[0:00] We're turning to Proverbs 24 and the first 22 verses. Proverbs 24. Do not envy wicked men.
[0:15] Do not desire their company. For their hearts plot violence and their lips talk about making trouble. By wisdom a house is built and through understanding it is established.
[0:27] Through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures. A wise man has great power and a man of knowledge increases strength. For waging war you need guidance and for victory many advisors.
[0:43] Wisdom is too high for a fool. In the assembly at the gate he has nothing to say. He who plots evil will be known as a schemer. The schemes of folly are sin and men detest a mocker.
[0:58] If you falter in times of trouble how small is your strength. Rescue those being led away to death. Hold back those staggering towards slaughter.
[1:10] If you say but we knew nothing about this. Does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who guards your life know it? Will he not repay each person according to what he has done?
[1:25] Eat honey my son for it is good. Honey from the comb is sweet to your taste. Know also that wisdom is sweet to your soul. If you find it there is a future hope for you.
[1:38] And your hope will not be cut off. Do not lie in wait like an outlaw against a righteous man's house. Do not raid his dwelling place.
[1:49] For though a righteous man falls seven times he rises again. But the wicked are brought down by calamity. Do not gloat when your enemy falls.
[2:00] When he stumbles do not let your heart rejoice. Or the Lord will see and disapprove. And turn his wrath away from him. Do not fret because of evil men.
[2:13] Or be envious of the wicked. For the evil man has no future hope. And the lamp of the wicked will be snuffed out. Fear the Lord and the king my son.
[2:25] And do not join with the rebellious. For those too will send sudden destruction upon them. And who knows what calamity. What calamities they can bring.
[2:38] The word of God. Let's hear it preached. Well the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
[2:52] And knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. He is the Holy One. The set apart one. The exalted one. And wisdom begins when his majestic royalty.
[3:06] His glorious majesty. Pierces your heart. And begins to weigh heavily upon it. The word for glory.
[3:22] Carries the connotation of weight. If something is glorious. It is weighty. And the fear of the Lord is when you begin. To feel the weight.
[3:35] Of who God is. So wisdom begins with that awe. Of be careful. Because you know who he is.
[3:46] He doesn't ask my permission to rule. He doesn't ask for my permission or your permission to rule. This is not a democracy.
[3:59] There is no chance for impeachment. There is no one who can say, Lord what are you doing? Psalm 2. Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain?
[4:11] The kings of the earth take their stand. And the rulers gather together against the Lord. And against his anointed one. The one enthroned in heaven laughs.
[4:24] The Lord scoffs at them. I have installed my king on Zion. My holy hill. Therefore you kings be wise.
[4:34] Therefore, because the Lord is that God who does not ask us for permission to rule. Is not opening up an election and asking our opinion on things.
[4:46] Because he is the one who laughs and scoffs at men. He has installed his king on his hill. Be wise. Be wise.
[4:57] Wisdom begins when you recognize that he is ruling. He is sovereign without your permission. Serve the Lord with fear. The fear of the Lord is the reality.
[5:08] The weight of the Lord. The glory of the Lord. And yes, to some degree, even the terror of the Lord. Is the reality that shines through all of the book of Proverbs.
[5:22] It ends the passage that Pastor John just read for us. You see there verse 21. Fear the Lord and the king, my son. And do not join the rebellious.
[5:33] For those two will send sudden destruction upon them. And who knows what calamities they can bring. You see why I'm saying it's not just a reverent awe for who God is.
[5:44] There is a sense that you need to be careful with him. And around him. Because who knows what calamities he can bring.
[5:55] Well, that's who he is. He's good. He's just. He's great. He's kind. But he is the reality that we either adjust to or that destroys us.
[6:11] We either learn to live with him or he will destroy us. Walking with the Lord is like walking with a giant in a certain way.
[6:23] You can either walk alongside him. And when you're walking and step with him. You can thrive and you can be safe. You can be blessed. But if you get if you fight against him.
[6:34] He will easily tread you down. And really what the book of Proverbs is saying is the whole creation reflects something of that otherness.
[6:46] That we need to adjust to it because it's not going to adjust to us. This great creation machine reflects who God is. And you can either learn to work with the machine or the machine will catch you and grind you into pieces.
