to come and they're going to sing. If you're in the children's choir, if you practice with the children, then you can come up here and it's time for you guys to come up and sing. Dear St. Francis, thou sleepest still, as in your dreams I dream. Red rose, white clouds, come down your throne. Red flag, red flag, red is my scene. Dream big, go big. Great is the fortitude within. Grace, grace, God's grace, Grace is greater than all our sin. Raised in a garden in the land of the living And a child of God was born Raised in the spirit of the Lord our Saviour ♪ We bring you gifts and passengers ♪ ♪ Of joy, happiness, and sorrow ♪ ♪ In both the skies and the earth ♪ Amen. Thank you, children. Be seated. We appreciate your work. And Pastor Ben didn't realize you were singing Amazing Grace. But God obviously wanted us to think about Amazing Grace this morning. It certainly goes with what we're going to look at in the Word of God today. And Mrs. Schrill will take some of the kids to their class. All right. And the rest of us can open up our Bibles to Proverbs chapter 8. Proverbs chapter 8 this morning. And again, we'll be here the next two mornings. going to get through point number one this morning. It's a two part message that we're going to look at here. Some of you have seen our new little car that we've gotten. We picked it up just about a week, a week and a half ago or something like that. It's nice. There's reasons why it's good for our family to have two vehicles. It's really nice this week as we head down south on tomorrow with our family heading on a holiday down to the Yorkshire Dales. And I look forward to that. But when my wife saw me get in the car for the first time and began to follow me, she looked at Kaylee and the kids, I guess, and said, oh, there goes dad in our little tomato, his little red car. And so it has a name. It's a little tomato. And if I were to personify the little red car, I could say things like, she or he. Let's go with he. He sounds cooler. He is a happy. little car, all right, or if he was really sad when we took Liliana to the airport at 4 in the morning and I switched lanes and there was a hedgehog in the road that didn't quite make it past the little red car, that the little red car was sad or that that wood pigeon that flew and landed in front of the little red car. True story, two days ago. And the wood pigeon didn't make it there. It's a cannibal. It created a little car. But if we were to talk about the car in that way, that's personification. We're giving human characteristics. Don't think bad of the car. It wasn't the car's fault. Human characteristics to the little red car. As we read Proverbs chapter 8, and we look at what the Word of God is saying about wisdom. It's not just speaking about wisdom as an it, it's speaking about wisdom as a person. It's personifying wisdom. And so the Word of God says in Proverbs chapter 8 verse 1, "...does not wisdom cry, understanding put forth her voice? She standeth in the top of the high places, by the way, in the places of the past. She crieth at the gates, at the entering in of the city, at the coming in at the doors." Wisdom is speaking. Wisdom is active. Wisdom is doing something. It's not just an it that the Bible is informally telling us about this it, this thing called wisdom that we need. This wisdom, by the way, as you read through Proverbs chapter 8, is more valuable than rubies. So if I came up to you and I said, here, I offer you wisdom or I offer you rubies, that the right choice would be, I'll take wisdom. It is factually more valuable than rubies. Verse 14 of chapter 8 says, this wisdom gives good counsel and strength. In verse 15 and 16, this wisdom establishes earthly rulers and nobility, and you're going to get this as we go through it today, but if you think about what the Bible says about God, it says, He saith it over at the basis of men. You know that the king's art is in the hand of the Lord. He turneth it whithersoever he will. So you might get an idea of where we're going as we speak about wisdom, and certainly we're going to talk more specifically about that in just a second. Verse 18 says riches in honor are the fruit of this wisdom. Verse 19 says it's more valuable than gold. Again, we've already talked about it's more valuable than rubies, but it's more valuable in verse 19 than gold. And in verse 21, there's an inheritance associated with possessing this wisdom. Okay, a lot of those things right there could clue you into where we're going when we talk about the personification of wisdom. That the Bible is speaking about wisdom, not just as a thing, but as a person. And very specifically, the Bible is speaking about the wisdom as being Christ. that the wisdom is Jesus. A lot of those things I just listed are things that you can look at and say, that's understandable, Christ is more valuable than rubies, Christ is more valuable than gold. There's an inheritance associated with possessing Christ. He sets up one, He casts down others, that He establishes rulers. But more specifically, as we look at Proverbs chapter 8, why we believe it's speaking about Jesus, because the Bible speaks about this wisdom, being eternal okay, so if you're in Proverbs chapter 8 and you look at verse 22 It says, the Lord possessed me in the beginning of His way. Before His works of old, I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, wherever the earth was. When there were no depths, I was brought forth. When there were no fountains abounding with water. Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth. Was yet He had not made the earth nor the fields nor the highest part of the dust of the world. The Bible says about the Lord Jesus Christ, He's from everlasting. And here it's speaking about this wisdom existed from eternity past. Also, why do we believe this is speaking about Christ? Because this wisdom was present at creation, verse 27. It says, when he prepared the heavens, I was there. When he set a compass upon the face of the depth, when he established the clouds above, when he strengthened the fountains of the deep, when he gave to the sea his decree that the water should not pass his commandment, when he appointed the foundations of the earth. And really, as you read Proverbs 8, it's reminiscent of John 1, and I forgot to say this about it being the wisdom of God is eternal. In John 1, it says the same was in the beginning with God. But it also says, like here, I was there at creation. The Bible says in John 1, verse 3, all things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. So Jesus, and we know from the Word of God, what we looked at this morning, all principalities, all powers were created by Him. Colossians chapter 1 speaks also about the activity of Christ at creation. So there again, we see that in Proverbs chapter 8 as well. Also, the wisdom was with God, okay? In verse 30, it says, Then I was by him, as one brought up with him, and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him, rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth, and my delights were with the sons of men. So, speaking about between God and wisdom, there was this interaction, I was brought up with him. Again, going to John chapter 1, It says, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. So again, Proverbs chapter 8, wisdom. John chapter 1, Jesus. But again, it's very similar in the way that it's speaking about these two things, and I believe because it's the same thing. And so then, to possess this wisdom. is to possess life is the last thing we'll look at here as we get started this morning with regard to why we think wisdom is Christ. But verse 35 says, For whoso findeth me, findeth life. To have this wisdom is to have life. And I've been struck by this. We've been studying the book of John. We've been studying Revelation, both written by the same author. And John had a lot to say in both books about the deity of Christ. But one thing that John brings out again and again is that what we received when we received God's gift of everlasting life, we received not just life, we received Christ. And because we received Christ, we received life, because Jesus Christ is life. And so if you possess wisdom, you possess life, because Christ is life. It's what the Word of God speaks about in 1 John 5, 12, when it says, He that hath the Son hath life. Or the Word of God as it says, I am, Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. Or John 1 chapter, and again in our text in John chapter 1 verse 4, in Him was life. and the life was the light of men. So wisdom in Christ, I believe Proverbs chapter 8 is speaking about the Lord Jesus Christ and that to possess Him is to possess wisdom, but specifically to possess Christ. So what I'd like to preach the next two Sundays is a message, two messages, keeping company with Christ. keeping company with Christ. The Bible says in Proverbs 13 verse 20, He that walketh with wise men shall be wise, but a companion of fools shall be destroyed. Is there anybody wiser this morning that we could walk with other than Christ? And the answer is no. who we need to be very close to if we want to walk with wisdom and we want to walk with Christ. I mean, it's the same thing, isn't it? He that walketh with wise men shall be wise. I just want to encourage us to walk with Christ. And so let's pray and ask the Spirit of God to guide and direct our time together this morning and that our hearts be tender to Him. Let's pray. Father, I thank you for this passage, Proverbs chapter 8, and what we can look at about wisdom. And Lord, we're just going to get to point number one this morning. But I pray the Spirit of God would give us a tender heart. And I pray this morning in hearts just now, Lord, that there would be a consideration of, am I walking with Christ? Am I a companion of Christ? He that walketh with wise men shall be wise, but a companion of fools. I shall be destroyed. Father, you know somebody gave you that verse recently in a text, and sadly I think, Father, that person is away from you, not understanding the truth of what they shared as they gave me that in a text. But I pray, Spirit of God, that you just work in our hearts that, Lord, this morning you just draw us close to the Lord Jesus Christ. I pray that you'd help me and guide me as I preach, and I thank you, Lord, for the opportunity to share your word. It's in Christ's name we pray. Amen. All right, so point number one, we're going to get to actually, I think, four points next Sunday, but being a companion of Christ, first of all, walk with me in my wisdom. Walk with me in my wisdom. It says in our text here, and I've got to look to see where it is, verse 32, Now therefore, hearken unto me, O ye children. And then it says, For blessed are they that keep my ways. Blessed are they, happy are they that keep my ways. To keep God's ways, this morning, we've got to be walking where God is walking. When I was in Israel, I was struck by the ideas from the Bible about the way. One of the main trade routes through