Proverbs chapter 4 verse 13 so let me just open a word of prayer and we'll get ourselves started. Heavenly Father as we just wake up this morning to all this wonderful snow thank you for your creation and the seasons and it's just it's amazing picture of just your love and care and and beauty, and so we just are thankful. Keep us safe in it, of course, and just guide us this morning as we go through Proverbs chapter 4, and also for our worship service as we kick off 2 Peter. In Christ's name we pray, amen. All right, we are on roughly page 186, roughly, I think, depending on the page numbers are. Sometimes I make adjustments, and we are at verse 13 in Proverbs chapter 4. And just a quick review, we kind of, verse 10 was the foundational principle, the word of God must be heard and received. Then we have the faithful pattern, verse 11, where the word of God must be taught and lived. And right there is discipleship. And then letter C there, fortified passageway, the word of God will give you freedom and liberty. And I remember as an unbeliever, I'm sure you guys remember this or even in your witnessing, people look at Christianity as restrictive, right? It's so limited. You're not allowed to do anything. And that is such a deception because we have incredible liberty and freedom in Christ. And we're not weighed down by the sins of the world and the bondage that that brings. And now we come to verse 413, the word of God requires passion and priority. And there's a very fascinating progression here, as you can see on the notes there. In fact, let me just go ahead and read verse 13 to kind of get us back in the, passage here, Proverbs 4, 13. Take hold, which is a command, of instruction. Do not let go, which is another kind of command. Guard her, for she is your life. Three commands in a very short verse. And so that's what we're looking at, this verb progression. And so it's take firm or take hold. Do not let go and keep. Do you see the picture here of a passion of almost like a life hanging on for your dear life? Not that it's like that, but that's the kind of grip we're talking about. All these point to a passion. priority that you'll keep learning, growing, and submitting to God and his word, especially when God is correcting and chasing you through providential trials. I don't know about you, but when I first got saved, I felt so overwhelmed. Like, this Bible's huge. How am I ever going to understand any of this stuff? And you go to your first couple sermons, and you're listening to these people. Like, how do they know all this stuff? And I had met my wife about a year into my salvation. And she gives me a John MacArthur tape on Romans, you know, not exactly light stuff, you know, and he's just putting out more and more biblical material. I'm like, how am I ever going to know this? But like anything, one step, one verse at a time, you start to grow in your knowledge. But it's a passionate pursuit, isn't it? To abandon God and his words of wisdom is to abandon life and invite death. And there are both temporal and eternal implications. So don't miss, there is a site here in which Solomon is pleading with his boys, you know, to repent and believe. The New Testament, if we had an equivalent to this truth, is actually the verse we're going to be teaching next week, 2 Peter 1.5. But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add or supply to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. There's this wonderful chain, and there's a process you go through, and it's intentional. It doesn't just happen. For if these things are yours and abound, you'll be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he who lacks these things is short-sighted, even to blindness, and is forgotten, and he was cleansed from his old sins. Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never stumble. For so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. So this whole picture of a life of fruitfulness, a life that is going to be rewarded in the next life. And that all comes down to diligence. And this is where it all rubber meets the road. You're either diligent in the faith or you're not. And so here's an example of following some instructions from the far side. I lift, you grab, what, was that concept just a little too complex, Carl? And the Eskimo got away. All right. So, we talked about the verb progression here. And let me give you a bridge illustration. I've heard of a bridge that spanned a stream and for some years it stood well enough. But eventually, through the force of the current, it began to show signs of giving way. When it came to be examined, it was soon seen that the builders never went deep enough with the foundations." And this is such a great reminder. It goes back to that picture of the house built on the rock. built on the sand. But in order for a believer to weather the storms, there has to be this process before the storm where you're going deeper in the word, you're deepening your faith, you're growing, because those roots go down into the ground, and then the fruit comes up. And that's the picture. And if you think of the parable of the sower, right? The two of the second and third soil, thorny ground, rocky soil, shallow trials, temptations, they eventually never really grew anything, and they were unbelievers. But for a season it looked like they were genuine. Matthew 7.24, actually there it is. for it was found on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of mine does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain descended, the floods came, the winds blew and beat on that house, and it fell, and great was its fall." This is why we see sometimes pastors or notable Christians just blow up at the end of their ministry. You really have to ask the question, were they building their life on God's word or something else? And it even makes you question whether they were even saved or not. Ultimately, God knows we can't always. Of course, Matthew 7, 21 is that haunting passage, because this is people who have the religion. Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven. but he who does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, so clearly know who God is. Have we not prophesied your name? They're religious. Cast out demons in your name. They're doing works and done many wonders in your name. And then I will declare to them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness. And that's probably the greatest deception is self-deception, right? Thinking you're saved and you're not. And that is probably the most tragic thing I can think of, trusting in something that can't deliver you, whether it's yourself or something else. Okay, so that's a pretty easy transition to wrap up that section. So just kind of a little review. So the Word of God must be heard and received. That's where it begins, right? That's why we come and we learn and study. The Word of God must be taught and lived. The Word of God will give you freedom and liberty. The Word of God requires passion and priority. Now we're going to come to this faithless path. The Word of God is rejected for wickedness and violence. And so let's take a look at this next section, verses 14 through 17. Let me read that. Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of evil. And you can see these commands, avoid it, do not travel on it, turn away from it, and pass on. So you've got these parallel three verbs, which is kind of neat. And so you can see that there. So the question, you would think, isn't it, you know, isn't it identifying the wicked way obvious? Shouldn't it be? But it's not always. I mean, we can say, yeah, there's these grotesque sins or obvious sins, murder, things like that. Yeah, that's pretty obvious, but it doesn't start off that way, does it? The path of the wicked can be obvious at times, but other times it's not so obvious. How is this possible? And so let me, Let me hold off on this. Yeah, let me do this. So let me say, isn't it obvious? Here's Captain Obvious. I don't know if you remember this commercial. This was 2019 BC, before COVID. He's reading the paper. 2020 has to be better than 2019. So it's not always obvious to Captain Obvious. Who are you? You're so mean. Thanks, Captain Obvious. So pretty silly. But you get the idea. And the path of wicked, like I said, can be obvious. Other times, it's not so obvious. How is this possible? It's like the iceberg, right? You only see just the tip of it, and you don't see the weight of what's underneath. And that's the deception of sin. On the surface, it looks not too bad, maybe safe, no big deal. But beyond that is something very dangerous. And that's the challenge of passing on this wisdom. Don't go down that road. You might not come back. Now, both are figurative. There's two sides of the same coin. Let me walk you through this. So path is auric condition, OK? It's the being become the nature who you are habitually. So when we talk about path, we're talking about this is the path you're on. This is who you are every day. That's describing. the emphasizing your nature, your habits. And then there's the way, which is Derek. There you go. Direction, destination, actions. All right. So this is what you're doing, where you're going. And so the two are this beautiful picture. And there's a little bit of same sign there. Orok, Derek. You get that kind of case on at the end. Because very rarely does one sin significantly at the outstart, it's gradual, small compromises. It starts in the home, in what is modeled, approved, and disallowed, what is overlooked, rewarded, and punished. Very few truly start out initially on the path of absolute evil. Rather, it is a result of a multitude of decisions. And that's the key to remember. This is why parenting is so important. You're literally shaping a life for the rest of their life. Here's Route 66. You can see where it begins and where it ends. And there's this, you can see the old sign there, traveling from Chicago all the way to LA. It's kind of a fun trip to take, just to see the little cities along the way, what is still left. But just like setting out on a trip to drive on Route 66, there's multiple stops, there's turns, there's destination, there's on-ramps, there's off-ramps. Your starting point will look nothing like your destination. And that's how you have to look at both if you pursue sin, how it starts off is not how it's going to end, but it also works the same way with righteousness. How it starts off is not going to be how it ends. You're going to be something more in godliness than you were when you started out, where in the case of sin, you'll be worse off than you were before. So hopefully the illustration is helpful. Proverbs 5.22, his own iniquities entrap the wicked man, and he is caught in the cords of his sin. He shall die for lack of instruction, and in the greatness of his folly, he shall go astray. And that's a really good picture. Think of yourself as cords wrapping around. When I used to go and share my testimony to the kids in rehab, being an ex-drunk myself, I would share this verse and talk about, yeah, your first drink, no big deal. And you take another one and another one. Each time you're drinking, you're wrapping more and more cords. And now you're here in the rehab. And they got it. They understood that. Important. Everyone who's born with a sin nature. So everyone begins on the broad road. that leads to destruction, but by God's grace, the gospel, your witness, and prayers, one may find the narrow gate. Matthew 7, 13, enter by the