Well, good morning Church, how's everybody doing this morning? Awesome. So let me start by reading a scripture Be of good courage and he shall strengthen your heart all you who hope in the Lord Psalm 31 24 and all God's people said Praise to the Lord Jesus Christ Everybody's got a story. Everybody's got a song. Everyone's a little different, but we all went wrong. Then a savior came, and he took the blame. He changed everything. Then a savior came, and he took the blame. He changed everything. ♪ Without His forgiveness ♪ I can praise Him till the sun goes down ♪ I can say that I am a witness ♪ I was there when His love came down ♪ Love came down on me Come on, it's your turn. ♪ Love came down on me ♪ Love came down on me Love came down on me. Love broke through my darkness. I can finally see. He paid the price for my freedom. No more chains on me. And the Savior came, and He took the blame. He changed everything. He changed everything. Come on, sing along. I could sing about His forgiveness. I could praise Him till the sun goes down. I could say that I am a witness. I was there when His love came down. Love came down on me. Come on, let me hear it. Love came down on me. love came down on me love came down God of glory, you have made all things, all things. of me, of me. For you made the earth and you made the stars. You made my name, I know my heart. You're always there and you're never far away. So amazing. you do so amazing so amazing see the birds ride on the winds they fly so high mountain peaks so tall they seem to touch the sky creation calls your name above yet in your mercy in your love you came to give your life that I might live so amazing as to paint the sky so amazing no wonder why you love me like you do You love me like you do So amazing, as you paint the sky So amazing, makes me wonder why So amazing, as you paint the sky So amazing, makes me wonder why You love me like you do You love me like you do That you love me Amen. So you guys can have a seat just a second. I'm going to ask the ushers to come forward. So have you ever had that feeling, that overwhelming feeling that your life is just falling apart and you don't know where to turn and you don't know what next step to take? I know I've been there. I'm there all the time. But I'm here to tell you that if you surround yourself with people who love the Lord and that you can learn from them, there's no better place to be in the midst of God's people. And they will reach out. They will help you. They will encourage you. So I just want to let you know that there's people that care for you. We're not just here to play music and feed you some breakfast and lunch. We're here because we care. So Father God, I lift everyone who is here and within earshot. Lord, I lift their lives up to you, Lord. I ask that you would show them the way, that you would step into their lives and give them the hope that is overwhelming. And Lord, I ask that you would accept these offerings, these offerings of our lives and our hearts, Lord. Along with these offerings, I ask that you would bless them and multiply them and use them to glorify your name and all God's people said. Amen. so Been down this road so many times before And here I am on this road again I'm asking for mercy in spite of my sin Oh Lord, You are the only one who loved me this way I've been down this road so many times before And here I am on this road again I'm asking for mercy in spite of my sin Oh Lord, You are the only one who loves me this way Come on, stand with me. Let's declare this. I often try and turn the other way. Now I come and surrender to your unchanging grace. Oh Lord, you are the only one who loves me this way. Waiting on you again By the light of day, through deserts of loneliness, to this sacred place. In all my life, and all I've been through, the sin in my heart has kept me from You. But Father, Your grace is greater than sin. All I can do is fall down on my knees and cry I know my faith and my darkest night I cry for a way and you'll shine a light But father your grace is greater than sin It shines down on me and heals me again All I can do is fall down on my knees and cry holy, holy All I can do is fall down on my knees and cry holy, holy But Father, Your grace is greater than sin Your mercy reached out and healed me again. All I can do is fall down on my knees and cry, Holy, Holy. All I can do is fall down on my knees and cry, Holy, All I can do is cry out to you. All I can do is cry holy. Majesty God, the chosen one Our lives we gladly lay before your throne Our lives we gladly lay before your throne No longer will we give our hearts to the things We look for the day when every knee will bow. We will join with the angels. No longer will we give our hearts to the things of this world For a debt of love we will offer to you We look for the day when every knee will bow We will join with the angels around your throne And we will sing Oh, I've heard a thousand stories of what they think you're like But I've heard the tender whisper of love in the dead of night And you tell me that you're pleased and that I'm never alone You're a good, good father It's who you are It's who you are It's who you are And I'm