Israel is called the Via Maris. the way of the sea. The Via Maris goes up along Joppa and Caesarea on the sea and it turns and goes up through some area up to the Sea of Galilee. Then it continues on north up to Damascus. And if you think about the Lord Jesus Christ and his ministry at the Sea of Galilee and then his ministry in other areas that he would often be walking along that way and that those that would walk with Christ had to walk with him in Interestingly, the Bible again, and you're going to see it today in the text, a different scripture that we'll go through, it often speaks about God and His way, or God and His path that He has signed. You think about even early believers, the Bible spoke of them as followers of the way. It says that in the book of Acts, in Acts 19 verse 9, It says, and when divers were hardened, and believed not, but spake evil of that way before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus. But says they stay evil of what? That way. What is that way? It's the way of Christ. It's the way of God. It's the way of obedience. It's the way that pleases the Lord. And so they're identified by the fact that they were preaching a certain way. It says about Paul on trial as well as he's speaking to Felix there at Caesarea on the sea in Acts 24, 21. Paul, in his defense, said, Except it be for this one voice that I cried, standing among them, touching the resurrection of the dead, I am called in question by you this day. And when Felix heard these things, having more perfect knowledge of that way, he deferred them, and said, When Lysias, the chief captain, shall come down, I will know the uttermost of your matter. And Paul is saying, I'm preaching the way of Christ, I'm preaching the way of resurrection, and this man had knowledge of that way. Again, Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. Okay, so God's way this morning. If we want to walk with Christ and His wisdom, then we have to walk in His way. So what is the way this morning, where God is, and the way that God wants us to walk? Well, first of all, He's found in the way of peace. He's founded the way of peace. The Bible says in Luke 1.79 that Christ came to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death to guide our feet into the way of peace. So Christ came specifically to get us out of some way that wasn't a way of peace to bring us into a way of peace. You know, we can picture peace, can't we? Peace is a wonderful thing. You know, parents sometimes will say something like, oh, if I could just, you know, the kids would just be quiet if I could just get some peace. Or a commuter that's in daily commute and they're in traffic and they're saying, I just long, you know, for peace. And we can picture it, can't we? At the Sea of Galilee in Israel, I walked out early in the morning and the sun wasn't up yet, hadn't risen yet, and I walked out to the Sea of Galilee. And the Sea of Galilee that morning, there wasn't a breath of air on it. And I got to watch as the sun came up over the, I guess, the Golan Heights, across the Sea of Galilee, and as it rose. I mean, it's just a picture of peace. And we know what that's like. I mean, there's just something very refreshing about peace. You see, our world does not have peace. I was yesterday at a mechanic because of a vehicle problem that we had on the van. Thankfully, they fixed it before our trip tomorrow. But as I went to get my vehicle, I know these guys have talked to me many times. I came in, I greeted the one man, and I said, how's it going? He goes, Ben, I'm sorry. You've come at a really bad time. I just had somebody do something really stupid. It's going to cost a lot of money. It's a staff person. You know, he's just sharing with me. Basically, I mean, he's got a really tough situation that he's going through. And I told him, look, I'll pray about that as I'm leaving. And I'm going to make it, you know, he said. But I mean, it's tough. All of a sudden, there's a big financial trial facing him and a difficulty with somebody that works there. Then last night, I was speaking with another friend, it was a divine appointment, a guy that I've witnessed too many times, and he's talking about the tough things in the last month, and he just told me, he said, look, in the last month, this, this, this, and I said, I looked him in the eye, and he's like this far away, I said, look, God's trying to get your attention. And he said, when it's tough, I pull myself up, and I'm going to get over it no matter what, and I said, look, God's going to give you something so tough, you can't get over it without Him. And I said, I handed him our track, and our track on the back says, My peace I give unto you, not as the world giveth, give I unto you. It's our church invitation. I said, look, that's what you need. You need God's peace. And God gave me a brilliant opportunity to speak with him and his daughter and pray for them. But they don't have peace. I spoke to a neighbor last night who teared up because medically she's facing a huge crisis in her life. Again, I'm reminded, there's no peace. They need the peace that God alone can give. Peace that the Bible speaks about in Isaiah 26.3, "...Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusteth in Thee." That there is a peace for a believer that passeth understanding. that will keep our heart and mind in Christ Jesus, that it's a peace that the world needs. It's a peace that Jesus came to guide us into that way of peace. The way of peace is where He walks. He's the Prince of Peace. He's walking in that way, and yet the Word of God says it's a peace that the ungodly do not have. Isaiah 57, 21. says there is no peace, sayeth my God, to the wicked. Isaiah 59 verse eight, the way of peace, they know not, there's no judgment in their goings, they have made them crooked paths. Now the crooked paths is gonna come up again in our conversation about the way that Christ is in. But they made them crooked paths, whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace. The Bible says there is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked. Romans 3.17, in the way of peace they have not known. They don't know it. They don't know what we spoke about as we looked at the book of Revelation. We talked about the glory of heaven is the fact that you're in the presence of God, and there is transparency, there is clarity, there is no offense, there's nothing hidden. I mean, you think about perfect peace, by the way, for a believer, if you've experienced this, you know what it is to have a clear heart, a clear conscience being justified by what we talked about this morning in Sunday School, Pastor Washer. And you're absolutely right with God. That's perfect peace, and that's heaven. I mean, heaven is the light of God, radiantly revealed, and there's just no more anything that would offend a holy God. That's heaven. And as a believer, we get to experience a little bit of heaven on earth. As we get forgiven of our sin by God's grace, God takes our sin away, and we get to experience the peace of God in the way of peace that the Bible speaks about, as it speaks about in Romans 5.1, therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God. through our Lord Jesus Christ. In your heart today, can you honestly say, I am at peace with God. I know the peace of God today, that I am rightly related to God. It's a peace that in God we do not have. It's a lack of peace because of God's anger. Do you know the Bible says in Psalm 7, verse 11, that God is angry with the wicked every day? That a holy God is offended by the wickedness of man every single day that that grieves Him, that it's an offense to Him. The Bible says in John 3.36, "...he that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life, and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life." But the Bible says, "...the wrath of God abideth on him." Romans 1.18 says, "...for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold the truth in unrighteousness." This morning, God is against ungodliness. And so there's an offense there, and there's an irreconcilable problem that's there, and God's anger is against that person that's continuing in sin, that is ungodly. I'm sure you've probably experienced this. I've never experienced it like this, as I have here at different times. We've recently talked about, in John 15, that because the world hates Christ, that they're going to hate me. But I've never experienced hatred, as I have the last few years, by some people that hate me without a reason. That's what the Word of God speaks about, that there's an anger that's like that, that's unreasonable. There's a man that lives close to us that could be a nice neighbor and I saw him when I was walking and realized he moved in close to us. One time I saw a fox by the side of the path and I was walking along and I said to him, I said, hey, there's a fox up there. He said, I don't care. You know, like, okay, whatever. Another time, you know, I see him, I say, well, I'm going to, in my mind, I'm thinking I'm going to get a good relationship here. And I said, he's walking past, and I said, hey, you know, my name's Ben. I live right there close to you. I won't tell you where, so you don't know where he lives. And I just want to say hi. He points at his earbuds. He goes, I can't hear you. I'm like, man. You know, that's, Do you like it when somebody hates you? That's tough, isn't it? You say, wow, I saw him this morning. I walked past him and his dog. I said, you've got an obedient dog. I'll tell him, I'll say, how are you doing, friend? That's how I talk to him when he goes past me. I don't know if I should or not, but that's what I say. Because I don't want to go by him every time, like I'm scared, you know, the big bad man that won't say hi to me. But it's uncomfortable, isn't it? When you have somebody that is angry at you, think about this this morning, it's not a person that is angry at the wicked this morning, it's God. Think about it. See, people can go through life like a man I witnessed to this morning, and finally at the end of our conversation he said, and I hear this a lot, I just believe in being a good person. And I said to him, I said, have you ever lied? You know, it's a real straightforward conversation. It was good. Pray for him too. I said, have you ever lied? Well, yes. Have you ever lusted? Yes. Have you ever taken God's name in vain? He said, no. I said, but I heard you say it, you know, in our conversation here. See, there is no such thing as a good person. And see, somebody that thinks they're a good person going through life, they think, I'm okay, I'm okay, I'm okay because I'm a good person, but someday they're going to stand before God and realize they're not okay, they're not okay, they're not okay because they offended a holy God. See, God is in the way of peace, but secondly here, it is the way of righteousness. See, it's a way of peace, but it's a way of righteousness. It's a very precise way the Bible speaks about. In Proverbs 8, verse 20, as