The following sermon is brought to you by Capitol Community Church, located in Raleigh, North Carolina. Capitol Community Church is a people awakened to a holy God. If you are searching for a new church home, or from out of town looking for a church to worship with, or simply seeking for answers, Please join us for worship at 1045 a.m. every Sunday morning and 6 o'clock p.m. for our evening service. If you have any questions, please email us at info at CapitalCommunityChurch.com. We pray this sermon will help you grow deeper in your walk with Jesus Christ. I invite you to open your Bibles to Proverbs chapter 24. Proverbs 24, we're continuing our study of 30 truths to wisdom. 30 truths to wisdom. And I heard that there was an over-under bet about whether or not we would finish today. We've got, I think, 12 left, and I'm not going to make it through all 12. So we'll have one more week to finish the 30 truths of wisdom. But when you begin Proverbs 24, really one of the great themes that you see in the Proverbs is emphasized, and that is the great difference between the fool and the wise man. We tend to think of them closer together than they really are, but in the Bible, the fool is a world apart from the wise man. There's a great gulf between the wise man and the fool, a great divide, a great antithesis. The wise man fears the Lord, and the fool does not. The wise man loves the Bible, the fool does not. The wise man desires to please God, and the fool does not. This week as I was thinking about this, I was reminded of what Our Lord said in Matthew chapter 7. You don't have to turn there. I'm going to read it to you. This is Matthew 724. This is at the very end of the sermon on the mountain. This is how Jesus closes that famous sermon. He says in verse 24, everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. So hearing the words of Christ. Hearing the words of our Lord. And doing them. Makes you a wise person because the Lord Jesus Christ is the essence of true wisdom. Paul says in Colossians 2 three in Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. And so what Jesus is saying there at the end of the Sermon on the Mount, he says, if you base your life on me. If you come to me. You listen to me, you will be like a wise man. who builds his life on the rock. In Israel, there's lots of valleys, they call them wadis, and when it rains, there's flash floods, and the water comes through, and in those valleys, it washes everything away. And Jesus is saying, look, if you base your life on me, when the storms come, your house isn't gonna be down in the valley. Your house is gonna be up on the rock. And he says, this is verse 25, he says, and the rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and beat on that house. But it did not fall because it had been founded on the rock. And that's where wisdom has to start. Wisdom starts with Christ and Him crucified. And coming to the end of yourself and trusting Him in faith. And then you start the journey of becoming a wise man. Or a wise woman, Jesus says if you fail to do this, if you fail to listen to him, verse 26, he says everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. Might look like you're getting ahead. It might look like things are are being put together, but then when the storm comes, what happens? He says in the rain fell in the floods came in the winds blew and beat against that house and it fell and great was the fall of it. You can think of so many lives, so many lives where it looked like they had everything that you could ask for in the world. And then when the storm came, they fell. because they failed to base their life on Christ. So that's the beginning of wisdom. That's the difference between the fool and the wise man. And what Solomon is going to do in Proverbs 24 is he's really going to flesh out these differences. He's going to show us what these differences look like. How does the wise man live versus the fool? So we're going to start with saying 19 in verse one, and you could summarize the 19th saying, wicked actions betray wicked hearts. Wicked actions betray wicked hearts. Look at verse one. He says, be not envious of evil men, nor desire to be with them. This is a theme that we've seen over and over and over again in the Proverbs. In fact, we've seen it in the 30 sayings. In Proverbs 22, 24, Solomon says, make no friendship with a man given to anger, nor go with a wrathful man. In 2317, he said, let not your heart envy sinners. He's going to say in 2419, be not envious of the wicked. But now he's going to give an interesting reason for not envying the sinner, for not keeping their company. Look at verse two. Look what he says. He says, for their hearts devise violence, in their lips talk of trouble. So the reason for not keeping their company or envying them is the rottenness of their hearts. Solomon is saying, don't you know that a wicked person has a wicked heart? The prophet Amos said in Amos 3.10, they do not know how to do right. declares the Lord. Those who store up violence and robbery in their strongholds. The Hebrew word that he uses for heart is the word Leb and it means the seat of the affections, the seat of the desires. And Solomon is