Turn your Bibles to Proverbs chapter 1. Proverbs chapter 1. If you don't have one of the outlines from Tuesday, if you'll raise your hand, they'll bring it to you so that you can follow along with the outline. As you're getting your outline out or getting a copy of that, I want to mention how much I appreciate the opportunity of being here. It's been a real blessing and a challenge to me, and I hope that we can continue to send students here and see them growing the Lord and serving the Lord as many of you are. I'd like to mention, if you have not talked to me, if you're interested either in working with the military or in coming out to Hawaii to work, either on a long-term or short-term basis, we'd be glad to talk to you about that and share with you some of the burden of the ministry there. And Hawaii is a great opportunity for admissions majors because we have so many different nationalities and yet you're still in America. You don't have to get a passport. You have English as a base language. And so you are able to communicate even if you haven't learned the language yet. And yet you're able to get an opportunity to experience much of the cultures and the differences that are there. And so it may be something you would be interested in. And so I'd be glad to talk with you about that. In Proverbs 1, beginning with verse 20, it says, "...wisdom crieth without. She uttereth her voice in the streets. She crieth in the chief place of the concourse, in the openings of the gates. In the city she uttereth her words, saying, How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity? And the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge. Turn you at my reproof. Behold, I will pour out my Spirit unto you. I will make known my words unto you. Because I have called, and you refused. I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded." But you have said it not, all my counsel, and would none of my reproof." Let's bow for prayer. Father, we pray once again this morning as we open up your Word that you would open it to our hearts and to our lives. We pray that we can build on what we presented on Tuesday and bring it to a conclusion and to conviction as well. And so, Father, we pray that you'd help each one to follow along with the important truths that we're going to look at from this passage. In Christ's name we pray. Amen. In our notes, we're on Roman number three in the outline. You remember, we start out by talking about the different kinds of people. The Bible says there's four different kinds of people that you will deal with, and each of you fits into one of those four categories as well. And that is the simple, the fool, the scorner, or the wise. And actually, in my study, in my observation, I believe it's really kind of on a scale. On one of the scales, the wise. On the other, the scorner. And then you have the simple and the fool in between there. And every one of you and I, as well, fit somewhere on that scale. Some people are wise, simple. They are wise, but they do lean a little bit towards simple and make some simple decisions at times. Others are simple, and then others are simple-wise. They lean towards being wise, but they're still acting simple. Some are simple fools. They lean more towards foolishness than they do towards wisdom and on down the line. So as you look at these things, what you want to do is determine where on that scale do I fit in my life. And just like we know with many other areas of our spiritual walk, it can change sometimes from day to day. There are some days that I can be very wise and then the next day make a very, very foolish decision. And so you need to understand that for yourself and also for those that you work with. As we started the lesson, we told you that the word wise comes from a root word which means to be open. It's like a jar that's open to whatever influences in their life. That's why, I mean, the simple. And the simple are easily influenced. You put them around wise kids and they will act wise. You put them around foolish kids and they will act foolish, because they are open to the influences in their lives. Whereas the foolish person is more like this bottle here, in that they're very narrow-minded and stiff-necked, and so they're hard to work with from that perspective. But the third one we want to look at this morning is the wise person, wisdom. And wisdom, I think, can be best illustrated by this jar right here. And that wisdom is like this see-through jar. One of the words for wise in the Bible has the root word of being clear. And so the person who is wise is clear. And it's kind of like the see-through jar is that they have a clear testimony. In James chapter 3 and verse number 13, it says, Who is a wise man and endowed with knowledge among you? Let him show out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. And so if we are a wise person, then people are going to be looking at our lives and they're going to be able to see the wisdom in our lives. They're going to be able to see Christ in our lives. You see, the difference is the difference between this container of peaches and this container of peaches. You see, both of these contain peaches, but there's a big difference. On this one, you can see the peaches. On this one, you