before the time is up. Yeah, be ready another minute or two. All right, let me go ahead and open a word of prayer and we'll get ourselves started. Heavenly Father, we thank you for this new week and this new day, especially as we get started in worship service on the Book of Revelation. So many things in there and help us to be mindful of our time, our short time. hear the opportunity you give us to share the gospel, to witness, but also to serve and let others know of the glorious grace that comes through the cross by your son through faith. And so help us as we study Proverbs chapter 8 this morning. Help us to grow wise. in this world that's getting more challenging. And we just ask for your protection and your help in the days ahead. In Christ's name we pray, amen. All right, we're in Proverbs chapter eight. We definitely won't finish it today. It is a long chapter, 36 verses. And so let me just go ahead though and just read all the way through the 35 verses, 36 verses, just so we have like full context and then we'll start working through that. And some of the alignments got misaligned, so I'll try to fix that. So, do not, does not wisdom cry out in understanding lift her voice? She takes her stand on the top of the hill beside the way where the paths meet. She cries out by the gates at the entry of the city. at the entrance of the doors. To you, oh men, I call, and my voice is to the sons of men. Oh, you simple ones, understand prudence, and you fools, be of an understanding heart. Listen, for I will speak of excellent things, and from the opening of my lips will come right things. For my mouth will speak truth. Wickedness is an abomination to my lips. All the words of my mouth are with righteousness. Nothing crooked or perverse is in them. They are all plain to him who understands, and right to those who find knowledge. Receive my instruction and not silver, and knowledge rather than choice gold. For wisdom is better than rubies, and all the things one may desire cannot be compared to her. I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge and discretion. The fear of the Lord is to hate evil, pride and arrogance in the evil way, and the perverse mouth I hate. Counsel is mine and sound wisdom. I am understanding. I have strength. By me, kings reign and rulers decree justice. By me, princes rule and nobles, all the judges of the earth. I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently will find me. Riches and honor are with me, enduring riches and righteousness. My fruit is better than gold, yes, than fine gold, and my revenue than choice silver. I traverse the way of righteousness in the midst of the paths of justice, that I may cause those who love me to inherit wealth, that I may fill their treasuries. The Lord possessed me at the beginning of his way, before his works of old. I had been established from everlasting, from the beginning, before there was ever an earth. When there was no depths, I was brought forth. When there was no fountains abounding with water, before the mountains were settled, before the hills, I was brought forth. While as yet he had not made the earth or the fields or the primal dust of the world, when he prepared the heavens, I was there. When he drew a circle on the face of the deep, when he established the clouds above, when he strengthened the fountains of the deep, when he assigned to the sea its limits so that the waters would not transgress his command, when he marked out the foundations of the earth, then I was beside him as a master craftsman, and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always him. before him, rejoicing in his inhabited world, and my delight was with the sons of men. Now therefore listen to me, my children, for blessed are those who keep my ways. Hear instruction and be wise and do not disdain it. Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors. Whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from the Lord, but he who sins against me wrongs his own soul. All those who hate me love death. What an amazing section. Now, it's easy to think this is the Holy Spirit, but it's not. It's all about wisdom, which all three members of the Trinity have. Now this is a major chapter, and so I have this outline you can see there. Cry of Wisdom, verses 1-3. The Call of Wisdom, 4-5. The Content of Wisdom, 6-11. Yes, there's a lot of C's here. Colleagues of Wisdom, 8-12. Contrary to Wisdom, 13. The chain of command and wisdom, 14 through 16. Choice of wisdom, verse 17. Contemplate the worth of wisdom, 18 through 21. Creation and wisdom, 22 through 31. Consider watching and waiting in wisdom, 32 through 34. And wrapping up, consequences for receiving or rejecting wisdom. You'll see this often in Solomon, this whole, all right, there's a road, fork. Choose left, choose right, choose truth, choose lie, belief, unbelief. There's that constant call and this passage is no different. All right, there's a lot. So let's start off with the cry of wisdom. It's accessibility and availability. And the transition, a call of adulterous sin to the call of wisdom obedience. And I just wanted to show you. So Proverbs 7, 10, we saw this earlier. And there was a woman that met with him with the attire of a harlot and a crafty heart. She was loud, rebellious. Her feet would not stay at home. At times she was outside, at times in the open square, lurking every corner. All right, so there's that call to sin, right? This personified as a real adulteress, but this is the lies of the world, right? And then you have verse one of Proverbs 8, does not wisdom cry out and understanding lift her voice? She takes her stand on the top of the hill beside the way where the paths meet. She cries out by the gates at the entry of the city, at the entrance of the door. So it's not by accident that