[7:06] You know that if you've ever worked in a factory with machines. You need to learn to to set your clock your ways your hands your feet your eyes by that machine because that machine is not going to ask you whether you want your finger cut off.
[7:25] You need to adjust to it because it's not going to adjust to you. Well the wise adjust. The wise have the humility to say I need to be careful here with creation with the Lord.
[7:38] But the mocker is caught in creation's gears and it's smashed. And so that's the choice we have to to choose. Those are the options that we need to choose between. And those are the options that Proverbs 24 1 through 22 very well lays it out.
[7:56] It's wisdom or wickedness. It's adjusting or it's rebellion. It's trusting the Lord or leaning on your own understanding.
[8:07] It's wisdom or wickedness. There's no third alternative. But our creator God is good. And he wants us to be blessed.
[8:19] He wants us to thrive. And so he tells us what we are going to get. What you are going to get with each choice. There's no surprises.
[8:30] There's no the peas under a different shell. He tells you what you get. And he shows you what you are picking. And that's a really good way of organizing Proverbs 24 1 through 22.
[8:46] The Lord is saying you must choose. But I love you. And so I don't want you to be deceived by what you're picking. And so if you are one who takes notes and you have your piece of paper there.
[9:01] It might be helpful to just put a vertical line. And on one side you have wisdom and you have wickedness on the other side. And we're going to go through the pros and cons so to speak.
[9:14] If I choose wisdom this is what I will have. If I choose rebellion if I just continue on my own way. Well this is what I'll get. And so that's how we're going to just divide up these Proverbs.
[9:31] We begin with the wicked. It begins with do not envy the wicked. Do not desire their company 24 1. For their hearts plot violence and their lips talk about making trouble.
[9:46] Now it's not necessarily perfectly clear why we shouldn't envy them. Don't envy them. Why? I think the answer is because I think God wants us to see that these people are repugnant.
[10:05] Are repulsive. They're spiritually repugnant. And so that would be the first thing to put down. You choose the wicked. You're going to be choosing the spiritually repulsive.
[10:18] That's what the sage the wise man is expecting you to see. Don't envy them because look at what they are up to.
[10:29] Look at the kind of people they are. They're plotters. And they don't plot good. They plot violence. And they're talkers. And what are they talking about?
[10:41] They're talking about making trouble. This is Proverbs chapter 1 all over again. Remember so long ago. Proverbs 1.
[10:52] My son of sinners entice you. Do not give in to them. If they say come along with us. Let's lie and wait for someone's blood. Let's waylay some harmless soul. Let's swallow them alive like the grave.
[11:03] We will get all sorts of valuable things and fill our houses with plunder. Do you see them for what they are? This is why you shouldn't envy them.
[11:14] This is why you shouldn't join them. Because look at what kind of people they are. They're selfish. They're destroyers. And pretty soon they're going to turn their selfish destructive ways away from those people and certainly onto you.
[11:32] But look what kind of people they are. They're selfish. They're destructive. They're disadvantaging others to benefit themselves. They're slandering others to make themselves look good.
[11:43] They're stealing from the innocent to make themselves rich. They're stealing a man's name. Stealing his things. They're community destroyers. Church destroyers. Family destroyers. Well, why?
[11:59] It's all for them. They're all about them. And that's why you shouldn't envy them or join them. They're completely unchrist-like.
[12:10] How different from Christ are these people? What did his heart plot?
[12:24] His heart was plotting salvation. Plotting love. Plotting good. What did his lips talk about? Not about making trouble. But about saving and helping.
[12:36] Did he disadvantage others for himself? No. He disadvantaged himself to benefit others. Who, though being rich, made himself poor.
[12:49] That we might become rich. So will you envy them? Well, you have to ask, whose side are you on? What kind of person do you want to be?
[13:01] The wicked are spiritually repugnant. So that's the first point. Look at what you're choosing. Let's take the next two sayings together.
[13:13] And we can put this for a heading. The wise are successful. So we have the wicked are spiritually repugnant and repulsive. The wise are successful.
[13:24] The wicked want to fill their home with treasures. But the wise man, the wise woman, actually does it.
[13:34] The wise woman with her own hands builds her house. And here it is. By wisdom, a house is built. And through understanding, it is established. And through knowledge, its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures.
