Proverbs 22. We'll begin reading in verse 17 to 21. Proverbs 22. 17. Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise, and apply your heart to my knowledge. For it will be pleasant if you keep them within you, if all of them are ready on your lips. That your trust may be in the Lord, I have made them known to you today, even to you. Have I not written for you thirty sayings of counsel and knowledge, to make you know what is right and true, that you may give a true answer to those who sent you? So, this morning the approach to Proverbs will be a little different than normal. If you're visiting with us, we do value expository preaching and there will be some exposition here, but the text is so large that I will not cover every verse. We are going to cover chapter 22, verse 17, all the way to the end of chapter 24. And if you were here last week, you may have seen in your devotion a request to read the whole thing, and I asked you to do that also in the email, but there have been times where I haven't read it either, so don't feel guilty if you did not. And please don't tune out the message if you did not. I would ask that after the message, if you haven't had a chance to read the entirety of the middle of Chapter 22 to the end of Chapter 24, that you read it because we're not going to cover every verse but there is something that I do want to hit on and it's a seemingly elementary truth but if for any reason throughout this last week or month or year in your Christian life that you forgot this truth I hope that the Word of God would remind you about this that God cares about you God cares for you. And one of the strongest evidences that God Almighty, our Heavenly Father, cares about His children is that He speaks to us, that He instructs us. Just like a child who is safe in the arms of his mother or father, when he hears them whisper behind his ear and say, don't do this, do that, it's better for you. God is telling us through His Word the things to avoid, the things that we ought to do, not because God is some megalomaniac who wants to give us a list of do's and don'ts, but because He genuinely, authentically cares about His children. And there's so much we can get from this treasure trove of Scripture here. That's what I want to focus on this morning. And as you'll see, many of these verses we've either covered before in Proverbs, the same concept, or we'll cover again. So, I want to get to that point and what that means for us, but I do want to examine the text a little bit. So let's take a look at what's happening here in chapter 22. In verse 17, Solomon says, incline your ear and hear the words of the wise. If you have a Bible with subtitles, it might say before this section, the words of the wise or the sayings of the wise. And what that means is that Solomon is taking a break from giving wisdom as his own discourse. He's saying that these are words that come from another source, namely the wise. Now, who are these wise? We don't know who they are. If you've read a study Bible or a commentary on this, you may have seen some commentators say that there's a striking parallel between these 30 sayings that Solomon talks about and an ancient Egyptian text. And the text is called the Instruction of Amenemope. And that begs the question, did the Bible plagiarize? Did the Bible copy from another source? Now, it would take probably a week-long seminar for us to examine. And it would probably be a very boring seminar, by the way, to examine the ancient material, both from the Egyptian and the Hebrew, and compare them. And then we'd have to come up with some theory. And after we came up with the theory of how the Egyptian text relates to this, someone would write a book saying why our theory is wrong. So we really don't know. But what do we know? Well, we know, first of all, that this ancient Egyptian text, the instruction of Amenemope, was written a century prior to the 30 sayings of Proverbs, and it's very similar to the 30 divisions in that book. However, Proverbs is not a slavish copy. It's not a plagiarism of this ancient Egyptian text. Only 22 of the 63 verses have actual parallels, and the thoughts that are quoted have been altered significantly. We also know that Solomon has taken these 30 sayings from the wise and he wishes to lovingly instruct his sons. We know that often kings had scribes and scholars to compile literature, perhaps these are the wise that Solomon refers to. And we know that while there may be striking parallels to this Egyptian text, that doesn't necessitate borrowing. In fact, the wisdom that's contained in the Egyptian text might simply be common Near Eastern wisdom and would likely circulate via oral tradition. And then we know that no matter what the case might be as to the origin of this, that if it made its way into the book, it is inspired by the Holy Spirit. But what does this tell us? Why is that important? You know, I'm not here to bore you this morning. I'm here to tell you that there is wisdom found elsewhere, right? Proverbs itself in chapter 2 says, And in fact, that's what Solomon tells us. So here, we find wisdom, whether it be street smarts or common sense, maybe it is shared from an ancient Egyptian text, but we find it in the Bible in a sanctified form. Let me illustrate this with how we do this