Solomon takes now this personification of wisdom and contrast it to the personification of this adulterous of sin. And so it's a really neat way to contrast these two. Remember, Back in Proverbs 120, wisdom calls aloud outside. She raised her voice in open square. She cries out in the chief concourses. At the opening of the gates in the city, she speaks her words. She's everywhere. Derek? That's a good question. This would have been like 379-ish, I think. Yeah. 379. Yeah. All past the homework part. All right, so this is a huge deal, the call of the adulterous sin or the call of wisdom, a call to obey or a call to disobey, huge contrast. Can you think of any Bible examples where things went wrong because someone did not seek wisdom? Can you think somewhere in the scripture where someone was kind of faced with a choice or just chose the wrong path versus the right path? Saul, yep, King Saul. David, yep, on the rooftop. Oh, it took the sensor, yeah. First Samuel, I think, 24-ish. Yeah. So those are some good examples. And again, they had the option to seek wisdom, but they didn't. In fact, in the case of David, I think it was Doag, or one of his soldiers says, hey, why are you doing this? You got plenty of people. And it's like, hello, don't do this bad thing. OK, where does wisdom cry out and lift up her voice? You see that there in verses 8, 8-1? on the high hill. So this would be the place where everyone can hear and everyone can see. That's the idea. Totally accessible and think about it. How many unbelievers do you know, like, in your workplace or family members, right? You're right next to them. They have the information. They know you're a believer. But do they ask? Do they inquire? Do they want to know? So wisdom is everywhere, lifting up, crying out our voice. And then what are the four actions of wisdom and understanding? This is, you can see that there, and I'll pull them up here. Cry out, lift up, takes your stand, and cries out. All the directions. So we have cry out, which means to summon. It's a personal call. proclaim something that's near, far, close, and distance. Then you have lift up, Natan, which emphasizes the fervency of the call. So not only is it calling, but there's a fervency. And then we have this position, Natsab, position on the high ground, strong footing, implied in opposition to worldly wisdom. and then cries out, speaks with conviction. So all these are happening simultaneously. And it's pretty cool how you can see this wisdom. It's not passive. It's not kind of weak or anything like that. It's strong. It's bold. And it's available. Okay. There's two primary geographical locations where wisdom and understanding can be found. And the first one is top of a high hill. By the way, I thought you might get a kick out of this. I think I showed this when I was preaching through Mark. So there's Jericho at the far right, considered one of the lowest levels. And then you have Jerusalem on olives, the highest level. And so Jesus goes through Jericho, and you can see this pretty big climb. I mean, that's a difference of 3,300 feet. That's a lot. I think Pike's Peak is what? Is it 1,000 feet, Pike's Peak? 10,000 feet? I can't remember. I don't know. I'll have to look it up. So, top of the hill, and then beside the way, visible for all who travel, but also where the paths meet, crossroads and intersections. So it's unavoidable. You're going to see it. It's aware of it. And God has done this. He's made his word available. And then you have the gates, the entry of the city, entry of the door. Here is a pretty cool picture of, I believe this is Jericho, I think, with the double walls. I didn't label it. Now I can't remember. But I think that's Jericho. With the walls, but you know the city was protected with walls But to get in out of city you went to the gates and the gates is where a lot of the judgments were done where the judges were Here's a picture of Jerusalem with her walls, and of course you have the gates that go in there. Here's another artist rendition some pretty cool pictures here and there's the Herod's during Herod's time Jesus time of the temple and all the area. You can see the fortified walls and so forth. Okay, and then there's these gates, so like there's a lion's gate, there's the sheep gate. Don't want to be going through the lion's gate too often, especially if there's a lion there. Okay, so the implication is wisdom is visible, it's audible, it's accessible, it's available. Every turn, every way, there is wisdom. Heights to depths, from places of power to people in the street. Wisdom doesn't wait for those who seek her, but rather she goes to them first. She's passionate. She's focused. She's urgent about the matter. From a strategic position, she speaks because she speaks with truth. She speaks with conviction. So the implication here is we are without excuse. Just think back to your own life. You knew what the right thing to do was, or you had the wisdom, but you didn't choose the right path, right? Most people, they make mistakes. It's not out of ignorance, right? It's usually out of a willfulness. I know better, but I didn't. And Romans 1.20 is the epitome of this truth. For since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse. Because although they knew God, they didn't glorify him as God. Nor were they thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. So there's without excuse. Everyone has a conscience. It's pretty amazing. And application this week is grab a track and give it out to someone that's passing the wisdom of forgiveness, the wisdom of the gospel. And have a spiritual conversation. See where it goes. Yes, Michael. If anybody's interested, the Chris, or the? Chick track. Chick tracks are on sale at half price. Yeah, and you get how many? A thousand, I think, in the