[13:47] What do you have here? You have a picture of a strong family. A strong, an honored family. And then we go into the rooms.
[14:00] So we have this house that is built. And now we go into the rooms. And what do we find there? Oh, it's filled with treasures. Now, I don't think it's a stretch to say that that's no doubt talking about real physical wealth.
[14:17] That is everywhere in the book of Proverbs. Proverbs. But I think it's more than that. Because Proverbs does give us that clue that, you know what, it's quite possible to have feasting and strife and feasting and lots of food.
[14:32] You can have lots of money and be a miserable, unhappy family. So I think what this is also pointing to is anything really, anything and everything really valuable.
[14:44] What does wisdom fill a house with? Memories. Relationships. Relationships. Beauty. Kindness.
[14:56] Joy. Wisdom builds something good. A family. A community. A church. A nation, even. A society. And then wisdom enriches the thing that it's built with every kind of blessing.
[15:11] Wisdom uses the same tools and the same methods that God used to build the world. Wisdom is a certain way of imitating God.
[15:23] Listen to Proverbs 3.19. Listen for the common words. The Lord, by wisdom, founded the earth and by understanding he established the heavens.
[15:36] And by knowledge the deeps broke open and the clouds dropped down the dew. Now, here's the wise. They are imitating God.
[15:47] They're using his tools. They're using his methods. And the methods are good. And the results are good. But not so the wicked.
[15:58] The method they use is bad. And the results are bad as well. They want the same things. But they don't get what they want. Charles Bridges, again, in his commentary on Proverbs, says, Unless a household is built on wisdom, it's only a snow palace built in the winter and melting away under the power of the summer sun.
[16:22] Now, they're building snow forts. And a snow fort can be quite impressive in the winter, in the cold, dark night.
[16:33] But let the first day of spring come. And the first 70 degree day start beating on that snow fort. And pretty soon, what are you left with? It's just mud and leaves and sticks.
[16:46] The wise are successful in the most important ways. Verse 5, continuing under this point. A wise man has great power and a man of knowledge increases strength.
[17:00] For waging war, you need guidance. And for victory, many advisors. I've already preached on this. It's one of the very last Proverbs.
[17:14] It's 29, 27. It says, The righteous detest the dishonest, and the wicked detest the upright. The wicked and the wise are enemies.
[17:30] Again, you have to choose a side. But you have to see that the wicked and the wise are enemies. They can't help but be enemies.
[17:42] The wise are animated by the all-wise God. They're children of the wise father. They live under a king whose name, Isaiah says, is wonderful counselor.
[17:54] They're filled with the Holy Spirit, the spirit of counsel and understanding, wisdom and understanding. The wicked, though, they have another God, another king, another spirit.
[18:09] So there can't help but be hostility in conflict. There's going to be conflict somewhere between the wise and the foolish, the wicked and the righteous.
[18:22] It's going to show itself. It's going to show itself on the national level. It's going to show itself on the local level. It's going to show itself on the personal level. The wicked will not stop being wicked.
[18:34] And the wise will not stop being wise. They can't live with each other in peace. But who will win? Who has the greater strength?
[18:44] Who has the greater resources? Well, this is where this proverb comes in. Look at what it says. You attack a wise man's house. And who are you attacking?
[18:55] Verse 5 says, a man with great power. A man of increasing strength. A man of knowledge increases strength.
[19:09] And here's something more than that. You're attacking a man who isn't afraid to bring in his wise counselors.
[19:21] He's not too proud to say, I need other people to help me. Now, you see, the wicked, they want to be in themselves, all powerful, all of themselves.
[19:34] They don't need help. And so who are you fighting? Well, you're getting more than you bargained for. When you went to war against David, you didn't just have to fight David.
[19:49] That's important to understand. But you also had to contend with all of the wise people that David had gathered around him. David's uncle was named Jonathan.
[20:00] And this is what it says. Jonathan was the king's counselor. A man of insight. So you go to war. You fight against David. You have David. And then you have Jonathan, David's uncle, to fight against.
[20:12] We know two other counselors. We know of Ahithophel. Ahithophel. Who, even though he turned against David, it is said that his advice was like asking the Lord what you should do.