saying, look, those who devise evil, you have to know that they devise this violence and havoc and devastation and this wickedness in their heart of hearts. And when he says that their lips speak of trouble, Jesus said the mouth speaks what's where in the heart so when someone he speaks evil Believe them at their word Because there's evil in their heart. That's what Jesus said so so Solomon is saying you don't want to be envious of a wicked person because they are actually in a terrible position and They're in an awful position. It might look like on the outside that they have everything, but on the inside they have a wicked heart and you need to remember that in a wicked heart cannot be satisfied. You might think that they're satisfied. They're not satisfied. A wicked heart hurts other people. Wicked heart rebels against God. A wicked heart leads to destruction. Remember David in someone says the way of the wicked will what? Parish away of the wicked. will perish. So you don't envy the Herod the Great. You don't envy the Pharaohs of the world. You don't envy the Nero's. You don't envy the bad guys. And we know this intuitively. We know this. You watch Star Wars. Does anybody envy Emperor Palpatine or Vader? No. You don't envy them. You don't envy Cruella de Vil. You don't say, man, I wish I wish I had what she had. No, because and I know that those people are caricatures, but you say, no, I don't want to be like that person, because why? I have a wicked heart. You need to be reminded of that. If somebody does wickedness, they have a wicked heart. And so that that should cause us to seek. A new heart. causes to seek a new heart. And the only way to receive a new heart is to be born again. Remember the prophet Ezekiel said, Ezekiel 36, 26, I will give you a new heart and a new spirit I will put within you. And so the believer, this is the mark of a Christian, this is the mark of a wise man, is that they have received a new heart for God. And now they desire to do good to please God. Solomon says in Proverbs 423, keep your heart with all vigilance for from it flow the springs of life. So watch your heart. Watch your heart. Watch your words. What are you saying? What you are saying is indicative of what is in your heart. So we must be reminded, don't envy the wicked because they have wicked hearts. And in so doing, we need to watch our own hearts. All right, 20th saying, wisdom builds empires. Wisdom builds empires. Look at verse 3. He says, by wisdom a house is built and by understanding it is established. By knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches. Now, what does he mean here? I think what Solomon is saying is that a house is a metaphor for any number of things. You think about a great house like the Biltmore. A great house requires what? A great architect, a master builder, skilled artisans. You don't just poof, voila, come up with a beautiful mansion. A great house requires wisdom and planning. And in that way, a great house is a metaphor for a lot of things. Could be a metaphor for your family, Great families are built on wisdom. They're built on Christ in divine truth. Member Joshua said as for me in my house. We will serve the Lord. We will establish our house in the truth. Our family in the truth could be a metaphor for nation. You want to build a strong nation? It must be founded upon wisdom. That's what made the United States of America unique. Our founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, John Adams, they'd read John Locke and others, and they came to the conclusion that man, in his very core, is evil and cannot be trusted. They'd seen kings rule as tyrants, and they said, we need to develop a government that puts the evil of man into check. And so we're not going to have a monarchy, where one man, if he goes evil, the nation is destroyed. We're also not going to have an absolute democracy, where the mob can just vote whatever they want. We're going to have a constitutional republic, where people elect representatives, and they go and represent them in Washington. And then, even as they represent them, there's what? checks and balances, checks and balances, so that no one has absolute power, so evil can be checked. And they did that in wisdom. But the problem is, is Americans have forgotten the foundation on which this country was built. We've forgotten the foundation on which this country has been built, and we've turned our backs on God. And we don't understand the nature of man, like our founding fathers did. So we're in a dangerous position, very dangerous position. Most people in this country don't even understand our founding documents. Constitution, declaration, all those things. The house could be a metaphor for your life. Great lives are built on wisdom, just as we saw in Matthew 7. If you continue in wisdom, your life at the end will be a magnificent structure. Your life at the end, you keep plotting, you keep going, you keep being faithful. And at the end, your grandkids will be gathered around your bed and they will praise you because you lived a life of wisdom. If you don't start with wisdom, you might rise quickly. But then ultimately, your character will not have the strength