to Proverbs chapter 1. Proverbs
chapter 1. While you turn it, let me make
a couple of announcements. The ladies' luncheon is going
to be tomorrow, Thursday instead of Friday. And we'll have dinner
here at the church on Sunday. And I hope everybody brings,
I know everybody's going to bring something good to eat. It's just Look forward to it. Look very
much forward to it. And James gave me this thing. You just wouldn't in the world
of people get this stuff. But this is on a church sign.
It's prayer, your steering wheel, or spare tire. The best things in life aren't
things. And this week's sermon, Now,
I'm not gonna preach it, but somebody did. This week's sermon,
suit up. It's just awful. Just, it's awful. Well, let's start reading here
in verse seven. And go down through verse 19.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, but fools despise
wisdom and instruction. My son, hear the instruction
of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother, for they
shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about
thy neck. My son, if sinners entice thee,
consent thou not. If they say, come with us, let
us lay wait for blood. Let us lurk privately for the
innocent without cause. Let us swallow them up alive
as the grave. and whole as those who go down
into the pit. We shall find all precious substance,
we shall fill our houses with spoil. Cast in thy lot among
us, let us all have one purse. My son, walk not thou in the
way with them, refrain thy foot from their path. For their feet
run to evil and make haste to shed blood. Surely in vain the
net is spread in the sight of any bird. And they lay wait for
their own blood. They lurk privately for their
own lives. So are the ways of everyone that
is greedy of gain, which taketh away the life of the owners thereof. Amen. Well, I'm gonna try to
say a few things about these verses, especially from verse
eight through 19. You know, we all need wisdom.
And that's the purpose, you know, to know wisdom and receive instruction. And we all need instruction,
and we certainly need understanding of God and His Word and His ways. You know, none of us was born
with any wisdom. None of us was born with any
understanding. Born with all born rebels, not
to pay much attention. All born independent. as independent
as we could possibly be. And I also know this, that age
doesn't always mean that you're going to grow up and be wise,
or grow old and be wise. There's an awful lot of old fools.
There's a lot of people that don't understand anything at
all. And the Proverbs, they want to teach us first to fear the
Lord and to show us wisdom, teach us wisdom, to instruct us, in
the way of life, to walk in the Lord Jesus Christ the same way
we received him by faith. And I want wisdom that comes
from above, that's gentle, easy, to be entreated. I want that
kind of wisdom. I know you do. But here he says
in verse 7, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.
That's just the beginning of it. Just the beginning of it. The end of the fear of the Lord,
if it brings you to reverence, and brings you to trust Him,
and brings you to submit to Him and obey Him, trust Him, it'll
also end up in a wonderful way, a blessed way to spend eternity
with Him. But fools despise wisdom and
instruction. They don't want it. They don't
want nobody telling them anything. But look what he says here. The
fear of the Lord is joined and shown by reverence for someone's
parents or their teachers. And he says, my son, three different
times here, my son, hear the instruction of thy father and
forsake not the law of thy mothers. And you know, when he says, my
son, hear the instruction of thy father and forsake not the
law of thy mothers. Now, I don't know if he is talking
to his own son or if he is talking to young people or he was talking
to sons of God, but at the same doesn't make any difference,
but he's talking to people. that you're the instruction of
your father. Now evidently the fathers and the mother here was
parents that feared God, honored their father, they feared God,
they worshiped God, and they had a respect for God, and evidently
had a great zeal to teach their children. And that's why he says,
my son, hear the instruction of your father. When he says
hear, that means do it. Don't just listen to it and then
go your way. He said, you hear it. Hear what
your father has to say. Your father wants the very best
for you. Your father wants you to go the best way. Your father
wants you to begin to fear the Lord. Your father wants you to
have instruction. Your father wants you to have
some sense while you're in this world. And you know, this is
the first commandment with promise. Look in Ephesians six. This is
the first commandment with promise. In Ephesians 6, this is the first
commandment with promise. And there is such little respect
for parents now. It ain't nothing, nothing. And
of course, parents ain't teaching their children nothing either.
But as you go places and you see little children throw fits
and kick their mother, kick their father, holler at them, scream
if they don't get their way. And then if they was to spank
them or correct them in any way in that public place, somebody's
subject to call the law on them and they get put in jail for
child abuse. But that's not the way it is with this believers
here, this father and this mother here, as they sought to instruct
their son. But look in Ephesians chapter
six and verse two, or wanting to. Children obey your parents
in the Lord for this is right. these evidently were godly parents
over here that's instructing their son honor thy father and
thy mother this is the first commandment with promise that
it may be well with thee and they may sleep long on the earth
and so back over here in proverbs that's what he says my son this
is the words of parents or teachers godly parents godly mother And
when He says, you hear the instruction of your father and not forsake
the law of your mother, what He's saying is, you know, it's
not blind obedience. Not blind obedience here, but
it's a son or a daughter, sons of God. And you know that they're
going to go wayward. They will go wayward if they're
not instructed. If they're not taught. Then every
child, every person needs instruction. And then He says here, and look
what else He says, forsake not the law of thy mother. Now, when
he says law here, he means that, you know, mothers generally are
the ones that spends most time with their children. And they
teach their children what they can do and what they can't do,
how to do the things that they ought to do. And so he says,
forsake not the law of your mother. And you know, I tell you, this
is something that the scriptures is very, very adamant on about children. The
young people, and we as God's children, we ought to not forsake
the law of the church. But look, let me show you another
place. Look in 2 Timothy 1. While we was over, I should have
just had you stay. Check 2 Timothy 1. Let me show you something
here. Here it, and don't forsake it.