[20:24] And then there was another man, Hushai. And he was the man who eventually outsmarted Ahithophel. So you had his mighty men, yes. But you had his mighty counselors.
[20:37] That's who you fought when you fought David. And the wise surround themselves with the wise. Are you surrounding yourself with the wise? Are you asking for advice? Getting counsel?
[20:47] Well, then you're going to have great power and increasing strength. The wise, though, they want advice. They want correction. They confess their ignorance. And so now you're not just fighting against the best that the wise man can bring, but all of his friends, too.
[21:08] You're contending against a rising tide. And so, again, whose side will you choose? Can I tell you I know what I want?
[21:21] I want what the wise man has. Yes, success. But growing strength and trustworthy friends. So that's on the one side of the ledger.
[21:36] Great power. Great success. Trustworthy friends. Wise friends. Let's go back to our ledger. Back to the wicked. Why not envy them or choose them?
[21:48] Well, what do you get? Verse 7 says, to put it into a single word, you get irrelevance. Irrelevance. Verse 7. Wisdom is too high for a fool.
[22:00] In the assembly, at the gate, he has nothing to say. The gate. That's where important matters were decided.
[22:12] Where important deals were made. Where government and business is done. It says, he has nothing to say. Or it could be translated, he must not say anything.
[22:26] He must not be allowed to say anything. It's a possibility. So, a fool, when it comes to weighty, important things, he has nothing to say.
[22:40] He's in the corner. He's not allowed to speak. And if he does speak. He has nothing good or important or helpful to say. So, just keep your eyes open for this dynamic that is happening all around us.
[22:56] Now, we don't have gates. But, it's being played out all the time. It's being played out at work. It's being played out in families, in churches, in business.
[23:11] And it's being played out in the sports field. The know-it-all is isolated. The know-it-all is forbidden to speak.
[23:23] And the humble wise gain more relevance. More and more, it's, let's ask him. Let's ask her what she thinks. She knows what she's talking about.
[23:35] He knows what he's doing. Let's talk about that with them. Relevance for the wise, in the one hand. Irrelevance for the foolish, for the wicked.
[23:50] So, again, are you keeping track of what the ledger here? Verses 8 and 9 have another for the wicked side. It's a bad reputation. So, you get irrelevance and now a bad reputation.
[24:03] You can look at it. 8 and 9. He who plots evil will be known as a schemer. It's not just that he is a schemer. That's not so much the point here.
[24:14] It's he will be known as a schemer. And then the schemes of folly are sin. And men detest a mocker. That's talking about your reputation.
[24:28] What people end up thinking about you. What people end up calling you. What people end up saying about you. They aren't. So now, this is not people more and more asking, what is he or what does she think?
[24:44] They aren't saying she knows what she's talking about. They say he or she is a schemer. A snake. They less and less want anything to do with her or him.
[24:59] So, here they are. They're destroying. They're disturbing society. They're above listening. And there's a cost to be paid for that for them. And now it's not just being irrelevant.
[25:12] It's being despised. And so, Proverbs is saying, look at what you're choosing. When you're choosing yourself above others, above and over God.
[25:26] So, that brings us through verse 9. And let's just skip verses 10 through 12 for now. We're going to come back to it, to them. But there is a final contrast that the remaining verses, 13 through 22, they talk about between the wicked and the wise.
[25:48] And it's their futures. It's their futures. Undying hope and sudden destruction.
[25:58] And you know where to put each of those on the ledger, I hope. Verse 13 and 14 begins this little section.
[26:08] Eat, honey, my son, for it is good. Verse 14. Know also that wisdom is sweet to your soul. Why is wisdom so sweet if you have it? Why should we eagerly eat wisdom?
[26:19] Well, because if you find it, there's a future hope for you. It's a hope, verse 14, that says it will not be cut off. It will not die. It's undying.
[26:30] Because it's based on the character of God. Who does not change. We're not talking so much here about our feelings of hope.
[26:42] Our hopefulness. But we are talking about the certainty that we are going to have a future good coming to us. So this wise hope is not based on my feelings.
[26:56] It's based on the character of God. It's based on the character of God's world. We have a little proverb in our language, our culture, that very much fits this.