today. Today, we have things that we call common sense, right? That you don't necessarily have to be a Christian to believe these things because they are true. Common sense is shared by all perspectives, all religions, and different, even unbelievers. For example, it's generally agreed that parents ought to take responsibility and authority over their children. But it's the word of God that tells us why that is, what the consequences are, what the responsibilities are, and what the blessings are that result from that concept. Another example, it's generally agreed that murder is wrong. But it's the Word of God that provides the basis for why murder is wrong, the responsibilities to take care of life, and the consequences for committing that sin. It is generally agreed that we reap what we sow. In other words, there's a cause and effect relationship. But again, it's the Word of God that tells us exactly why that is and the importance of personal responsibility. But as I give you those examples, you probably realize that even in common sense, even common sense that agrees with the Word of God, there's corruption. There's corruption in each one of those examples. There's a difference between what we call common sense and the Word of God. And why is that? Because common sense changes. Common sense is shaped by situational ethics or by what makes me feel good. It's shaped by even those who are in power. In other words, common sense is subjective. The Word of God, however, is objective, absolute truth. It is changeless. It is timeless. It applies universally to all cultures in all generations. So, for example, while it is generally agreed that parents are to have responsibility of and take authority over their children, we can clearly see this truth eroding in our day as corporal punishment is likened to child abuse, as children are increasingly disrespectful to their parents, as the family structure is withering away and children today are coddled more than ever. At the same time, parents have also neglected this as they become negligent or abusive in their roles as well. While it's generally agreed that murder is wrong, dare I even mention the sin of abortion that has been so accepted in our culture today. While it's generally agreed that one reaps what he sows, The truth has still also been neglected and perverted in our society today. Take shortcuts to get ahead. Step on people. Don't worry about the consequences, as long as you can accumulate for yourself. Or sometimes reaping what you've sown just turns into some sort of graceless karma. It's generally agreed that we ought to obey authority, but it's the scriptures that tell us to obey authority even in the midst of persecution. What I'm saying here is this, that common sense might make some sense, but ultimately it fails when compared to the Word of God. The Word of God never fails. So someone could attend this and say, okay, he's about to go through all these proverbs and they're simple practical truths about raising your children and growing your crops and being honest and not wasting your money, but I can hear that anywhere. I don't have to be a Christian. Well, you have to be a Christian, otherwise you'll miss the whole point of why we do these things. We are not here to just give you law. We're not here to be legalists, say, do this and live. We are here to declare that these things are great, but none of us can obey them perfectly, and we need a savior to stand in our place. See, you and I have probably learned a lot of things from a lot of people, even outside of the Bible. but it's only the truth that corresponds to this that actually matters. So maybe Solomon's wise men did borrow something from Egypt. Maybe they borrowed something from common sense. Maybe one of them happened to have access to an ancient piece of literature, but none of that really matters. What matters is that which made it to the spirit-inspired scriptures is truth from the mouth of God and is proof that he cares for us. Here is pure wisdom. Now, With that, laying the foundation. Let's actually get into the text a little bit to see what some of these things are. Now, according to verse number 20, in the ESV and several other versions, it says, I've given you 30 sayings. If you're reading from a King James or others, it might say, I've given you wise sayings. But it's generally agreed by scholars that the translation should be 30. So there are 30 different sayings. I am not going to give you 30 different sermons right now on each saying. I'm not going to read everything for sake of time. But again, if you have a chance, I would go through it at some point. But I will give you a list right now of all 30 of them, and I want you to see how familiar you are with them already from the book of Proverbs. So here's Solomon, standing in front of his children, telling them, here are the words of the wise, and this is the 30 things I want to tell you. Number one, a call to attention. Then he says this, care for the poor. Do not associate with the angry. Do not pledge rashly. Do not move an ancient boundary. Skill and talent will bring you far. Use proper etiquette when eating with royalty. Do not be greedy. Be careful when eating with the stingy. Do not waste your words on fools. Do not move an ancient boundary. Seek after