loved by you It's who I am It's who I am It's who I am Oh, I've seen many searching for answers Far and wide, but I've known And we're all searching for answers Only you grow my cause You know best what we need Before we say a word You're a good, good Father, it's who you are It's who you are. It's who you are. And I'm loved by you. It's who I am. It's who I am. It's who I am. You're perfect in all of your ways. You're perfect in all of your ways. You're perfect in all of your ways. You're perfect in all of your ways You're perfect in all of your ways You're perfect in all of your ways Oh, this love so undeniable, I, I can hardly speak. Peace so unexplainable, I, I can hardly think. And you know, deeper still and you call me, deeper still as you call me. Deeper still into love Love, love your good, good father It's who you are It's who you are It's who you are And I'm loved by you It's who I am It's who I am It's who I am You are perfect in all of your ways You're perfect in all of your ways You're perfect in all of your ways to us You're perfect in all of your ways You're perfect in all of your ways You're perfect in all of your ways So take a minute and greet the person next to you. Tell them your name. Tell them that you're glad to see them in the house of the Lord. Cindy, we're going to do the last one. Can you see my hunger? Do you know how I long for you? No walls between us Take away this darkness Nothing's hard or stone Hear my cry Open up the sky A prayer on the lips of every nation Can you feel my passion? Can you see my hunger? Do you know how I long for you? No wall between us Take away this darkness Come bring this heart of stone Hear my cry Open up the sky So if you're joining us online, make sure you stay tuned for Pastor Jack. Proverbs. So we're gonna be in chapter two. I'm gonna read verses one through seven. Then we're gonna dig into the text, starting at verse five, so we can review some of what we learned in our last time together. So if you have your Bibles, we have it on the screen. Please feel free to follow along. Again, this is Solomon writing to his son, and he says, son, son, if you will receive my sayings, treasure my commandments within you, make your pay attention, be attentive to wisdom, incline or apply your heart to understanding, If, son, you cry out, plead with God for discernment, and you lift your voice for understanding, if you seek her as silver and search for her as for hidden treasure, son, if you do these things, then, son, then you will discern or understand the fear of Yahweh and discover the knowledge of God. For the Lord, Yahweh, gives wisdom from his mouth, and it comes knowledge and understanding. He stores up sound wisdom for the upright. He is a shield to those who walk in integrity. And verse 8, guarding the paths of justice, and he preserves the way of his godly ones. So let's kind of dig in there. We're going to pick up at verse Five, just do a little bit of review, because the true search for wisdom ultimately, church, always points us to a person whose name is Jesus Christ. So look at slide three and four. Look at Proverbs five. If you do all these things, son, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and you'll discover the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom and from his mouth comes knowledge and discernment. The New Living puts it this way. Then you will understand what it means to fear the Lord. and you will gain knowledge of God. For the Lord grants wisdom, and from his mouth comes knowledge and understanding. So what did we learn in our last time together? What did we learn was the outcome from all of this? Well, he tells us right in the text, the fear of the Lord and the knowledge of God. Now, look at slide five. John Kitchin had said this about this verse in his commentary. Because I want to make sure we have an understanding of what he means when he uses the word fear. Kitchin says, to possess the fear of the Lord is to embrace reality. It describes a biblical worldview. It describes the perspective of the person who has come to see that the earth is the Lord's and all it contains, the world and those who dwell in it. That's Proverbs 24 1. It describes, look at this, it describes an informed and appropriate perspective of who God is and who you and I are before him. First he says, then you're going to understand the fear of the Lord. So, do we remember what that word fear means in the Hebrew text? The idea of fear here, as Solomon uses it, has the idea more of reverence. A deep and profound love and respect for God and all of who God is. Slide six. And I asked these questions back when we were covering this. Do we really understand what it truly means to fear God? Church, do we have, let's be honest this morning, do we have a deep and profound love and respect for God? If we say we do, ask ourselves, how does that show up in our everyday life? How does it show up in our conversation and how we interact and deal with people, whether at work or family members? So, are we biblically informed to understand what it means to have a deep and profound love and respect for who God is? Are we in awe of Him? Or are we so wrapped up in the world and