Turn with me to the book of Proverbs
as we continue through this book. Proverbs 2. Proverbs chapter 2. In our last study in this book
of Proverbs, the book that sets forth the blessed message. And this is a blessed message
from the Lord Jesus Christ. This is a letter, the Word of
God. And this book is written in such
a way as set forth by our Lord. Parables. Proverbs. Dark sayings. That's how the book of Proverbs
reveals itself. Dark sayings. Hidden. Why, the
Apostle says, do you speak in parables? And the Lord says,
because it's given unto you to understand the mystery of the
kingdom of God, and to them it's not given. To God's people, This book, these
Scriptures, are set forth that we might know Him. It pleased
God to write through men. This was written by Solomon where
he penned it. It was given by the Spirit of
God. The book of Proverbs. The last
time we looked at one verse, we looked at verse 9 one time,
and here's the four things we learned out of verse 9. We understood
some things. Number one, we understood something
concerning, that's what verse 9 says, that thou shalt understand
righteousness. That is, that man by nature has
none that will satisfactorily answer before the law of God.
Man doesn't have that. There's none righteous. No, not one. We understand that Christ is
our righteousness, that He alone stands His absolute obedience
as a man, as a man. The Lord Jesus Christ, the man
Christ Jesus, the Son of Man as a man earned as a man. A man obeyed God. And that righteousness that God
Almighty accepted and the proof that He accepted it was the resurrection. God raised Him from the dead,
accepted what He had done. We learn secondly concerning
judgment. That is, that Almighty God, the
God of all mercy, power, providence, judgment as the judge, He has
the right to make a judgment. A judge sits, the evidence is
presented, a judge makes a judgment. I rule in favor of, I rule against,
I rule, I rule. That's what judge, that's what
that means right there, judgment. He makes the call. He as the potter has the right
to choose, to make the call. To make one vessel unto honor
and another vessel unto dishonor. Why does he have that right?
Because he's God. He's the potter with the clay. The potter hath the right. Shall I not do with my own as
I will? That's what the Lord said. He
made us. We're not our own. All souls
are mine. We learn, thirdly, of equity,
that God is impartial. All men are going to be judged.
Well, we just read it. All the books were open, and
then the book was open. And all men were judged according
to where they were found concerning those books, concerning the Word
of God. He's impartial. He's not a respecter of persons.
I feel that this person over here, you know, I think it may
be, you know, Mother Teresa. God's not a respecter of persons,
but think ye of Christ. And fourth, we learned every
good path. That is, that the steps of a good man's ordered by the
Lord God orders all things according to His own will. God is sovereign
in all things. God's people know that. Well,
this morning I'd like for us to look as we consider our stand in Him, life eternal
in Him. I'd like to consider three things
this morning. We understand some things. Verse
9 says, Thou shalt understand. Then shalt thou understand righteousness,
judgment, equity, yea, every good path. I'd like to ask these three things. First of all, I'd like for us
to consider the time of that understanding. Then shalt thou
understand. When? When does a man understand? When do I come to an understanding
of righteousness and judgment and equity in every good path? Well, verse 10 says, "...when
wisdom entereth into thine heart." Wisdom. The wisdom of God. himself." Eye wisdom. That's what the Lord said. The
wisdom of God. The time of our understanding
is when Almighty God is pleased to give a man a new heart, new
spirit, new eyes, new ears, when wisdom entereth into thine heart."
When I give you, when I bestow upon you, when I take away that heart of
stone, the presence of that old heart
is still in a believer. But what does it mean to take
it away? I will take away. I look this
up again this morning just to make sure I behead it. I'll behead it. I'll take away
its power to completely. Oh, the presence of it's there.
Don't you ever doubt that it is you that believe. Know what
I'm talking about. Tell me, I've shared a little
bit with you of how hard it is for me, how I struggle. struggle
to pray. You that believe. Is it so with
you? That's what John Newton asked. Is that so with you? Do you find just no obstructions
whatsoever? Oh, I'm able to just without
any problems whatsoever, I can just enter right into the glory
of God. And I can pray and I never have
one doubt that ever comes in my mind. That's a little bit more confidence
than the Scripture sets forth. That was more confidence than
Paul the Apostle. Oh, he said, I know in whom I
have believed. And I'm persuaded that he's able
to keep that which I've committed unto him against that day. But
the same Apostle says, I see in me there's no good thing.
I see in me a struggle. I see in me a battle. The will
that's present with me, isn't it with you? to will, but how
to accomplish that which I find not. It's beheaded, but it's
still there. When the Lord Jesus Christ, wisdom
Himself, entereth into thine heart, how did He get there? Oh, I invited Him. The Lord says, I'll give it to
you. Go back and read the Song of
Solomon again when the Lord is speaking to His bride. And she's
already laid down for the evening. And He calls to her. He looks
at her through the lattice. She gives all kinds of excuses.
And He puts His hand in, the Scripture says, through the hole
of the door. Awakens her. God knows how to awaken you.