And then he said, it'll be an ornament of grace to you. Grace
will be an ornament about you. It'll be obvious the grace of
God's in you. It'll be obvious, and then you'll
have it as a chain. It'll dress you up. It'll make
you look wonderful. The grace of God will be an ornament
about you, and you'll have this wonderful neck chain around your
neck. But look what he said here in
2 Timothy 1.5. Talking about Timothy. Paul was
talking about Timothy. When I call to remembrance the
unfeigned faith that is in thee. Now watch this. Which dwelt first
in thy grandmother Lois, and in thy mother Eunice. His grandmother and his mother
both were believers. And he says, when I remember
the faith they had, and now that same faith is in you. They taught
you, they instructed you. Look over here in chapter 3 in
verse 14. And I tell you what, this is
for all God's children. Age doesn't keep us from these
things. And heeding instruction and hearing what the Father has
to say, God has to say, the church has to say. He says, but continue
thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured
of, knowing of whom thou hast learned. And listen, and that
from a child that has known the Holy Scriptures, which are able
to make thee wise unto salvation through faith, which is in Christ
Jesus. And you know, we'll get to it
later, but there's a proverb that said, even a child is known
by his ways. Even a child's known by his ways.
And you know, age doesn't keep us from hearing our Father's
instruction, forsake not the... Then he says, they shall be an
ornament of grace unto thy head, chains about thy neck. But you
know, Joseph was an old man. He was an old man. He had the
crown on his head. He had the necklace about his,
the chain of the necklace around his neck where he was the ruler
in all of Egypt, behind Pharaoh. But when his daddy came down,
you know what the first thing he did? Fell on his daddy's neck
and he began to weep and he bowed all, this is the man with the
crown on his head. And Jacob said, who am I? And
he bowed down to his father, right down on the ground, right
at his very feet, because he loved his daddy, had great reverence
for his father. And a believer should always
be clothed with humility, willing to bow down to any other believer,
and especially to the elders that's among us, especially to
mothers and elders, especially to our sisters and brothers that's
elders to us. And I tell you, this is what's
called putting on the Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord Jesus, angels
were subject to Him and devils were subject to Him. But you
read in Luke 2.51 that the scripture said that He was subject unto
His Father and His Mother. Subject to His Father and His
Mother. And in his dying hour, he showed such honor to his mother
that he said to John, said, John, behold your mother. She's your mother. I want her
taken care of, and you do it just like I would do. He had
such reverence for his own mother and honored her. And this should
be the same between spiritual fathers and spiritual children.
That's why Paul talked to the Philippians. He said, oh, listen,
I thank you for the care you showed me. But he said, all the
sacrifices, spiritual sacrifices that I bestowed upon you. And
he told the Thessalonians, he said, I was as a nurse among
you, a nurse among you. I was gentle as a nurse. And
as a nurse cherishes their children, even so nourished I you. And
oh, listen. And so I tell you what, my son,
here are my instructions. And then look what he said. And
then again, he goes on to say, and this is some of the things
that he warned him about. This is some of the things he
instructed him about. My son, if sinners entice thee, consent
thou not. If they say, come with us, let
us lay in wait for blood. Let us look probably for the
innocent without cause. Now there's nothing I don't believe
would grieve a father or mother's heart or even a preacher's heart
more than to see people being enticed away, to see our children
enticed away. But I will tell you one time
that Jack Shanks was principal of a big Christian school out
in Memphis, Tennessee one time. And this woman came in and and
got on Brother Jack and said, Jack, or Pastor Lard, Pastor
Shanks, I was thinking of the church pastor, Laird Street,
but said, my son is running with the wrong crowd up here at this
school. There ought not be a wrong crowd up here, it's a Christian
school. And you know what Jack told him? He said, ma'am, your
son is the wrong crowd. And that's the way it is, and
we don't want none of ours, well I'd hate to hear somebody, and
it happens, it happens. My son, and it grieves our heart
when our children are influenced by the wicked of the world, and
drawn away. And Satan, from the time that
he fell out of heaven, he has been a tempter, he has been proud,
he knows how to tempt. My son, let sinners not entice
thee. Entice thee. Lay a bait for you. Paint a pretty picture for you.