[27:12] We say the truth will out. I don't think that's anywhere in the Bible. But the idea is, you know what? The truth comes out. The things that are true, they'll end up poking their head up.
[27:28] And you can't hide them. You can't deny them. They're going to show up. Again, because that's the character of God's world. And this is, Jesus upholds this world by the power of his word.
[27:41] And so this wise man's hope isn't based on even his power, his resources. It's based on the word of God, the character of God, the character of God's creation.
[27:57] And that means it cannot be broken. And so let all hell, let the whole world in arms combine against the wise man to throw him down.
[28:07] But his hope will live on. Can't die. Now, our feelings of hope, our hopefulness, maybe the grace of hope, might go dark for a while.
[28:26] It might go into an eclipse. So we look and we say, I don't see any hope here. I don't feel any hope. And we despair. But what Proverbs is saying is God is still on the throne.
[28:46] God is still working all things together in his wisdom. He makes even our enemies to serve us. And again, this isn't so much about our feelings. It's about what God will do regardless of what we can see or what we feel in that moment.
[29:01] And so verse 16 says, though a righteous man falls seven times. He rises again. This righteous man is united to Christ.
[29:13] He's united to Christ. And Christ fell. Let's just put it that way. He didn't fall into sin.
[29:24] He fell seven times. He fell seven times under the weight of his people's sin. And he fell under the threats and the schemes and the plotting of the wicked. He fell under his father's wrath.
[29:36] He fell under the devil's vicious attack. He fell under the unfaithfulness of his friends. No one fell lower. Went lower.
[29:48] But he did not stay down. And though the righteous man falls seven times, he will rise again. Because he is united to Jesus Christ, who when he fell so far, he rose.
[30:03] And when all feelings of hopefulness were eclipsed, yet on the third day he did rise. He's united to the wisdom of God.
[30:15] This wise man is filled with the spirit of God, who is the spirit of life. And God, our father, binds up the brokenhearted. God, our father, can be the good Samaritan that gets off of his donkey when we have fallen.
[30:29] And we're broken. And we're hurting. And he gets off of his donkey. And he heals our wounds. And he helps us up onto our feet. He does that.
[30:40] And so through the night, our hope lives on. Good will certainly come. Restoration. Redemption.
[30:53] Revival. It's on its way. And so the sage in Proverbs says, don't attack him. Because you cannot overcome him.
[31:06] It will do you no good. You can't keep him down. Well, but not so the wicked. Proverbs 1, not so the wicked. Verse 16, but the wicked are brought down by calamity.
[31:20] The same God that will certainly lift the righteous. Even though they fall seven times. He brings down the wicked.
[31:33] And it is so certain that they will fall. That we need to hear a warning. We need to be prepared ourselves.
[31:43] God needs to prepare us to see it. And that's verses 17 and 18. Verse 17 is a warning. What not to do when you see it. You will see it.
[31:55] And from many times in your life. In your living life on this earth. You will see it. And when you do see it. Verse 17 and 18 is a warning.
[32:07] To be careful of how you behave. He says, do not gloat when your enemy falls. When he stumbles. Do not let your heart rejoice. Or the Lord will see and disapprove. And turn his wrath away from him.
[32:20] Now I don't think this is saying that. There's no sense of rejoicing. Or satisfaction. Or something like that. But this is a heart.
[32:32] That is I think more. Thinking selfishly. It's gloating. It's dancing around. As if this is all about you. If this is your personal victory.
[32:47] And that's not what it is. The Holy One is at work. The Holy One is at work here. And so take care. Or God will see your gloating.
[32:59] And your dancing. Your gleefulness. That is so ugly. And it is so ugly. That.
[33:10] It's so ugly. Even in his people. That. He will turn his hand away. He would rather wait. To bring down the wicked. Than to see the.
[33:22] The righteous gloating. It's an ugly thing. So don't do it. You wouldn't dance.
[33:34] And gloat around the Oval Office. While the president was at work. And so when you see the wicked falling. You need to stand still. You need to hold your tongue. You need to be careful. Watch your heart.
[33:45] Because God is at work. But again. What. We go from verse 18. To verse 19.
[33:57] And the question. Really does come up. What. What about. It's not. It's not happening. It's not happening. So you're now.