narrow gate, for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Do you know a few unbelievers? Do you know a lot of unbelievers? Yeah. And it goes on, and Ephesians 2, 1. Longer passage, but another great truth. And then that great verse, but God, who is rich in mercy because of his great love, which he loved us, even when we were dead and our trespasses made us alive together with Christ. Paul inserts, by grace you've been saved. And raised us up together, made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace and his kindness towards us in Christ Jesus. And then of course, for by grace you've been saved through faith. It's not of yourselves, a gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one would boast. And then it goes on, for we are his workmanship, poema, or his poem, creating Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Such a great passage in truth, isn't it? I should have showed these really cool pictures. All right, so do not be deceived, right? This is the challenge. We're in this path. We're walking this life. We interact with individuals. Some of those individuals we might befriend. But we got to be careful. Evil company corrupts good habits. 1 Corinthians 15 33. And let's remember the path and the way is very rarely solitary. Your companions matter. It's very rare that you're going to truly be on a path all by yourself. You'll be with a crowd of unbelievers or you'll be in a crowd with believers. And it's sad when believers isolate themselves and now they have no support. That's why the local church is so important. We need that fellowship, that encouragement. We need each other to talk to, to share our burdens with, to pray for one another. So critical. So man makes his own choice, this is key, but he cannot choose his consequences. And that's a very important reminder. All right, now, any questions? This is pretty foundational, pretty straightforward, not too complicated, I hope. Dennis. Yeah, they become monks in their own monastery, and that's not what we're called to. There's some wisdom in that, right? There is some wisdom in separating yourself from the world and the worldliness, but in John 17, Christ's high priestly prayer, he says, I pray to you, Father, and I'm paraphrasing, I'm glad you didn't take them out of the world, but you leave them in the world, but don't let the world get in them, right? I'm paraphrasing, but that's the idea is that God wants us to be in the world as salt and light so they can taste and see. And he uses us to share the gospel because who's going to rescue them? It's not going to be another sinner. It has to be someone who's been rescued themselves first. And so that's our, we're on a rescue operation every day. Sometimes they take our lifeline. Sometimes they don't. Derek. Exactly. Same concept. Same idea. Is that? Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. I'm affirming that. And that, and that's what we want to be. So you're living, you're walking, you're, you're on the path of life. You're being holy. You're being obedient, but you're not, you're trying to avoid sin. You're trying to submit to the spirit. And so, yeah, Dennis. Yeah. There was a book written by, I believe a Catholic and it called the Bennett, uh, Was it the Benedict Option? It was named after a monk who basically withdrew from Roman society and created this monastery and withdrew from the world. And that's not what we're called to do at all. And that's the challenge, isn't it? Jude says something very interesting at the end of the book, which really captures, in my opinion, the idea. And right here, let me pull it up. But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, that's reading the Bible, praying in the Holy Spirit, there's your prayer. Keep yourselves in love of God, there's your obedience and love, right? Waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ's eternal life. So that's us. And then it says, what else to do? Have mercy on some who are doubting. Save others, snatching them out of the fire. And on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh. In other words, sometimes you may find yourself in a very precarious situation, trying to share the gospel in a very bad situation. And this is our role. We're rescuing. We're reaching out. And hopefully, God will use us to see a soul saved. We don't save the soul, but we are the messenger with the message to save. Yeah, so running away doesn't work. You just can't do that. But there are seasons where it may be necessary, whatever the reason. But yeah, we have all the power. We don't have a spirit of timidity, Paul wrote to Timothy. Great, great discussion. All right, so let's go to this next one, the six pleas of God Solomon to stay off the wicked path. And that's the typo there. It's do not enter, do not walk, avoid it, do not travel on it, turn away from it and pass on. So let me go, we'll look at this passage. Let me pull up the verse here real quick so I don't lose track where I'm at. All right, so if we look at after verse 13, we'll go to verse 14 through, in fact, let me just read that passage. Do not enter the path of the wicked. Do not proceed in the way of evil men. Avoid it. Do not pass by it. Turn away from it. That has take hold, that's a command. I'm sorry, let me go to 14. Do not enter is a command, do not proceed is a command, avoid is a command, do not pass is a command, turn away from is a command, and pass on is a command. I mean, he's really coming strong on these terms. So do not enter means don't cross the threshold. Don't even start. Functionally, this is a command. Functionally, this is a command, though it's not in what they call the imperative form. Now, this is interesting because here's the progression. Son, don't even start. That's the