wisdom in your heart. Discipline your children. Your instructor will be glad if you do what's right. Do not envy sinners. Do not associate among drunkards. Listen to the wisdom of your parents. Avoid the prostitute. Do not get drunk. Do not envy the wicked. Establish your home in wisdom. Seek wise counsel when making decisions. Do not let a fool take the lead. The devising of folly is sin. Rescue those in danger. Enjoy and delight in wisdom. Avoid violence which leads to destruction. Do not boast over your enemies. Do not envy the wicked. Fear the Lord and the King. And then towards the end of chapter 24, if you'll turn with me to verse number 23, you might notice in your Bibles the subtitle, More Sayings of the Wise. So he gives 30 sayings of the wise, and then he gives more sayings of the wise. And from verses 23 to the end of the chapter, you can summarize it in four more principles. One, do not judge unfairly. Two, prepare your work diligently. Three, do not bear false witness. And four, do not be lazy. So there's about 34 different things that Solomon wants to relate to his children here. And many of these things, as you remember, we've covered in other sermons in Proverbs and some things we might elaborate on as we continue here. But I want to make it clear again, for the sake of being redundant, that this is not just another list of do's and don'ts. That is not what Christianity is about. It's often what we're accused of being. You're a Christian, so you're restricted in the things that you can do. If that's all you get, you're missing the point. And so here's what I really want to focus on. I don't want to focus so much on the instruction itself. This morning, I want to focus on the heart of the instruction, and that's going to be found back in the beginning of the text, chapter 22, verse 17 to 21. So, if you'll turn there with me, and we'll look at that again. And while you're turning back to that, I want to remind you of our last message. We talked about the importance of training children. Remember that? Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he's old, he will not depart from it. And we looked at that and we established the fact that it isn't just children that that applies to, or parents and children, but all of us, in some way, are teachers. As a matter of fact, teaching someone else is one of the most loving things you can do. I don't mean you have to become a professional teacher or a pastor, but telling someone the truth, guarding them from error, warning them from danger, giving them the words of life, is one of the most loving things you and I can do. And as members of a church, it doesn't matter if you're a parent or a pastor, all of us have some responsibility to help foster a culture of discipleship. We are disciples, we should be discipled, and we should also seek to disciple other people. And so this is for everyone. We established that last time. There's a need for instruction, but this morning I want to focus on how do we instruct? With what heart do we instruct? What should your disposition and my disposition be when I seek to instruct others? Because as I'm sure you're well aware, truth can be very dangerous if it's in the wrong hands. Truth can be dangerous if it's not wielded correctly. This is a sword. And you can use it to cut off wounds or you can use it to make wounds. How we use this sword means a lot. And I believe God is dishonored even when we use truth but we don't speak it in love. So look at the heart one more time of Solomon as he gives these 34 principles. Verse 17, incline your ear. Hear the words of the wise and apply your heart to my knowledge. Even in that one verse, you could see his passion. He's not necessarily raising his voice, he's not angry, he's not yelling, but he's passionate. He wants his children to understand these things. Why? Look at verse number 18. For it will be pleasant. Do you see that in his mind, his instruction is for their benefit? And now if we apply it to ourselves as God teaching us, God isn't saying here's a list of 34 things you should do or not do. He's saying for your benefit, for your pleasure, so that it would be pleasant for you, so that your life would be joyful, follow these things. God is not making restrictions. Oftentimes we confuse restrictions with fences that are just keeping us from walking over the cliff. This is what God is doing for us. He says in verse 18, And then verse 19, this is like the real heart here. Why? That your trust may be in the Lord. Look, if you don't get that, and all you get is 34 things I should do and not do, your trust is going to be in yourself. You're going to check the list. Okay, I've got about 30 out of 34. I've got to work on these four, and then I'll be good. God's saying, no, no, no. As you follow these things, and as you fail in these things, as you see these things actually work in your life, and as you see that when you stray away from those things, it's not working, You're going to trust the Lord more. You're gonna realize that he was right. He's right there beside you, teaching you, holding you, and telling you how to live so that you might trust in him and it might be pleasant with you. So put yourself this morning in Solomon's place. Understand the motive behind how we teach, the manner in which we instruct. If