it says, I live in the way of righteousness, in the paths of judgment. We rightly described this morning, if we were to describe the way of God, it's this straight and narrow way. It's a way that Brother Washer spoke about this morning. It's a way that Christ can make us righteous, but without the righteousness of Christ, it's impossible. It's a way that is perfectly a narrow way. God told Israel not to deviate from this way. In Deuteronomy 5.32, He said, You shall observe to do, therefore, as the Lord your God hath commanded you. You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. It's speaking about God's way, isn't it? It's saying, this is God's command. God's commands are this way. It's straight. It's narrow. You don't deviate from that to the right or the left. It's a very, again, precise way that God's given. With Abraham and the Abrahamic covenant that God gave, He spoke about that righteous way as well in Genesis 17 verse 1. When Abram was 90 years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram and said unto him, I am the Almighty God, walk before me and be thou perfect. And that's a very precise statement. Imagine God saying, walk before me, be thou perfect. And what God says is right. Again, it's a very precise way. And God says, and do that, Abraham, and I will make my covenant between me and thee and will multiply thee exceedingly. And God said, get in that way of blessing, get in that way of obedience and rightness, because that's where I'm walking, and I want you to walk with me and I'll give you my blessing, if you'll be there. And the Bible says about Abraham again, Genesis 18-17, when God's going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, He says, shall I hide from Abraham the thing that I do? Then it says, seeing that Abraham shall become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him. For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep, now here's the way, the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment, that the Lord may bring upon Abraham the thing which he hath spoken of him. He said, I know Abraham. I know Abraham is going to command his children to walk in my way. What is my way? It's the right way. He's going to command his children to walk in a place where I can bless him, where I can prosper him. But again, this morning, it's a very precise way. The Bible says about the way of the Lord in 2 Samuel 22, 31, as for God, His way is perfect. His way is perfect. Look at that this morning, we could be burdened by that. Say, oh God, I want to please you. But it's what, again, we spoke about this morning, we're going to get there today in the message. It's only God that can help us walk that way. It is an absolutely perfect way, but think about it, even in Psalm 23, in verse 3, it says, He restoreth my soul, He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness. for his namesake. Why? That's where he's walking. So his path is that path that is perfectly right. Have you ever heard of Danny McCaskill? Is that a familiar name? You can watch him online and he's quite incredible. He's a Scot that grew up on the Isle of Skye. And Danny McCaskill, I think, was born on a bike. It's kind of a natural thing to him, where you and I can do pretty well picking up a cup of water, not spilling it all over ourselves and drinking from it. He can ride his bike along a precipice. Right on the top of the mountain range on the Isle of Skye, you can watch a video of him just threading the needle, riding his cycle across that, or on this old, or this standing rock formation, standing up on his bike, balancing on it. I mean, he's hundreds of feet up. For the Olympics, he was up on a crane, balancing on his bike. We've watched him ride his bike along train tracks. From one train track, he can jump his bike, flip it around the other direction, and land on the other train track. He could ride along the top of fences, all right? I mean, he's incredible. You watch it, and my wife can't watch it because it troubles her to see him because he's up at incredible height doing so many things. But what allows Danny McCaskill to do those tricks that he does and keeps him on the right way is that he has incredible skill. I mean, he does. He has incredible skill that allows him to do that. You know, this morning, again, what allows us, by God's grace, to walk a straight and a narrow way, a way of obedience that God walks in, is that God by His grace can help us to walk in that path. So that's what we need. We need Christ to help us. As the Bible says in Psalm 18, verse 32, it is God that girdeth me with strength and maketh my way perfect. So it's God that helps me to walk the path of obedience. With Him, this morning, it's God's grace. But also, there's an aspect of us having to do that as well. Okay, His way is a way of peace. We want in that way of peace, but it's also the way of righteousness. And we want into that way of righteousness, and can I say the third thing this morning, to walk in God's way, to get to that path of righteousness and peace, is the path of repentance. It's the way of repentance. The Bible speaks about it in Hebrews 12, verse 13, when it says, Make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way, but let it rather be healed. It's saying, you're walking in deviating paths. You're not walking in the straight path. Make straight paths for your faith. It's commanding us to be obedient, to walk in the way that God desires us to walk in. So, it is a path of repentance. To go back