can only see the label. In Matthew chapter 5 and verse number 16, it says, "...let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven." You see, a lot of Christians are labeled Christians. They have the label that they are a Christian and Christ lives within them. But you cannot see Christ in their lives. The wise person is one that you can look at them and you can see they're transparent, they're clear, and you can see Christ in their lives. It's not just the label that they wear, but it's the life that you can see. Do you see the difference on that? And so if you are a wise person, you have a clear testimony that people can see Christ in your life. Over in 1 Peter 3, verses 15 and 16, it says, "...but sanctify the Lord God in your hearts and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asks you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear. Having a good conscience that whereas they speak evil of you, as evildoers they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ." Now, that word conversation, as I tell our people, it's not just the words that we speak, but it's how our life speaks. You've heard the statement, your talk talks more than your walk talks. And so, if we are wise, our life is going to speak of Christ. They are going to be able to see Christ. It's not just going to be a label that we wear, but it's going to be that they can see Christ in our lives. But you notice as you look at this jar of peaches right here, it still has a label. Even though you can see what's inside of there, they still put a label on the jar. Why is that label there? It's to tell you the brand. It's to tell you the nutritional facts. It's to tell you what the ingredients are. It gives you more information. And even though people can see Christ in your life, we still need that label, the standard, so they can see what difference He makes in our lives, so we can tell them what we believe and why. And so it is both the label, but it is also seeing Christ in our lives, not just a label. And so the wise person is someone that you can see clearly the testimony of Christ in their lives. What would happen if you went down to the store, and you were going to buy some peaches? Now, I don't know about you, but I'd rather buy this than this, because I can see the peaches. I can see what I'm getting, and that's kind of a little better deal, isn't it? But what if you walked down the store, and you were looking at this jar of peaches on the shelf, and as you looked in there, you saw a little fly sitting right inside the jar there with the peaches. Would you still buy the peaches? Probably not. Even though the peaches all look good, and there's nothing wrong with the peaches, the fact that that fly is inside that jar would make you not buy it. In Ecclesiastes 10, verse 1, it says, Here's the problem. It only takes one fly to ruin the product. It only takes one fly to ruin the product. You can be a wise young person, and it just takes one foolish decision to mess your testimony up. And that's something you here in Bible College need to understand clearly. I've seen it over and over again. I've seen some of the wisest kids in school, some of the ones with the best testimony, the clearest testimony. But they made one foolish decision, and it's like having a fly inside of this jar. Now, understand, there are bugs in this jar. I used to work for a canning factory, and by law, you are allowed, the manufacturers, the canners, are allowed so many bug parts in every jar. They cannot keep them out. Bugs are everywhere in the process, and they get chopped up and mixed up in with everything you eat. When you go to lunch today, you are going to be eating bug parts. And it's not because they got there in the cafeteria, it's because they got there when the stuff was canned. It's going to be there. And understand, no matter how wise you are, you've still done some foolish things. You've got some of that sin mixed in there, some of those dumb choices mixed in there. But you know, God understands there's going to be a certain amount of that in our lives because we're not perfect. But if there's a big old fly sitting in there, nobody's going to buy the jar. You see, we can ruin our testimony by one foolish decision. And that's something we need to be careful of. You see, we need to be transparent. If we're going to be wise, we're going to be transparent. In Psalms 32, verse 1-2, it says, Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. You see, we need to be transparent in the sense that people need to be able to see God in our lives. And that word, blessed, means the wise man. The wise man is the blessed man. And so, the wise man, you know what he's thinking. And I'm not going to look up some of these verses for time's sake. You can look them up later. I think you can read. And so, the wise man, you know what he's thinking. He's up front with you. He tells you what he's thinking. He tells you what's going on in his life. The wise man is also someone, what you see is what you get. You know, people aren't looking for perfect pastors. They're looking for perfecting pastors. People don't want somebody that's up on a pedestal and says, I'm better than you. They want somebody that's working on some of the same things in their lives