to match your success and you will fall away. Think of Benedict Arnold. Think of Judas Iscariot. Think of Bernie Madoff. People who rose fast, but didn't have the character to stand upon. If you begin with wisdom, you will be, as the psalmist says, you will be like a tall tree, firmly planted by streams of water. You will be like an apostle Paul, who said at the end, I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. You will be like an Amy Carmichael. You will be an Aquila Priscilla. You will be a person with a legacy. but it starts with building your house on wisdom. Paul says, Galatians 6-9, I repeat this to myself all the time, Paul says, do not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap if we do not give up. Keep endeavoring to live a life of wisdom. God sees, God sees, and you will reap a great harvest if you do not give up. Don't take shortcuts. Empires and great successes aren't built overnight. It takes wisdom applied over a long period of time. And that's what I think Solomon's getting at when he says, by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches. You just keep being faithful and the house is going to fill up. The structure will be built and nice things will furnish it. All right, so that's the 20th saying. 21st, 21st, strategy wins the day. Strategy wins the day. Verse 5, a wise man is full of strength and a man of knowledge enhances his might. If you are in a contest or in a battle or even in a business venture, wisdom always trumps brute strength. always. Wisdom is what increases might or success. So if you're given the choice between power, wisdom, wealth, always take wisdom. Remember Solomon. What do you want, Solomon? You can have long life. You can have riches. You can have power. Solomon says, give me wisdom. That's what I want. And God says, because you have asked this, I will give all those other things to you. Wisdom is what enables someone to ultimately succeed. Proverbs 21-22 says, a wise man scales the city of the mighty and brings down the stronghold in which they trust. So a wise man is able to defeat the mighty. The Greeks stood outside the city of Troy for 10 years. For 10 years they could not scale the walls of Troy. And after 10 years there was a guy named Odysseus and he said, I have a plan. Let's pretend like we've given up. Let's all get back on our ships. Let's sail down the coast. They'll think that we've retreated, lost the war, and we'll build a big horse and leave it to them as a gift. And unbeknownst to them, we'll get inside and they'll bring it into their city as a gift. And then we'll come out and we'll overtake the city. And that's what the Greeks did. and Odysseus and the Greeks won the day and that's how Troy fell. But it began with strategy. So you want to strategize. Whatever you're doing, whatever you're doing in life, business, work, writing, family, you want to develop a strategy and you want to do it wisely. And one of the ways that you do this is verse 6. for by wise guidance you can wage your war, and in an abundance of counselors there is victory." He's saying what you want to do is you want to talk to brilliant people who have done what you are trying to do. If you're trying to do something, go and talk to someone who has also done that. Proverbs 11 14 says, where there is no guidance of people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety. And that, by the way, I think is why the Lord Jesus designed the church to be led by a plurality of elders. It's not just one man. It's not just me or Kenny, it's a lot of men that God has given different gifts to, different life experiences, different wherewithal to come together and shed light on different problems and issues that the church is facing. Listen, much of being successful is simply getting the right people on the bus that know what they are doing. You want to get the right people into the right positions. The unsung hero that nobody talks about in World War II was General George Marshall. General George Marshall, Chief of Staff. The reason why George Marshall basically won the war, and here's why. Because when he came into the position of chief of staff at the beginning of the war, he fired 17 generals. And then he promoted. Listen to these names. Eisenhower. Patton Bradley. He promoted the right people. It was brilliant. He was the one who really won the war because he put the right people on the bus in the right places. So make no mistake, a good strategy wins the day, and good counselors help to develop that strategy. So take the time to develop a good strategy, and then give it time to implement. And if you fail, go back to the drawing board. Go back. Don't just allow failure to win the day. Go back, improvise, and overcome. Keep strategizing. So that's the 21st saying. 