best. That's where it begins. But what happens if you do? Do not walk. Functionally, again, this is a command. It functions as a command as well. The Peel makes it more intensive. So this is emphasizing a state of being. So Psalm is saying, don't do evil. Don't be evil. The parallel of these two verses shows the inseparable connection between doing evil and being evil. And I like to do this little picture here. Let me go back. If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, quacks like a duck, man, it's probably a duck, right? And that's how we have to look at sin and so forth. It's a simple duck test. So the idea is you don't enter it, and don't do it. Don't become it. Now, the next one, letter C, is avoid it. Go another way, for this way is too dangerous. That's another idea, right? Don't cross the threshold. Go another way. And then do not travel on it. You can see how this other command here. Do not cross over, pass through, pass by. In other words, don't get near the path or even temporarily be on the path. This alludes to the idea of compromise. The ends do not justify the means. And that's another angle on this whole idea of being faithful to the Lord and his word. And then we have turn away from it. This is a command. Change direction immediately. You're heading in the wrong direction. They've gotten a little bit further on these sins, maybe, and now it's like you need to repent now, immediately. And then last one, pass on a command. Get beyond, away from its grasp. That's the picture. That's quite a picture, isn't it, when you think about life. And now, again, we tend to think in extremes. So we're like, OK, don't be a murderer, things like that. But this can be subtle, Derek. Yeah, it can be. Anytime you're with unbelievers, there's always the dragging things down. Or they can try to taunt you, tempt you, et cetera. And in the workplace, we all have those challenges, right? Maintaining good relationships and rapport with our colleagues, right? And yet trying to be a witness, it can be very difficult. So let's review, let's get practical. So six steps to avoid sin. And when we get to chapter five, there's gonna be some more. But first, this is what really Solomon is saying. Refuse to let sin enter your mind. Don't let it enter even your threshold here. Do not dwell on sinful thoughts. Reject the sinful path. Retain your integrity. Run from sin and return and remain on the righteous path. So if you take Solomon's commands, This is more of a practical way of looking at it. Because it always begins with the eyes and the ears, right, and the mind. And then putting those sinful thoughts out. I remember just as a new believer having to do this as a daily discipline, you know. But then something happens over time. As you get that mental discipline, as you memorize verses to counter the sinful thoughts, eventually, You're not thinking those sinful thoughts. And as you keep sin out of your life, like certain things, then you don't think about those things. And I don't think about drinking alcohol. I just don't anymore. That first six months, yeah, a little bit. I mean, I still was delivered from it, but you can't deny the fact that six months ago I was getting drunk. But as time passes, There's this distance, and that distance becomes like a castle, like a wall, and you begin to think differently as you dwell on God and His Word, and those things become more important to you. Questions? Thoughts? Okay. Continuing on. Sin is all too near, and that's Solomon's main point to his boys, and to us. He uses figurative language of paths and ways, but literally, sin is at your door. Remember when God came to Cain? Sin's at your door, seeking to master over you. Consider James, beware of temptation and opening the door to sin. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away, here it is, by his own desires. and enticed. Make no mistake, when you are drawn away, there's no power in any sin in of itself, but you give it power when you desire it and embrace it. And here's the process, right? So it begins with this desire, this covetousness, I want. Then when desire is conceived, now you're moving from thoughts to actions. It gives birth to sin, now you've sinned. And sin, when it's full grown, this is now a pattern of sin, brings forth death. That's the process. You gotta cut it off literally at the head. No pun intended, not meant to be meant literally. Genesis 4, 6 there is, the Lord said to Cain, why are you angry? Why is your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not well, sin lies at the door and its desire is for you, but you should rule over it. You should be master over it. And we do that through the power of Christ and his word. And of course, Romans 7, Paul describing the two natures of a believer, how we're a new Christian born again in Christ, but we live in this flesh that hasn't been glorified yet. For we know the law is spiritual, but I'm carnal, sold under sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice. But what I hate, that I do. The reason I believe he's a believer is no unbeliever says, I hate this sin. No, I love this sin. This is why I believe he's a believer. If then I do what I will not do, I agree with the law that it is good. But now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. There's that bondage, that power of sin. For I know that in me, that is in my flesh. That's how we know. Nothing good dwells. For to will is present within me. There's that new creature in Christ. But how to perform what is good, I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do. But the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. I find then a law that evil is present within me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in the law of