[34:07] In Psalm 73. With Asaph. And all I'm seeing. Is the wicked prosper. And they don't seem. To ever. Get punished.
[34:18] For what they do. And there is a danger here. That you will. Become angry. And in your anger. You'll. You'll. Maybe never let it out. But you will.
[34:29] Turn it inside. And it will become a furnace. Inside of you. That's what fretting is. You're upset. And you're. Directing that upsetness.
[34:40] And that anger. And you're. And you're. Turning that furnace. Of anger on. And it's just boiling over. In your heart. And that's.
[34:52] What it says. Don't fret. Don't fret. Don't let yourself. Do that. Calm your heart. With this truth. And sometimes. You just have to.
[35:02] You have to quench. The indignation. Of your own heart. With truth. And the. The truth is startling. The evil man. Has no future. Hope.
[35:14] His lamp. Will. Be. Snuffed. Out. It's not happening now. But it will happen.
[35:26] And it will happen. Suddenly. And that's where we get to. Verse 21. Fear the Lord. And the king. My son. And don't join with the rebellious. For those two.
[35:36] Will send sudden. Destruction. Upon. Them. And those. And who knows. What calamities. They can bring. So we have. An undying hope.
[35:47] And we have. On the other. Side of this ledger. A complete. Sudden. Destruction. Notice. It's no. Slow. Noticeable. Build up.
[35:57] It's no. Slowly. Rising. Tide. It is a. Sudden. Tsunami. And it's. Total.
[36:07] Destruction. So kiss. The sun. Lest he be. Angry. And you be. Destroyed. In your way. For. His wrath. Can flare up. In a moment. A patch.
[36:18] On the road. Now the point. Is not that Jesus. Is impatient. But there is a time. When his patience. Runs out. And when his patience. Runs out.
[36:28] It does not take very long. For destruction. To follow. His. His wrath. Can flare up. Can flame up. In a moment. A patch of ice.
[36:42] On the road. Your ski slips. The driver gets a text. A cell turns cancerous. And you're destroyed. We're not willfully.
[36:54] Causing our hearts. To beat. That is the work. Of the Lord. Inside of our bodies. And he withholds that. You're destroyed.
[37:08] Now this is picturing. The Lord. And his anointed king. Sitting together. And it's saying. God and his king. Have no lack of resources.
[37:19] To suddenly bring you to account. And again. Here's the God. We have to adjust to. Here's the God.
[37:31] You have to figure out. How to live with. Because he's not going to change. For you. Repenting is saying. You know what Lord. I'm adjusting to you.
[37:41] Repenting of your pride. And your self-reliance. And your rebellion. You're just stubborn. I'm going to do what I want. And I'm going to think what I want.
[37:52] And so. Here's a question. You really might need to ask yourself. What if. The most important thing. Is not what you think or feel.
[38:04] Is not what you think. But what he thinks. And feels. What about if the most important question. Is not what you think. Or what you feel is right.
[38:17] But what he thinks and feels. Not what you think and feel about yourself. But what he thinks about you. Not what you think or feel is right. And what you should do.
[38:27] But what does he think and feel. And what has he told you? He said I am God. And there's no other. He says trust me.
[38:38] He says walk in my ways. He says love me. But we come into this world. And we live our lives. Until he saves us.
[38:49] Not doing that. Ignoring him. Going our own way. And that's where. What adjusting. What living in the fear of the Lord looks like. Is you repent.
[39:00] You kiss the son. You bow the knee. And you throw yourself on his mercy. To save you. And that's where wisdom begins. Bending your heart.
[39:14] And your ways to him. But it's more than that. It's more than that. And this is where I want to come back.
[39:24] To verses 10 through 12. It's courageously standing for what is right. What does it look like to live with this kind of God?
[39:39] It's courageously standing for what is right. And this is verse 10 through 12. If you falter in times of trouble. How small is your strength? Now can I tell you that? That is a rough verse.
[39:50] Because sometimes I feel like. My strength is small. Lord I need your help. I don't think it's talking about that. When we feel weak. And we feel faltering.
[40:02] And we cry out to the Lord for strength. There's 500 verses that would say. That's not what this is talking about. I think this is saying. It's not saying so much about.