I were to boil this down to one main theme, it would be this. God cares about you and me. Therefore, we should care about how we live and care about how we give truth to other people. That they too would know that God cares about them. We should listen. We should listen to the words outside of ourselves, the words of the wise. It's not following my own heart. It's following what people are telling me based upon truth. And if we do, it will be pleasant. So keep them in your heart and at the forefront of your mind always. Ultimately, this will help you trust the Lord to prove He is faithful, to prove He is powerful, to prove He is loving. This is Solomon's motivation for instructing his children. This is God's motivation for instructing us. And this should be our motivation for instructing everyone that we come in contact with out of love and care and concern. And so we learn God cares about us. God cares about us by giving us wisdom. Wisdom is a gift of God. You realize that you wouldn't know anything if it wasn't for God, right? The Bible says that we have not been given anything that we have not received. I didn't figure out knowledge on my own. God had to take out a heart of stone and put in a heart of flesh. He had to open up blind eyes. He had to resuscitate a dead soul that otherwise would not have come to Him on my own. And so these Proverbs are for our benefit, not to restrict us, not to put a fence unless it's to avoid danger. And God wants us to trust Him. Let me illustrate a little bit about how He wants us to trust Him. Look at verses 24 and 25 of chapter 22. There's a lot of 20s in this message, so I hope I don't confuse you. I'm going to try to go in order here. So I'm in chapter 22, and I'm looking at verse 24 and 25. This is just one example of the many things he tells us. He says, Now if we stop right there, the typical teenage response would be, oh, you know, oh dad, you don't want me to have friends. Why are you so restrictive? Look at verse 25. Can't you see that every warning, every admonition God gives is coupled with His care and concern for us? He doesn't just want to restrict us from being friends with the angry. He's saying there's a reason why. Again, look at verses 21 to 22 of chapter 24. Well, I may have put the wrong reference in my own notes, so I'm sorry about that. Go to chapter 23, verses 19 to 21. Same thing, same concept here. God doesn't want us to be friends with the drunkards. Why? He says in verse 19 of chapter 23, Hear my son and be wise, direct your heart in the way. Be not among drunkards or among gluttonous eaters of meat. Again, why? Because you want to take away my fun, right God? No, because the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty and slumber will clothe them with rags. Solomon doesn't want to see his children in poverty. God does not want to see us there either. And so He sets these principles up. He sets them up. It's the same with not eating with a stingy man, and all the other admonitions God gives us here. Even in chapter 23, verses 13 to 14, it proves that God cares. Chapter 23, verses 13 and 14. Do not withhold discipline from a child. In our society today, it's almost seen as a crime if you strike your child, if you spank your child. But he says, if you strike him with a rod, he will not die. If you strike him with a rod, verse 14, you will save his soul from Sheol. God sees the end from the beginning. He sees the care. You see the care in God, wanting us to raise our children in a certain way, so that they would ultimately avoid destruction. Our society has lost its sense. Our society basically says, if it hurts your feelings, it must be wrong. And if you're not interested in upkeeping someone's self-esteem, automatically you become the bad cop, right? Whether you're a parent or a teacher, we probably have been on the receiving end of that. But at the end of the day, we have to not only convince ourselves that we're doing right, but show that we care, even if the truth hurts. So we learn that God cares. We learn that He cares about the poor. Look again in chapter 22, verses 22 and 23. It says, do not rob the poor because he is poor, or crush the afflicted at the gate. For the Lord will plead their cause and rob of life those who rob them. Verse 28 says, do not remove the ancient landmark that your fathers have set. It repeats that again in chapter 23. And there's been many sermons preached on the ancient landmark, referring to different forms of theology and tradition. And maybe there's a parallel there. But the immediate interpretation is that there's literally a landmark. And the reason why the landmark isn't to be moved is so that the land and the rights to the land wouldn't change. Now why does God care about that? Because in that society there was a provision made for the poor people to eat at the outskirts of the land. And God is saying don't move that landmark because it not only secures the rights of the person who owns the land, it gives provision for the poor. God cares. God cares. I hope that you see in just a few verses how much God cares. But God doesn't want you to just say, God cares, let's move on. He wants you to trust in Him, right? Verse number 19. Do you trust the Lord this morning? Do you trust Him to provide? Verse 22 and 23, I just read about