what's going on that God is a side note? Let me share again what Thomas Weiss says in his commentary, slide 7. God must be the object of our fear, not as dreading His wrath, but with reverential respect and awe before Him, with holy jealousy, careful not to offend Him, and in all His worship and ways solicitous, having a care and concern to please Him. And I had asked myself that question. Do I have a care and concern to please God? Or am I too interested in self-pleasure? You see here, what Solomon is trying to convey to his son is to recognize who God really is and for his son to give God the honor and respect and authority that is due him. And I had asked myself this question. Do I do that? Do you do that? And then he goes on and says, you'll discover the knowledge of God. And I had to ask myself, well, Solomon, what did you mean when you used the word knowledge here? Because our word of knowledge may be a little different. The Hebrew word is dahath. And see, the word doesn't just mean to know something about God. Church, it is far deeper than that. Is used here in the text the idea of knowledge is solemn is conveying has more of this intimate deep knowledge But a knowledge that is gained by by a personal and experiential relationship with him ask yourself do I have that personal and experiential relationship with Yahweh Do I have that? If not, what's getting in the way? What's hijacking my heart that is causing me not to have that kind of intimate relationship with Him? What am I worshipping in creation more than the Creator Himself that is steering my heart away from having an intimate relationship with the very God that knit me in my mother's womb? You see, it is God's desire, church, that we would know Him deeply and personally As we seek and search to grow in our understanding of who God is, it is God, the Holy Spirit, who will do the work of enlightening our minds and we begin to grow in wisdom and understanding as we start feeding on the nectar of Scripture. Let me quote from John Kitchin one more time in his commentary. He says this, slide 8, The reason one finds God when he seeks wisdom is that only God can dispense true wisdom. Notice what verse 5 describes as being found is in fact given. Wisdom is a gift of grace and no human effort can acquire it. Our diligent search is required, but it is not efficient apart from God's grace, the grace both to seek and the grace to discover. That the Lord is the sole and only source of true wisdom is emphasized by throwing His name forward to the lead of the sentence. That's powerful. Look at verse 6 with me. Slide 9 to 10. For Yahweh gives wisdom. From His mouth comes knowledge and understanding. And the New Living says, correctly, for the Lord grants wisdom. From his mouth comes knowledge and understanding. I want to unpack this a little bit. Solomon says, from his mouth comes knowledge and understanding. Now, we know we can't see God's mouth speak to us, so let me kind of explain what an anthropomorphism is. Anthro from anthropos, morphism, we know, morphing into something else. Britannica actually interprets this word as this way, the interpretation of non-human things or events in terms of human characteristics. So in a sense, Solomon's mouth becomes this surrogate for God's mouth. How about you and I? Does your mouth become a surrogate for God's mouth? Is what's spilling off your tongue something that's going to move people closer to know who God is or farther away? Well, it's getting quiet in here now, Dr. Carter. Uh-oh. So now you know what an anthropomorphism is, see? You guys, you all get an A. So, think about it. The wisdom that God has given to Solomon is what Solomon is now speaking into his son's life. And, you know, 2 Peter 121, for no prophecy or no portion of Scripture was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. So the Holy Spirit literally breathed out what He wanted inscripturated that would be shared with others. So God breathed out into Solomon's mind what He wanted Solomon to say to his son and to write out and have inscripturated as well. And back at the very beginning of this chapter, we saw Solomon admonishing his son with what we call conditional clauses. Look at slide 13. My son, if, that's a conditional clause, if, son, if you will receive my words, if you will pay attention to wisdom, do we do that? If we call out for understanding and seek wisdom like we would some hidden treasure, and I don't mean a lottery ticket, then, son, the consequence of that is then you're going to understand what the fear of Yahweh is, that deep, experiential, intimate knowledge of who He is. So think about this. The son gets to know who Yahweh is through the words of his father And then God the Holy Spirit is the one who then enlightens his mind. And listen, make no mistake about it, God still speaks to us today. The same words through the pages of Scripture. You want to hear from God? Open up your Bible. And if you want to hear Him speaking to you, just read it out loud to yourself. So if you really want to hear from Him, that's the way to do it. See, only God is the dispenser of true wisdom. Consider how important wisdom is. Look at slide 14. I think we're going