[40:14] What you think of your strength. But what you're boasting about your strength. It's about actually what you do. In the moment of difficulty and trial. It says.
[40:26] Do you. Are you strong? Do you say you're strong? You're boasting of your strength? You're boasting of your wisdom? What do you do? When the time of trouble comes? How do you act then?
[40:38] If you falter in a. A time of difficulty. In times of trouble. Then well. How small really is your strength? And then it presents an actual case.
[40:48] Rescue those being led away to death. If you say. But. But we knew nothing about this. So you're making this excuse. Does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does he not who. Does not he who guards your life know it?
[41:00] Will he not pay each person according to what he has done? So if wisdom gives you a great power. An increasing strength. Like the verses said. But if you won't use it.
[41:11] When someone needs it. Then what good is it? Again. Wisdom. Without courage. Is worthless.
[41:23] Wisdom without resolution. To make a choice. To stand with the right. Is nothing. In first Corinthians 13 terms. You're a resounding gong.
[41:35] A clanging cymbal. And if all you have. Are empty excuses. Then what do you have? Verses 10 through 12.
[41:46] Are saying. You need courage. You need. To do the right thing. In a time of trouble. That's what it looks like.
[41:57] To live in the fear of the Lord. Who are you going to be more afraid of? The people. Or God. God who weighs your heart. God who sees through all your excuses.
[42:10] Your excuses might fool people. They're not going to fool him. So Proverbs is calling us. And preparing us. Even cajoling us. For courage.
[42:21] For resolution. For spiritual warfare. To actually pick a side. If you chicken out. Don't dare say you're wise. Or strong.
[42:33] Because if you falter in times of trouble. Then how small is your strength? That's just the truth. You read the chapters 2 and 3.
[42:46] In the book of Revelation. And you'll see that everyone who is in heaven. Everyone is an overcomer. Outside.
[42:56] Then you go down to Revelation 22. I think. Outside of the heavenly Jerusalem. First in line of the people that are not in heaven.
[43:08] You can look at it. Are the cowards. We say coward. Cowardess. Yes cowards. They knew what was right. But they didn't have enough courage to do it.
[43:22] They claimed strength. But when the test came. They were weak. And so choosing wisdom means courage. Courage to do the right thing.
[43:33] Courage to do the painful thing. Courage to do the dangerous thing. In difficult times. Wisdom is not all about your head. It's not all about being smart and clever.
[43:44] Wisdom I think is about your chest. It's about your courage. God doesn't make righteous men. With no courage. No resolution. And so wisdom.
[43:57] Can be the fierce. Risk taking. Resolution. In the face. Of evil. So there they are. What are you going to do with it?
[44:08] Jesus set his face like a flint to go to Jerusalem. And when he turned his feet that way. You can read in the book of Mark.
[44:19] It says his disciples saw it. And they were amazed. Why are they amazed? They're amazed at Jesus' courage. They knew.
[44:30] And Jesus knew. What was on the end of that road. And they were amazed at his resolution. He had made his choice. And now he was going to do it. He made his choice.
[44:45] Wisdom or wickedness. Well you've seen the pros and the cons. But now it's our turn. We have to choose. Jesus chose courageous wisdom.
[44:58] And now he says to us. Take up your cross. And follow me. That's the only way to be saved. Well may he give us grace to follow in his steps then. To do the courageous.
[45:09] Hard. Right. Thing. Rather than envying and giving in to the wicked. May he give us grace to follow in his footsteps. That is the only way to heaven. And well let's pray.
[45:21] Heavenly Father I do pray that you would give us that spirit of resolution. And courage. To do the difficult thing. To do the frightening thing. Even in the face of evil men.
[45:34] Of wicked men. That we would not choose them. We would not envy them. We would not join them. But we would oppose them. And that's what real wisdom is.
[45:47] That's what really fearing the Lord is. Jesus came as the one who came to destroy the works of the devil. Give us that fire.
[45:58] Holy Spirit come and give us that courage and that resolution. To oppose evil. Not just to stand on the sidelines.
[46:09] And make excuses. But to do the right thing. To do the wise thing. Give us the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Help us Lord Jesus.
[46:20] To walk with you. To walk in your footsteps. Give us grace for that. In your name. Amen. Amen. Thank you.