Chapter one. Proverbs chapter
one. Where we'll find our text tonight. Proverbs chapter one. Let's read
the first six verses here together and take one verse. out of these. Most all of us know who wrote
these, Solomon, son of David. The Proverbs of Solomon, son
of David, king of Israel. And this is why he says he wrote
these, to know wisdom. To know wisdom. and instruction,
to perceive the words of understanding, to receive the instruction of
wisdom, justice, judgment, and equity, to give subtlety or wisdom
to craftiness to the simple, to the young man knowledge and
discretion. A wise man will hear and will
increase learning, and the man of understanding shall attain
unto wise counsels. To understand the proverb and
the interpretation, the words of the wise and their dark sayings. Verse five here, the first five
words A verse five is our text and the title of this message.
A wise man will hear. A wise man will hear. Now, it is my desire through
the study of these verses, through the study tonight, to show that
true wisdom, true wisdom, is not found in the knowledge of
facts, in philosophy, in the principles of science, medicine,
or anything that has to do with any earthly thing. But wisdom,
true wisdom, that comes from above, is found in a person. true wisdom is found in a person,
the Lord Jesus Christ. And they are only wise who seek
to study and know Him who is wisdom and to win Christ and
be found in Him, Jesus Christ who is wisdom. Let me ask you
a question and answer it. Who is a wise man and how is
he made wise who is a wise man. Well according to our text here
in verse five a wise being wise has something to do with the
hearing. Wisdom is seems to be directly
related to and comes by the hearing. Look over at Proverbs chapter
eight with me. This thing of hearing imparts
wisdom to a man to a woman. wisdom. Proverbs 8, look at verse
33. Hear instruction and be wise. Hear instruction and be wise
and refuse it not. Look across the page at chapter
9, verse 9. If you'll give instruction to
a wise man, he'll be yet wiser. Teach a just man and he will
increase in learning. A wise man will hear. Or a wise woman will hear. So this thing of wisdom has something
to do with hearing or heeding something or someone. It has
something to do with a hearing, but not just hearing anything
and not just hearing anyone. You can get mighty fouled up
and confused by listening to a multitude of voices, can't
True wisdom. Comes from hearing and believing
the Lord Jesus Christ hearing his words look at verse thirty
four again chapter eight verse thirty four blessed is the man
that here is. That here is me turn over to
Matthew chapter seven with Matthew chapter seven blessed is the
man. Who here. me, that heareth me,
that heareth my words." Christ's words. Now, there is wisdom. There is wisdom which God calls
foolishness. We saw that last week in 1 Corinthians
chapter 1. The wisdom of this world, the
scriptures call foolishness. Hath not God made foolish the
wisdom of this world? That is, or the wisdom of this
world, which is sensual. The wisdom of this world, which
is foolishness, is a lifetime given to accumulating knowledge
and facts of things of this world. And it's the giving of oneself
to the things of this world in order to be healthy, wealthy,
and wise in the things of this world, or powerful, or happy,
or accumulating things, that's the wisdom, that's who the world
would call wise, wouldn't it? The man who has a lot of things,
a lot of toys, the man who has a lot of earthly wisdom. But
the scripture says, that's foolishness, the scripture says, oh that they
were wise and would consider their latter end, oh that is
death, because we're all going to die, is appointed unto man.
wants to die, and the so-called wise men and women of this world
don't seem to give it a second thought, much less a first. It's
appointed unto man wants to die, and after that, the scripture
says, judgment. And as old-fashioned as that
sounds, and as hated as it sounds, as it is, that's what this book
says, doesn't it? Judgment. The word judgment means
an accounting. A summary, a reckoning, a day
of reckoning, a tribunal, or that is a judgment seat, before
whom we'll all stand, or before which we'll all stand. And it
says, the same scripture says, some will be judged worthy of
life, but others will be judged worthy of death. Seems like it
would behoove a man, a woman, a young person to look into these
things, to consider this. Well, look at Matthew 7, verse
24. Jesus Christ is speaking here,
and he says, Therefore, whosoever heareth these sayings of mine,
and doeth them, acteth upon them, I will liken him unto a wise
man which built his house upon a rock. Whosoever heareth these sayings
of mine." Who said that? Who's talking here? This is the
Lord God of heaven. This isn't Aristotle. This isn't
Plato. This isn't Confucius. This isn't
Buddha. This is the Lord God from heaven.