22, 22nd saying, ignore the advice of fools. Look at verse 7. Wisdom is too high for a fool. In the gate he does not open his mouth. Fools do not understand wisdom. We've covered this. Fools do not understand wisdom. Therefore, Solomon saying they should not open their mouths Paul says in first Corinthians 2 14 the natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God For they are folly to him and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned To understand spiritual things you must be a spiritual person. You must be born again That's as we've said the beginning of wisdom. I And so the fool cannot and does not understand spiritual things. Now notice Solomon says in the gate he does not open his mouth. The gate of the city, the gate of the city is where all the important decisions were made. That's where the town elders would gather, would discuss something, and then make a decision. And he's saying in the gate of the city, the fool does not open his mouth. But you could translate that, the fool should not open his mouth. But really, we know if you've ever interacted with a fool, what do they do? They always open their mouth. They always open their mouth. They always share their opinion. And so you have to be very careful when you're operating a business or you're on a board and there's a fool there, you have to be very careful that that opinion does not carry the day. And also, you have to be careful about who you're listening to. If there is a fool that you are interacting with, somebody that does not fear God, somebody that is in rebellion against God, listen, do not listen to them. Do not listen to them. You don't have to listen to them. Remember when David was was at the front line and he says, I want to take this guy on who's challenging the armies of the living God and his older brother came up to him. He says, why are you here? I know your heart. I know that you're here just to get a name for yourself. You remember what David did? He said, was it but a word? And he just kept on going, didn't even listen to him because he knew that his older brother was a fool. Billy Graham, of course, got critics all the time. And he said, if I knew that that person was an unbeliever or didn't have my best interests at heart, I wouldn't listen to him. They give criticism and I discount it and move on because you don't have time in life to listen to fools. You just don't. So let it go in one ear. Out the other. So the proverb before Solomon saying make sure that you're listening to an abundance of counselors, right? So you want to find the wise people listen to them, but you want to be careful that you're not listening to the full. 23rd saying. 23rd saying this is really important for the day and age we live. Expect scoffers to scoff. Expect scoffers to scoff. We must not be naive. Evil people scheme. Evil people attack the people of God. Look at verse 8. Whoever plans to do evil will be called a schemer. What is evil? Evil is anything in violation of God's character, anything in violation of the law of God. That's what evil is. And people that plan, that think through, how can I violate God's law? How can I advance the kingdom of darkness? Solomon says those people will be called schemers. The devising of folly is sin. Notice how Solomon is reorienting. Sin, vertically, what is sin? Sin is a transgression of God's law. Sin is not just a mistake. Our world describes sin in language that's just therapeutic. Right? I'm making decisions that aren't helpful for me or those around me. No. You're cheating on your spouse and you're living in adultery. You have sinned against her and you've sinned against God. The Bible always reframes things vertically. Sin is a transgression of a holy, almighty, pure God. And Solomon says, look back at verse eight, he says the scoffer. is an abomination to mankind, and a scoffer is an abomination to those who are good. A scoffer is someone who shakes their fist at God. You remember Solomon says, the fool says in his heart that there is no God. They say, I can live my life however I want to because God does not exist. That's right, God, if you existed, you would strike me down, but you didn't. So you must not exist. I'm going to keep persisting in the evil that I'm engaging in. The fool thinks that they can get away with their evil, and therefore they are an abomination. An abomination is something that God hates. It's something that people hate. And let's just be frank. Let's be honest. The problem with our nation today is that we have millions upon millions of scoffers and schemers, people who hate God. Just look at the abortion industry. Just look at it. You have nice people in suits. I say nice people, they look nice, trying to winsomely advance arguments in Congress before the Supreme Court. advocating for the taking of innocent life in the womb. What is that? It's scoffing at God. Look at the pornography industry in our nation. What is that? Scoffing at God. We've become a nation of scoffers. My friend Stu Epperson Jr. owns and operates the Truth Network, and two weeks ago, someone went out and cut down three of his radio towers, three of his radio towers, because those radio towers are projecting the truth. Somebody said, I can't have that. I'm going to go cut those down. Paul said we should not be surprised. We should not be surprised. He says, this is 2 Timothy 3, he says, understand this, in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God." So listen, we must not be surprised when we are opposed. We must not be surprised by evil schemes. Because that is what evil people do. Expect scoffers to scoff. Expect scoffers to scoff. Remember what Paul said? He said we are in a battle. We are in a battle. Our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual forces of evil in heavenly places. We have. We have a fierce adversary. And he is deceived. Millions upon millions of people. Millions of people. That's 23. 