that they're working on, but they're working on it. And what you see is what you get. They don't try to put on an outward facade. They don't try to hide what's going on inside of them. They're very open and honest with people and what they're dealing with in their life and what struggles they're going through. They're not afraid to admit when they're wrong. You know, the difference between David and Saul when they were confronted with their sin is Saul gave every excuse in the book, but David said, I did it. He's not afraid to admit when he did wrong. I remember as a Christian school principal, I would call students in who were cheating, and the foolish student would deny everything. No matter how much evidence you had to put in front of them, they would deny everything. The simple student would admit it only when you showed them your evidence, when they knew they were caught. The wise student would confess before you even told him that they were caught. You see, they're willing to admit it when they're wrong. They're not going to excuse themselves. They're not going to cover it up. They're not going to hide it. They're going to deal with that situation and take care of it. Number three there, the wise person wants to see God's will for their lives. He wants to see God's will for their lives. In 2 Timothy 3, 14-17, it says, But continue thou, "...and the things which thou hast learned and been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them. And that from a child thou hast known the holy Scriptures, which there will make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God as proper doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." The word for wise here in this passage is the Greek word sopho. Some of you might recognize that's where we get our word sophomore. How many sophomores here? Raise your hand if you're a sophomore. You know what the word sophomore means? Sophomore means wise. More, it comes to the word moron. And so a sophomore is a wise fool. He's a wise moron. And you know, they're an educated fool is what they are. And that's really true. You see, freshmen, they know they don't know anything. They don't even know where the classes are. They know they don't know anything. The sophomore thinks they know everything now, because they've had a year of college behind them. And I found when I was in school, the further along I got, the more stupid I realized I was. By the time I was a senior, I was wondering why they were even graduating me. I was so dumb. You know, the older you get, the more you realize how little you know. And the wise person, he understands, I'm just an educated fool. You know, I've got a college degree, but that doesn't mean anything. I've still got a lot to learn. And he wants to learn. You see, he's number 8 there. He's a sophomore. Romans 1.22, it says, professing themselves to wise, they become fools. Those who think they're wise, they're the ones who are the fools. As soon as you think, hey, I'm wise, then you become a fool, the Bible says. In Proverbs 1.5, the Bible says, a wise man will hear and will increase learning, and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels. You see, the wise person says, I'm not done learning. When they graduate from college, they don't stop learning. They don't stop studying. They don't stop reading. I've got a lot to learn yet. It doesn't matter how old you get. It doesn't matter how many degrees you have. It doesn't matter how much experience you have. The wise person realizes, I've got a lot more to learn. And he wants to learn. But the word sopho also is where we get our word sophisticated. Sophisticated. Now, what does that word sophisticated mean? The word originally meant corrupted, less natural, deceptive, misleading. Isn't that interesting? That's what the word originally meant. Nowadays, who do we call sophisticated? Movie stars, politicians, sports stars. You know what they're doing? They're living a lie. They're living a lie. That sophistication is to live a lie. And you know, there may be some of you here in this room, you're living a lie. You're acting like you're very spiritual, but when you know inside of you, you're very foolish. And you're living a lie. You see, the wise person is sophisticated in the sense that they understand in their life. In 1 Corinthians 3, verse 18, it says, "...let no man deceive himself. If any among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool that he may be wise." He understands that the wisdom comes from God and not from the world. And so he's got that wisdom. That number B there, the second thing about the wise person is that he's got his head screwed on. Put that word, screwed on, there. The Hebrew word for wise, one of the words is circumspect. It means the idea of circumspect, a circle. You know, when you put a lid on a jar, you screw it on because it's a circle. Now, we know the word circumspect means to be paying attention to what's going on around you. In Psalms 119, it tells us, Thy word is a lamp unto my feet. You carry that lamp, it puts a circle of light, and that's how we walk this life, following the light of God's Word. But the wise person, he's somebody who's paying attention to what's going on around him. But he's somebody that's got his head