried at that point. I had to convince them. I had to get them to go. But when they finally said no, God had enough. There's always consequences to follow bad counsel. Always consequences. So I just want to look at a few examples. of you need to be careful who you're listening to. Take your Bible and go to the book of 1 Kings chapter 13. 1 Kings chapter 13 and we find a young prophet or a prophet and we find an old prophet. And the old prophet gives some bad counsel. In 1 Kings chapter 13, you find that the man, well look here, and behold, verse 1, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the Lord unto Bethel, and Jeroboam, let me start again, and behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the Lord unto Bethel. And Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense, and he cried against the altar in the word of the Lord, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the Lord, Behold, a child shall be born in the house of David, Josiah by name, and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men's bones shall be burned upon thee. Now let me stop right here and say, that happens. There is a man who becomes king who is the last great king that the land of Judah ever saw. He was a man by the name of Josiah that began to reign when he was eight years old. He went out there and dug the priest's bodies up and put them on the altar over there and burned them. He done exactly what the man of God said he was going to do. Verse 3, and he gave a sign the same day. Now talking about the prophet right here, the man of God, saying this is the sign which the Lord has spoken. Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out. Now he's talking about a wicked altar. This altar that Jeroboam's standing at is idol worship. And it came to pass, when King Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, which had cried against the altar in Bethel, that he put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to him. You better be careful who you put your hand against. He put his hand out, said get him right there. And when he said get the man of God, God smote his hand and dried it up and he could not use it no more. You better be careful about talking about the man of God. You better be careful about pointing your hand out at somebody. You better be careful and that going against somebody that's trying to serve God. You better be careful. So we find right here that God dried up Jeroboam's arm. Verse 5. The altar also was red, and the ashes poured out from the altar according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the Lord. So it come to pass just exactly like the man of God said. And the king answered and said to the man of God, Entreat now the face of the Lord thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me again. And the man of God besought the Lord, and the king's hand was restored to him again, and became as it was before." Boy, you're talking about humility in a hurry. I mean, Jeroboam had it, didn't he? I mean, he's over here. He's going to get the man of God. He's going to kill the man of God, put him in a prison somewhere, do some wicked and awful things to him for preaching against the altar of God. And when God dries his hand up, after the altar's rent and the ashes pour off, he says, O man of God, can you pray for my hand? Well, he done about changing his tune quickly. He did, didn't he? But when you see the power of God, it has a tendency to change who you are. And the king said unto the man of God, coming out now, pay attention, this is where it gets important. And the king said, well, it's all important, but this is where we need to see. And the king said unto the man of God, come home with me and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward. And the man of God said unto the king, if thou would give me half thine house, I will not go with thee. Neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place. For so it charged me by the word of the Lord, saying, eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest. So God had told him, said, don't stop and eat, don't stop and drink, go down there, preach against the altar, preach against the king, and then leave and go the way that I told you to go, but don't go back the way that you came. So he went another way and returned not. by the way that he came to Bethel. Now what's this? Verse 11. Now there dwelt an old prophet in Bethel, and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel. The words which he had spoken unto the king, them they told also to their father. And their father said unto them, What way went he? For his sons had seen the way that the man of God went, which came from Judah. And he said unto his sons, Saddle me the ass. So they saddled him the ass, and he rode thereon, and went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak. And he said unto him, Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah? And he said, I am. Then he said unto him, Come home with me, and eat bread. And he said, I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee, neither will I eat bread, nor drink water with thee in this place. For it was told me by the word of the Lord, thou shalt eat no bread, nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way which thou camest. All right. He tells us again, God said don't go back the way you came, don't stop to eat bread, don't stop to drink water, keep going the way that I told you to go. Verse 18. He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art, and an angel spake unto me by the word of the Lord, saying, bringing back with thee unto thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. Now if I stop there, that might be good. But look what the rest of your Bible says. But he lied unto him. So he went back with him and did eat bread in his house and drank water. And it came to pass as they sat at the table that the word of the Lord came unto the prophet that brought him back. So now here's the old man fixing to prophesy. And he cried unto the man of God that came from Judas saying, Thus