the poor. Why rob the poor if we don't trust? If we trust the Lord, we will work and earn the money that God will use to provide for us. We don't have to rob anybody. Verse 26 and 27 says, don't spoil your finances. Do you trust God to give you counsel? Why do people look for friends in the wrong places? Why do they go after angry men, drunkards? Because we're looking for counsel in every other place than God Himself. It means we don't trust the Lord to give us counsel. We go after evil men in chapter 24, verses 1 and 2. Do you trust God's discipline? Do you trust that against a society that says that it's wrong to discipline your children, that when God's Word says it's right to discipline your children, that you follow God instead of man? Do you trust Him? Do you trust God for the future? Look again, chapter 23, verses 17 and 18. Chapter 23, 17 and 18 says, Let not your heart envy sinners. but continue in the fear of the Lord all the day. Surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off." Well, you know, when we envy sinners, when we look at those who seem to have a better life than we have, and we have given all, in a sense, to follow Christ, and we don't have anything to show for it on earth, we fall into envy, don't we? But it's also a lack of trust. It's a lack of trust that when God says there are crowns in heaven, that you have an abundant life, that you can have the peace of God here on earth and eternity with Him in heaven. We stop trusting in that and we trust in riches and we look at what other people have. And so he says again here, don't let your heart envy sinners. Trust in the Lord. Chapter 24, verse 19 and 20. says, So why are you fretting? Why do you look around you and see the world and start to fret and worry and get jealous of other people? Don't you trust in the Lord? Do you trust in the Lord to bring you fulfillment? This is probably a big one for many of us. We've been a Christian for many years, perhaps, and we start to feel unfulfilled, and so what do we do? We seek it in something else. Chapter 23, verse 25 to 28 says to avoid the prostitute. It says, My son, give me your heart. I'll let your eyes observe my ways. For a prostitute is a deep pit, an adulteress is a narrow well. She lies in wait like a robber and increases the traitors among mankind. And yet, we're bombarded every day with billboards and advertisements to entice men and women to go to the prostitute, to indulge in pornography, to do sexually perverse things, to fulfill their lusts, because they don't find fulfillment in God. Or, instead of sexual immorality, they find it in drunkenness. Read with me in chapter 23, verse 29 to the end of the chapter. Look what it says here about drunkenness. Thank you. It says, who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaining? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? Those who tarry long over wine, those who go to try mixed wine. Do not look at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly. In the end it bites like a serpent, it stings like an adder. Your eyes will see strange things and your heart utter perverse things. You will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea, like one who lies on the top of a mast. They struck me, you will say, but I was not hurt. They beat me, but I did not feel it. When shall I awake? I must have another drink." I hope you see the love in Solomon's voice and not just the restriction. He's not just trying to take away the party lifestyle. He's saying that this can lead to your destruction. Your fulfillment ought not be in drunkenness and in the party lifestyle. It ought not be in sexual perversion. It ought to be in the Lord. That is the key of everything I'm saying this morning. It's chapter 22, verse 19, that your trust may be in the Lord. And if you trust the Lord, you will work for Him. You will serve Him. It will not be a burden. You know, the Bible says an amazing thing in 1 John. It says that His commandments are not grievous. The unregenerate mind can't understand this. If you're here today and you don't know Christ, or if you listen to this message on sermon audio, or you give a copy to someone who doesn't understand, all they're hearing is, do this, don't do that, I don't get it, it's too much. And yet the Bible says His commandments are not grievous, they're not burdensome. They don't weigh you down. And they don't weigh you down because you're serving a Lord who cares about you, that loves you, and who empowers you to do the very things He tells you to do. who blesses you in your obedience and, listen, gives you grace when you fail. There's no teacher like the Lord. And the greatest display of His care, His care is displayed as He gives us wisdom, but the greatest display of that wisdom happened about 2,000 years ago on the cross of Calvary. As God showed sinners that He cares for them. For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. As you come face to face with the Scriptures and you realize, look, I've been envious of sinners. I've gotten drunk. I've indulged. I've disobeyed these things. I've not been diligent in my work. I've befriended the angry. I myself am angry. Whatever it is, this book will condemn you as you stare at it face-to-face and it shows you your sins. But the good news is that there's a