Can You Hear The Cry of Wisdom

Can you hear the cry of wisdom? Can you hear the cry of wisdom? Wisdom cries out to us. It's not difficult to find. It's not hidden under a rock.

And now more than ever we need wisdom in our lives. Wisdom. What is wisdom? Making the right choice.

That's the difference between knowledge and wisdom. Knowledge is, I know what the right choice is. Amen.

But wisdom applies the right choice. It actually does it. Puts feet to it.

Feet to your faith. And that's why James says you can live in deception if you know what to do, but you don't do it. That verse over the years has been pretty eye-opening for a lot of people because we realize as a Christian, see, because if you're like me, you know, sometimes you think just because you know it, we're good.

We're covered. But it says if you know it, but you don't do it, you're going to actually live your life in deception. You're going to make decisions that aren't right.

You're going to... maybe some marital conflicts happen because you know what the Bible says, but you don't do it. And so that's one of the best ways to break out of deception is to say, you know what, come hell or high water, I'm going to obey the Word of God. And so that's what we're looking at.

We're proverbs. Proverbs was actually what the book says. A whole bunch of proverbs.

And we can't really go through it verse by verse because it changes up a lot. And then you have Ecclesiastes, which is an interesting book. I would encourage you to read it this week.

It's where King Solomon reflects on his life and says, everything is vanity. I had everything I wanted, but I lost that relationship with God. And he writes at the beginning and then at the end he comes back to really acknowledging the Lord.

And then the Song of Solomon is good especially for married couples and help get that passion back on track. The wisdom in the Song of Solomon, the wisdom in Ecclesiastes, the wisdom in Proverbs is what we're looking at. So the top, what I decided to do is the top seven areas of wisdom.

So I'm just going to grab the top seven areas that these books of the Bible talk about. Number one, the elusiveness of foolishness. I try to get these to rhyme.

What I mean by that, the elusiveness of foolishness, is when we live foolishly, God's will is elusive. Elusive means something that is hard to find. And so God's will will actually be hidden from our lives when we allow foolishness and folly.

And you know as Christians, we know what the right decision is, but we decide anyway to make a foolish decision. A lot of heads nodding. From finances to starting up that addiction again, to making that phone call and starting that relationship up again.

I haven't talked to them in six months. I know God wanted me to end it. Good, keep going another six months.

Don't make that foolish decision. And because when we do, God's will can become elusive and really hard to determine. However, as always, praise God, repentance can get you back on track.

Acknowledge, Lord, acknowledge your foolish mistakes and God will get you back on track. And the reason I want to talk about foolishness for a minute and read in Proverbs, is because most of these issues that we're going to talk about are all tied to foolishness versus wisdom. Wise decisions versus foolish decisions.

We're seeing a lot of foolish decisions today, aren't we? In our culture. I think Paris decided to do some foolish decisions in their opening ceremonies at the Olympics. What am I watching? Foolishness.

Foolishness. Mocking God. It's unbelievable.

So let's start where Proverbs starts in chapter one. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Guys, this is so important for you, especially young adults.

Maybe those who aren't sure about God, or you're kind of on the fence, or you're living for the world. To really understand knowledge and wisdom, you have to have a fear of the Lord. I just talked to a gentleman on Wednesday.

He's kind of searching, but believes in Buddha, and he says he's an atheist, but he also believes there is a God. He doesn't know what to believe, and it comes down to, how do I know what's real? How do I know what you're telling me is right? You just have to have faith in it too. But see, without that fear of God, that fear that there is a God, a holy God, that wants us to seek Him, without that fear, it's going to be really hard to get a grasp on knowledge and wisdom.

Also, the fear of the Lord makes me, compels me, motivates me to make right decisions. Amen? But fools despise wisdom and instruction. My son, hear the instructions of your father, and do not forsake the law of your mother.

Kids, did you hear that? Now of course, if your father's in rebellion to God, and your mom is in rebellion to God, and telling you to do things that that are ungodly, obviously, that's a different scenario. But this is where wisdom begins, and this is where fools fall when they deny that there is a God. The fool has said in his heart, there is no God.

And also we can glean from this that the wisdom of godly insight, you can gain so much wisdom by asking others, can't you? I think I probably do this too much, my wife's pointed that out before. I want to vent my feelings, I want, is it okay to say this? But I'm always, you know, wanting to get more input, or feedback, or kind of, let's think this through, and you know, because I feel there's safety in there. So in other words, if it's a bad decision for the church, I'm saying, hey, I didn't make it, all you guys did.

But there are many times we want to seek godly counsel, and that's why he says, go to your mom, go to your dad, if you're young. They've been through it. They know what is a good path, and what is a terrible path.

When they can discern that someone, maybe you're dating, is not the right person. Listen, listen to that instinct, because they've been around the block a few times. They've seen how things play out.

Godly wisdom. But I should note this, that don't ask those who will tell you what you want to hear. Isn't that true? We know exactly who we can go to to tell us exactly what we want to hear.

And then he goes on, my son, if sinners entice you, see, that's where it starts. There's an enticement. There's a promising of things that are not going to happen.

There's an enticement. You know, if you do this with us, look, you'll get all this money, and then you won't have to work for six months. That's how many people who get caught, they have this, they're enticed into something, and there is repercussions for that.

When they say, come, come on, let's go. Let's hide in secret. They're going to actually kill people.

They're going to shed blood, and they're going to take from them. Let us lurk secretly for the innocent without cause. And it's hard for us to understand, but obviously for thousands of years, when there was a path or a road to a place, they would hide out.