God knows how to get your attention. He knows just exactly. But left
to yourself, I'm telling you, we are the absolute epitome of
just rebellion. When wisdom enters into your
heart, Paul said in Galatians 115, when it pleased God who
separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by His grace,
called me by grace, Call me by His graciousness to reveal His
Son in me, that I might preach Him among the heathen. Immediately
I conferred not with flesh and blood." Spiritual. When wisdom entereth into thine
heart. He who is sovereign in creation
and providence and salvation. And the timing of that salvation.
Why did He call you when He did? Because that's when he was pleased
to call you. When you please God. That's what Paul said. Why
didn't he call Paul before the road to Damascus? It didn't please
him to do so. Well, surely Paul could have
figured out by the Scriptures. Go back and read in Philippians
how much Paul studied the Scriptures. How much confidence he found
in himself. How he saw in himself that before
the law of God that there was nothing that the law of God could
say against him. He said, I was blameless. He
said, God revived that law when I saw it. He said, I died. I tell you this. Let me ask you
this. When wisdom entereth in thy heart,
when God was pleased, I want everybody to think about your
birthday right now. What day and year were you born? Why weren't you born a year before
that? Why didn't you just go ahead
and will that? Why didn't you just go ahead by your free will
and will yourself? You see how ridiculous that is?
Man will agree with you on everything concerning birth except when
it comes to salvation because he's proud and he's arrogant
and he wants some glory in it. He who appoints salvation appoints
the timing when Almighty God who had eternally ordained the
new birth, when He sends forth the Spirit of His Son into our
hearts, that's when we cry, Abba, Father. That's when we behold
Him. The time of our knowledge of
life eternal is according to God's purpose. God Almighty is
the author of salvation. He ordains it. He has appointed
it. He brings it to pass. When do
you understand? When wisdom entereth into thine
heart. Secondly, the evidence that wisdom has entered into
your heart. The evidence of life eternal. How do I know? How do I know? Look at the second part of that
tenth verse. And knowledge is pleasant unto
thy soul. Knowledge. This is life eternal. They may know Thee, the only
true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent. You that believe, that knowledge
is pleasant to your soul. It's agreeable. That knowledge, the word there,
knowledge, it means to know by experience. I've experienced
this. I know it. Two primary areas
of this experiential knowledge. And both of them are agreeable. When knowledge is pleasant unto
thy soul. They're both agreeable. Both
these areas are agreeable. And you experience them. You
that believe, you experience them both. Here's first knowledge.
There's a knowledge of my need of Christ. Now let me ask you
this, you that believe. Is that not so with you? Is there
not a knowledge of your need of Christ? I need Him. Without Him, I can do nothing. How do I know where to go? How
do I know what to do? I need Him. Let me ask you, do you think
blind Bartimaeus truly realized his something of the need of
Jesus, thou Son of David? Have mercy on me. Do you think
he needed Him? Let me ask you, what do you think
about that thief on the cross, that one that the Lord was pleased
to reveal before that man left this world? When he looked at
him and he said, Would you remember me? You that believe, can you not
right now in your heart say those very words and they're so tender
to you? I mean, even as you think on
them, your heart is made tender. Lord, would you remember me? I'm a failing creature. That's
what Brother Mike just read. We're dust. Life's a vapor. It's like watching television yesterday.
How many have passed away? Your sister. This person, this
person, this person. Watching television yesterday. Here's a guy, I met this guy,
Steve McNair. I managed to talk with him. Nice
guy. Just a nice guy. Somebody shot
him, killed him, in Nashville. I wonder if he thought of it
that quick. Over. We never think, we never get
up and think that today's going to be the last day we'll Nobody
ever thinks that. I need Him. Here's the second
thing I know as far as experiential knowledge of Christ. He's all
my need. I'm convinced of that. What else?
You that believe, what other need do you have? My God shall supply all your
need according to His riches in glory How? By Jesus Christ. All my need. When wisdom entereth
into thine heart, and knowledge, a knowledge of my need, and knowledge
that He's all my need, that's pleasant unto my soul. That's pleasant. I agree with
it. That's what it means. I agree
with you. I'm agreeable to that. Not that
I like what I see in me. I'm not that pleasant. The word
means agreeable. It's agreeable to my soul. God's
people called out of darkness know by experience the Lord to
be the God of all grace and mercy and compassion to them. It's
pleasant. And here's the second thing also
in that second point. Here's something else that's
an evidence of it. Verse 11. Discretion shall preserve
thee. Understanding shall keep thee.