God." Right? That's a believer talking, clearly. according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members, his flesh. O wretched man that I am! who will deliver me from this body of death. I thank God through Christ Jesus, our Lord. So then with the mind, I myself serve the law of God, but the flesh, the law of sin. And this is our sanctification process. We battle with our flesh, with the desires that are sinful, and we're always battling. We know what is good, but then why do we fall short? And that's the Apostle Paul. who is amazing in what he's accomplished in his life, submitting to Christ and serving Christ. And yet he too, like us, still struggles with sin. What do you think? Any of you guys have that problem now and then? It is a battle of the mind, isn't it? And here's Gladys here. Hello, Emily. This is Gladys Murphy. Up the street. I'm fine, thanks. Say, Emily, could you go out your window and describe what's in my front yard? Sin's coming, the monster's coming. When sin is at the door, call a friend. How many of you are familiar with the Twilight Zone show? It's a favorite of mine. There's a famous episode called To Serve Man. At the front of the cover, it looks like, oh, these people who've come to Earth, these aliens, which don't exist, it's a story, are coming to serve us. This is a famous Twilight episode with an amazing twist at the end. The aliens come to serve man. They bring technology. They end hunger. They end war. It's appearing to be a great path to be on. Sometimes sin is like that, right? Until someone translates the rest of the book and discovers, here's the short ending. Mr. Chambers. Mr. Chambers, don't get on that ship. The rest of the book deserves that. It's a cookbook. No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! But I think it's a great illustration of sin, right? It looks like it's going to serve us. But the truth is we end up being served up to it. And got to have a little fun with some Twilight Zones. Classic Rod Sterling, Sterling, Sterling? Sterling, yeah. Sterling, S-T? I'm drawing a blank. Sterling, yeah. For some reason, silver's messing me up. All right, so beware of temptation. It opens the door to sin. All right, now, the sinners are traveling on this wicked path. They themselves are in bondage to this insatiable appetite and unquenchable thirst to satisfy their flesh. They don't see this themselves. They think it's fun. It's a good time. But that's how God sees it. And that's how we should see it. Are we serving God or are we serving sin? It's the same thing. Are we serving God or are we serving idols? It's the same idea. All right, let's go to the next verse, which is still connected, but it's continuing the flow. Look at the people. For they do not sleep unless they've done evil, and their sleep is taken away unless they make someone fall. For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence. And so this is a picture, again, he's using extreme imagery to make it clear the difference between a godly person who uses their time and talents and treasures to serve and love others, and then we have the rest of the world who is wicked and so forth and self-serving and wants a take. Now here's a question. Which one is not like the other? Two young men, both graduated high school in 1965. White shirts, ties, jackets, seemingly the same, right? Who's the guy on the right? Recognize him? David Letterman. There you go, on the right. But do you know who the guy on the left is? Ted Bundy. Which one is not like the other? Who knew that would change? One would make laugh and one would make cry. We've heard the expression, no rest for the wicked. It actually comes from 1425 Bible translation and 1574 John Calvin sermon. There is no peace, says the Lord, for the wicked. When the rest of the world is sleeping, the wicked are awake, they're planning, they're plotting, and ready to pounce. Psalm 36.4, he devises wickedness on his bed. He sets himself in a way that is not good. He does not abhor evil. Micah 2.1, woe to those who devise iniquity and work out evil on their beds. At morning light, they practice it because it is in the power of their hand. Isaiah 57.20, but the wicked are like the troubled sea when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. And of course, Genesis 19, 2 through 11, Lot, the angels, and the men of Sodom and Gomorrah would be pictures of that. So we get these extreme pictures. And this is a reminder that, but if not for God, we would all be this way, right? The potential for everyone to be wicked this way is born in us, only by God's grace saving us from that do we not turn out that way, or parents who taught us. Now contrast that with the believer. Proverbs 3, 24, when you lie down, you will not be afraid. Yes, you will lie down and your sleep will be sweet. So here's the cycle of sin. They do not sleep. They have done evil. They do not sleep. They have done evil. It just goes round and round. Another picture of that, they make someone fall. Their sleep is taken away. Taken away means torn away, seized, and fall or stumble implies torn away and seized as well. So it's just this double circle, like he's going around and around. And what is that a picture of? That is a picture of bondage, of sin. To live is sin. Their contentment is tied to their evil exploits. And that's the picture of bondage. Let me give you, what's for dinner? They eat the bread and drink the wine. You are what you eat, wickedness and violence. That's the picture that Solomon is trying to paint. You are what you eat. And they eat the bread of wickedness. They drink the wine of violence. Listen to this insight and perspective from David from Psalm 140. Deliver me, O Lord, from evil men. Preserve me from violent men who plan evil things