to go through slide 17. Follow along. This is beautiful scripture. Take a look at this, church. This is about wisdom. This is in Proverbs 8. Yahweh possessed me at the beginning of His way, before the works of old. from everlasting I was established from the beginning from the earliest times of the earth when there were no depths I was brought forth when there were no springs abounding with water before the mountains were settled before the hills were I was brought forth While he had not yet made earth and the fields, nor the dust of the world, when he established the heavens, I was there. When he inscribed the circle on the face of the deep, when he made the firm the skies above, when the springs of the deep became fixed, when he set for the sea its boundary so that the water would not pass over his command, when he marked out the foundations of the earth, Then I was beside him as a master workman. I was his daily delight, rejoicing always before him. Now I want to read in the New Living in a more, our vernacular. Slide 17 through 19. The Lord formed me from the beginning before he created anything else. Now make sure you look at verse 22. The Lord formed me at the beginning. So God was before wisdom. He's a creator of it. The Lord formed me from the beginning before He created anything else. I was appointed in ages past at the very first before the earth began. I was born before the oceans were created, before the springs bubbled forth their water, before the mountains were formed, before the hills I was born. Before he had made the earth and fields and the first handfuls of soil, I was there when he established the heavens, when he drew the horizon on the oceans. I was there when he set the clouds above, when he established the springs deep in the earth. I was there when he set the limits of the seas so that they would not spread beyond their boundaries. And when he marked off the earth's foundations, I was the architect at his side. I was his constant delight, rejoicing always in his presence." He's talking about wisdom, chakma, sophia, wisdom. Why would we want a second-rate wisdom system when we have the very Word of God to speak into our lives? Think about that. No earthly wisdom can do any of what we just read. So what do we see? Wisdom is clearly an attribute of God, and it comes directly from God. It was active in God before the creation of the world, so it predates all that was created. Slide 20. I want you to notice something. He says, "...I was his daily delight, or constant delight, rejoicing always in his presence." It is clear from the biblical text that God's wisdom brought pleasure to God. Slide 20. Let me ask you this. Does the Lord's wisdom bring pleasure to you and me? Think about it. Do you derive pleasure from gaining the wisdom of God to direct and govern your life? Can you and I say that we rejoice in how the wisdom of the Lord works in our lives? Is it working in your life? It's not going to work in your life if you're looking for second grade wisdom systems and you're not opening up your scripture. Think about it. Knowing that He is the only true source of wisdom, why wouldn't we want to learn from God? He's the one that knit us in our mother's womb. He's the one that makes your heart breathe. Everything. Look at slide 21 and 22. What Daniel says. Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to Him. It is He who changes the times and the seasons. He removes kings and establishes kings. He gives wisdom to wise men and knowledge to men of understanding. It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things. He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with Him. And in the New Living, he says, Let me say that again in case you have fear. He controls the course of the world events and He removes kings and sets up other kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the scholars. He reveals the deep and mysterious things and knows what lies hidden in darkness, though He is surrounded by light. It should be clear to all of us now that it is God alone who controls all things and grants wisdom. So when you see the world spiraling out of control, and it is, it's no military secret that the world is spiraling out of control. But he's already told us it would. And if you don't believe me, when you get home today, read Matthew 24. I promise you. Even though it was written 2,000 years ago, it's like it would make CNN blush. It's that accurate. How about verse 7 for slide 23 and 24? He stores up sound wisdom. For the upright, he is a shield to those who walk in integrity. And the NLT says, look at it, I love the NLT on this. He grants a treasure of common sense to the honest. Let me say that again. He grants a treasure of common sense to the honest. He is a shield to those who walk in integrity. So then what is the result of having this wisdom that Solomon has been sharing with his son that Solomon received directly from Yahweh? Look at the first statement. He stores up sound wisdom for the upright. Now that Hebrew word for store is a word that we saw back earlier in chapter 1. It's the same Hebrew word used for the word treasure all the way back in verse 1. It has the idea of this. So