Savior. And His name is Jesus. And He's the Son of God. He's perfect. And He obeys every proverb known to man. He obeys the Lord in obedience. He goes to the cross, not because He's a sinner, but because we've sinned against a holy God. And instead of pouring out His judgment upon us, He chose to pour out the judgment that believers deserve upon His Son. Jesus did not stay dead. On the third day, He rose from the grave for our justification. And He promises to everyone in every generation, like I said, this is universal truth, right? Every culture, every generation, that whoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. If you think that just obeying these 34 different proverbs is going to get you into heaven, you are mistaken. First of all, you can't do it. And secondly, there is no earning favor with God. Jesus already has God's favor. As He died on the cross, He rose from the grave. And if you are hidden in Christ by faith, then God accepts you into the beloved. And so if you've never received Christ, I implore you, repent of your sins. Come to Jesus Christ for salvation. And then you will understand God's gift of wisdom. Now for us who have received that, and I trust that that's many of us, if not all, how do we then take this wisdom and give it to others? We know that we ought to evangelize, right? We know we ought to give the gospel. We know that we ought to teach others, even Christians, in truth and in love. And so I ask us all this morning, how do we handle that truth? As you look across this wide field of God's Word and you open your Bible and you flip through, you find precept and prophecy and proclamation. In this book, there's commandments. Sins are exposed. It reveals the history of the world, the condition of man, the attributes of God. This is a treasure. And yet, it can be mishandled. It can be handled incorrectly. It can be handled for our own gain. Oftentimes, it can be handled to puff up our pride. And so I want to make the application that Proverbs 22 verses 17 to 21 ought to be our motivation, a guide in our disposition as instructors. Everyone here, even if you were saved yesterday, is an instructor of some sort, bringing people to Christ. But how you do it matters. How you handle truth matters. So what's your disposition? What's your heart in this matter? And what is mine? When we correct people, do we call them fools? Do we say, you fool, how dare you make friends with the angry man? Do authoritarian parents say, I'm so ashamed at you getting drunk, you'll never amount to anything? Do they say, you're an embarrassment to me because you didn't have proper etiquette for eating with that ruler? And then, to make it worse sometimes, we add the Bible to that, right? We use the word, we say, don't you discipline your child? Don't you know what Proverbs 23, verse 13 and 14 says? Now please, before you misunderstand what I'm saying, I understand there's a time to be bold. There's a time to rebuke. There's a time for unashamed, bold preaching. Jesus overturned tables, right? He strongly rebuked the Pharisees. God overturned entire people groups. But remember that judgment doesn't come without warning. Sometimes those warnings are generations after generations. Noah warned for years. Jeremiah warned for years. Jonah was called to warn for years. Jesus cries over Jerusalem. He weeps. And so if all we're known for is rebuke and bold preaching, we're missing an important element of how we give the truth to this culture. So you've got Proverbs, good for us, right? We've got wisdom. You can eat with kings, you can avoid drunkenness, you can raise your children, build your house, please your parents, but for what reason? For pride? We are prideful people. It's easy for us to say, look, we've got the Word of God. Keep it to ourselves, make ourselves look good. Look down on other people. No, instead of looking down on other people, when we give people truth, whether it be Christians or non-Christians, let's be like Solomon and say, incline your ear. Listen, this is important. If you do these things, it will be pleasant for you. I care about you. I care that you don't go to hell. I care, Christian, that you don't fall into error. I care that you're not led astray. This is for your benefit, that your trust may be in the Lord. It may take a while to convince someone that you actually love them, but man, it's so worth it. It's like I want to just shout to this dark and broken world, not a condemnation that comes from my own self-righteousness, but an announcement that the Kingdom of God is here, and that the Kingdom of God is light and life, and you ought to come to that light, and save yourself, and listen to wisdom, because this is for your good. Not to build my church, not to have people say, what a great preacher he is, because I care. And oftentimes in my own life, I see how much I don't care. And if you're honest with yourself, you might feel the same way I do in the way we give truth. Either we check off a box and say, well, the Lord opened an opportunity for me to give the gospel, so I said something, so I'm good. Or you see a brother in sin and you correct them because it makes you feel good. But how many times do we teach the truth because we genuinely love and care for the people that God's put in our path? So maybe I can