screwed on straight. He's got his head screwed on straight. In Ecclesiastes 12, 13 it says, So the wise person, see the simple person, he's like a jar with no lid. And if you've got a jar with no lid, if it contains anything, it's going to spill out. And it's going to get all corrupted. And so the wise person is somebody when he learns things, he puts a lid on it. He's got his head screwed on straight. And that's important. In Ecclesiastes chapter 12 and verses 9 through 11, it says, And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge. Yea, he gave good heed and sought out and set in order many problems. The preacher sought to find out acceptable words, and that which was written was upright, even words of truth. The words of the wise are as goads and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd. So he knows that he needs to nail down what he's learned. He needs to put a lid on it, is what he needs to do. And that's important in that aspect, is the wise person realizes, as I learn things, I need to retain those things. I need to hold on to those things. Now again, in Ecclesiastes 12, 13, the writer, Solomon, said, Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter. Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. You see, Solomon comes to the end of his book. And if you've ever read the book of Ecclesiastes, you think this is the wisest person and he's still not figuring out some of these things. Solomon comes to the end of his book and he basically says this, I haven't figured everything out, but I do know this, the best thing that I can do is fear God and keep His commandments. And young people, whether you've figured it all out yet or not, the best thing you can do, the wise person says, no matter what else I know, I know I should fear God and keep His commandments. That's the base of the wise person, the understanding. But also, in letter B there, the world is going to see us as having a screw loose. If you're going to act wise, the world's going to call you and say, you've got a screw loose, you've got something wrong with you. In 1 Corinthians chapter 1 and verse 18 again, it says, the priesthood of the cross and then the parish is foolishness, but unto us which are saved is the power of God. So we need to be wise people. We need to put a lid on it. In Proverbs 4, 4 and 5 it says, He taught me also and said, Let thine heart retain my words, keep my commandments, and live. Get wisdom, get understanding, forget it not, neither recline from the words of my mouth. You know, as a pastor, often it's frustrating to me, you'll have somebody come into church, and they'll listen to the message, and you teach the message, and they seem to listen, they seem to hear what you have to say, but then a week later it's like they've forgotten it all. Why? Because they didn't put a lid on it. They're not retaining what they learned. And so many of us, we come to chapel day after day, we come to church week after week, we come into the classes, and we're getting all this good information, but we're not retaining it. We're not holding on to it. And that's what the wise person does. And then the third thing about being wise is to keep separate. The reason you put things in containers, like jars, is to keep it separate. When we're all done eating, my wife says, put the food away, and we put it in different containers. We don't take the meat and the potatoes and the vegetables and the dessert and put them all in one container. We put them in separate containers to keep them separate. In 2 Corinthians chapter 6 and verses 14 through 17, The Bible says, Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers, for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? Or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For ye are the temple of the living God. As God has said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore, come out from among them, be separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing. We put things in jars so they don't get dirty, so they don't get corrupted. We keep them separate that way. And a wise person is someone who realizes, I've got to keep certain things separate in my life. And that, first of all, is to separate feelings from facts. To separate feelings from facts. You see, the fool doesn't rein in or control his feelings. Remember, we talked about that Tuesday. He doesn't rein in or control his feelings. The wise person realizes, feelings can't control me. Feelings can't control me. They separate feelings from facts. Number A there, they separate issues. In 1 Corinthians 6, 12 and 13, it says, All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought unto the power of any. Meats for the belly, and the belly for the meats, but God shall destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. You see, the foolish man says, Well, you know, God gave me an appetite, and I enjoy food, and I eat food from my belly. And God gave me an appetite for sex, so it's okay for me to have sex too. You see, He doesn't separate issues. Those don't go together. But the foolish man doesn't separate issues. The wise man realizes that issues need to be separated, that feelings need to be separated from facts, and we need to do what's right, rather than be controlled by our feelings. We need to separate right from wrong. 