People would hide out. And that's why you remember the wild, wild west. They'd have stagecoaches and gunmen on those, and because people could just hop out of anywhere.

And thank God for some law and order that have come over the years. But they could hide for them. You ever hear about those murders in Central Park in New York? Like, how is that possible in a park? Nobody knows anything.

Nobody saw anything. But if you've ever been there, my wife and I went, I think it was 2017 or 18, we were walking. I'm like, I could see how something could happen here, because it's, you know, shady, and there's a path, and it's quiet, and you don't see anybody at all.

And so that's what he's doing here. And when we see them, let's swallow them alive like those who go down to the pit. Basically, just this brutal instinct, this brutality, this violent approach.

Foolishness and foolish decisions like sin. It grows in the darkness, and it looks for the innocent. It promises the world, but only leads to despair.

So that's why he says, my son, do not walk. Do not walk in the way with them. Keep your foot from their path, for their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed blood.

In other words, they're always in a hurry to commit evil. Isn't that interesting how when something happens that is evil and wicked, there's a hurriness to it. There's a quickness to it.

They want to react because they're going off of emotions. So of course, the key is, do not walk in the way with them. Keep your foot from their path.

How does that apply to us? Get out of the way of sin. It's hard to get hit with sin if you're not on the path. And that's why I'm sure many of you are thinking of Psalm 1. Right? Blessed is the man who walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly.

Right? They're on this first step. And don't sit with the sinner or the scornful. Don't even get out of the way, because it will hit you.

And so there are areas in our lives, you know, where we can go and we are going to be more tempted to sin. Certain friendships, certain people that we hang out with possibly, or things we do. The Bible is clear to get out of the path of sin.

Don't even entertain it. Flee from it. And then wisdom, it says in verse 20 and 27, it'll go through wisdom.

What does wisdom do? Wisdom calls aloud outside. She raises her voice in the open squares. Interesting wording, but what he's saying is, wisdom is not quiet.

It calls out in the open squares. It's like an open in society in Jerusalem. Back in this time, the open square was where everyone was at, and you could have somebody heralding things or proclaiming things up high in a high elevation.

And he's saying the same way, wisdom calls out. And so can you hear wisdom's call today? It is loud. It is clear.

It is defined. Guys, our culture cannot change the truth. The truth changes us.

And so, as it calls out, it is crystal clear. It is not in secret. That's why, again, she raises her voice in the open squares.

God's will, God's Word, it's not a mystery that we have to spend five years looking for. It cries out. We know it internally.

For scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge. Fools hate knowledge. We're seeing that right now in a lot of the political areas, aren't we? Don't confuse me with the facts.

That's a sure sign of foolishness. They don't want the facts because they've made up their mind. I don't care.

I'm not going to shift. I'm not going to change my mind because I already hate your position. And so fools despise knowledge.

And that's why you'll see a lot of name calling coming out. They'll label you, especially if you're a spirit-filled, solid Christian who loves the Word of God. Just start posting some things on social media.

Watch what happens. You'll become narrow-minded and arrogant and you're a bigot. You're a homophobe.

What's the newest one? Christian nationalism. I mean, you love God. You love your family.

You love your country. I guess you're labeled with that. And the reason they want to label people is because they can't argue.

They don't have the truth. So it's like junior high school. Let me call you names which are untrue and unwarranted.

But look at this. Turn at my rebuke. So those of you, maybe not here, but listening later, if this sermon feels like a rebuke against worldly knowledge, and maybe he's rebuking the direction I'm going.

I don't like what direction God's Word says. I like my sin. The answer is if you hear this rebuke, it says turn at my rebuke.

So anytime God's Word rebukes us, have you ever been rebuked by God's Word? We have two choices. To dig our heels in. Anybody have those little toddlers that love to dig their heels in? Right, just eat the broccoli.

No. And they'll sit there all night. My wife's better at this than me, but our little one, if she doesn't eat it, that dinner's staying on the sink until you eat it.

Hours later, I'm hungry. Well, guess what's in the refrigerator that we're going to... No. I'm digging my heels in.

But if they turn at this rebuke, look at this line, surely I will pour out my spirit on you. Is the Word of God saying that if we turn from our foolishness, we embrace wisdom and we repent, now we can be a vessel in which God pours out His Spirit upon? Absolutely. And I won't go into details, maybe I will in the book of Acts, but if you've been coming a while, I've talked to you about this.

There are different ways that the Holy Spirit can work in a person's life. Three, actually, three prepositions, right? You know what a preposition is? It helps to solidify a noun. The Holy Spirit will come alongside of a person and will convict them and draw them.

It's kind of working outside. It's the word where we get our word paraclete, you know, para, p-a-r-a. It's outside work.

But then, as a believer, the Holy Spirit now is what? In us. E-n is a preposition if you're talking about Greek words. But then there's an interesting word that Jesus uses, Paul uses, Peter uses.

We'll get into that. The Holy Spirit is not next to you or in you, although He is. Now it comes upon you.

E-p-i. So now a believer has the Holy Spirit upon them and Peter being filled with the Spirit and Paul being filled with the Spirit. There's this coming upon and that's what we experience when we experience a deeper, more meaningful relationship with God.

It's usually because the Holy Spirit has indwelt you and now it's flowing out of you. And I believe there can be a deeper, more intimate relationship with God. We know there's millions of Christians, correct, are just going through the motions.