case? Yeah, normally it's a hundred bucks, but now it's fifty bucks, right? Okay, so it is a hundred bucks. Yeah, which is a pretty good deal. And so take advantage of that. And the trick tracks have still always been, people will read them. I've found that the cartoons are more engaging. Oh, cool. All right, so how should we have the gospel and the wisdom of God position ourselves? How should we, who have the gospel and the wisdom of God, position ourselves? In other words, how do we put ourselves in people's lives? Consider the following. John 1, 14, and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we built His glory, the glory of the only begotten, the Father, full of grace and truth. So Christ, who is wisdom, comes. and he directly interacts with the people of Israel. It's amazing, right? Matthew 12, 14, the Pharisees went out, plotted against him, how they might destroy him. But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew from the air and great multitudes followed him and he healed them all. Remember, that's believers and unbelievers in the mix. Yet he warned them not to make him known, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Isaiah prophet. Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved whom my soul is well pleased, I will put my spirit upon him. I will declare justice to the Gentiles. He will not quarrel, nor cry out, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed will not break, and a smoking flax he will not quench, till he sends forth justice to victory, and his name Gentiles will trust. Now this has always been interesting about Jesus' ministry, right? The reason you don't see him making all these public decorations is because he wanted faith to be the means of why they come to him. That was the key. Remember when he was talking with Pilate and Pilate says, you're a king. Who told you that? Did you come to that in your own conclusion or did someone else tell you? Because Christ in that moment is witnessing to Pilate. But it has to be by faith, doesn't it? And so wisdom is available, it's everywhere, but you have to seek it out. There is that tension there. Look at Paul in Acts 13, 16. Then Paul stood up, motioned with his hand. Men of Israel and you who fear God, listen. Okay, Acts 13. On the next Sabbath day, almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God. Acts 13.50, But the Jews stirred up devout and prominent women, and the chief men of the city raised up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region. And then you remember this, they shook off the dust from their feet. against them and came to Iconium, and the disciples were filled with joy with the Holy Spirit." So the Lord sends Paul, right? Makes it available, the whole crowds come out, but then the enemies come and they stir up this trouble. We see this today in the political realm, stirring up trouble against, let's say, Trump or certain policies and so forth. Look at Paul again in Acts 17.2. Such an interesting approach, right? So for Jews, it wasn't a problem that the scriptures were true. That was easy. They knew the scriptures was God's word. What they struggled with was Jesus the Messiah. So you see when Paul's talking to Jews, he starts with this premise, the Bible is true, and then he walks through, look at the things he shows, how the Messiah had to suffer, had to rise, And then he shows that Jesus did these things. But when you go to a Gentile, right, they don't have that presupposition the Bible's true. So look at Acts 17, 16. Now, while Paul was waiting for them in Athens, his spirit was provoked within him when he saw the city was given over to idols. Because remember, every idol just represents another lost individual, another lie. Therefore, he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with the Gentile worshipers, and in the marketplace daily with those who happened to be there. And then verse 22, a little bit further. And then Paul stood in the midst of the Aragopagus and said, men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious. For as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with the inscription to the unknown God. Therefore, one whom you worship, without knowing him, I proclaim to you. And as you go on, Paul begins to preach starts with the point of creator, right? With the Jews, it doesn't start off with creator, it starts off with Messiah, because they had all that. But for a Gentile, you have to start off with, okay, let's begin with the fundamentals. There is a creator. And unfortunately, we live in a society now where that is the predominant problem, right? They don't even recognize God as creator. all these different views. So that's why Paul is pretty neat to see how he changes his strategy based on who he's talking to. So it's always a good question to say, I always like to ask, hey, how were you raised in your home? Was your parents religious? Did they take you to church? That's a good place to start. And then find out what they were taught, what they believed. And then I always ask, so where are you today with all that? Do you still believe it? Or have you kind of moved away? And why? And then you have a starting point to figure out where to go. Matthew 5.13, Jesus says, you're the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world, a city that is set on a hill that cannot be hidden. There's that hill again. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. And so that's the picture here, just as wisdom is in this obvious place, we should be accessible, we should be available, and yeah, we should be a little bit intrusive, right? A little bit of being forward. Asking those difficult questions, but finding balance. Implication, the manner in which you do this, the means in which you do this, and your motive do matter. Yes? Never a stupid question, only stupid answers. Yes. Why did they have the true God? Is that what you're getting at? Because the unknown was the idea is maybe we missed something. Yeah, that's the idea. So when they put the unknown God, it was kind of like saying, all right, we've done all these. Yeah, this is to catch what we may have been ignorant. And it's actually pretty good logic, and that's probably the best, and that is a great place to start. Okay, maybe I don't know. And so Paul says, let me teach you who this unknown God is. Because technically, that unknown God in the pantheon of all the fake gods is the true God. And he could substitute in there, because it's unknown to them, because they don't have the knowledge, or they've rejected the truth about the true creator. All right, questions, anything else? You know, Vince, this really isn't so bad, but the folks up above sure seem to live it up. Different places in heaven there. All right, pretty silly. Okay, now let's go to part two, the call of wisdom, the naive and fools, verses four and five. And let me just read those again real quick. Go back to... Proverbs 4 and 5. To you, O men, I call, and my voice is to the sons of the men. O naive ones, understand prudence, and O fools, understand wisdom. All right. So that was cloud eight, by the way. Just jump now to the section two. Okay. So implication. This is a universal call to all people. All right. That's the idea. And there's two specific individuals being addressed with wisdom. There is this naive one and these fools. Men, sons of men, is a full spectrum individuals. Position, rank, high, low includes women. So that's what the idea means there. And let me jump ahead. There we go. And then we have under the men's and sons of men, these two categories, simple ones and fools. Simple ones, fools, full spectrum of people, attitude towards wisdom, ignorant to rejecting. That's the spectrum. So when we meet someone, you have to ask yourself, is this someone who's ignorant? They just don't know that it's the unknown God, or is this someone who is, he knows, she knows. And they have their arguments and their defenses lined up. And you need to know which one you're dealing with because it can change what you say and how you say it. Flashback to Prowers 122. How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity? For scorners delight in scorning and fools hate knowledge. Simple ones, naive ones. This is love being simple minded. They err out of ignorance of the implications of truth. All right? So in other words, because they don't know, that's where their ignorance is coming from. Okay? And then scorners, all right, delight themselves in scorning. They err by refusing to learn the truth. They mock the truth. And then you have fools, this is the extreme, hate knowledge, and they err by rebelling against the truth. We've kind of lost that distinction in English. We think of fools as someone who's ignorant. But no, a fool is someone who understands, not only do they mock, but they rebel against it. So the fool is someone who's like, you know, and you still do it wrong? You're a fool. You're rebelling. At the peak of my drinking, I was a fool because I knew drinking was bad. I knew it would bring problems, but I still did it anyway. I was rebelling against that truth. All right, question. There's two commands in verse 8-5. Let me jump up here. In 8-5, and let me pull those up here real quick. Let me see if I can do this real quick. Bear with me here. I normally have this turned on, but I didn't. There we go. There we go. Yep. That's what I thought. So in five, there's two commands. It's actually the same one. Understand. It's actually a command in the text. The first one is understand bin. Understand prudence. Pay attention. Examine. Let it teach you. Prudence is shrewd, wise, careful thinking. Filter on what goes in because one is naive and ignorant. So they don't know. Because they're ignorant, they don't know what to filter. And then B of understanding, understanding heart, right? Or fools understand. Let me just double check. I think that's the exact same word. Yeah, it's the exact same word, repeat it twice. All right, and then it goes on to say here, be of an understanding heart. Surprise, exact same word. There you go, I should have just read my own notes. Heart, emphasis here is on understanding. Filter on what goes out because a fool rejects wisdom and desperately needs understanding. So there's this idea of naive ones filtering what comes in. I don't know what it is. And then the fool, they understand the truth, but then their behavior, they go out, they reject the wisdom. So there's like this in and out going on here. The implication is this is a call to repent and change. This is the Old Testament style of, when you say to someone, understand prudence, understand wisdom, you're calling them to repentance. No one has to remain in this hard-hearted condition. Although this primary speaks of unbelievers, let's be honest, believers can be stiff-necked and stubborn, unwilling to change too. Let me go back to my PowerPoint here. The law of the Lord, Psalm 197, is perfect, reviving the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise simple. Such a beautiful truth. Look at Paul's calling in there. I've got noted in Acts 26 14 and when all had when we had all had fallen to the ground This is his conversion in Damascus Road. I heard a voice speaking to me saying in the Hebrew language Saul Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads. So I said who are you Lord? Who are you, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom you're persecuting, but rise and stand on your feet for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness, both of the things which you have seen and the things which I will yet reveal to you. I will deliver you from the Jewish people as well as from the Gentiles to whom I now send you. So right away, Jesus is saying, you know, I'm gonna send you these to the Gentiles, you're gonna have to be delivered from them and I will deliver you. That's a warning and a promise. What an incredible moment for Paul. Think about that. Rushing with murderous, breathing murderous threats. and then he is literally stopped by the Lord Jesus Christ himself, blinded and saved. 