2 Timothy chapter 2 and verse number 15 says, "...study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed..." What? "...rightly dividing the word of truth." In Hebrews chapter 5 verse 14 it says that, "...by reason of use we learn to discern both good and evil." And that's what the wise person has done. He has learned how to separate issues. He's learned how to understand the difference between right and wrong. And to think these things through from a biblical basis. The main Hebrew word for wise is used to describe a man that is skillful in working brass. Back in 2 Kings 7, verse 14, it described a man who was skillful in working with brass. So the word wisdom, the idea of the word, is the wise man has learned how to use what he knows. The wise man has learned how to use what he knows. There's another series of messages I wish I had time to share with you that I did in my church, and I called it the Pyramid of Learning. And in that series of messages, I talked about the different levels of learning. When I was in Bible college, I was taught that the highest level of learning was wisdom. That that was what we wanted to attain to, was wisdom. But do you know that that's not the highest level of learning? The base of the Pyramid of Learning is knowledge. The Bible tells us that we need to learn knowledge. Now, knowledge is just the basic facts, basic information. It can be learned in the classroom or it can be learned by experience. But to learn knowledge. And the way we learn knowledge is by repetition. In Isaiah 28, verses 9 and 10, it says, Whom shall he teach knowledge? And whom shall he make to understand doctrine? Them that are weaned from the milk and drawn from the breast. For precept must be upon precept, and precept upon precept, line upon line, and line upon line, here a little and there a little. It's the repetition that's the key to learning. And the way we learn knowledge is by repetition. As we hear it again and again, as we experience it again and again, we begin learning it. The next level on that pyramid of learning is wisdom. And wisdom is basically the skill in using knowledge. I can illustrate it this way. Most of you here know how a car works. You understand the basic principles of the internal combustion engine. You understand a little bit about how the car works. And you've got the basic knowledge. But many of you who know how a car works don't know how to work on a car. You see, wisdom is knowing how to work on the car. Knowledge is knowing how the car works. There's a difference between the two. And how do we learn wisdom? Wisdom is primarily learned through practice. Through practice. The Bible says in James 1.22, Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. So I learn wisdom, the skill. See, that's what that... In 1 Kings, here was a man that was skilled in working with brass. He had experience. He had practice working with it. He was very good at it. That's wisdom. The third level of that pyramid of learning is the level of instruction. Now you say, well, what is instruction? Instruction comes from the same root word where we get our word chastisement or discipline. And so instruction is discipline, either imposed or self-discipline. In classroom, your teachers give you instruction by giving you tests. They're disciplining you to study by giving you a test that forces you to study. Now, if you're a good student, you will study whether you have a test or not. That's self-discipline. And so, the higher level than wisdom is instruction. Using the illustration of the car is this. How many of you, basically, you know how a car works? Raise your hand. All right. Now, how many of you know how to work on a car? Maybe not everything, but generally, you could work on a car if you need to. Raise your hand. How many of you that know how to work on a car, you know a car is supposed to have its oil changed every 3,000 to 5,000 miles? Raise your hand. Keep it up real high. How many of you change your oil every 3,000 to 5,000 miles? Half those hands went down. You see, that's instruction. I know what I'm supposed to do, I just never get around to doing it. You see, a lot of people have wisdom. I have a lot of people in my church know what they should do in their marriage, they're just not doing it. They know what they should do as a Christian, they're just not doing it. And so instruction is the discipline to know, to do what I know I'm supposed to do. And I know how to do. The Bible says in Proverbs 24, verse 30, I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man, void of understanding. And lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down. Then I saw and considered it well, and I looked upon it, listened, and received instruction. Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep, so shall thy poverty come as one that travaileth, and thy want as an armed man. See, when we don't reach the level of instruction, we're not disciplining ourselves to do what we know we're supposed to do. But the highest level of learning, which is at the top of the pyramid, which the fewest people are doing, is the level of understanding. Understanding is the ability to apply what I've learned in another area and use it in something that's brand new in my life. It'd be like on the car again, if I had a part break on my car that I've never worked on before. But because I've worked on other places in the car and because I've got a manual that tells me how to work on that part, I can take the manual and the experience I have from the other parts of the car and I can fix this new part without having somebody come and do it for me. You see, I've got the understanding to apply my knowledge and wisdom to a new situation. That's the level of understanding. And the Bible says in Proverbs 4, verses 5 and 7. This is why I tell you it's the highest level. Listen carefully. Get wisdom. You want to get wisdom. Get understanding. Forget it not. Neither decline from the words of my mouth. Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee. Love her, and she shall keep thee. Wisdom is the principal thing. You've got to learn that skill. Therefore, get wisdom. And with all thy getting, get understanding. So understanding is a higher level than wisdom is. I know a lot of people that know more about living the Christian life than I do, but aren't doing it. Because they're not disciplined. No instruction. And when you don't discipline yourself, you don't keep growing and get the understanding. And so, the wise person is one that understands that there are levels of learning that I have to work my way through. And that I have to work my way up those levels of understanding. And by the way, when you minister to others, you will learn this as well. You'll see people in your church that go on these different levels as well. And how am I going to help them to come up to the next level on that pyramid of learning? So we understand that the wise person is one who is skillful. And then number two there, going back to page four, separate areas of life. In Ecclesiastes chapter 7 and verses 23, I've got to find my notes here again. Ecclesiastes 7, verse 23. It says, "...all this have I proved by wisdom. I said I will be wise, but it was far from me. That which is far off and exceeding deep, who can find it out? I applied my heart to know and to search and to seek out wisdom, and the reason of things, and to know the wickedness of folly, even of foolishness and madness." Now you see, Solomon said, I've tried it all. Solomon was the wisest person in all the world. And yet, he still had a lot to learn. You are not wise here today if you think you're wise. You see, you're not wise if you say, well, I'm not a fool, and I'm not a scorner, and I'm not simple, because every one of us has made some foolish decisions. Every one of us has that potential. If Solomon, the wisest man in the world, made some foolish decisions, what makes you think you're exempt? Well, I'm here in Bible college. I'm studying for the pastor. I'm going to go into ministry. But you can be just as big a fool as I've ever been. And I've been a big fool many times. You can be very simple-minded. You even have the potential to become a scorner. And I've seen scorners in Bible college. And you need to understand that. Wisdom, Solomon said, is understanding that I can be a fool. And how easy it is to become a fool. The last person the Bible identifies is the scorner. Bible didn't have much to say. When I did the study, I looked up every word on wisdom, every time simple was used, every time fool was used, there was tons and tons of words. But there was very few words on scorner. Bible didn't have a whole lot to say about scorners because usually they're not the majority. They're the minority. There's scorners in every group. There are scorners right here in this chapel today. No doubt about it. There are scorners in every group. But they're the minority. There's not much the Bible says about them. It does say this, number A there, put the word mouth. In Proverbs 19.28, it says, Non-godly witness scorneth judgment, and the mouth of the wicked devoureth iniquity. Scorners have got a big mouth. Scorners have got a big mouth. You see, scorner and wicked are the same word here. And the word scorner means to make mouth at. To make mouth at. Scorner's always got to answer back. Scorner's always got to have a smart remark. Scorners just can't keep their mouth shut. That's how you identify a scorner. Scorners make fun of the wise. Now, again, you can look up this verse later, but the word proud there in that verse is a scorner. Scorners make fun of the wise. In fact, the scorners, they take pleasure in their scorning. They think it's a sport. They think it's a game. They have a good time with it. In Proverbs 1 and verse 22, it says, How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity? And the scorners delight in their scornings, and fools hate knowledge. Scorners delight in scorn. They take pleasure in it. They're proud of their attitude. Proverbs 21-24 says, Proud and haughty scorner. Proverbs 16-18 says, Pride goeth before destruction. They're proud of their attitude. In James 4-6 it says, But he giveth more grace, wherefore he saith, God resist the proud. but give grace unto the humble." You know what? You give a scorner a second chance, and they won't appreciate it. You give a scorner a second chance, and they will turn against you. They're proud. Being around a scorner is like somebody threw up