sum it up like this. In giving us words of wisdom, God displays his care for us. Now in turn, we ought to care about the way we live and care that others find wisdom too. Like Solomon, do you look after their best interest or are you seeking to serve your own pride? And I think it's helpful to remember first and foremost who we are once we get on that high bandwagon and we think that we're so smart. I mean Solomon. Solomon remembers who he is, I assume. A man who was arrayed in fine linen and the wisest of all kings and yet an adulterer whose many, many concubines turned his heart from God. He was broken. Turn with me to 1 Kings chapter 7 and let's compare who we truly are. 2 Kings, I apologize, 2 Kings chapter 7. So many numbers this morning. Martin Luther is famous for saying a lot of things. In two years we'll be celebrating the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. He was famous for saying, here I stand, I can do no other. But one of the quotes that I love from Martin Luther is this little quote that says, we are beggars all, this is true. You and I are beggars. That's what we are. We're like the lepers in 2 Kings chapter 7 when the Syrians fled and left their spoil to discover. Look with me in chapter 7 verse 3. Now there were four men who were lepers at the entrance to the gate, and they said to one another, Why are we sitting here until we die? If we say, Let us enter the city, the famine is in the city, and we will die there. And if we sit here, we die also. So now come, let us go over to the camp of the Syrians. If they spare our lives, we shall live. And if they kill us, we should but die. So they arose at twilight to go to the camp of the Syrians. But when they came to the edge of the camp of the Syrians, behold, there was no one there. For the Lord hath made the army of the Syrians hear the sound of chariots and of horses and the sound of a great army, so that they said to one another, Behold, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Egypt to come against us. So they fled away in the twilight and abandoned their tents, their horses, their donkeys, leaving their camp as it was and fled for their lives. And when these lepers came to the edge of the camp, they went into the tent and ate. and drank, and they carried off silver and gold and clothing and went and hid them. Then they came back and entered another tent, and carried off things from it, and went and hid them." What joy there was in finding this treasure, right? But it all comes to an end when the Holy Spirit convicts them of something. Look at verse 9. We are like those lepers. We are those beggars that found treasure And if we're not careful, we're going to eat of this treasure. We're going to treasure it, right? The words of God are what we live by. But we're going to do injustice by not telling other people about it. Now the analogy breaks down a little bit. Because unlike these lepers, you and I didn't find treasure. Treasure found us. We would never, ever have come to that if God did not bring it to us. But nonetheless, I think you get the point. Let's not be like those lepers who eat and drink and rejoice in all the things that we know without telling other people. And that doesn't just mean the gospel to the lost, but that means truth to your brother and sister in Christ. A famous quote from D.T. Niles, he was a Methodist pastor from Ceylon. says this, you probably heard this before, Christianity is one beggar telling another beggar where he found bread. That's what it is. One beggar telling another beggar where he found bread. Now, of course, it's more than bread. It's deeper. Doctrine is very deep and splendid and majestic and specific, but don't forget your disposition as a beggar who knows truth, telling someone else how to find that truth. Truth, though, like I said before, is dangerous if it is not used properly. Warren Wearsby said, truth without love is brutality, and love without truth is hypocrisy. And so I ask you, in the spirit of Solomon, this is for us to examine ourselves. Do you, do I, get frustrated when people won't listen? I certainly do. And I would blame it on the fact that I teach teenagers for a living, but that's no excuse. when they won't follow your instruction? Do you get angry? Are you impatient? Give more grace to others than you give yourself. We give ourselves a lot of grace, don't we? Most of us. Some of us, we may condemn ourselves more, but I think the majority of Christians I've met, including myself, give us grace a lot, give ourselves grace, but we need to give other people more grace. Speak the truth in love. Do you truly love the people that you instruct? Or, are you just out to win an argument, prove a point, save yourself from embarrassment? Say, don't do that, it reflects poorly on me, versus don't do that, it's bad for you. What's your motive? Do you beat people over the head with the Bible, or do you labor with them, bearing patiently, even as Paul warning them, day and night with tears? Are we broken over other people? Do we really care for them? Or do we say, I tried with my neighbor one time, and they rejected me, and that's it. I confess that when I came to truth in high school, I was a dangerous young man, not in a good way. I was Bayonne High School's resident Bible thumper. I walked into school