You've heard that term over the years, the frozen chosen. Well, it just didn't develop this year. It goes back probably hundreds of years ago.

We can be frozen and quenching and grieving the Spirit, but if you turn at the rebuke, maybe this is a rebuke some of you need to hear, to turn from that carnality, to turn from that lukewarm living. And God says, I will pour out My Spirit on you and I will make My words known to you. The closer you draw to God, let me tell you, a person on fire for God with the Spirit of God, they're not perfect, they've still got their issues, amen, but there's this sense of God's Spirit working in them.

They will be able to discern God's will a lot better than the lukewarm carnal Christian of which Jesus says, turn back to Me, turn back to your first love. And this is why I want to be careful because again, we all make mistakes, but a lot of Christians, I lived here for a while so I can say this, let me get down a little lower, they live their whole life, it's like a lot of their life is about foolish decisions. They're either coming out of a foolish decision, they're about ready to jump into a foolish decision, they can't manage their finances, this is falling apart, they're not in church a lot and they're just very carnal and lukewarm and they look a lot like the world in their decision-making process.

Why is that? Because they don't turn at God's rebuke. They don't ask to be filled with the Spirit and want more of you and more of you and the more I seek you, the more I love you, the more I love you, the more I seek you, the more I want your direction. This person is going to be wiser in their decision-making process.

Correct? They're going to make decisions based on God's Word, not on their emotions. A lot of times these people are making decisions based on emotional impulses. Have you ever been there? And so we see here that turn at my rebuke, God's Spirit is upon you and I will make my words known to you.

Young adults, if you're looking for a spouse, make sure they live on this side and not that side. Correct? Full of the wisdom of the Lord. Sure, they'll make foolish decisions now and then, but they know to catch it.

They get back on track and they'll say things like, I just don't have peace about this, I don't have peace about that. That's interesting, because peace is a good governor of the soul. And somebody walking closer to the Lord and that's why we could make foolish decisions, especially in our teenage years and young adult years, if we weren't careful.

It shouldn't carry on too much longer. We should learn from those mistakes. So turn at my rebuke.

Again, the benefits of obedience, the pouring out of God's Spirit. I find it very interesting that many times a person who's grown tremendously in their walk with the Lord, you know, they went from carnal and lukewarm to just the fullness of the Spirit. I mean, there's probably, I don't know of any other time that this wouldn't apply.

It's when they have obeyed God. Often it's not just, you know, praying about it and going to bed and then you wake up full of the Spirit. There's usually decisions that have to be made.

Aries of the flesh that have to be crucified. Turning from and saying, Lord, I'm turning, I'm giving this up in order to follow You. And that's what I talked about, I believe it was probably on Wednesday, if you weren't here to go back and listen to it, but the end of the message.

A lot of the books I read, a lot of the books, people you know, Christians who came before us, the names, right, like John Wesley and John Bunyan and Amy Carmichael, Abinaya Judson, Hudson Taylor, Oswald Chambers, D.L. Moody. Did you know that a lot of them, Adrian Rogers, we hear him on the radio as well, a lot of them were Christians for years, but they didn't write what we read. They're devotionals and they're powerful.

There wasn't powerful preaching, there wasn't in-depth devotionals, heartfelt writings, there was none of that. They were Christians kind of just going through this mundane life of existence, but then there came a turning point, a turning point where God was convicting them. Some of those people I mentioned were on the mission field, and God convicted them and showed them in their pride and arrogance they were on the mission field.

They weren't really there to serve Him. D.L. Moody was wanting to build a big name, a big ministry, and God was convicting him to surrender all. Oswald Chambers was a professor or teaching at a seminary, and he said the Bible was the most boring book I ever read as a Christian.

But you know what? If the truth be told today, that's exactly how I felt in my 20s as a Christian. My mom would say, Shane, just read the Bible. Oh my goodness, I'd rather read Popular Mechanics.

Well, you'd like that one, right? Let me pick a different one. That'd be like some of you reading about fly fishing, or some of you reading about how to properly clean your washer. Right? I mean, it was the most boring book I've ever read, and I was a Christian.

Now that still happens today. Don't put up your hand, but I know there's a good chunk of people here that do not want to read the Bible. It's boring.

I don't even know where to start. A lot of teens, often that'll happen, of course, because they hear the Bible's being used as a weapon against me. I can't have fun.

I tell them, don't do this, don't do this, don't do this. It's like outdated. I just get no enjoyment from it.

It's boring. I've heard that over the years. I can't tell you how many times.

Do you read the Bible? I don't really get much from it. It's like, I started in Ecclesiastes. Why is that? Why is that? Because often we're living like the world, and when you're living like the world, you're not hungry for the things of God.

Years ago, thank God I established a pattern now, but I know many of you are caught in it, and this will help and make sense. The hardest, man, it was so hard for me to break out of bad eating into good eating, because I was continually eating the bad stuff. Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about.

Taco Bell, Del Taco, In-N-Out Burger, Chick-fil-A, Panda Express, sweet and sour chicken, right? And so the more I'm eating, and if I go back to that, sometimes it's hard to break out of that. I don't have the desire for the broccoli dipped in hummus, and the nice big salad, what has everything on it, with homemade dressings, and grilled chicken, oh, disgusting, give me some french fries from McDonald's, right? So the more I'm eating that, the more I want that, correct? I was in a season where I had to have donuts in the morning, and then did I want to eat better later? No, of course not. Why? Because you're feeding the junk, you're feeding the chemicals, you're feeding, by the way, there are a lot of chemicals.