in their hearts. They continually gather together for war. They sharpen their tongues like a serpent. The poison of asps is under their lips. Keep me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked. Preserve me from violent men who have purposed to make my steps stumble. The prod of hen has snared for me in cords. They have spread a net by the wayside. They have set traps for me. Can you think of someone who recently experienced this politically over the last few years? Trump. I mean, think of all the traps that have been set for that one man and to the point where he's literally almost assassinated. This is real. particularly for the people who have political powers and so forth. People are going after Musk now because of his effective DOJ, Department of Government Efficiency, uncovering all this fraud and waste. People are going to be impacted. We've rounded up, I think, over 11,000 violent immigrants that we're sending back to Mexico. This is what's involved. And there's real violence out there, real people. what's happening to how high profile pastors. Yeah, and that's a very real thing. I know John MacArthur over the years had many people try to come in and hurt him. And one story was he was in his pastor's office. They still to this day don't know how he got in, but a guy got in with a javelin. I mean, people have come to his door. I'm here to kill you. I mean, these are some of the experiences he's had over the years. Okay, continue on. So the final, oh, Michael. Oh yeah. Yep. Yep. And they can clone it. Yep, the technology's everywhere now. It's getting better and better. And so if that ever happens to you, call your daughter. Don't just respond right away. Yeah. Yeah, but it's getting real. Deep fakes are getting more and more difficult to tell. And that's the world we live in. What is true? And all the more reason to have people you know, people you trust, people you can communicate with. Now, the final purpose is the Word of God reveals redemption and retribution. And this is something that's always been this way. But the path of the just, verse 18, is like the shining sun that shines ever brighter until the perfect day. And in verse 19, the contrast, the way of the wicked is like darkness. They do not know what makes them stumble. So here's the path, that's that Orak, nature of the just, shining sun, the first light of a new day, initial light beginning, and the progression shows it's shining brighter and brighter, increasing illumination, increasing sanctification, become more Christ-like. Mark 4.26 The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, and he should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow. He himself does not know how, for the earth yields crops by itself, first the blade, then the head, and after the full grain, then the head. But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come. It's a beautiful picture. Perfect day redemption. Glory ushered into the presence of God. No night. That's one of the things that's really strange. Think about it. When you get to heaven, there's no more night. Pretty wild. Psalm 36.9, for with you is the fountain of life. In your light, we see light. Revelation 22.5, ultimately, the new heavens and new earth, there shall be no night there. They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light, and they shall reign forever and ever. If you remember, in the beginning of creation, God created the light. He separated from darkness. But the sun and moon hadn't been created yet. Pretty amazing. Now the way, that's the word, Derek. Actions of the wicked, like darkness. This is complete, utter darkness. Like the three days of darkness in the ninth plague. No photons, absolute darkness. Covenantal judgment, Deuteronomy 20, 29. And you shall grope at noonday as a blind man gropes in the darkness. You shall not prosper in your ways. You shall be only oppressed and plundered continually, and no one shall save you. Not a picture, pretty picture, is that? Perpetual, they do not know. It's a state of ignorance. They remain in ignorance. The darkness remains. This is the picture of bondage to sin. Makes them stumble or stagger. This is retribution, judgment by God for their unrepentant rebellion. Psalm 93, when my enemies turn back, they shall fall and perish at your presence. And even at the end of time, Revelation 22, 15, but outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters and whoever loves and practices a lie. They will never enter the new heavens and new earth. Conclusion, and John MacArthur has shared this many times, time and truth march hand in hand. Let me go to, I got way behind here on the slides. Here we go, 1 Timothy 5, 24. Some men's sins are clearly evident. preceding them to judgment, but those of some men follow later. Likewise, the good works of some are clearly evident, and those that are otherwise cannot be hidden." And it's a wonderful picture. We may not see everything, but God sees it all. And there is going to be a reckoning or reward depending on what you do. We did it. We made it to the end of the section. Questions, comments, It's quite a picture, isn't it, that Solomon paints of the way and the common sense ways in which we need to avoid sin. It starts all with our mind, our hearts, our affections. All right, let me go ahead and close in prayer and we'll get ready for the worship service. Heavenly Father, thank you again for your wisdom and these challenging words by Solomon to his boys. May each of us take heed to these truths and recognize that the most important place to defeat sin is in our mind at that threshold, not to let it in. Help us, Lord, to just be faithful to you and your word, and in Christ's name we pray, amen. All right, we'll pick up next week at verse 20.