24. 24. Perseverance through trials. Perseverance through trials. Look at verse 10. If you faint in the day of adversity. Your strength is small. If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small. Everyone can carry on when things are going well, when the economy's doing good, when business is good, but the real test of anyone's character is adversity. How do you handle The conflict. How do you respond when things get out of whack? How do you respond when you are bumped? Solomon says Proverbs 17 three, the crucibles for silver and the furnaces for gold and the Lord test hearts. Did you hear that? The Lord, as as his children. Allows us to go through times of trial and tribulation in order to refine us. in order to test us. He puts us through the refiner's fire in order to test our hearts. How do you respond when the trial comes? And the wise, listen, the wise are able to keep their perspective. They're able to keep their head on straight, and they're able to respond. The fool falls apart because they have no anchor. They have no worldview in which to interpret the trial. The believer understands every trial as underneath the broad hand of the sovereignty of God. Every time you face difficulty, the Christian says, you know what? I believe that God loves me and God is sovereign. Therefore, I can persevere. The unbeliever has no understanding of why something bad happened to them. They have no way to face it. So the wise always handle trials Well, one of my favorite scenes in Chariots of Fire, you remember Eric Little was the Scottish runner, and there's this, this isn't the end race, it's one of the races in the middle of the film, but right at the start of the film, they come out of the starting block, and a guy nudges Eric, and he falls down into the infield. You think, he's done, he's out of the race. And then he gets up. He gets up, and he runs. And you're like, okay, well maybe he'll, you know, finish in the top three. He catches the block, passes the block, wins first place. This summer, when I was over in London, I was doing some studies over there, and I went and visited the war room. Has any of y'all ever been to the war room? The war room is where Churchill and his generals essentially ran the the war for for six years and one of the coolest things about going down there is is Everything was perfectly preserved Since 1945. In fact, they sealed it off and they said nobody can take anything out Nobody can change anything and I went down there and I saw the little telephone booth where Churchill had talked to Roosevelt and in deep dark nights. I saw what they called the map room. The map room, they didn't have digital maps, so they had these huge maps all on the wall. And for six years, they constantly plotted where different units were, different army units were, where the German units were, and all those things on these walls. And they had six guys in the middle of the room with telephones and those things that were in touch with all of the generals. And for six years, the lights never went off in that room. the lights never went off. And Churchill's little quarters was right on the other side, and Churchill was constantly in there. Churchill's phrase that he would end almost every conversation with, whenever he was talking to someone, he always said, keep buggering Keep buggering on. Keep going forward. That's the mindset. Great leaders are defined by how they respond to great challenges. So here's the thing. We understand that with Christ's strength, you don't have to faint in the day of adversity. I want to show you this. Second Corinthians. I want you to turn over to the right to Second Corinthians chapter 12, 2 Corinthians chapter 12. Paul faced this fair share of challenges, didn't he? Just absolutely incredible, the difficulties that he faced. I was reading in Acts 14 in Lystra, they took him outside of the city and they stoned him, and people thought that he that he was dead, and he gets up and just keeps on preaching, so faced just incredible difficulties. And in 2 Corinthians 12, he says that God gave him a vision of incredible things, things that were really too deep to even talk about when he was caught up to heaven. He says, if you look at verse 7, look at verse 7, he says, so to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations of these visions, he says, a thorn was given me in the flesh. a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited." Now people debate what that thorn was. Some people think it was a vision impairment that Paul had difficulty seeing. Some people think that it was a slanderous person that followed him around. Some people think it was a demonic Presence that would cause depression and things like that. We don't know what the thorn is, but notice what he says. Verse 8 he says three times. I pleaded with the Lord about this that it should that it should leave me