saith the Lord, Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the mouth of the Lord, and hast not kept the commandment which the Lord thy God commanded thee, but camest back, and hast eaten bread, and drunk water, in the place of which the Lord did say to thee, Eat no bread, and drink no water, thy carcass shall not come into the sepulcher of thy father. So if you read the rest of the story, you'll find that he left and on the way as he left, there was a lion met him and tore him to pieces and killed him and the old prophet went out there and got him and buried him in his own sepulcher. But what am I preaching on? I'm preaching on you better be careful who you listen to. I'm going to say the young prophet because the Bible differentiates between them right here, between the old prophet. God had gave that young prophet specific instructions. Do you know nobody else knows the will of God for your life except you? Now, folk can help you, and folk can direct you, and I try to help folk all the time. I do. I had a young man come the other day. He's church-fixing now. I call him to pastor, probably tonight. Church is going to vote on me. Now, I give him some advice about pastoring. But I didn't tell him how to pastor that church. I didn't tell him what to do or what not to do. I just gave him some advice about pastoring. But God had gave that prophet a specific direction to go. He knew his direction. Don't he know that? He tells it to us twice. Right there he tells it once to King Jeroboam. Tells it another time and back to the old prophet. He says, I can't go back. I can't stop and eat. I can't stop and drink. I can't go back the way that I came. God said not to do that. God said to go this way. You say, why would God tell him that? He ain't got a clue. But God told him to do that. You know, God will instruct us and give us things to do in our life. Hey listen, there is a will of God for your life and He wants you to follow it. Ephesians 5 and 17, Wherefore be not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. I do understand that the will of God covers all our lives to a point. What do you mean? It's the will of God for us to come to church. It's the will of God for us to witness. It's the will of God for us to read our Bible. It's the will of God for us to pray. All those things. That is the will of God. We understand that. But I believe that it is the will of God for me to preach and for me to pastor this church. I believe that. But that's not everybody's direction in life. God don't call every man to preach. Amen? God don't call every preacher to pastor. I'm just using me as an example. And He told him, He said, Don't go back. He said, Don't go back the way that you came. Go this way. There's a lot of people going back, ain't they? I've got to throw that in there right now. There's a lot of people turning back. Luke 9 in 62, No man hath put his hand to the plow, and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God. A lot of people turning back. I don't know why God didn't want him to go back the way that he came. I don't know why, but he didn't. And so he was adamant about that. He was adamant about, I've got to go this way. I've got to do this. Hey listen, when we find out what the will of God is for our life, let's be adamant to do it. Amen. Be zealous to do it. I'm going to go this way. I'm not going to let anybody stop me. But then here comes the problem. Here comes the old prophet. He finds him sitting under the oak tree out there and he comes up to him and he says, why don't you come back home with me? He says, why don't you come back home and eat and why don't you come back home and drink with me? And that young prophet, he tells the old prophet he can't do it. And so here the old prophet, he lies to him, don't he? Ain't that what your Bible says? It's what my Bible says. He says, but there was an angel spoken to me by the word of the Lord saying, bring him back with thee into thine house that he may eat bread and drink water. But here's what your Bible said. But he lied unto him. What was the young prophet to do? The young prophet had three choices right there. One, he could have went on the way that God told him to go and he would have been saved. Two, he could have stopped and looked up to heaven and said, God, have you changed your mind? Is this what you want me to do? I'm standing right here until I get some direction. You know there's nothing wrong with that. Do you know there's nothing wrong to keep on doing what you know to do until God says to do different. God told him to go this way. He would have been right in going the way that he was going until God spoke from heaven and said, don't go this way no more. I believe it would have been okay if he had just looked up to heaven and said, God, is he telling me the truth? But yet he chose the third option, which was to listen to the old prophet. And listening to the old prophet, he got to go back and he got to rest. He got to go back and eat bread. and drink water. So he got to not only that, but have a time of fellowship, if you'd let me say that. But it didn't take long. You know, I'm going to tell you, when you're truly serving God and you get out of God's will, it don't take long for Him to show up. He'll be there quickly. But I want you to look at the consequence as to what happened right here. You say, why would God do what He done? I don't know why God chose to be so harsh, but I think it is a learning experience for us to understand. He said, look, you didn't obey My Word. You didn't keep My Word. You may not think it's important today to do what God tells you to do, but it's important. There are consequences down the road. It may not be today. It may not be tomorrow. Listen, I've watched the longsuffering of God through this book and through life, and you'll see the longsuffering hand of God, but things do come to pass. Some of you are living examples of that right now. You can say that, yes, the preacher knows what he's talking about. Let me put it to you like this. Don't listen to counsel that is contrary