I know Chick-fil-A's Christian, In-N-Out's Christian, but they use a lot of chemicals that keep the body addicted. Why do they hire scientists to design food that will take us to the pleasure trap? And so the same thing though with obeying God. The more we're in the world, the more the things of God are not appealing to us.

They do not taste good. Don't tell me about it, I don't want to hear it. And so obedience, a turning from what is wrong to what is right, allows God to pour out His Spirit into your heart and into your soul.

While I'm on that rabbit trail, let me encourage you, it won't take long to change that palate and to change that taste. I can honestly take a taste of a Dr. Pepper and spit it out. Oh, the syrup, the sugar.

Years ago, remember root beer floats? A.W. root beer with ice cream, right? But now those things, you won't desire it as much once you break free of those things. Same with our Christian walk. The benefits of obedience, the pouring out of God's Spirit.

Isaiah said that wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times. When all hell is breaking loose, when nothing is stable, the stock market's not stable, cryptocurrency's not stable, silver gold, okay, kind of sometimes, right? The government, is the government stable? Is the secret service stable? Nothing is stable. He says, cries out 3,000 some years ago, the wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your time.

I think 2,700 years ago to be exact. The same cry goes out today. God's Word, God's wisdom, that is the only stability to build your life.

When all hell is breaking loose, when everything is coming apart, even though the marriage is coming apart, you can still stand on the stability of God's Word. My health is coming apart, you can still stand on the stability of God's Word. My finance, I don't know how we'll make it.

I don't know where this is going to end. I just lost this or this just happened. The stability of God's Word will not waver.

He will see you through the storm. That is the stability in our times. Don't you love that verse? Wisdom and knowledge are the stability of your time.

And then Proverbs 1 20 continues through 27. Because, now let me clarify this a little bit. And you can look at different commentaries and different things.

Of course, you can look at how the noun, is it capitalized? Is it talking about God? What's it talking about? It's actually talking still about wisdom. So wisdom, it says wisdom is talking now. Knowledge is talking now.

Because I have called you and you refused. So you refused God's wisdom. I have stretched out my hand.

In other words, I've tried to grab you by the collar and save you. Wisdom has tried to do that. But you didn't want to listen.

You disdained the counsel of wisdom and would have none of my rebuke. So I will laugh at your calamity and I will mock you when terror comes upon you. It's a harsh way of saying there's nothing I can do at this point.

When you reject wisdom, when you reject knowledge, wisdom will actually judge you. The words of wisdom. It's so important, guys, the whole concept of all these other topics that we're going to talk about briefly.

And it's going to be brief, because the main point was wisdom. Wisdom, making the right decision in all these areas. Parenting, right? Marriage, money issues.

Wisdom is the key, is the foundation. But another key point from Proverbs, the chagrin of sexual sin. Yes, the Bible speaks a lot about sexual sin.

And always remember this, it fascinates before it assassinates. Let's take that in for a minute. Sexual sin fascinates before it assassinates.

Anytime you see a marriage go down because of it, there was an infatuation. It fascinates before it assassinates. And with all things, the more we feed certain appetites and desires, the more they will grow.

Just like I talked about five minutes ago. This is no different. And Proverbs says on this area, stolen water is sweet bread eaten in secret.

Right? I should hit some cookies right here. Oh, now you'll see me though. Right? Oh, this is good.

They know I'm having cookies. They don't know I'm having cookies and coffee. And oh, In-N-Out Burger.

You see, it's sweet because you don't know. Stolen water is sweet. I'm sorry.

Yes, it's sweet. And bread eaten in secret is pleasant. And he's talking about sexual sin.

These things done in the darkness. But he does not know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of hell. Stolen water is sweet.

Bread eaten in secret is pleasant. But he does not know, that person does not know that her guests, those who have partaken of this, are in the depths of hell. Now, it's good to explain this.

Hell on earth versus a literal hell. Because this can be applied two ways easily without a shadow of a doubt. Let's do it in the case of, let's say, adultery.

And the question often comes in a lot more now. Is pornography a form of adultery? Yes. Everybody's like, I'm not sure.

How does that work? Jesus said, if you look at a woman, now it's even on both sides, right? If a woman looks at him, and they begin to lust in their heart, act that out as if it was actually taking place. Jesus said, you've committed that sin. And you can repent this morning.

You can cry out to God. Lord, I repent. But what it does, sexual sin, let's say, it happens in marriage.

It can be hell on earth. It destroys. It wipes out.

We forget how the kids are not only shocked, they are scarred. So it can be hell on earth. Talk to anybody who's ever had it.

To date, as a pastor, I've heard this 14 years now of walking people through it, stepping people down from ministry because it happened when they're involved in ministry. I've never ever had someone come back and say, that was really worth it. Oh, they might shake their fist at you for a few years.

And what usually happens is, let's say the man leaves for the newer model, is what they say. Well, the newer model leaves him and drives off in the sunset with someone younger than him. And five years later, my life is destroyed.

Yeah, I could have told you that five years ago. It fascinates before it assassinates. Hell on earth can happen because of that.

But also, it could be applied to a literal hell, because remember Paul said, and the Bible talks about, that neither fornicators nor adulterers, those committing adultery, nor homosexuals, any type of sex outside of marriage, nor thieves, nor drunkards, nor those who covet and are jealous and bitter, they will not inherit the kingdom of God. So see, it's not the particular sin, it's the sinful lifestyle that reveals the true condition of the heart. But Paul also said, such were some of you, but you've been washed by the blood.