2 Peter 3, 17 and 18. You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness. Here it is, being led away with the air of the wicked. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and forever. So this is the New Testament way of saying, understand prudence, understand discretion. 2 Peter 1.5, but for this very reason, and I've read this before, giving all diligence, add or supply to your faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love. If these things are yours and abound, you'll be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. So again, there's this whole connection As you learn, you must obey. As you obey, you grow in knowledge. If all you're doing is learning by knowing, but you're never doing, you're not growing. And as I said this before, wisdom in the Bible always pairs those up, the knowing and the doing. If you know and don't do, you're not wise. And if you do without the knowledge, you're unwise. And so wisdom always has this action to it. Therefore, brethren, be more diligent to make your call and election sure. For if you do these things, you'll never stumble. For so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Our obedience leads and has the implication of a greater reward. That's the idea. And a wonderful psalm to meditate on would be Psalm 94. I won't go there, but that's just in your notes. Here's a little far side on learning. Little baby Tarzan's there with the apes. And the really great thing about this jungle of ours is that any one of you could grow up to be king of the apes. So pretty silly, grow up, that's the idea. All right, and he would become king of the apes in the story. All right, let's get practical. There are 10 strategies to grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior. So I'm gonna walk us through these and help us how to understand how to apply, all right? So check and examine yourself regularly. Just like you go with your car, a little check engine light comes on, right? Oh, I got to go in and pay 80 bucks for an oil change and tires rotated. All right. So we have to check the engine light. Salvation, 2 Corinthians 13, 5, Paul says, examine yourselves as to whether you're in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you unless indeed you are disqualified? Now that's salvation. Then there's sanctification. 1 Corinthians 11, 28, but let a man exam himself. And so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. preparation for the Lord's Supper. So I love this that Paul covers both the salvation aspect and the sanctification, but we need to do that regularly. And this is why going to church, being part of a Bible study, witnessing, evangelizing, being part of other brothers in the Lord and sisters in the Lord doing the same thing is how we have accountability. Our private life should match our public life for the most part. Cultivate, because there are certain things that you just should keep private. All right, number two, cultivate genuine worship. Word-informed and word-centered relationship. John 4, 24, God is spirit and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth. There's prayer, so you have word-informed and word-centered worship, prayer. And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray, standing in the synagogues, on the corner streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have the reward. But you, when you pray, go into your room. And when you have shut your door, pray to your father, who is in secret place. And your father, who sees you in secret, will reward you openly. And when you pray, do not use vain repetition. This is why, unfortunately, the Catholics just ignore this when it comes to the Hail Marys. We as believers don't need to pray repetitiously the same thing over and over. That's different from making the same request, Lord, I'm seeking help in this area. But as far as our prayer, it should be conversational. And when you pray, like I said, don't use vain repetition as the heathen do, for they think they'll be heard for their many words. Therefore, do not be like them for your father knows the things that you have need of before you even ask. All right, and then know and obey the word. Whoever comes to me and hears my sayings and does them, I will show you whom he's like. He's like a man building a house, who dug deep, laid a foundation on the rock, and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently, and immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great. And of course, this is speaking of a life of rejecting Christ. Derek. Correct. I mean, it can be a prayer, but it is the principles, it's a framework for which you can pray, covering all these elements. And that was the idea. So yeah, it is a disciple's prayer, but it's from the Lord training them how to pray. And in MacArthur's book, I think, what's it called? He has a little booklet on that. I think you can get online. I'm just drawing a blank. Alone with God, I think, maybe, or something like that. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I think it's alone with God is the sermon, but you can look up and just go to that verse in Matthew, and you can get the sermon. It's a really good sermon walking through the principles that the Lord gives in prayer. And if you look at the Lord Jesus' prayers, you can see that he follows that template, and it's not any vain repetition, as you can see. All right, and then next one, number three, is confess your sin. 1 John 119, if we confess our sins, he's faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar and his word is not in us. And so that's very key. And the key is to be specific. This takes courage, this takes honesty, this takes transparency in your own life, but it's not enough just to confess it. There is a sense in which you need to act now and turn from it. Joshua 7, 19, now Joshua said to Achan, here's an example of confession, my son, I beg you, I love this expression, give glory to the Lord God of Israel and make confession to him. I don't know if you ever thought about this, but when you confess your sin, you are bringing glory to God because you're saying he's right, I'm wrong. And that means truth is exalted, God is exalted, he is just, he is right, he's true. Make confession to him and tell me now what you have done, do not hide it from me. Notice that God was glorified in two ways. He was glorified with a confession, but he also was glorified in the judgment of Achan and his family, which was really pretty rough. But don't forget a bunch of people died because of Achan's disobedience, which we talked about yesterday in the men's group. and then clean up your act and change your behavior. Let me just real get candid there. But in a great house, there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but of wood and clay, some for honor, some for dishonor. Therefore, if anyone cleansed himself from the latter, he'll be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful for the master, prepared for every good work. So we don't just stop with the confession. We've got to clean up our act. And again, that's God who works in us and through us. 2 Timothy or Ephesians 4.20, but you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard him and have been taught by him as the truth is in Jesus, that you, and here it is, the put off and put on, you put off concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts and renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God in true righteousness and holiness. And that is a wonderful principle. We all know who said it, nature abhors a vacuum, right? If you've ever tried to quit a habit, if you don't replace it with something else, the old habit comes back. And so it's fascinating that scriptures, you know, affirm this idea, put off, but then replace it. Those who steal should work. That's the idea. Hebrews 12.1, therefore also since we're surrounded by so great a crowd of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us or entangles us and let us run with the endurance, the race that is set before us. So you see, it's not just only confession and cleanup, but there's a sense in which we continue to grow and persevere and improve. All right, next one, correct your affections. 1 John 2, 15, do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world is passing away and the lust of it, but he who does the will of God abides forever. And I think Connor covered that pretty good last week in his message. those three things. Mark 1230, and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, with all your strength. This is the first commandment. And the second is like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these. And so the affections, right? This is the constant challenge in life. Ah, I really like that. Maybe I should give that up and then substitute it with something more of the Lord. Matthew or John 15 5 on the vine you are the branches he abides in me and I in him bears much fruit for without me you can do nothing and then consider your motivations okay we're getting a little bit deeper now Philippians 2 3 let nothing be done through selfish ambition, or conceit. But in lowliness of mind, let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out, not only for your own interests, but also for the interests of others. I like that last part, too, because it shows us there's some balance here. This is not, I'm here at your beck and call and I have to serve you in everything. There's like, I do need to take care of my own house first, because if I can't take care of my own house first, how then can I take care of you? So that's the balance here. 7. Choose to serve with your gifts. Galatians 5.13 For you, brethren, have been called to liberty. Only do not use your liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. Titus 3.8, this is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men. And then Romans 12, amazing passage here, for I say through the grace given to me, to everyone who's among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think. but rather to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, but all members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them, if prophecy prophesied proportion to our faith. For ministry, let us use it in ministering in our ministering and he who teaches and teaching, he who exhorts and exhortation, he who gives with liberality, he who leads with diligence, he who shows mercy with cheerfulness. And so we are different and we ought to recognize that. And we can't judge that someone is different from us and they use their gifts different than us. Number eight, contemplate your limited time. Psalm 144, four, man is like a breath. His days are like a passing shadow. And of course, James 14, or 413, rebukes those who say, businessmen, for example, today or tomorrow, come now, you say to me, tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit. Whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. You got your whole year planned out. and you don't even know what's gonna happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little while, a little