to the Word of God. Don't listen to it. Hey listen, what he was hearing from the old prophet, even though he was an old prophet, and I believe that he was an old prophet, he just wanted that young man to come back home and spend time with him. But God had a different plan for this young man's life. Don't listen to advice contrary to the Word of God. And that's what he's done. He even though you may want to. You know there's times that you're going to want to listen to advice that's contrary to the Word of God because you're going to get to go do something you want to do if you do that. Nine times out of ten when people come to me and they say, Preacher what do you think about this? They already know what to think about it. They're just wanting to see if I can justify what they're wanting to go do. Am I not right? I've had people do me that way. What do you think about this preacher? You know, it's just a Sunday night. No, it's not just a Sunday night. You start missing one here and there, and you'll start missing more here and there, and then before you know it, I'm looking for you. It does matter, friend. That little stuff does matter. Let me move on right here. So what's it end up doing? It ends up killing him. Because he went back. God said, okay, because you didn't obey my voice. He says, You did not obey for as much as thou hast disobeyed the mouth of the Lord, hast not kept the commandment which the Lord thy God commanded thee, but camest back and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which the Lord did say to thee, Eat no bread and drink no water, thy carcass shall not come in the sepulcher of thy father's. You read on, and sure enough, that lion catches him in the way. Verse 24 said, And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him, and his carcass was cast in the way. And the ash stood by it, and the lion stood by the carcass. You say, well, that was happenstance. No, if you go on and you read that, you'll find out that that lion didn't even bother that donkey. That donkey stood right there and that lion just stood right there with the carcass of that man of God. And when the old man got there, he got off his donkey, got over, picked up the man of God and put him back on it and carried him off. And the lion didn't bother none of them. All he wanted to do was kill that one prophet right there. God's got a way of getting your attention. But by the time he gets it, it may be too late. You better be careful who you listen to. It's going to get you in trouble one day if you ain't careful. Take your Bible and go to the book of Proverbs chapter 7. Proverbs 7. If I talk to you young people for just a minute. Proverbs 7. And it ain't that I ain't talking to old people either right now, or older people, and that I wasn't talking to the young people a few minutes ago. But Proverbs 7 deals with a young man and a strange woman. Young man and strange woman. Look in Proverbs chapter 7. Look in verse 6. Now here Solomon is talking to his children and he's talking to us. He says, For at the window of my house, verse 6, I looked through my casement. So he's looking through his window. He's just looking out. And he says, And I beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youth a young man void of understanding. Well, that's a shame, ain't it? passing through the street near her corner, and he went the way to her house. In the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night, and behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot and subtle heart, and she is loud and stubborn, her feet abide not in her house, now she is without, now in the streets, and lies in wait at every corner. So she called him and kissed him, and with an impudent face said unto him, I have peace offerings with me, and this day I have paid my debts. That word impudent means without shame. She had no shame of what she was doing at all. Therefore now, verse 15, she said, I have paid my vows, therefore I came forth to meet thee diligently to seek thy face. I have found thee. I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry, with carved works with fine linen of Egypt. I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning. Let us solace ourselves with love, for the good man is not at home. He is gone on a long journey. He has taken a bag of money with him and will come again, or will come home at the day appointed. Now watch this right here, verse 21. With her what? What does your Bible say? Much fire, speech. What she had to say. What am I preaching on? You better be careful who you listen to. With her much-fired speech sounded good. Fired speech. She caused him to yield with the flattering of her lips. She forced him. He goeth after her straightway as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a foal to the cracks of the stocks, till a dart strike through his liver, as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life. Hearken unto me now, therefore, you children, and tend to the words of my mouth. He said, Listen to me. He said, Let not thine heart decline to her ways. Go not astray in her path, for she hath cast down many wounded. Yea, many strong men have been slain by her. Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death. Kind of reminds you of a woman by the name of Delilah, don't it? If you read the story of Samson and Delilah. Notice that we're dealing with a young man that is void of understanding. You young people, you young men and young ladies need to get some understanding about some things. Need to get some understanding about other men and other women and young men and young women. But this man was, this young man, this young man was void of understanding. He didn't realize what she was up to. Didn't realize who she was. Bible calls her the strange woman. We would call her a harlot. We'd call her a prostitute today. Well, we'd probably call her more than that. I want you to look at what it said about her. In verse 8, she had a corner. In verse 9, what she done was done in darkness. And in verses 10 through 12, we find her character. She's dressed as a harlot. So it doesn't matter how you dress. You know, ladies, if it ain't for sale, don't advertise. Amen. Boy, that was weak. Y'all think I'm being funny or that I'm just being old-fashioned or any of those things. Hey, if it ain't for sale, don't advertise it. If it is for sale, get it covered up anyway. Amen. It does matter how you dress. I'm not going to preach again on modesty, but right here she had on the attire of a harlot. In other words, she dressed like them. Why? Because that's what she was. The Bible said that she was subtle of heart. Well, I mean, she was conniving, if you'd let me say that. And not only that, but Luke, it said that she was loud and stubborn. He's standing up there at his window watching all this go on, and I believe he could hear her. He's been paying attention. Solomon's been paying attention to what's going on. You know how you watch some things on TV? I believe Solomon was watching this through his window right here, kind of like watching a TV show. And he said, I'm watching this young man right here. This woman's fixing to get him. She's fixing to get him and he don't realize it because of how she is, how she dresses, what appeals to him. You know, me and nurse, sometimes we go in the store that we have to walk like this, don't we? I have to walk like this and let my wife lead me around. Or you're walking all the time like this. I told you about that girl that time we was in an antique store. Had on them shorts. It was made out of what we'd call a doily, you know. People shouldn't have to go down and see that. You're poking fun, preacher. I may be poking a little fun, but you still shouldn't have to go down and see that. You shouldn't have to come to church and see that. Amen, preacher. If you ain't going to dress right anywhere else, you at least ought to dress right here. Amen. Listen, she's settled heart, she's dressed like a harlot. Boy, I tell you, let me back up and hit that again. You ought to dress right when you come to the house of God. It ought to be covered up. One of the worst places that preachers have to sit sometimes is sitting right up here, sitting right over here, and he looks out across the crowd and sees men and women both sometimes that ain't even dressed right. I shouldn't have to fight my flesh because you're not dressed right. Let me move on. Boy, we're doing good now, ain't we? Amen. Where's my aunt? I done lost my place now. She's loud and stubborn. He could hear her, no doubt. She didn't abide in her house. In other words, she had a house to be at. As a matter of fact, she had a husband. And she even called him a good man down there in verse 19. He'd have to be a good man to put up with her. and said he's taking a bag of money. He took the wrong bag when he left. Amen. Y'all catch that one after a while. She waited at every corner. She was waiting to catch somebody. They said, give me young men, young ladies. There's other men and women, let me use that terminology, out there to catch you. I dare to get you in a situation that you really don't want to be in. That's why I tell you mom and daddies, I'd be very careful. I'm not about letting my boy or girl get in another vehicle. I enact with a different sex. You don't know what's going to happen. Well, they're good Christian kids. I hope that they are. But I'm telling you, when you put temptation and opportunity together, you're just asking for trouble. My mama used to say that's kind of like putting the fox in charge of the hen house, ain't it? She waited at every corner and she caught him. And she done it and kissed him. And I'm going to come back and she said with an impudent face, she had no shame about what she was doing. None. She told him, look, I've went and paid my vows. I've already took care of my sin. This thing that we're going to go do, she said, I've already paid for it. It's been took care of. She said, therefore came I forth to meet thee diligently to seek thy face. I have found thee. You are the one that I was looking for. Now she was waiting on every corner to find whoever she could, but it's him. Why? Because he's void of understanding. You better be careful who you listen to. I know I've told you this before, but there was a man that I used to work with and he had talked about one of them ladies that worked on his line. And he said, you know, I'd get up in the morning, put my work shirt on and I said, come in, collar would be folded up and stuff and she'd start working on my collar and getting it folded down and she'd start saying things, boy, if I was your wife, I'd press your collar and have your shirt ready and all that. He needed to get away from her! She was up to no good! So we find right here that she caught him and kissed him. How did she catch him? She caught him with her words. If you look in verses 14 through 20, she starts to talk to him. and tells everything that she's done, tells everything how she's got it laid out. They're going to have a great time, a good time. She's laid it all out. We can do all this till the morning time. The good man ain't coming back. He's took money with him. He's on a journey. He's got a specific time that he's going. Till he comes back, he'll not be home. And in verse 21 says, with her much fire speech, she caused him to yield. Look at me, young ladies. Don't ever trust a young man when he's trying to get you to do something that you shouldn't do. Young men, don't ever trust them young women trying to get you something that you know better than to do. Amen? Am I not right, church? I'm going to try to be... I mean, listen, I'm telling you right now, you don't need to send them out. You're just setting them up for trouble. You say, I can handle it. You might think you can handle it. Eat you in trouble. But look at the consequences that came. Verses 22 through 27 said, He goeth after her straightway as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks. You're going down through here and you're reading and you find out that it's going to kill him. It said, Let not thine heart decline to her ways. You're