that it should be removed three times. I said God, would you relieve me from this adversity from this trial? And notice what the Lord said to him. Verse 9. But he said to me. My grace is sufficient for you. For my power. is made perfect in weakness. And he says, therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. You hear that? He's saying, look, when I face adversity, when I face difficulty and challenges, and I see my own weakness, And I see my own weakness. It's then that the greatness of Christ can be truly seen that his power can be displayed. And then he gets the glory. He allows me to keep going. He allows me to keep persevering, and it's all for his glory, his power. Look at verse 10. He says for the sake of Christ, then. I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities, for when I am weak, then I am strong. So when you face the challenge and the adversity and the difficulty and the calamity, that is the time where Christ can be big in you, where Christ in you is seen as the hope of glory. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4, he says, we have this treasure in jars of clay. We're little clay pots. We're nothing. But the surpassing greatness of Christ is in us. And so when you go through adversity, people are watching you. people are watching you and they're asking the question, how will they handle this? How will they deal with this? How will they cope with this? And in those moments, that is when Christ can be truly seen as great in you. One more passage I want you to see. I want you to turn to Isaiah chapter 40. Isaiah 40. Isaiah says the same thing. Isaiah 40. Verse 28. He says, have you not known? Have you not heard the Lord is the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth? He does not faint or grow weary. His understanding is unsearchable. Listen, he gives power to the faint into him who has no might. He increases strength. Even you shall faint and be weary and young men shall fall exhausted, but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint. It's Christ in you. It's his strength displayed in your weakness. His might in your failures. And that's what enables the Christian. That's what enables the wise person to persevere. It's not just sheer willpower. It's not just sheer pull yourself up by your bootstraps. It's not just sheer atomic habits. It's Christ. It's true power. its true glory that is displayed in your life. That's 24th. The wise person perseveres. 25th, and last for this morning, the wise rescues souls. The wise rescues souls. Look at verse 11. Turn back to Proverbs, Proverbs 24, verse 11. He says. Rescue those who are being taken away to death. Hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter. So he's saying do everything that you can to save people to intervene in their lives. And of course we understand that only the Gospel. Has the power to do that. There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which you can be saved. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. Only the good news of Christ's substitutionary work can save a soul. And so we need to be vigilant, vigilant. When you encounter a lost person, Paul says, I become all things to all men that I might win some. You need to be vigilant about trying to win people to Christ. I think one of the problems with the church today, listen very carefully, is we've gone internal. We've gone internal. That was a phrase we used in the Marine Corps to describe somebody that was just hunkered down. And not able to engage anymore on the outside. But the church has gone internal. People are afraid to speak the truth. They're afraid. Christians are afraid. Christians aren't sharing their faith. You're seeing in every denomination the baptism numbers are going like this. Plummeting. And the Christians are living in fear. But wise people. Look out and come to the rescue of others and bring the truth to bear in their lives. Spurgeon said this, quote, Do you want arguments for soul winning? Look up to heaven and ask yourself how sinners can ever reach those harps of gold and learn their everlasting song unless they have someone to tell them of Jesus, who is mighty, mighty to save. But the best argument of all is to be found in the wounds of Jesus. You want to honor him. You desire to put many crowns upon his head, and this you can best do by winning souls for him. These are the spoils that he covets. These are the trophies for which he fights. These are the jewels that shall be his best adornment. So to win souls for Christ, you must press people upon their need for Christ. That's the hard part about evangelism. That's the hard part about evangelism. Is you must show someone. That they need a savior. And that's bringing someone face to face with the reality of their sin. And the fact of a judgment before God. That's the hard part about evangelism. Nobody wants everybody wants to hear a religion that says you're good and you're approved and we're going to just make you even better. That's what people want to hear. Christianity says you're bankrupt, and you're dead in your sins, and only Christ can save you. He's your only hope, not you. So it's bringing this message, this message of the