God himself. God in human flesh. Emmanuel
is his name. God with us. Jesus Christ, the
Son of God. And he's the one whom the scriptures
say that God will judge the earth someday in righteousness by that
man whom God hath ordained. In other words, Jesus Christ,
the scripture says, is the standard of acceptance. Jesus Christ is
the one by whom God will judge all men whether or not he approves
of them or not, whether or not they have life or whether or
not he gives them death. He's the judge. He's the standard.
He's the only man approved of God. The only one. The only one
of whom it was ever said that God approved of him. The only
one. The one whom we must be like
in order for this holy God to accept us into his presence.
The only one whom we must be like In order for God to have
fellowship with us, in order to know God, in order to be known
by God, in order to love God, in order to be loved by God,
in order to speak to God, in order to be spoken to by God,
we've got to know this person and be found in him, believe
in him, Jesus Christ, the righteous man. So Christ says this, if
you're wise, you'll hear me. If you're wise, You'll hear me
and you'll act upon what I say. You'll do my thing. OK, what
did he say? That's my next question, who
is a wise man, what makes for a wise man is the one who hears
the sayings of Jesus Christ and does then well. Next question
that naturally follows, what did he say? What did he say that
I might hear him? Well, you could spend a millennium. We could spend the next thousand
years studying all that he said. And the scripture says, if all
that was recorded of what he did and said, the world couldn't
hold the volumes of books. But I'll give you a few here.
Let's look over John chapter three. John chapter three. Here's the first, or one of the
first things that we need to consider that Christ said. There
was a man, a noted and learned Jewish scholar who approached
Christ one night under cover of darkness, a little wimp, and
he wanted to discuss philosophy or theology with Christ or ask
him questions or at least tell him his answers, but he came
under cover of darkness to talk with This rabbi, this teacher,
and here's what he said. There was a man of the Pharisees,
verse 1, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. The same came to
Jesus by night and said unto him, Rabbi, or teacher, we know
that thou art a teacher come from God. For no man can do these
miracles that thou doest except God be with him. And furthermore,
Jesus stopped him right there. He interrupted him. Christ said
unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you. Now, this man
hadn't asked him a thing, had he? He hadn't asked him anything. He wanted to come, wanted to
talk to him, have a little discussion, you know, a little philosophy
debate or whatever, you know. Christ said, Of a truth, of a
truth, I say unto you, Except a man be born from above, he
cannot see the kingdom of God." And Nicodemus probably went silent
for a few minutes. Except a man be born from above,
and he said it down to verse 5, he said, except a man be born of water
and of spirit." That is, except a man be born the first time
physically, but the second time spiritually. He cannot enter
into the kingdom of God. And old Nicodemus didn't understand
a word he was saying then. And what is he saying here? What
is Christ saying? He says, this is a wise man. He that hears my sayings and
acts upon them. He that hears, that takes heed
to what I say and believes. What is he talking about here?
He's talking about the new birth. What is that? What's the new
birth? Well, it's not a how-to, is it? He didn't say a man must
learn how to be born again, did he? Did he? He didn't say, verily,
verily, I say unto you, a man must get born again in the language
of Poor Baptist, get borned. Now, he said a man must be born
again. You must be born again. Be born. It's the difference
between what folks are calling getting born and being born. Now, this naturally follows that
what he's saying here. Romans 5, 12 and Ephesians 2,
1. We know where. Scriptures that talk about man
being dead. being born in sin, dead in trespasses
and sin. That is, dead to God. Not physically
dead, although he is dying. The minute we're born, we're
dying. But he's dead spiritually. For that is, he's spiritually
insensible, like a dead man. Insensible, unfeeling, no desire
toward the things of God. But he's rather full of sin. full of corruption, full of iniquity,
full of hatred, lies, bitterness, clamor, and evil speaking, all
manner of sinfulness and wickedness, the Scriptures say. And the world
and all that are in it is like a cesspool of iniquity. That's what Isaiah said in chapter
1 concerning man. He said, from the sole of his
feet to the top of his head, there's no soundness in it, nothing
but wounds and bruises and putrefying sores. The heart and the life
of mankind is like the earth before God moved upon it. It's
without form and it's void, right? And it must be created in the
same way that God created the first heavens and earth, right? by the word of his power. God
spoke and the world lived, right? He created it anew. And life,
spiritual life, must be given from above. Just as God spoke,
turn over to John chapter 5 with me. John chapter 5. Just as God
spoke and created all things by the word of his power, that's
Christ who is the power of God. who is the Word of God. Christ,
God, through the gospel, must speak to the heart of a dead
man and give new life, real life, spiritual life. And here's something
else Christ said. Now, you must be born from above.