going to have to go down. You're going to have to go down to follow her. Go not astray in her path. It's going to take you away from God. It's going to take you away from what's right if you follow her. There's consequences to it. It's going to get you in trouble. Take your Bible quickly. Go to Joshua chapter 11. I said I had a lot to say today. Joshua 7. I'm going to hurry. I know what time it is, okay? Just stay with me, okay? Just stay with me. Joshua 7. This one is a little different in Joshua 7. We understand about the old prophet and the young prophet. We understand about the strange woman and the man, the unmanaged void of understanding. And I'm just trying to keep you kids and that pure before God, keep you pure to your wedding day. That's all I'm trying to do right there out of Proverbs 7. Listen, if you go on over and you read the book of Proverbs chapter 6 and we ain't got time to go there, but it's going to bring a blot. He talks about can you take fire in your bosom and your clothes not get burned. And that's why he's talking about adultery. He's talking about them sexually impure sins. You can't do it. It's going to get you every time. It's going to leave a blot. But look in Joshua chapter 7. Verse 1, But the children of Israel committed trespass in the accursed thing. For Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdiah, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing, and the anger of the Lord was kindled against the children of Israel. What's he talking about? They have went in and defeated Jericho. God said, Don't take anything out of Land Jericho. He said, Don't take it home with you. He said, You kill everything over there, but all the money, the gold, the silver, the brass and all that, you bring to the treasure house of the Lord. That ain't what Achan done. Look in verse 2. And Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Beth-Avon, on the east side of Bethel. And spake unto them, saying, Go up and view the country. And the men went up and viewed Ai. And they returned to Joshua and said unto him, Let not all the people go up, but let about two or three thousand men go up and smite Ai. And make not all the people to labor or thither, for they are but a few. So there went up thither of the people about three thousand men, and they fled before the men of Ai. And the men of Ai smote them about thirty and six men. For they chased them from before the gate, even unto Shibarim, and smote them in the going down. Wherefore the hearts of the people melted, and became as water. And Joshua rent his clothes and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the Lord. And till evening time he and the elders of Israel put dust on their heads. And Joshua said, Alas, O Lord God, wherefore hast thou at all brought these people over Jordan to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites to destroy us? Joshua said, God, you just brought us over. Why have you brought us over here? You just brought us over here to destroy us. Would to God we had been content and dwelt on the other side of Jordan. Oh Lord, what shall I say when Israel turneth their backs before their enemies? For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land shall hear of it and shall environ us round and cut off our name from the earth. And what wilt thou do unto thy great name? Boy, I'm telling you, Joshua's in bad shape, ain't he? He said, God, you brothers out here are going to get killed. He said, the people's going to turn back. They're not going to want to fight. The enemy's going to come, going to destroy us, take away our name. And you ain't even going to have a name out here, God. And the Lord said unto Joshua, I like this verse to end, Get thee up, wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face? What are you doing on the ground, Joshua? Verse 11. Israel has sinned and they also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them for they have even taken of the accursed thing and have also stolen and disassembled also and they have put it even among their own stuff. Therefore the children of Israel cannot stand before their enemies but turn their backs before their enemies because they were cursed and neither will I be with you anymore except you destroy the accursed thing from among you." So what's the problem? What are you talking about right here? What was the counsel that Joshua took? Joshua sent men over to Ai to go look at it. And they said, let's go fight Ai, but let's just take two or three thousand men, and let's not labor all the men, let's just take a few. Now here's where we get in trouble at. Joshua didn't know what Achan had done. God knew, but Joshua didn't know. And here's what Joshua done as their leader. He just assumed what those men were saying sounded good and he done what they said to do. You say, well what was he supposed to do? I come back to this point right here. I don't find where Joshua sought God in that direction right there. I'm not beating up on Joshua because I'm saying I would have probably done the same thing as him. That's not what I'm saying. What I'm saying is though that friend, when something sounds good, I'm not saying God ain't telling you not to do it. I'm just saying that you might want to stop what you're doing and just stop for a minute or two and pray. and say, God, is this what we need to do? It sounds good. It looks good. It will be good, Lord, if all the men don't have to go down there to labor and fight and fight this battle. If just 2 or 3,000 could go. But instead, they send 2 to 3,000 men down there. And the Bible says that 36 men got killed because of that situation. You can argue with me about that if you want to, but I really believe that if Joshua would have consulted God, God would have told him. God ain't going to send you somewhere and let you get killed if you're asking the direction to go. It ain't going to happen. I know God too much. But I want you to look what the Lord told him over there. The Lord said, look, they've stolen, they've disassembled. There was hypocrisy there. And they put