And that is the difference, because it's that defiant, like I'm going to look at pornography, I don't care. Or I'm going to cheat, I don't care. I'm going to keep drinking, it's who I am.

And it's just that defiant, that defiant lifestyle. Paul says you're not going to enter the kingdom of heaven, because that defiance and unrepentant attitude shows that true conversion has not taken place. It's actually not a complicated issue.

Because people say, well, how? The Bible says, but I went out and I blew it last week, so am I on my way to hell? What did you do with the mistake? Did you say, I don't care, this is who I am. I'm going to live the LGBTQ lifestyle because I was born this way, and I don't care what God says, or the Bible says. That's an open rebellion to God's Word.

Unrepentant sin. Unregenerated. So they're not saved.

Versus the person saying, I hate this struggle. Amen? I'm not giving anyone permission to sin. Please understand my heart.

But the person who's caught and says, I hate this struggle. This is not who I am. Jesus died for me.

Lord, help me. I don't want to fall like that again. It's been years, and I turn back to alcohol for a season.

And I don't want to do this. I can't live like this. I'm repentant.

I agree. Lord, help me. That person's in a much better state than the one with their fist held up in rebellion.

Of course, you know, and it might help some of you that are new, I give this analogy often about the pig and the lamb. Right? The pig sin represents mud. And so the pig loves the mud.

It wallows in the mud. And it even leads others into the mud. Right? I love this stuff.

Is that okay? Now some of the sleepers are up. That worked pretty good. That was like hitting the drum.

So that'll lead them into the mud. I won't make the noise again, because my wife will have a panic attack. But the lamb is crying.

I want out of this miserable mud. Help me get out. Help me be clean again.

God, please. What a difference, huh? That's the difference between going to heaven and going to hell. That's why Paul says that these who embrace this lifestyle, and that's my concern for this new push, huge push for homosexuality and the LGBTQ agenda.

And my heart breaks because they raise their fist at God and they say, I don't care what the Bible says. I was born this way. It must be good.

Well, I was born to lie. I was born to cheat. I was born to... Come on, guys.

That just means I need a Savior. Amen. That's what that means.

So next time you hear that, just say, yes, we were all born to sin. That's why we all need a Savior. Stick that in there and see how long it lasts.

But they're mocking and they're mocking. That's why they took transgenders and mocked the Last Supper at the Olympics, a sporting event. My goodness.

They want to mock and ridicule. Be careful in this area. And then number three point, we can glean from wisdom.

Remember, what is the title of the message? Can you hear the cry of wisdom? So if you're caught in sexual sin this morning, can you hear the cry of wisdom to simply say, Lord, help? Help. Help me get out. Help me get back on track.

And often though, this might help some of you. You don't pray that prayer and wake up free the next morning. Sometimes you might want to exchange that phone in for a flip phone.

They still make those? Yeah, I guess. You might want to get some accountability. You might want to put your computer in the living room.

You might want to avoid the triggers. You might have to do something as well. Because when God changes us, it requires some effort on our part many times.

I mean, I've tried this before and it doesn't. Lord, please give me patience. Please give me patience.

But then what will happen? Right? Patience. It's the last one to leave last Sunday. I'm parked out in the dirt and I go to start the car.

What? Everybody's gone. I caught Pastor Abram actually when he was leaving too. But patience.

Patience. That's how you develop it, correct? Also what happened last Sunday, my son, we had a meeting and then he had this ranch dressing and opened it. It spilled all down my desk, on the floor.

He's like, damn, I'm surprised you didn't even get mad. I'm like, oh, right. Caught me at a good time after church on Sunday.

I'm filled with the Spirit. It's no problem. Let's get a rag.

That's what desks are for. That's what floors are for. Catch me on a Thursday night.

So number three, the craziness of laziness. The craziness of laziness. The flesh takes the course of least resistance throughout the book of Proverbs.

It actually rebukes laziness. And I thought of that this week that we don't do that too much anymore. We actually encourage it.

In our nation, we encourage laziness and they call them handouts. Now, let me clarify. A good 2%, 3%, 4%, 5% of people need legitimate help.

Amen? But you can't just throw it out there to anybody because you will actually create laziness. The Bible wants us to work hard. The Bible wants us to say, like I've had to say when I was younger too, I have no job.

I have no money. What am I going to do? Well, it usually means I go out and look for a job. And so if God puts us in that position, He wants us sometimes to break out of that laziness and go do something because if you don't work, you don't eat.

It's biblical. So on one hand, we are very sensitive to those who are in a hard position. They've tried.

Maybe widows, maybe other. And that's why it says widows at a certain age should be helped and different things because they can't rely on other people. But it also encourages people to work.

Go to the ant, you sluggard. Can you imagine me saying that? Hey, can I use an example, Dave? No, you're okay. Hey, Dave, go look at an ant, you lazy man.

He works hard. So that's a pretty strong rebuke. I know Dave works hard, so it's okay.

Can you use him? Others, I'll avoid. But go to the ant, go to the ant, you sluggard. Consider her ways and be wise.

Look, this little ant doesn't even have an overseer, yet she'll provide for herself in the summer. She gathers food in the harvest and saves it. How long will you slumber, you snail? You lazy? Rise up from your sleep.

A little sleep, a little slumber. A little folding of the hands to sleep. So show your poverty come on you like a prowler and your need like an armed man.

Boom. Get up. And that's why I don't understand a lot in the Christian community because there's truth to it, of course.