all over you. You ever had that happen? We had one of our families, he was out to sea, and she had a bunch of young kids, and she was really kind of stressed out, and one of her kids got real sick, and she finally, she'd been up almost all night with this kid, and finally took him up to the emergency room at the military hospital, and as she was getting ready to leave, she called my wife on the phone and says, I don't know what to do, I've got the other kids, and he's sick, and I've got to go to the emergency room, and I said, don't worry about it, we'll be right there. We met her at the emergency room, and my wife took the younger kids, the other kids out in the reception area, and I stayed in there with her to help her to get through all the process with the doctors. And she had a hold of this little kid, I think he was about two or three years old, and she had him in her arms, and you could see she was just worn out. And I just thought, you know, I need to do something. So I reached over and I said, let me take him from you. And you could just see the relief on her face. And it was like, oh, thank you. And she hands me the kid, and I reached out, and I grabbed the kid like this. I had him facing me. I grabbed him like this, and I was bringing him towards me to put him over my shoulder. And as I brought him towards me, he let go. Just... It went all over my face, all over my shirt, all over my pants, all over my shoes. I could not believe there was so much in one little kid. And it was just... You know, that's what it's like to be around a scorner. You walk away from them and you feel like they just threw up all over you. They just are full of guile, full of garbage, is what the Bible says. And number A there, they're full of guile. And they're disgusting. The way they talk and the things they talk, they're disgusting. You know what it is? It's a heart problem. It's a heart problem. You know, Matthew 15, it tells us it's out of the heart proceeds these things. The Bible tells us in Proverbs 4.23, Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life. The scorner doesn't listen. In Proverbs chapter 13 and verse number 1, it says, A wise son heareth his father's instruction, but a scorner heareth not rebuke. They're not going to listen. In Matthew 13, it says they don't hear with their ears. They just don't listen. They don't hear what you're saying. You know what? You know where most scorners come from? Christian schools. Fundamental Bible-believing churches. Every scorner I've ever known grew up in a good Christian home, going to a good Bible-believing church, and going to a Christian school. But they went all those years and never listened. And they became a scorner. That's a dangerous place where scorners can come from. See, scorners can't learn. In Proverbs 14, verse number 6, it says, "...a scorner seeketh wisdom, and findeth it not. But knowledge is easy unto him that understandeth." The scorner can't learn. The scorner is like you put a lid on a jar, and it's glued on, and it won't come off. It's just stuck there, and it won't come off. That's the scorner. The Bible says in Romans 1 that they did not like to retain God. They became reprobate. It says that they take pleasure in the wickedness of others. The only thing you can do for a scorner is rebuke them. In Proverbs 19, in verse 25, it says, "...smite a scorner, and the simple will beware. And reprove one that hath understanding, and he will understand knowledge." The only good reason to have a scorner around is so you can beat up on them so everybody else will get afraid. That's really what it comes down to. We were talking the other day about tax evasion and things like that, and why do they take people to court? You know who they take to court? The big names. Why do they do that? So everybody else will get scared. And you aren't going to change a scorner. There's no hope for a scorner. Now, I know in God there's always hope, but even God says there's no hope for a scorner. You're not going to change them. You've got to deal with them. If you want hope for the simple and the fools. That's why sometimes this college has to dismiss students. They're doing it for your sake. You can't let a scorner stay around. You have to deal with them. It was interesting, in Genesis chapter 42 verse 23, it says, And they knew not that Joseph understood them, for he spake unto them by an interpreter. Do you know that word interpreter is the same word for scorner? When I saw that, I said, wait a minute. Interpreter and scorner, how does that go together? I thought about it. You know, an interpreter, first of all, I'm going to the Philippines in April, and I'm going to be preaching there, and I'm going to have to preach with an interrupter. That's what I call them. They're not interpreters, they're interrupters. And a scorner is an interrupter. They're constantly interrupting you. They don't want to hear what you have to say, they just want to hear what they have to say. But the scorner, he interprets the Scriptures the way he wants to. It's amazed me sometimes how people have justified their sins from the Bible. I had a couple that was living together. And they were sleeping together. And they justified it. It says we always pray before we do it. They're scorners. They