In other words, God must speak and say, let there be life in
a dead sinner. And here's something else Christ
said here in verse Twenty-one chapter five. As the father raises
up the dead and quickeneth them, even so the son quickeneth whom
he will. For the father judges no man,
but hath committed all judgment unto the son. The son is the
judge. We quoted that scripture a while
ago. It's pointed that the man wants to die and after that the
judgment. And Christ said, now you'd be wise if you'd hear what
I have to say. And why is that? He says, I'm the judge. One day
you're going to be standing before me. And I'm not going to be a
man like you see me now. Right? I'm going to look altogether
different. Unless you have changed eyes,
unless you've been born from above, you're not even going
to be able to look on me. So he said, a wise man would hear
what I'm about to say. that the Father committed all
judgment unto the Son, that all men should honor the Son," verse
twenty-three. Now, these Russellites, they'd better get in line here,
hadn't they? They're so-called Jehovah's Witnesses, Russellites.
They'd best be getting in line, hadn't they? They'd best be hearing
what the Son has to say, hadn't they? Didn't he say he's the
judge, didn't he? Not the Father. He's the judge. And all men ought
to honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. You don't worship
Jehovah outside of Jesus. Jesus means Jehovah, God, our
Savior. And all men should honor the
Son even as they honor the Father. He that honoreth not the Son
does not honor the Father. God won't hear you. Well, you're
not Jehovah's Witness unless you witness Christ. The Spirit,
the Holy Spirit, is Jehovah's Witness, and what does he witness
of? Christ. He's the greatest witness of
all. He that honors not the Son honors
not the Father. And I look on here, verse 24. Now, he says
this again, barely, barely. Now, listen up. He says, I've
got something to say here, and I'm emphasizing it. Of a truth,
of a truth, I say unto you, he that heareth my word, and believeth
on him that sent me, I'm the sent one, hath everlasting life,
and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto
life. by hearing. Verily, verily, he
said it again, of a truth, of a truth I say unto you, the hour
is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of
the Son of God, and they that hear him shall what? Live! It sounds pretty important that
we hear his voice, doesn't it? Have you heard the voice of the
Son of God? Have you? Now, it doesn't come
in a dream or a vision, like these charlatans and these hucksters
are saying, you know, God spoke to me last night, so la-ma-bon-de-bla-bon-de. God spoke to me. That comes from
indigestion, mostly, these dreams and visions that they have. The
Scripture says, here's what God says about how he speaks. I'm
interested in that, aren't you, what God says? God, who at sundry
times, or that is, other times, and in diverse manners, or different
manners, spoke unto the fathers by the prophets," that is the
Old Testament, right? "...and hath in these last days," that's
the days we're living in, "...spoken unto us in sun." That's how it's
translated. "...hath spoken unto us in sun
language." He will not speak to nor be spoken to by anyone
except in Christ. Son language. Job said it. Elihu said it over in the book
of Job. He was reproving the old man who should have had some
wisdom. And he said this in verse 14, Job 33. He said, God speaketh
once. God speaketh once. Just like
God said in Hebrews 1. Through the prophets, through
the law and the prophets and Psalms, God spoke once, yea,
twice. God even came down here and spoke
in the person of Christ. He said, I am, hear me. God said it even, here he is,
hear him. And Elihu went on to say, but
men perceiveth it not. They didn't hear it. And he said even here in verse
thirty-nine, look at verse thirty-nine, he said, even though they're
searching the scriptures, even though they're real religious,
even though a man thinks to be wise and searches with all his
might, can he understand? No. He searches the scriptures
because in them he thinks he knows how to live, how to get
to God. But he's all mistaken because
they are they which testify of me. They are they which testify of
me, unless the man understands Christ. Unless the man sees the
Word in the Word, he doesn't understand the Word. They are they which testify of
me, Christ said, and so does everything in this universe testifies
of Christ. It all bears witness of the One
who has come, the One who has come. The scripture says, Terry,
the Son of God has come and given us an understanding that we may
know Him that is truth. Christ said, I am the way, the
truth, and the life. That we may know Him, the Son
of God has come and given some people an understanding that
they may know Him that is truth. Pilate said, what is truth? He
was looking at it. Him that is true, and we are
in him, that we may know we're in him. Can you know? Yeah, you
can know. That's what he's saying here,
that we are in him, or that is, we live and move and have our
very being in him. Even in his son, Jesus Christ. And he goes on to say, this is
the true God and eternal life, that they might know Christ.