I'm not going to go into a whole sermon on it because you would need time to fully exhaust it. But there are, we've seen this growing up, different ethnicities, it's easier for certain people to get certain jobs. But I've never understood it from a Christian, like, well, if God's on your side, who cares what skin color you are or what ethnicity you are? It doesn't matter.

Are you kidding me? God's like, you're Asian. There's nothing I can do. You're white.

You're out of luck. Maybe you want to play basketball, right? You're black. You're Hispanic.

You're not going to... Because of your skin color, you're going to be oppressed the rest of your life. There's nothing I can do about it. The Christian shouldn't say that.

You plus God is a majority. God can open tremendous doors. And just think how encouraging and empowering that is to tell young men or women, hey, don't let society gaslight you.

Don't let society tell you, you know, this political party's bad because they're going to hold you back or the white man is the cause of... They're now blaming math issues on racism. We've got to change our math structure because it's like we've lost our mind completely. Tell them, you plus God is a majority.

If you know God, watch what doors He'll open. Sure, certain things might be harder, correct? I mean, to be honest with you, the direction I was on, that's why I don't like... I guess it will vent a little bit. Because people say, well, Shane, you're white, so it was easy for you.

I barely graduated high school. I was considered stupid and dyslexia and learning disability. I had a speech teacher.

I was probably going to be digging ditches for the rest of my life, living in a trailer somewhere that I could afford. Now, that's not bad, people, right? But that's what I was, the course I was on. I can't... What am I going to do? I'm not educated.

I'm this. I have a lot of... I came from a construction family, you know, redneck, right? And that's because your neck was really red from working outside. That's what it... Like, I didn't understand these slang things and loved all people and was destined to not make a lot, maybe a little over minimum wage and be a laborer for the rest of my life.

But God, correct? But God, God opens the door so this message is heard on 80 different radio stations, including the Trump Tower in New Jersey on Saturdays. How does that happen? Right? There's always one out of a group like this, well, you're just promoting yourself. I'm not.

No, I'm just helping you. I wish I didn't have to tell you anything about myself. I like to be a quiet guy, not run into people, just live in my own place by myself.

I don't want you to know anything about me. I don't want to live in a fishbowl. I don't do this because I want to elevate.

I want to help you. You plus God is a majority. So you can tell that teenager who is barely getting through high school, regardless of their skin color, watch what God does when you surrender your life to Him.

Watch what He does. And I understand why the world says certain things, but there's so many Christians that get caught up in it too. Yeah, you know, we're destined to this.

No, you're not. God can pull you out of the misery. Don't just do hard things.

Do very hard things. But I don't want to just focus on laziness on this point. This is important too.

Workaholics are often lazy at home. So all of us that we're hard workers too, if we neglect our responsibilities at home, that is a form of laziness as well. Spiritual apathy.

I'm not going to be involved at home. I'm not going to do anything. So we're lazy in that area.

There's strong rebukes for that as well. And that's why I believe Proverbs doesn't talk about workaholics as something to be avoided because it is laziness in other areas. And then the Bible, specifically Proverbs, when it comes to wisdom, it talks about the affliction of addiction.

What you once controlled now controls you. Make wise choices. Be not among the drunkards or among the gluttonous eaters of meat.

There's something about that. Ever eat too much broccoli? Me neither. Isn't it interesting? Like you make a huge salad and you're like, I'm good, I'm fine.

You don't want more. Maybe when you're actually hungry. But there's something about certain foods.

And they often go together. Drinking too much, eating too much. It goes together.

For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty and slumber, will clothe them with rags. And he's giving a picture here of those who have basically just given up to these lifestyles. And they're marked by this.

It's time to turn from that this morning and apply wisdom. Repent. Tell the Lord, Lord, I need help in these areas.

I need help in these areas. And then number five, the weapon of words. The weapon of words.

Sin is not ended by multiplying words. It's actually increased. But the prudent, the wise, what do they do? What does a wise person do? Anybody need help with this one? I've got a poker stick.

Hold their... Come on, participate. I'm going to make a pig noise again. Why is this one so hard? In the multitude of words, sin is not lacking.

The reason is, out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth is going to speak. So, if you do this, this will be really helpful. I've not mastered it, but I'm trying.

Instead of saying the first thing that comes out, or nowadays in our case, oh, yeah, okay. I got that text. Fire right back.

I got you. Right? And they're like, can I delete that quick enough? So, he's saying here, the more you talk, Chatty Kathy, Busy Bob, the more we talk, and don't you find that? The more we start sharing, the more gossip, like gossip also, just so you know, is telling someone something they don't need to know. Because a lot of times we get, well, that's gossip.

No, I needed to know that. That's not gossip. It's what I don't need to know, or what you don't need to know.

But if somebody needs to know something, that's not gossip. But the more we talk, the more things are going to come out. The more you get women and men together just talking, guess what's going to come out? Probably things we shouldn't say.

So, the wise person holds their tongue. And the soothing tongue, what is a soothing tongue? Is a tree of life. But a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.

And again, out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth is going to speak, especially, you know, the parents, who just always critical, always negative. And I know for many of us, it's something to work on. Because I can go in that direction sometimes.

Do any of you just see the bad in things? Yeah, but. Yeah, but. Constantly just, constantly being critical and heavy.

The soothing tongue, it's a tree of life. It will speak life into the person. And Proverbs spends some time on this.

And so there's something about our words. I bet many of you who are experiencing pain now from your childhood, a lot of it was because of words, what were said to you. And in those same section, it talks about, Proverbs talks about number six, the power of parenting.