it among their own stuff. Therefore the children of Israel cannot stand before their enemies, but turn their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed. Neither will I be with you anymore, except you destroy the accursed thing from among you. God said in verse 1, He was angry with them. God told them in verse 12, I'm not only angry with you, but I'm not going to let you stand before your enemies until you deal with this thing. Joshua had two options right here. He could either just go ahead and be destroyed, and that by the enemies, or he was going to have to deal with it. Do you see the counsel that he got? What sounded like good counsel, but he ended up getting 36 men killed? Now I'm hurrying right here on this one. Do you see? He got 36 men killed. Was it 36? That's right, ain't it? Yeah, 36 men. He got 36 men killed on the counsel that he took. You better be careful who you listen to. But here's the thing that I also know, that if the whole army of Israel would have went down there to fight Ai, it would have probably cost them more than thirty and six men. How do you figure? Because God said they wouldn't be able to stand before their enemies. Number four and last of all. Take you back and go to the book of James, chapter 21, or James 1. And I'm going to close. I do know what time it is. We have the old prophet and the young prophet. We have the young man void of understanding with the strange woman and Joshua and his counselors. But right here is the most dangerous that we're going to deal with. In James chapter 1. Look in verse 1. Wherefore, lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted Word, which is able to save your souls. It's the Word of God that saves. Aren't you glad of that? But be ye doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any man be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in the gladness, for he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way in a straight way, forgiveth what manner of man he is, but whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the word, this man shall be blessed in his deed." What's he saying right here? Look back in verse 22. He says, Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. You know the most dangerous person to listen to? You are. You're the most dangerous counsel that you can have because you can justify anything you want to do. What was it the church said in Laodicea over there in Revelation chapter 3? They said, the Lord Jesus told them over there, I mean, they're lukewarm. And He said, because you're lukewarm, I'm going to spew you out. And here's what they said, Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increase of goods, and have need of nothing, and knowest not that thou art rich and miserable, poor and blind. They had deceived themselves into believing everything was alright. They had deceived themselves into believing that they were right with God. You know those people sitting on church pews today, they have deceived themselves into believing that they are right with God. 1 John 1 and 8, if we say that we have no sin, we have deceived ourselves. Ain't that what he says? And the truth is not in us? The worst enemy that we have when it comes to taking counsel is us. You better be careful who you listen to outside of you, but you better be careful when you listen to your heart. Because the Bible said in the book of Jeremiah that the heart is desperately wicked, and who can know it? You'll want to do some things, and you'll justify it just so that you can do it. And you'll tell yourself that it's okay, that you can do this, and you can do it your way, and all these things, and God won't care. But listen, why do you think the Bible tells us in Galatians 6 and 7, Be not deceived. There it is again. Be not deceived. God is not mocked, for whatsoever man soweth, that shall he also reap. He said, Be you doers of the Word, not hearers only. Receive in your own selves. We can be our own worst counsel when it's something we want to do and it's a direction we want to go. We can be our own worst counsel and it gets us in trouble. Let's bow our heads across the house. Men, let's get us a verse of invitation. Listen, I don't know who you've been listening to, but I can tell you that if they ain't following the Word of God, they're going to get you in trouble. You need the Word of God in your life. I need the Word of God in my life. How about it? Who have you been listening to? So preacher, there are just some things that I want to do in life. There's been a lot of things I wanted to do, and if I wanted to justify it, I could go ahead and do it. But friend, it ain't what God's wanted for my life. And I could find somebody to tell me to go ahead and do it, that it would be alright. But it wouldn't be right with God. Can I tell you moms and dads something this morning? You be careful. You be careful the counsel you give your children. I mean, you encourage them to serve God, you encourage them to follow God, but listen, and you help them find the will of God for their life. Not the will that you want them to have, but the will of God for their life. And you just pray and seek God for them. You gotta be careful who you're listening to. Satan will lead you wrong if you get to listen to their own people. But if you'll listen to those that are, that multitude, there is safety in a multitude of counselors that has wise counsel, that has the Word of God on their side. If you've got that, it'll never lead you wrong this morning. Maybe you're needing some counsel this morning. God certainly can give it. Maybe you've talked yourself into being saved. Maybe you've talked yourself into being right with God when you're really not. I want you to come this morning and get right with God. Heavenly Father, I pray you'll help during this invitation. Would you move this morning? Please help those that might be lost. Help those that just need direction. Help those that are taking wrong counsel. Just help them this morning. For these things in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.