cross, that Jesus died in the place for sinners, and pointing people to the truth of the gospel. I want you to think for a second. I want you to think for a second. Who brought the gospel to you? Who brought the gospel to you? Who came into your life and said, I want you to hear something. This is the state of your soul, but this is what Jesus has done. Who brought that message to you? And then ask yourself the question, what is preventing me from bringing that message to somebody else? What is preventing you from bringing that message to somebody else? If we are going to see revival in this nation again, it's going to come through intercessory prayer, praying for the lost, and then putting that into shoe leather and going out and trying to win people to Christ and sharing our faith. Remember Evangelists and Pilgrims Progress at the very beginning, Christian, he's pointing Christian to the wicked gate. He's saying, look, keep going, go there, go there, go there, go to the cross, go to the cross. It's not the pastor's responsibility simply to win souls. It is my responsibility to do the work of an evangelist. But it's also your responsibility. Every single person in this church is a minister of the gospel. Every single person in this church is an ambassador for Christ. So where's your mission field? Who are you reaching? Write down three names. Say, these are the people that I'm trying to reach. And try to win them to Christ. You are encountering people in your lives that no one else has access to. On the golf course, in the restaurants, in your place of work, in your family, you are encountering people that nobody else has access to. So look for those strategic strategic opportunities that you might bring them face to face with our master. Daniel says in Daniel 12 that people that do that, he says those are the stars. Those are the stars. Do you want to be a star? I want a whole church filled with stars, ambassadors for Christ, evangelists, because wise people win souls. Now, Look at the motivation that Solomon gives for this. Look at verse 12. He says, if you say, behold, we did not know this. For example, I didn't know that that person was lost. You know, I just kind of ignored it. He says, does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Who weighs the heart? God does. God knows. God knows who you're encountering with. God knows when you keep your mouth shut. God knows when you shirk an opportunity for Christ. Next verse he says, does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it? And will he not repay man according to his work? when look you're saved by grace you're saved by grace alone you're you're saved by the imputed righteousness of christ alone period not one ounce of your work gets you into heaven so that that's the the great judgment but then paul also says in corinthians he says we must all stand before the judgment seat of christ This is the judgment for the believer that follows that final judgment. And in that judgment seat for the believer, sometimes that's called the Bema seat judgment. God will award believers based upon their works, and those are crowns in which you will carry into heaven. And what Solomon is saying here is on that last day when you stand before Christ, you're saved. You know that you know where you stand with him. You know that you inherit heaven. He says that you will be repaid according to your work. So if you win souls for Christ now. You will be repaid. By the Lord Jesus Christ, he will reward you for what you have done. So what's preventing us from from reaping a great reward? You have all you're here today. You have time. Christ hasn't come back yet. There is still time to win people. If you know somebody they haven't died yet, there's still time to reach them. So go and reach them for Christ. You will in turn save their soul and reap a great reward. on that final day. Praise be to God. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you for this truth. We thank you for these 30 truths of wisdom that you gave Solomon so long ago. And we pray, Lord, that we would put it into action, that we would be wise people who set our hearts and our eyes on eternity, that we do not live for the things of this world, but we live our lives for the kingdom of Christ. We live our lives for God, for His honor and His glory. We pray, Lord, that we would win people to Christ. We would win souls. We pray, Lord, that we would be Enduring during trials and difficulties, we pray Lord that we would be discerning in who we listen to that we wouldn't listen to fools and that we would seek wise and godly counselors. We pray Lord that you would give us success in our strategies and in our work in our endeavors that you would give us great wisdom as we seek to carry these out and we pray Lord that we would not be surprised when we are opposed by scoffers and schemers. and those that are being used by the evil one to oppose the kingdom of God. May we keep enduring, may we keep being faithful, and may we be wise in the Lord. Praise be to God. We ask all these things in Christ's name, amen. Thanks for listening. For more sermons, information, and events, check out our website at capitolcommunitychurch.com.