time, and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, if the Lord wills, we shall live and do this of that. Have you guys ever done that? Just stopped and say, you know, Lord, I don't know what's gonna happen tomorrow. I'd like to do this if you permit it. It's a good recognition of our place in the universe. Tomorrow. If the Lord wills. Yes. Goes on to say, but now you boast in your arrogance, all such boasting is evil. Therefore to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him in his sin. That's conscience. All right, number nine. Comprehend your future judgment. Hebrews 9.27, and is appointed for men to die once, but after this comes the judgment. And then number, 2 Corinthians 5.10, And then the last one, 1 Corinthians 3.11. And you can see there's a whole bunch of stuff here. For no other foundation can lay anyone that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. There's your foundation. Now, if anyone builds on this foundation, right, you're building your life on Christ. Gold, silver, precious stones, those are the better things. Wood, hay, straw, those are the temporal things. I say lasting versus not lasting. Each one's work will become clear. For the day will declare it. because it will be revealed by fire and the fire will test each one's works of what sort it is. If anyone's work which is built on it endures, he'll receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved. Yet so as through the fire. Do you not know that you're the temple of God and the spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him for the temple of God is holy, which you, which temple you are. So it's just a good reminder that everything we do does matter. Michael. And this passage no No, this is strictly speaking of the judge and seat of Christ And so that wouldn't apply here. This one is looking at your life of works and God is all-knowing justice Christ will look at your life the things you did the motives the reasons everything and he'll say pass or fail Reward no reward gain or loss Yeah The Catholics take this and try to turn this into purgatory, and others try to take the same kind of concept you described. No. Tribulations and fires, those are separate things. That's in this life. And if you are faithful in those tribulations and fires, those fiery testing, then you will be rewarded here at the judgment seat. So you think of Daniel or literally Daniel's three friends who literally went through a fire, right? They were faithful and God rewarded their faithfulness. Now I'm recording the scriptures for us and generations to read, but they will be rewarded for their incredible faithfulness when facing death. And then continue in the mission. Mark 16, 15, he said to them, go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. Second Corinthians 2, 14, now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumphing Christ and through us diffuses the fragrance of his knowledge in every place. I love this picture. For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among who are being saved and among those who are perishing. Remember the, the burnt offerings, which were the whole burnt offerings, there was a scent that went up into God's nostrils and was pleasing. It may sound a little disrespectful, but God loves a good barbecue. But the idea is there's a picture here and a connection, right? In the sacrifices, that whole burnt offering, that sacrifice went up. When we give our lives over to Christ, In service, that is a whole burnt offering and that is a fragrance that's pleasing to God. That's the connection that we need to make. To the one we are aroma of death. leading to death, and to the other, a realm of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things? For we are not, as so many, peddling the word of God, but as of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in sight of God in Christ. And last verse here before I wrap things up, 1 Corinthians 15, 58. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. And this, notice that this comes at the end of the resurrection chapter. In other words, now you know all this truth about your future and the resurrection, the glorious new heavens, new earth, be steadfast, immovable. All right, is there anything you want to add to that list? That's a pretty good list, don't you think? All right, we did it. Now here's the bad news. We're done with Proverbs for now until summer. So next week we will meet again for Sunday school because we're doing our last Fundamentals of the Faith chapter, which the slide happened to be on, 525. I should have looked more closely. I think that's on prayer. So then we'll take a break for the summer. I'll be able to refresh and catch up and catch my breath. And then we'll pick up in Proverbs in the fall. Questions? Derek? What is truth? Yeah, truth was standing right in front of him because Jesus is the Word. Yeah, and that's how it is. We stand there, right, before others with the truth, trying to proclaim, trying to share, try to call, and we hope and pray the Spirit does a work in their life. And sometimes it seems like it's falling on deaf ears, but you are sowing the seed. And never forget that just speaking the word is having an impact. It might not be today, but it may be tomorrow. We just have to pray and wait for God to cause the growth. We'll know in the end, but we may not know in this life, but we will certainly know in the next. All right, let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for the beginning of this chapter, this beautiful picture of wisdom in the streets, on the hill, shouting out, and calling all of us to listen, to receive, and help us to continue to be humble in heart, to be thankful and grateful, and to examine ourselves, growing. In the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, we pray these things.