The power of parenting. I would have a whole sermon on this at some point, but let them see Christ in you is what it boils down to. Let them see the Christ in you.

Those who spare the rod of discipline, they actually hate their children. Those who love their children care enough to discipline them. Now, of course, the reason this is a hot topic right now, especially since probably 1980s or so, is because discipline can cross the line.

Correct? When you may be doing that through anger, explosive, and hurt beyond what is acceptable. And so one would have to be careful, but when we don't do anything, it can also hurt the child. And those who have had a hard upbringing when they were kids probably are going to be... well, sometimes they'll be hard as well, but often they'll back away.

Because they're like, I don't want to do that. How many of you were raised in the 70s, 80s, and you remember, you can't spank like that anymore? I remember my mom, she'd go out and she'd get that limb off the tree. What are you doing? Man! And it works.

I remember, I think Bethel Baptist has just started. You guys remember Bethel Baptist? On Avenue K? And I go from elementary school to Bethel Baptist and found out they can spank you there. And I'm still shocked, like anything I see even close to it is about that long and it's about that thick and it had holes in it.

And she would hold it and you would bend over like this. And in the classroom, I could hear the kids making noises when she spanked them. And I'm like, that's never going to happen to me.

And one day, it finally did. Yep, yep, yep. But just how much of the schools changed? I was spanked because I had three warnings, making noise and chewing gum.

Now it's assault, robbery, rape, cussing at teachers. It's just incredible. I think it was Votie Bachman said, if you send them to Caesar, don't be surprised if they turn into Romans in their attitude.

Those who spare the rod, do it with love though. Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he was old, he will not depart from it. Many times people have questions about these kind of verses because sometimes it appears this isn't working.

And if you read John MacArthur, there's a good commentary on this in his Bible and others. Proverbs is not a one-size-fits-all. In other words, if you do this, this will happen.

It's not like this magical thing, because it also talks about other things. Fear the Lord this, it will lead to a long life. What about the person doing that who died at 21? But it's a standard of living for believers that puts everything in your favor.

And we do know train up a child in the way they will go, and when they're out in the world like the prodigal son and they realize that the world is one big empty space, they often run back to the training they were in because they saw the stability in the lives of their parents. They saw that there was forgiveness. They saw that there was hope.

They remember the peace that they experienced. And so they often return to that. And then the final point is the master of money.

You master money, or it will master you. It's a wonderful servant, but a terrible master. And that's what people don't really understand, like when churches talk about tithes and offering and things like that.

But often, and especially with our church too, it's not that like, oh, if we don't have money, we won't be around next month. It has to do with understanding how tight of a grip money has on a person. The best way to release that grip is to loosen it a little bit.

And that's why God says bring the tithe, the storehouse, bring the offering, and it releases that grip because now I'm holding on to it so tightly. Because if the truth be told, all of it belongs to God. And so God loves a cheerful giver.

And what happens is, I'm living below my means in order to give cheerfully. I don't need the most expensive house, the most expensive car, so I'm barely getting by and I'm holding on to everything. God loves a cheerful giver.

It's not mastered me, so I'm going to be able to give out of the abundance He has given me. That's the way money will not master you. And of course, this comes up a lot.

People talk about tithing. Oh, the tenth isn't in the New Testament. It's an Old Testament thing.

And that always comes from people who don't want to give. I've noticed that over the years. You know tithing is not in the New Testament.

Let me guess. You're not a giver. It's convicting.

Now, there's truth to that, correct? You know, you have to do 10%. All we know is God loves a cheerful giver. And if it doesn't cost me anything, it's not that big a deal.

Like David said, I will not give God that which costs me nothing. So if a millionaire gives $20, it doesn't cost them anything versus somebody on low income and God's going to bless them and they want to show that, hey, Lord, this costs me a little bit. So our teaching as a church, we don't teach a person would have to or temper.

But it depends on the person that they're in. Paul also said, I don't want you to give so that you're now burdened, but others are eased. I mean, I remember telling an electrician at our church when we started, gave a lot, but they were not doing good financially because his business was hurting.

I'm like, take a break. Don't give it all. What? Don't I have to? No.

Don't ease. Now you're burdened more. Get your wife a nicer car that runs.

And so, it's left up to the individual. God loves a cheerful giver. And some people want to give more.

Hey, I sold my home. I want to give some. I sold this.

I want to give some. I left this inheritance. I want to give some.

Others say they're living off $500 a week. Here's five. I can really fill that.

And it's up to them and God. So we don't have a position on the tithe, but you really want to examine your heart. For us, that's a good number.

Ten percent is going to make this a priority. You're going to have to live in such a way where ten percent of your money is the tithe or offering. You structure your life in such a way that you can give to God.

And that's how we started our marriage, and we've done it ever since. We buy even where we live or rent. We don't factor in that.

I mean, we factor in that when we do our bills. So you have to master money or it will master you. Lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth.

Isn't that interesting? Lazy hands. If you don't do anything, it will lead to poverty. But diligent hands bring wealth.

So, let me say this while I'm here, because I'll forget the second service probably. You're going to hear a lot of talk in the future, we did the last election, different things, maybe not as much this one, maybe in the future, with socialism, okay? And capitalism is bad. It's about corporate greed.

Now, any system is going to be bad, right? Any system is prone to sin because there are sinners managing it. But the concept of capitalism, the concept, okay, like just get out of your mind a certain political party or corporate America, the thought is a man works hard, he benefits from his work. So the harder I work, I start a business, I steward, I budget, I this, I'm rewarded for my efforts.