Discretion. Discretion means penetrating
intelligence. Now, let me just Get something
off your mind right now. You know, you think of discretion. Well, I mean, I've pretty well
thought that through. I've got pretty good discretion. This discretion right now, right
here, has nothing to do with you. Not your discretion. God's discretion. Do you think
right there that discretion shall preserve thee? Do you think that's
got something to do with you? No. Penetrating intelligence,
what it means. To guard, to head you about. His discretion. His understanding. The word understanding
is wisdom. The same word wisdom. Shall guard
you, keep you. Let me just give you just a good,
Interpretation, let me just read it in that verse 11 right there. Discretion, penetrating intelligence
shall preserve you, shall guard you, shall hedge you. Understanding,
wisdom shall keep you. Listen to this, no greater understanding,
no greater setting forth, no greater interpretation can I
give of that verse right there than this. Almighty God, by the
penetrating intelligence of God Himself, all-knowing, in an everlasting covenant to
show mercy, has preserved His people in Christ. Discretion,
penetrating intelligence, the all-wise God, Him, That will
keep you. When He said, I will have mercy
on whom I will have mercy, let me ask you this. At what point
was His justice compromised in that? Nowhere. He who is all wise, who said,
I will have compassion on you, sent forth His Son into this
world that His Son The Lord Jesus Christ,
our Redeemer, be made the very sin of His people. He hath made Him to be sin. There
is discretion. Oh, you leave it up to a fickle,
feeble man to start talking about the mercy of God, and I'll tell
you the first thing that goes out the window whenever a man
starts talking about God showing mercy. You know what goes up
first? Justice. First thing, justice. God Almighty is just. I'm a just
God. Oh, the discretion that it's
going to take to preserve me. The intelligence. The mercy. the grace of Almighty God. When
wisdom entereth into thine heart, knowledge of yourself, knowledge
of Christ, that's pleasant, that's agreeable unto your soul. And
discretion, that's God's eternal counsel to show mercy, shall
preserve thee. And understanding, wisdom himself
shall keep thee. And then lastly, The glorious
reason. The glorious reason of the giving
of the knowledge of life eternal. The reason for it. Read verse 12, "...to deliver
thee from the way of the evil man." From a man that speaketh froward. things, who leave the paths of uprightness
to walk in the ways of darkness, who rejoice to do evil and delight
in the frowardness of the wicked, whose ways are crooked, and they
froward in their paths, to deliver thee from the strange woman,
even from the stranger which flattereth with her words. which
forsaketh the God of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of
her God. For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto
the dead. None that go unto her return again, neither take they
hold of the paths of life, that thou mayest walk in the way of
good men, and keep the paths of the righteous. For the upright
shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it.
But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors
shall be rooted out of it. 10, 8, 10 verses that I just read. The
reason. The reason that Almighty God
has sent wisdom into your heart, gave you a new heart, new life.
Christ in you. Christ dwells in you. What's the evidence of it? Knowledge
is pleasant unto your soul. Discretion preserves you. Understanding
keeps you. Why? Why, Lord, have You done
this for me? To deliver thee. To deliver thee. From who? From the evil man. To deliver me from myself. What do you mean, deliver you
from yourself? I'm guilty. I'm guilty. That's just the way it
is. I'm guilty. None righteous. No, not one. To deliver me from
the evil man. From the way. From the way of
the evil man. What is the way of the evil man?
What is the way of the evil man? I'll tell you what it is. It's
any other way in which a man attempts to approach God for
righteousness. It's any other way except the
Lord Jesus Christ. It says, "...to deliver thee
from the way of the evil man." What did the righteous man say?
He said, I am the way. I am the truth. I'm the light.
No man comes to the Father but by me. And I'm telling you, the
evil man says, I can. I can. I can whatever. I mean, just start naming them. The Lord says, I've come to deliver
you from that. Those that leave the path of
uprightness, whose ways are crooked. Almighty God has been pleased
in His infinite wisdom and mercy and grace to keep me from the
plague of myself, sin, Satan, self. And He has given me eyes to behold
Christ, delivers me from false, free-will, self-righteous religion
of this world. I'm telling you, that's the evidence
of the great harlot. Deliver thee, verse 16 says,
from the strange woman. We've studied a little bit about
the strange woman over in Revelation, who has made herself drunk on
the blood of the saints. Strange woman. We'll look over,
Lord willing, over Proverbs chapter 7. There's about half a chapter
devoted to talking about this strange woman, false religion
herself, a great harlot, flatters herself with a false gospel,
destitute of any faithfulness whatsoever to a husband. She's a harlot. She's not going
to submit to Christ. That abiding her turned back
to God. None that abide, none that stay, none that God doesn't
pluck out. He's revealed Himself. Why? He has revealed Himself
in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Why? Those last three verses, that
thou, verse 20, mayest walk in the way of a good man. One made
so by the righteousness of Christ. And keep the paths of the righteous
that walk after those that come to Me." Say that in coming. You coming. You're coming. You that believe are coming right
now. You're coming to Him right now by faith. You are. I know
you are. Coming to Him. The upright shall dwell in the
land. The land of rest. And the perfect,
those made so by the grace of God, shall remain in it." Why?
Because God will keep them there. Kept by the power of God. He
who is able to keep you from falling. But the wicked shall
be cut off from the earth. The transgressors shall be rooted
out of it. He's a just God. A Savior. The Almighty God. Bless these
words, this parable, to our heart. May we behold Him who is altogether
lovely, for Christ's sake. Let's stand together. Bob, we're
going to sing a cappella. Let's stand together.