Turn with me to John chapter eight. John chapter eight, verse
23, look at this, John 8, Christ said something else here. He
said, now a wise man will hear what I say. All judgment, you
must be born again, but you're dead, and a man can't be born,
can't receive anything except to be given to him from above.
He said, I'm come from the Father, I'm sent from the Father, that
they might have life, I'm the judge. Verse twenty-three, and
he said unto them, You are from beneath. Man needs to hear that,
doesn't he? He's lowly, he's nothing. He's
of his father the devil by nature. He said, You're from beneath,
I am from above. You are of this world, that which
is flesh is flesh, that which is spirit is spirit. God is a
spirit, they that worship him must worship him in spirit. I
am not of this world. In other words, I'm not just
a man here. Don't look. Do you judge things after the
outward appearance? You better judge righteous judgment, Christ
said. Spiritual judgment. I said, therefore,
unto you, verse 24, that you shall die in your sins, for if
you believe not that I am, you shall die in your sins. So what's he saying that a wise
man needs to hear? I'm God, there's none else. I'm God, there's none else. Declaring
the end from the beginning, the things that are not yet done,
saying my counsel shall stand, I will do all my good pleasure.
I'm God, that's who. Do you believe that? Do you believe
that Jesus Christ is the Son of God? Good. Do you believe that he's
God? Have you ever thought about this, the difference between
the Son of God and being God? Christ is called the Son of God
because he's his only begotten, that holy thing. A child is born,
a son is given, a body. Thou hast prepared me a son.
His offspring, the offspring, the well-beloved, the only begotten
Son of God. When he's in heaven, he's God.
When he's on earth, he's the Son of God. He's God-man. When
he's in heaven, he's God. He's the only God there is. You
understand the difference? God's always got to be in heaven,
right? God is in heaven, we're on earth,
right? God's on his throne, he always
got to stay on the throne. Ruling, reigning, right? But
the Son of God came. But when the Son of God goes
back, they join their nature. He's God's. Does that make sense
to you? He's called the Son of God. There's
no discrepancy, there's no difference there. The Son, because he took
a body, took a form. A man, while he walked this earth.
But in heaven, we don't see three persons of a Godhead, we see
one. Christ. Christ. Jesus Christ is God you
don't I talk to a so-called Jehovah Witness one time and we were
talking about this about the difference between the Son of
God and God he said I believe he's the Son of God I don't believe
he's God well you can't believe that according to John 8 24 can't
you? Christ said four times here I
am in this chapter If you do believe that he's God, flesh
and blood didn't reveal that. Blessed are you. What's your daddy's name, Terry?
John. Blessed are you, Terry bar John.
Flesh and blood didn't reveal that to you, but my Father which
is in heaven. Can a man by searching find out
God? Can a man find that out? No, it's confusing to him. Son
of God, God. It's confusing. It can't by searching
find it. A man can receive nothing except
be given him. Except to be revealed to him
from above. Except he be chosen. Called. Except God let him in on this
mystery. Right? He can't figure out God.
Nobody can figure out God unless God decides to let them in on
this mystery which has been kept hid before the foundation of
the world. And they have to be given, God
calls upon us and God has to give us spiritual ears to hear
his voice. Right? To hear the voice of the
Son of God. Which the scriptures calls the
Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd. Turn over
with me to John ten. John ten. A good shepherd. It's a revelation. No man can
figure this thing out of himself. God must reveal it to him. God
must elect a man. God must choose a man. God must
call. God must raise from the dead.