That's biblical. Absolutely biblical. Socialism is not biblical.

Because those who work hard have to give to those who don't. That's the bottom line, okay? Can I give you an example, Aubrey? It's okay. Okay.

A couple years ago, I said, hey, if you do this job, I'm going to give you $20, okay? She said, okay, clean that. I don't remember what it was. And so, she goes, can I get paid now? Yes, I gave her five.

I gave my son five and my two other daughters five. It's like, what is that? Oh, that's socialism. I don't like that.

Right, because it's not biblical. Socialism is not biblical. You can go into Marxism, we can get really deep with people like AOC and what they teach and believe and even who is running for president soon or going to be the president, Kamala, big time into this type of system.

And if you go deep, what it really is, is to take control from you and give it to the government. That's the whole reason behind it. You'll own nothing and you'll be happy.

So that's where socialism at its roots, they use a good idea, hey, we can all help each other. But that doesn't work because those who want to work hard, stop working hard. Perfect example, you can research it yourself.

It's probably in something called of Plymouth Plantation by William Bradford. He was the first governor of the pilgrims coming in and they all tried the communal system. Communism is another word for it.

Communal system where they all threw in this huge amount of corn, but they almost starved to death because the few hard workers were doing all the work and the lazy pilgrims were not doing anything because they all just threw into the system. So communism, it doesn't work. It's unbiblical.

Now, are there problems with capitalism and greed and corporate? Yeah, but look at the principle of it. That is what is very important for us right now, especially as we go forward in our government and for the next generation to understand that. And I guess I was going to cover Acts, but I'll cover it now since it fits and it's only a one minute or two.

I've heard a lot lately. Actually, it's been a couple years, but I used to hear a lot where the book of Acts taught communism. How many of you heard that? When they all gave to help the churches and believers in need.

I don't remember what chapter it is. And they'll use it. They'll say it's a form of communism.

See, they all just threw in. It doesn't say they all gave everything. And if you read in context, it's hey, there are some believers who were in a low spot, so what the church did is they all came together like we would.

Somebody's house burned down. Hey, let's all come together on Wednesday. Bring $100.

Bring $200 if you can. And they all came together and they gave freely to help these people. Communism, socialism is forced taking of your resources.

It has nothing to do with giving freely. And we saw how easy it was, wasn't it? With the COVID and those big check reliefs. Biden waives the college.

There's free this. Nothing is free. So anytime you hear the government say free this, it's not free.

You're paying it probably. Okay, let's get out of there. I know I've got friends that say I'm sure glad he waived that college debt.

So I understand. I mean, I guess if I had it, I probably would too, right? All this stuff's going to come around to bite us. Dishonest money dwindles away, but whoever gathers money little by little makes it grow.

Years ago, we did a living trust. I was told it's the best thing to do and I'm not going to have the kids get anything until they're like 30 or 35. I don't remember what age we put out.

What? They don't need any money at 21, 22, 23, right? You give people too much too soon. Go research how many kids that get their inheritance too soon. It destroys them.

And while you're at it, look at all the lottery winners. Where are they at now? Did you know like 70% have lost it all? You ever follow famous athletes when they start getting millions of dollars at age 19, 20? Not good. Not good.

And we know that little by little, because then you value it. Look at over 30 years. I value that versus it just being whatever.

It's no big deal. So Proverbs is really about reversing worldly wisdom. Laziness kills ambition.

Anger kills wisdom. Fear kills dreams. Jealousy kills peace.

And doubt kills confidence. But thank God. Now let's read that left to right.

Confidence kills doubt. Peace kills jealousy. Dreams kill fear.

Wisdom kills anger. And ambition will kill laziness. So that was Proverbs.

That was Proverbs summed up. I'm just going to tell you real quick what Ecclesiastes is. Insight for living.

Anybody follow him with Chuck Swindoll? I know he's been somebody I've followed for years. He said as King Solomon, he had the opportunity and the resources to experience all kinds of pleasure. Yet the world weary tone of the writing suggests that later in life, he looked back on his folly with regret, pointing us to a better, simpler life in God's direction.

He said here's my final conclusion. Fear God and obey His commands. And those are some key verses you can look at in Ecclesiastes about meaningless, meaningless.

Everything is meaningless. And then he goes on to say remember your Creator in the days of your youth. Remember Him now early on.

Kids, young adults, remember Him now because that's the sure foundation that will get you through. Basically, Ecclesiastes says priorities. The little things make the big difference.

The little things make the big difference. And then finally, the Song of Solomon. I'm going to sum it up with this.

Pursue passion in your marriage. Amen? I held my wife's hand yesterday, came up in the kitchen and said, we've got to make a habit of this because it does not happen on its own with five kids at home, right? So you have to pursue passion. It must be fueled or it will fade away.

Song of Solomon talks about that, but also a key verse that I love for young adults. If you are unmarried, do not awaken love before it's time. Amen? So the call of wisdom goes out today.

Can you hear it? What area of your life is this applicable to? What area did you hear that you need to work on? Take it to the Lord this morning. And of course, those who might not know who Jesus is this morning, the call of wisdom goes out to you. The call of wisdom goes out to you.

You need to make that decision. I heard something this week that God not only gave His only Son, but He gave His best. And that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

A God who dies for His enemies. It's amazing. So if you need to make that decision today, the Bible is clear.

It says, repent and believe. Repent and believe that you need God. Fear God.

That's the beginning of wisdom. That's the beginning of knowledge.