to the Via Maris, and Jesus on His route going to the different locations that He's going to. It'd be like us walking toward the Sea of Galilee, and Christ walking toward the Mediterranean Sea. Somebody that repents, It's somebody that says, I'm not going to go this way, I'm going to turn and I'm going to follow after Christ. Our example this past week, kids, can you think what our example was this past week of repentance? Who repented? It's a tough test. Been in Bible club all week long and thinking all those stories. Remember that short little guy, Zacchaeus? Zacchaeus, when he repented, what did he do? He said, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor, and whatever I've stolen, I restore fourfold. I'll give him back four times what I stole because he was repenting. And you think about Zacchaeus. I don't know if you caught it in the stories. Thursday, our Bible story was Zacchaeus in Jericho. Friday, our story was the Jordan River and the baptism of Christ and John the Baptist. But you know those places are only about, I don't know, it seemed, I was in a bus, I don't know that paid really good attention, but maybe 10 miles apart. They're very close. So Zacchaeus is very likely that he would have heard a famous preacher, because you wonder, why Zacchaeus? Why restore fourfold? Why give half of your goods to the poor? But it's very possible that he had heard a preacher the Bible speaks of, that we spoke of, on Friday, John the Baptist. And the Bible says about John the Baptist in his preaching, In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying, the voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord. Do you remember what the next part is? And make his paths straight. He's preaching repentance. And so the Bible says, Acts 19, verse 4, Then said Paul, John verily baptized, with a baptism of repentance, saying unto the people that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. Now, repentance and faith. Now it's interesting, our next point, you're going to see faith come into play. Okay? But it's interesting that, as Paul was speaking about, he said he commanded repentance and that you should trust in the person that came next, and that person is Christ. And Matthew 21, verse 32, For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and you believed him not. But the publicans and harlots believed him, and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward that ye might believe him. And so you've got publicans like Zacchaeus and harlots, like Rahab, that got right with God. They repented of their thievery, they repented of their prostitution. But there were some self-righteous people there, and I read my Bible last night, I came not to heal this, what's the verse that talks about the physician came not for people that were well, but to heal the sick. And I thought in my heart as I read that, God helped people to realize that they're sick. Because the Pharisees that were there, they were sick, but they didn't realize it. It's like that man that I spoke of this morning that says, I'm just going to be a good person. Well, the problem is there's no such thing as a good person. It's what Jesus said when he said, except you repent, you shall all likewise perish. That the only way to get on the path of righteousness today for anybody is that they take the path of repentance to get there. They have to. or they're not on that path of righteousness. I read about a woman recently that ended up, because her English was bad, she ended up at the wrong destination. I'm talking, poor lady, hours away. I mean, I think it was supposed to be a two-hour flight and it was like eight hours. It's a completely wrong place. You read that and you think, what was her first clue? Wow, this is taking a long time. Or, you know, it's supposed to be mountainous, and boy, this is a flat desert, or it's supposed to be hot and it's cold. You know, this morning, what's your first clue if you're not on the path of righteousness? Here it is, if you've never taken the path of repentance. If your life has never changed, and you think you're walking with God, it's impossible. It's impossible. Because to get on the path of righteousness, you have to take the path of repentance to get there and deal with sin. And so we look at it this morning, Christ is on the way of peace. We want that. But it's the way of righteousness. To get there, we have to take the path of repentance. But lastly, this morning, it's also, He's found in the way of faith and salvation. He's found in the way of faith and salvation. It's what was said of Paul and Silas in Acts 16 verse 17. It says, these men are the servants of the Most High God, which show unto us the way of salvation. It's a path that they were preaching as Paul was preaching Christ and the resurrection, as Paul was preaching what Jesus Christ did as he paid the price for their sin. He was showing them the way of salvation. You know, that word salvation sometimes can be confusing to unbelievers as you speak to them about being saved. Sometimes you'll speak to them about salvation and they'll say, You know, I got saved when I was in the hospital, I was about ready to die, and God saved me. They think of it physically. But you know, the Bible speaks about it as eternally, as it says in John 5, 24, when somebody gets saved, they pass from death unto life. See, the problem also with the crooked way is this. There's one, Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father, but by Him all those other paths end