God must give ears to hear. God must give life where there
is none. But somebody, but, but, but, but, but, somebody said,
what about man's free, goat's butt? Right? Sheep don't butt. He must be
a goat. A man must be a goat when he
says butt. Whenever I hear a man say butt to the scriptures, he
must be a goat. Goats butt. Sheep don't butt.
Sheep follow. Sheep, he said, sheep hear my
voice. And they don't just hear it,
they delight in it. And they don't just delight in it, they
follow him. That they might have life, that they might have food,
that they might have protection. You see, Christ is the good shepherd. Now, the Lord will help us here. This will be a blessing to you,
this illustration. Christ is the good shepherd,
and all of God's people are called sheep. Now, if you don't like
to be referred to as a dumb old sheep, then so be it. But I do. I do. They say sheep are dumb animals. I say it's the opposite. Goats
are the dumb ones. She followed the shepherd. That's
pretty wise, if you ask me. All the wisdom, all the strength,
all the protection, all the food is where the shepherd is. Now,
here's a field. Over here is a field full of
wild goats. Any of you ever had any goats?
Barry, y'all had a goat? What a goat. They said that's
the best pet they ever had. But here's a field full of wild
goats, and I've had some dealings with some goats. Now, the shepherd,
the farmer, the great landowner owns the goats as well as sheep.
Here's a field full of wild goats over here, and he's turned them
loose. That's what you do with goats
generally. You turn them loose. You want them to just keep the
grass down. You really don't have much use for them. Just
keep the weeds down. Eat those weeds out there, goats.
Keep this world in subjection or subdue it. But over here he's
got some sheep, his beloved sheep. He delights in them, calls them
all by name. He's going to use them, going
to shear them, going to use their wool, going to get fruit from them.
But over here are these goats, you see, in this field. West Virginia for a while one
of the members up there had a farm pretty big farm and he had some
goats and wild goat and one Sunday afternoon after I got to preach
it. He said I got a pair of coveralls here. I want you to put on I
need your help. I Said what is it? He said well, come on with
me. I put these coveralls on He said I got some goats and
they've gotten loose. We got to chase these goats down and
we spent about two or three hours chasing goats and Goats are the
most stubborn You can't you can't call a goat He won't come to
you He just won't come to you And the shepherd goes out and
he begins calling the goats, making all sorts of overtures
to goats. Come here, goat! Goat won't come. You ever had
one? Will they come when you call them? That's the nature
of a goat. Come here, goat, I got something
for you, got some food for you. Nah. Nah. That's almost what they're saying.
Nah, not me. Come unto me, all you that labor
and are heavy laden, and I'll give you rest." Goats don't need
rest. They're having a big old time rocking all over the field,
right? Goats don't need rest. They're not laboring and heavy
laden. They're having a big old time. And the shepherd keeps
going, "'If any man hunger and thirst after righteousness, come,
and I'll fill you up. Come and rest. If any man thirst,
let him come. Come and come, I'll lead him
beside the still waters. If any man's lost, come on, I'll
restore your soul. Come on. But goats don't come,
do they? Goats are satisfied where they
are. They're satisfied with what they are. And they're satisfied
with what they're eating. Tin cans. And what they're drinking. The beer out of the cans. What
they're eating. Trash. Garbage. Dung. You know
what the world's feeding on? garbage, vanity, lies. And the shepherd keeps going.
He says, if I wash thee not now, hey, goat, you're stinking. You
smell in the high heaven. If I wash thee not, you have
no part in me. You need a good bath. You're
dirty. You're sinful. You're smelly.
You're iniquitous. You're a foul-smelling savor
of death to God Almighty. You need a bath. You need to
be washed in the blood, goat. What does the goat say? I don't
smell that bad compared to other goats. As a matter of fact, the
other goats might say, well, you smell pretty good. You need a bath, he says. All
your righteousness is in a filthy rag. So I like what I'm wearing.