the question is, since our English doesn't always do justice to the original, we have to ask yourself, OK, what is he trying to get across here? What is he saying? So we don't want to isogete. We don't want to take our 21st century thinking and to jam it into the text to make it say what we want it to say. We want to exegete. Ex was where we get the word exe from. We want to go down into the text, draw out of the text what is being said so that we can apply it. So the word is sofan. That's the Hebrew word for store. It's the same word used for treasure. The idea of this word storing up has the idea of hiding or protecting or concealing something of great value, but for a definite purpose. So you're concealing something of great value and protecting it because it's got a very, very important purpose. So who's doing the storing up here? God is storing up sound wisdom because he has a very specific purpose for it. So look at slide 25. So I want to see what Bruce Waukee unpacks this. I want to see what he has to say. He says, as the sun stores up and treasures wisdom to know piety and ethics, so also God stores up as a hidden treasure the protection inherent in that knowledge. God and life are inseparable. Don't ever forget that. God does the dispensing of wisdom to those who are seekers for it. He stores up and protects this wisdom, and He stores it up for you in the Scriptures. His Word. You and I have the responsibility of digging into the Scriptures for that. It's stored up. We dig in so we can inculcate it into our lives. Think about how amazing that is. We dig into the Word of God. We digest the nectar of His life-giving Word. He in turn now stores it up in you and I for a specific purpose. To spread it to other people. To lead them to a saving knowledge of who Christ is. It's amazing. You and I become the surrogates, this living, breathing, walking translation container of His Word to other people. David says in slide 26 in Psalm 119.11, your word have I treasured in my heart that I might not sin against you. What does he say is being stored up and for who? Sound wisdom, slide 27. Hebrew word there is tushia, sound wisdom. What did he mean by that? Solomon, what did you mean by sound wisdom? It means a well-balanced mind with the discipline and self-control to deal with the ongoing affairs in life. Sound is, in the Greek, is where we get the word healthy from. Wisdom is the Greek word sophia. So we're talking about if I want a well-balanced mind, not all the garbage that's floating through the radio and TV. If I want that to shia, I want a well-balanced mind. It's going to require me doing what he told me in the previous verses, digging into the nectar of scripture, building it into my life, feeding on it to give my mind, to make it healthy and well-balanced so that I have the discipline and I learn how to have the self-control to deal with what's going on in the affairs of life. And it's being stored up, that sound wisdom is being stored up for who? The upright. The Hebrew word there, yashah, something that is straight. Look at slide 28. Bruce Wacke and slide 29, John McArthur, what do they say? So Wacke says upright denotes those whose conduct or behavior does not deviate from the divinely revealed order of piety, meaning devotion to God's principles. That's what piety means. and ethics. Ethics are the principles that govern a person's behavior. MacArthur says it this way, this identifies those who are true believers who seek to know, love and obey God and to live righteously. These covenant keepers alone can know wisdom and experience God's protection. Hear me this morning. If you want to have success in dealing with the affairs of life, I implore you, admonish you, dig into the scriptures. My job is to point you to the word and myself to the word, to the word. Feed on the nectum of the word, feed on the wisdom that God has stored up for a specific purpose for your life. Not only does the Lord give wisdom to us, he says he is a shield. Okay. Shield. Think about it. What does shield mean? Well, the type of shield that they used 3,500 years ago was a small round shield that was carried by the infantry and the officers back then. Some of the shields were from head to toe. These were smaller shields. See, the purpose of this is it was lighter and more movable than the larger, heavier shields. So it was effective in being an offensive weapon as well as defending against sword and spears during battle. There's a lot more maneuverability. Remember, the shield was to give protection during battle. Let me say it again, the shield was used to give direction during battle. Who was the shield for? He tells us, those who walk in integrity. So let's define that word integrity for a minute. What does that word integrity mean? Well, the word integrity has the idea, slide 30, I'm sorry, means the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles. The quality of being honest and having strong moral principles. Ask yourself, does that describe you? See, integrity stems from a Latin word called integer. The word integer means something that is whole and complete, not a fraction, not three-fourths of the way, four-fourths of the way, complete. It