in death. That's what the Word of God speaks about in Revelation 20 verse 15, when it says, And whosoever was not found, written in the book of life, was cast into the lake of fire. And so, this way, it's both the way to righteousness and the way of peace is the way of repentance, but it's also the way of salvation by grace through faith in Christ. It's a transforming way that Pastor Washer spoke about this morning, where Christ's righteousness is imputed to us by His justification. Where God gives us His righteousness. And you see those two aspects about salvation. When somebody gets saved, you see those two aspects of repentance and faith. You see it in the thief and the cross. Remember when Jesus is being crucified, you have two thieves. The one thief is mocking Christ. The other thief is looking over and saying to the thief over there, saying, wait a second, we're on this cross what? Justly. This man's done nothing wrong. In saying that, as he says, but we are guilty, what's he saying? There's repentance, isn't there? He's saying, that is us, we are guilty. We are dying for our crimes unjustly. That's repentance. But there's also faith. As he says, he turns and looks at the Lord, and he says, what? Lord, remember me. This puts his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Lord, remember me in paradise. Remember the publican. Another publican in the Bible that is pictured with the Pharisee. The Pharisee, again the self-righteous person that thinks they're fine, is looking down at this publican saying to God, I'm so glad I'm not like that publican and his wickedness. And basically he's saying, God I'm so thankful that I'm independent of you and do not need you. But the publican, what's he saying? He's saying, God be merciful to me, sinner. What's that? Repentance. God be merciful to me, what's that? Faith. It's both and, isn't it? It's acknowledging, I'm a sinner, I don't deserve the grace of God, but God, I'll take that gift that you give of everlasting life. And so, repentance and faith. Zacchaeus already mentioned, he said, I restore fourfold, that's repentance. But Jesus said, this day of salvation come to this house. We know that's through faith, that that took place. And so, repentance and faith. And so, as you think about it this morning, that way of salvation, I want to illustrate it with a passage in James. And it is this, it is a generous way to those who understand their need. The way of salvation is a generous way. In other words, God's not begrudging to somebody that wants to get saved. This morning, if in your heart you want to get saved, you can get saved. If you want to get on the path of righteousness, the way of peace, it's entirely possible. Because it's a generous way. And the way I want to illustrate it is this. Christ in Proverbs 8 is wisdom. Okay, James chapter 1 and verses 5 through 8 are about obtaining wisdom. And it says this, it says, if any of you lack wisdom, and in our minds we can think Christ because of the context of what we're looking at in Proverbs chapter 8. If any of you lack Christ, Jesus, let him ask of God that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not. Isn't that true this morning? I mean, I can take that and I can say that's a true statement from this verse. If any man lack wisdom, Christ is wisdom. If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God that give it to all men liberally and upbraideth not. And what it is, it's like this. I like to share the gospel with people. I love to witness to people. And a lot of times, odd people say to me, I'm so sorry for taking so much of your time. They'll be apologetic, or they'll feel like they can't ask for a future opportunity for me to sit down and speak to them about Christ, like I've done them a great favor by having them in my house to sit down and share the Word of God with them. But we know as believers, we look at that and we say, wait a second, that's what my life's about. I love to do that. You know, that's the same with God. This morning, if somebody lacks Christ, you don't have to feel bad going to God and saying, God, I lack Christ, and I'd like Christ, and may I please receive Christ. That God is going to give him abundantly, liberally. He's not going to break. He's not going to go, what are you doing asking for Christ? You don't deserve Christ. That he doesn't do that. So it's a generous way to those that understand their need. But it's also, a way of guarantee to those who ask in faith. It says, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and abrideth not. And it shall be given him, but let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea, driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord. The only stipulation this morning to you receiving Christ is that when you ask God, you ask in faith. That you believe God, what God said about Christ's death on the cross, His payment for your sin, His resurrection from the grave, and that in your heart of hearts you believe that as you go to God and say, God, I'd like to have your gift of Jesus Christ. He is wisdom. God, I'm asking. You know, Acts 16.31, the Philippian jailer, what did they tell him? Acts 16.31, they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved in thy house. The Ethiopian eunuch, Acts 8.37, he's asking, Can I get baptized? And Philip has a stipulation before he gets baptized, because baptism follows salvation. And so he says to him this, he says, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. How about you today? Have you