I like what I've done. If you be not washed, you have
no part in me though. Come for cleansing, but goats
don't come. Goats don't want washed. You
see, goats don't believe anything that the shepherd says. Anything. Look at John 10, verse 26 with
me. Christ said, you believe not,
but, hey, but, hey, butter, you believe not because what? You're
not my sheep. Goats don't believe anything
the shepherd tells them to. You believe not because you're
not my sheep. You may look like it, but you're
wolves in sheep's clothing. But here's the mark of a sheep.
Sheep believe everything the shepherd tells them. Sheep trust
and believe in everything he says. Goats don't believe anything. Sheep believe everything. He said, verse 27, My sheep hear
my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. They follow me. And the shepherd hollers out
to the other fields, Okay then, goats, stay there, feed on the husks
around you. And then he goes over here to
this field, his beloved, his sheep. One word will do it. One word. Sheep! And all over the world, in every
tribe, nation, kindred, and tongue under heaven, a sheep here, a
sheep there, over hill, over dale, they will hit the dusty
trail. They'll hear His voice, and their
ears will crop up. They'll crop up, won't they?
History, in God's good time, no matter how far away they are,
that's the reason Christ said to the disciples, go into all
the world and preach the gospel. He that believeth and is baptized
will be saved. Whatever sheep are out there,
they'll hear my voice. Go! Go to Africa. I saw the gospel preacher go.
to Africa's sands and Greenland's snow, to give the gospel call. Go everywhere, and my sheep will
hear my voice. We're on the trail of His sheep.
If goats butt, let them butt. Sheep will hear. They'll hear.
One word's all it takes. Sit up! And a sheep will raise his ears
up and say, a Mary Magdalene will say, that's me. A publican
standing in the fire office will say, that's me. A Virgie will say, that's me.
Is a shepherd calling me? That's me. And the shepherd says,
I've got food. I've got my broken body for you. And the sheep says, I need it.
I'm hungry. I've got something to drink here,
my blood that was shared for you. I need it. I'm thirsty. Got something for you. I've got
rest. Are you laboring in a heavy laden?
Oh, yes. I'm tired. I need rest. Got some green pastures
over here. Would you like to lie down? Sure
would. Where are they? You need your soul restored?
Sure do. I've lost. I've wandered. All we like sheep have gone astray. Shepherd says, I've got a robe
of righteousness for you. Are you cold? Are you naked?
I sure am. I need covering. I sure need these filthy rags removed. They're not much help. I need
a perfect robe. Shepherd says, I've got shelter
too. I've got a cleft of a rock over here. Would you like to
get in it? A storm's coming through. Would you like to get in it?
Sure would. Would you lead me? Take me? Would you lead me to
the rock that is higher than I? Center, and every one of the
sheep say, Lord, Shepherd, I'm coming, I'm coming. Our text said, hear instruction
and be wise, refuse it not. Blessed is the man that heareth
me, that heareth me. Listen to this verse. The law
of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul, the testimony, that's
the gospel. The testimony of the Lord is
sure, making wise the simple, the simple ones. Because Christ
has made unto us wisdom, wisdom. All the treasures of wisdom and
knowledge. Come on, stay with me. Everybody,
stay with me. Because Christ has made unto us wisdom. I'm
going to do a series of messages from Proverbs 8, beginning on
Sunday morning. And this is the prologue today.
Christ has made unto us wisdom. All the treasures of wisdom and
knowledge. All we need to know about God is in Christ. All we
need to know about ourselves, we find out Christ told us. All
we need to know about eternal life, is found in Christ. Now, listen to these verses of
Scripture. I punched this word wisdom into my little computer,
and it spit these out. Listen to this, how this relates
to Christ. Just hundreds of them. And you substitute the word Christ
for wisdom here. And this is what the righteous
say, My mouth shall speak of wisdom. Remember Psalm 71? I'll make mention of thy righteousness
and thine only. My mouth is going to talk about
Christ. How about you? A wise man does. A fool doesn't. A fool talks
about the world. A fool talks about himself, doesn't
he? A wise man speaks of wisdom. Christ, who is his wisdom. Listen
to this. Behold, God desires truth in
the inward parts. That's Christ in the heart. And
in the hidden part, thou shalt make me to know wisdom or Christ. Heart faith. My son, give me
your heart. Teach us to number our days that
we may apply our hearts unto wisdom or that is the pursuit
of the study of Jesus Christ. Oh, Lord, how manifold are thy
works. In wisdom hast thou made them
all. In Christ hast thou made them
all. John 1 3. Everything was made
by him and without him was nothing made which was made. The fear
of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Christ. You've got to know and understand
Christ is more than just a man. He's Lord. He's Lord. Listen to the turn over here
with me proverbs chapter two. I hadn't been long at all folks.