speaks here of this inner sense of wholeness and consistency of your character. How's your character, Church? I like how Su Yong Kang breaks it down for us. Look at slide 31. When you are in integrity, look at this, feed on it. People should be able to visibly see it through your actions, words, decisions, methods, and outcomes. That's how they should see it. When you are whole and consistent, there's only one you. And you bring that same you wherever you go, regardless of what circumstances you're in. You don't have parts of yourself that you leave behind. You don't have the work you, the family you, the social you, and the church you. Only one you. If you are a person of integrity, you are you all the time. You don't deviate. The quality of being honest and having strong moral principles, we need that in the church more than ever today. Because the world don't have it. You are salt and light to that world. You bring you wherever you go. You want integrity? Get into the Word of God. Let God's Word change you from the inside out. Amen? John Kitchen says this in slide 32 and 33. Integrity is a whole, full submission. Moral faultlessness, which God chooses with the whole heart, seeks good without exception. Let me say that again. Seeks good without exception. It doesn't denote moral perfection, but the full-orbed and wholehearted submission of one's life to God." Does that describe you and I? Let me ask you this. Does what we're looking here, does it describe us? When you are in integrity, people should be able to visibly see it through your actions, words, decisions, methods, behaviors, outcomes. Does the way you and I live out and walk each day, Do we walk with integrity? Is there only one you for all the circumstances of life? Listen, church, are the people in your life, are they growing to know who Christ is from being around you? Or do they disciple you at work and other places so much that you're hurling out profanity like a junkyard dog and you're actually going along with their behavior instead of being salt and light and bringing them along to God's behavior? Which way is it for you? It's getting quieter, Dr. Carter. Are they learning from you? Are they being lifted up and encouraged because of who you are? Do they see Christ in us, the hope of glory? Or are they wounded and less trusting, feeling put down from associating with you? Well, if that's how a Christian is, why do I want it so different than the way I am now? Look at verse 8 with me. Amen. Guarding the path of justice, and he preserves the way of his godly ones. In slide 35, he guards the path of the just and protects those who are faithful to him. Guarding, nostah. What does it mean? To protect, to defend from injury or destruction, to keep from danger, to preserve. church as we live justly and live our lives as people of integrity. The Lord shields us from the spears of wicked men and women. We see it coming. We have discernment. The word godly ones comes from the Hebrew chassid. Here, godly ones, now listen, It has this idea of those who are loyal and keeps the terms of God's covenant. God is the one who keeps us, guards us, but He also requires that you and I continually, not on a Sunday morning, continually feed on the nectar of His Word, which will enable you and I to stay on the path that He's promising to guard for us. When you wander off the path, you put yourself in a real bad position. and you put yourself where you can be influenced the other way. And make no mistake about it, with all the different religions and all the different wisdom systems out there, Satan has energized them and he's trying to draw you away. Well, that isn't really true. You can do that all you want. That doesn't matter to God. That's a lie. That's a lie from the pit of hell. So we need to be feeding on the word of God, staying on the path, because that's the path for you and I that he's promising to guard. Amen. So as I close, we should now be able to see that Solomon was schooling his son in wise behavior, and you get the privilege of doing the same to the people in your life. Listen, we are in the very last days. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out. If you even just are a casual observer of news, more planes, more things being shot down, more stuff, parents, kids, all the things going on. We are in the last days. God warned us about this. And it's going to come a point where, you know, things are going to get dicey for Christians. They're going to get more dicey than they've ever been. Are you going to hold out or are you going to cave? Oh, it's getting quiet now, Dr. Carter. Church, as His Son feeds and digests the Scriptures, it will enable Him to have the wisdom to make informed, healthy choices and to have God's standards in how He chooses to make those choices. Let's make those choices based on God's standards, not our own. If we are faithful to Him, we benefit just as Solomon's son benefited from the Scriptures. I'm gonna ask you to do something this morning. I'm going to ask you to bow your head and close your eyes. I'm going to ask you to do business with God this morning. They're going to get the food ready for us, but this is a time for you.