put your faith in Jesus Christ and what He did when He died on the cross for your sin? I mean, you want to walk with Him. We're going to get to other points this next week, but He that walketh with wise men shall be wise. Christ is wisdom. There's no better person this morning that you can walk with than Christ, but He's on the path of righteousness. He's on the path of peace. We've got to take the path of repentance and the path of faith and come to Him. You know, when the Greenfield Towers came down, it's just such a reminder about hell to us as believers and how awful hell will be for people as they are in a fire for all eternity. But imagine this, the fireman comes, knocks on the door, and he says to them, look, follow me to the way of safety. And that person looks at the fireman and goes, I don't know if I can trust you. I just don't know if I can believe that. I'm so scared I'm going to die in the fire, but I don't know what to do. Wouldn't it be sad if they perished for their unbelief? Just because they didn't look at the person that would take them to safety and said, I'll trust you with my life. Listen. God's asking us this morning to trust Him with our eternity, to stop believing the lies of the devil, to believe the Word of God and what God said about eternity, and to take the way of faith. That's what it is for anybody that needs to get saved. It is simple faith, childlike faith, just taking God at His Word. Proverbs 13, 20, He that walketh with wise men shall be wise, but a companion of fools shall be destroyed. This morning, are you in the way of peace? First of all, peace with God? Do you know that what Pastor Washer preached on this morning was really good? In our Sunday school hours, speaking about that our defense is Christ. that Christ is pleading His blood. For those that are saved, nobody can condemn us, because as soon as the fingers pointed at us, Christ just goes, but Father, my blood. I shed my blood. I purified them. I cleansed them. In a passage the Lord used in my heart, when I was struggling with sin and guilt as a teenager, was what the Word of God says, where the unclean animals come down before Peter, And Peter looks at it and says, I can't eat unclean things. And the Bible says, what God hath cleansed, that call thou not common. What's it saying? It says, if God made it pure, it's pure. If God cleansed it, it's clean. And this morning, have you been cleansed by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, so that you have peace with God? That you know that you're in the way of peace. God's on the way of righteousness. I can't bend it this morning and say, well, you know, if you want to have that in your life, it's okay. If you want to have that in your life, it's okay. It's not okay. It's not okay. And can I say this about the way of peace, that we can depart from it as believers and not walk in the peace of God, that the way of righteousness, we can depart from it this morning and not walk where it pleases God. And God says, get rid of the sin. Because my way is a right way. There's churches that say you can just be, you know, like the world and honor God, and it's okay, and God is more accepted in our day of sin. It's not. He's on the way of righteousness. I mean, and again, I hope you'll be struck by it as you read your Bible after hearing what we talked about this morning, how often the Word of God speaks about God's way, God's path, His path. I mean, it's just over and over and over again in the Word of God. That's where He's walking. That's where I want to walk. But to get there, we've got to take the path of repentance. Have you repented? See, you can't hold on to your sin. I've said it before, but if we had a memorial service here for the Lord Jesus Christ, sin put Him on the cross, you know, it would be kind of a sad thing for people to come in today and say, you know, I'm mourning here and I'm so sad that He died and behind our back we've got the murder weapon. And so it's for us to say, God, that sin put Jesus Christ on the cross. I repent of my sin. I want to please You. And then the way of faith. Just taking God at His Word. And God doing what only He can do to put us on that path of righteousness and peace. So this morning, just to encourage you, are you keeping company with Christ? We need wisdom. If any of you lack wisdom, let them ask of God. Let's give it to all men liberally. Let's pray. Father, I pray that you take the truth of your Word deep into our hearts this morning. And Father, it may be this morning that you're speaking in somebody's heart about the fact that you're on the way of righteousness. And though they think they're walking with you, there's no way they possibly could be because they know in their heart there's unconfessed sin. And Father, I pray that the Spirit of God give them grace this morning to repent of their sins so that they can walk with you. And Father, it may be that they've never gotten saved. They've never repented of their sin and put their faith in Jesus Christ. And that unbelief is going to damn them to hell, as it were, if they don't repent. And so I pray, Spirit of God, that they repent even of their unbelief and put their faith in Jesus Christ, even this morning. And Father, as we continue this message next Sunday morning about walking with Christ, I just pray the Holy Spirit will continue to work in our hearts. And bless your word to our hearts now as we stand and sing. It's in Christ's name we pray. Amen. Let's stand up as we sing a hymn of invitation.