interpret the Bible the way they want to interpret it. The wise want to understand what God says. The scorner says, I want to make it say what I want it to say. and they interrupt. Proverbs 22 and verse number 10. Proverbs 22 and verse number 10. I can't find my place here. I'll let you look up that verse also. But anyway, the point is they interrupt. They're ambassadors. The word for scorner, again, is also translated ambassador. They say ambassador. This is ambassador of Baptist College. Scorner of Baptist College. Is that what it means? No. They're ambassadors like we had in World War II. You remember how Germany in World War II was saying, peace, peace, and meanwhile, they were invading countries left and right? Remember how Japan had ambassadors here negotiating with us the very moment they were bombing Pearl Harbor? You know what scorners will do? They'll sit there and tell you, oh, yes, sir. I'll be good. I'll do what's right. You don't have to worry about me. And they're false ambassadors. Just like the ones that came there to Joshua. Remember when they came and they were false ambassadors to deceive Joshua? The scorners can be very good ambassadors. They can look good when they want to look good. But they're lying through their teeth. Go to Proverbs chapter 3. Proverbs chapter 3. Look at verse number 33-35. Proverbs 3, verse 33, it says, What should you do with these lessons? What you should do is, first of all, look at the scale and say, where am I on that scale? Where am I fitting right now? Am I being wise? Am I wise, simple? Am I a simple wise? Am I simple? Am I a simple fool? And right on down the scale to this corner. Where do I fit on the scale? If you're married here today, you need to understand as a husband and wife where both of you fit on the scale. If you have children, you need to look at your children and see where they fit on the scale. If you're in a ministry, you want to understand where your people fit on that scale, so you know how to deal with them. In understanding these things, it can help you to know where you are and where you need to go and where the people you're ministering are and where they need to go and how you can help them to get there. How can I help the simple become wise? How can I help the wise to stay wise? How can I be sure that I don't make some foolish decision even though I am wise? In closing, I'd like to illustrate the difference between these two using this container of water. You see, the simple person, remember, he's open to any influences. And a simple person is kind of like this. You put a jar in the water like that, and there's still air in the jar, isn't there? A simple person can be a saved person, and the water illustrates the world, and the world's not getting in him unless what happens? If I tilt the jar just a little bit, look what happens. Some of the air goes out, and some of the world goes in. Tilt a little bit more, and more goes in. And that's the simple person. If you can keep them on the straight and narrow, if you can keep them where they ought to be and keep an eye on them, keep them going good, they'll do all right. But it doesn't take much before the world's there. And see, that's the simple person. Now, the wise person, he's got a lid on it. And you put the wise person in the world, what happens? See, he's in the world, but he's not of the world. Now, if I put something inside this jar, it would help stabilize it. Right now, it's not very stable. The water gets very rough, it's going to get wavering, knocked back and forth. But you fill this jar with something like wisdom, it's like a ship. It stays stable in the water because it's got that weight in the bottom to keep it upright and stable. Now, the fool is one that what he's done is he's gotten the world inside of him. You put the world inside the person and what happens to him? Right down to the bottom. The scorner, he's stuck. There's no hope for him. The question is, where do you fit on this scale? When I studied this lesson out, it challenged me personally. I consider myself to be generally a wise person. I hope I am. I want to be. But I realize how often I make some very foolish decisions. And if Solomon was the wisest person in the world and he struggled, how much more am I going to struggle? And so I realize that I've got to constantly be watching my life to make sure that I stay wise and don't become simple. What's the simple person do? He's not willing to make choices. He's not willing to make choices. What's the foolish person do? He makes the wrong choices. If he's not careful, he becomes a scorner. Now, folks, we don't naturally stay on that scale. We move. If you want to move up, you've got to make a choice. If you want to move down, don't do anything, and you'll head right there. Where are you going to be on the scale? What I want to challenge you to be is be this jar right here, where people can look at your life. They don't just see a label. They see Christ. Now, the label is important. That's why we have standards. This label tells me the standards. It meets the standards. It's got the nutritional value. It's got the right ingredients. It tells me it meets the standards. But standards is like a label without seeing Christ in my life. That's the difference.