I've got. Forty more minutes. I've got ten more minutes. Proverbs chapter two look at
this. Proverbs two. I did look at the clock tonight
I promise you. Proverbs two look at let's read
six through twelve here. The Lord giveth wisdom. In other
words, God gave Christ, didn't he? A child is born, a son is
given. God gave Christ out of his mouth,
that is, out of his bosom, comes knowledge, comes Christ, understanding. He lays up sound wisdom. He hung
up Christ on the cross, right? For the righteous, for our righteousness. He's a buckler, he's strength,
he's protection to them that walk uprightly or that he's walked
by faith. He keeps the path of judgment and preserves it the
way of the saints, that is, wisdom, Christ. Then shalt thou understand
righteousness, that is, when you see Christ our righteousness,
and judgment and equity. That sounds like what Christ
said about the weightier matters of the law, doesn't it, Rick?
Every good path, right path. When wisdom, look at verse 10,
when Christ enters into your heart and knowledge of him is
pleasant unto thy soul, discretion shall preserve thee, understanding
shall keep thee, to deliver you from the way of the evil. Listen to this. Look over there,
Proverbs 3, 13. Happy is the man that findeth
Christ. Proverbs 4, wisdom. Christ is
the principal thing. He's the principal one. Christ
is the principal. What's the principal of school? He's in
charge, isn't he? He's the headmaster. Christ is
the headmaster. Listen to this. Wisdom. We read
this. Christ's wisdom hath builded her house. If the Lord doesn't
build the house, they labor in vain to try to build it, don't
they? If the Lord builds His church,
then we don't start a church. The lips of the righteous feed
many, but fools die for want of wisdom. Fools die for want of Christ. Listen to this, a
man shall be commended according to his wisdom. Do you hear that? A man shall
be commended according to if he's in Christ. according to
whether or not he has Christ or not. He'll be approved or
accepted in the beloved, right? Wisdom's too high for a fool,
though. Christ is too high for a fool. He goes after rubbish. Listen to this. This is sweet.
My son, eat thou honey, because it's good, and the honeycomb,
which is sweet to your taste, and so shall the knowledge of
wisdom be unto your soul. who so love of wisdom. This is
the. Who so love of Christ honor of
Christ honors the father. Wisdom is a defense. Whom shall I fear, or what shall
I be afraid, the scripture says. Christ is wisdom. Christ is wisdom. And wise men and women hear his
voice and follow him. Follow wisdom. The Lord Jesus
Christ. All right. Sherry, would you
come up here? I want to sing a song, please. 296. 296. I hope somebody got something out
of that. 296. All the way. Not half the way.
All the way. My Savior leads me. All the way. If you get that silly little
plaque on your wall, footsteps and footprints in the sand, take
it down. All the way. All the way, my
Savior leads me. Christ picks us up from the very
beginning. He separates us from our mother's
womb, calls us by his grace, picks us up on his good shoulders,
his safe shoulders, and carries us all the way home. He doesn't
set us down for a minute. He sets us down for a minute.
We're lost. We're gone. All the way, from beginning to
end, author and the finisher of my faith, my Savior leads
me. Is he your savior, your shepherd?
Has he led you? All right, stand with me and
let's sing this. Oh, the way my Shepherd leads
me, what have I to ask besides? Can I doubt His tender mercy? He threw life and then my God. Heavenly peace, divinest comfort. Hear my faith in Him to dwell,
for I know what e'er befalls me. Heaven's all things well,
for I know what e'er befalls me. Sing the last verse. Listen
to the words. Oh, the way my Savior leads me. Oh, the fullness
of His love. perfect rest to me is promised
in my Father's house above. When my spirit, clothed in mortal,
brings its flight to realms of day, fix my soul through endless
ages, Jesus, let me It's my song through endless
ages. Jesus led me all the way.