every day with a Christian t-shirt, a Christian symbol on my book bag. I had a Bible in my book bag and a copy of the latest politically conservative book I was reading at the time. And I told people how wrong they were, and I liked it. I actually enjoyed because it made me feel like I had some superiority. Knowing the truth gave me a sense of pride. But if you were to ask me back then in high school, do you really care about your classmates? I probably would have lied and said, of course. The truth is I cared more about myself, my own pride, my ego, and the fact I could display knowledge. And of course God still continues to chip away at pride. I'm not here to tell you that I'm the most humble guy I know, because I'm not. But I think I've grown to love and care for people I instruct more than I used to. And one of the things that helped me there is the realization of God's sovereignty. When I came into the doctrines of grace, I fought against it. Many of you may have come to that conclusion too. When you understand God's sovereignty and salvation and His free electing grace, I fought against that for a couple years. And then I had no choice but to admit I was wrong and embrace the doctrines of grace, which cost me a potential ministry opportunity as well as many friends. And I find it ironic that it's not always the case for some people. We come into the doctrines of grace, which should be the most humbling set of doctrines in the Bible, and yet it could produce some of the most prideful bombastic personalities. And that's why some theologians said that if you come to terms with the doctrines of grace, you may have to put yourself in a cage for the first couple of years. They call it the cage stage of Calvinism. Because, you know, we've got this. We understand Romans 9. We understand Ephesians 1. The light bulb has sort of come on, but then we look at our Arminian brothers and sisters, our Pentecostal friends, and we just shake our heads, right? Now believe me, there's a lot of craziness out there and there are reasons we should shake our heads at false doctrine, but if we have not love, we are nothing. And I will take a loving, Christ-centered Pentecostal over a bombastic, prideful Calvinist any day of the week. Paul said, it's wonderful to have truth, but if you have not love, you are nothing. And I think Solomon here recognized his own sinfulness And some people are out there rejecting the faith because someone brought them the truth, but in a harsh way. Because all they know is law, but they don't know grace. We ought to be like Christ. Let's turn to one last scripture, Mark chapter 10. He is our master teacher. Mark chapter 10. What do you do when you come across someone that you're trying to teach, and they still reject it. We went over this a couple weeks ago in our bold course. The question was, do we as Christians tell people that God loves them if they're not believers? We don't see any examples of Christ or the apostles saying that in a universal sense. God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life, that kind of thing. But, Mark chapter 10 was pointed out, and I'm very grateful that it was, because this shows us the heart of God, even for people that, at least at the moment, reject Him. And you're familiar with this story, the rich young man. Look at Mark chapter 10, verse 17. As he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said to him, Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments. Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not defraud, honor your father and mother. Look, he's doing what Solomon just did, right? He's giving him a list of things. Verse 20, and he said, to him, teacher, all these I have kept from my youth. And Jesus, looking at him, look at that phrase there, loved him. and said to him, you lack one thing. Go sell all that you have and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven and come follow me. Disheartened by this saying, he went away sorrowful for he had great possessions. And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, how difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter into the kingdom of God. You know, we use this and we often condemn the rich with this and there's truth where what Jesus is saying, right? Wealth will bring your heart away from God. And I've heard many people declare that the rich young ruler is in hell now. We don't know that. He could have repented the day after. But there's a truth here that we can apply to what Solomon says back in Proverbs 22. Is that despite the fact that at least at this point the rich young ruler sorrowfully rejected Christ, Jesus loved him. He loved someone that rejected Him. You know, when they came up to Jesus and said, how many times do I forgive my brothers? And He said, 70 times 7. Boy, He is setting the bar really high. So when you and I seek to instruct people, when we seek to give them the words of the wise, we must have love. We must have grace. This is something that we need so desperately. I don't mean a coddled type of love, a lovey-dovey, truthless Christianity. I hope you understand that's not what I'm saying. But the bold truth of the Word of God with a loving heart for the lost and for our brothers and sisters so that our trust and their trust may be in the Lord. Amen.