Let you think things are going to be hunky-dory, that you're
going to have a lot, and you're going to be, and enjoy life like
you, you know, don't, don't always, you don't live an old state life. And he knows how to train people
to tip too. And oh, listen, and I tell you
what, he says, my son, if sinners consent thee not, and when he
says consent not, You know, the opposite of that is if you do
consent, then it's sin. To consent is sin. Eve consented. What did she do? She partook
of the fruit. David consented to take Bathsheba. What did he do? He sinned. one sin led to another sin which
led to another sin the next thing you know he gave enemy occasion
to the enemies of God to blaspheme but now Joseph he was just the
opposite of that Potiphar's wife tried to entice him and he run
out and left his garments God saved him sorely tried, and yet in all
this Job sinned not, nor accused God falsely. But I'll tell you
something, beloved, and there's no uncertainty here about a sinner
being enticed if a man sets his affection on things above, not
on things of the earth. But all the devil can do is tempt. He can't make anybody sin. All
he can do is tempt a person to sin. He can't make anybody sin.
He can't do it. And I can prove that. I can prove
that from James. Look in James chapter one. And that's why, that's why our
Lord said, you know, my little children, I run unto you that
you sin not. But look what he said here in
James chapter one in verse 12. All
the devil can do is tempt us. He can't, He can't force us to
sin. He can't make us sin. Blessed
is the man, James 1, 12, that endureth temptation. For when
he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the
Lord has promised to them that love him. Now listen to what
he says. Let no man say when he is tempted,
I am tempted of God. For God cannot be tempted with
evil, neither tempteth he any man. But now listen to it. But
every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust
and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived,
it bringeth forth sin, and sin when it is finished, it'll bring
forth death. And that's why my son, don't
let these sinners entice you away. Don't let them entice you
away. And Lord, you know what they
enticed him to do? They said in verse 11, come with us and
let us lay and wait for blood. Let us work poverty for the innocent
without cause. These fellas, these people were
enticing him to commit robbery and murder. That's what he's
actually being enticed to do, to commit robbery and murder.
And then look what he says, we'll lie and wait for blood. lie in
wait for blood. We'll lurk proudly for the innocent
without cause. They don't hate, you know, they
had no cause to go after these people. These people, he said,
we want to go out here for blood and there's no cause in dealing
for murder or robbery. And that's the way our Lord Jesus
Christ, they said, they hated me without a cause. this this is serious business
you know it's not just a it's not just to go out here and get
into a little bit of meanness but these fellas they said man
we're going to go out here and rob somebody and we're going
to shed blood that's what he says down there in verse 16 for
their feet run to evil and make haste to shed blood And that's what Paul, that's
who Paul was talking about in Romans chapter 3. Their feet
are swift to shed blood. Now, I tell you, there's lots
of ways to shed blood without ever shedding any blood. A lot of ways to hurt people
without actually shedding any blood. But it's what these fellas
was this dead serious about it. And that's why he says, my son,
don't let them, don't go after these fellas. And look what else
he says. This is what they say. And I
tell you this, let us swallow them up alive as the grave. We're
going to take their life just like a grave would take their
life. And what else did he say there? And whole as they go down
into the pit, like a whole person going down into the pit. We want
to swallow them. We want them to be like the grave
to them as somebody that puts them in the pit. And what they're
saying is, we'll let the earth swallow them up, there'll be
no evidence that we ever done anything wrong. We'll dig us
a grave, we'll put them in the grave, we'll cover them up, and
we'll hide the evidence of our blood, evidence of our robbery. And oh my, but look what he says. He said, we shall all find precious
substance. Oh my, we're gonna get people
that's got something. And we're gonna have some precious,
precious substance. We'll all fill our houses with
spoil. But now let me show you something
about our Lord Jesus Christ. You know, they said, cast in
your lot with us, cast in your lot with us. But look over here
in Proverbs chapter eight, our Lord promised us substance and
he can do it. He can give us the right substance,
the true substance, the true riches. Our Lord said here in verse 21,
now this is our Savior speaking now, that I may cause those that
love me to inherit substance and I will fill their treasures. I'll do it. These fellas over
here said we'll do it. God said he'd give us substance
and he'd fill our treasures, but these fellas, we're going
to find precious substance. How do they know they're going
to find precious substance? You know, God's cursed, cursed
a thief. God has cursed those who steal. God has cursed. It's an awful
curse on somebody, and the awfulest thing that you can steal in this
world, in my opinion. And now these fellas, and we
see this all the time. This is common even in our country
here, around here where we live. But the awfulest thing that a
man can steal and rob And the most precious substance is the
glory of God. To rob God of His glory, to rob
God of His power, to rob God of His rightful place in this
universe, rightful place in a man's heart, rightful place on His
throne. And these fellows said, well,
why do I need God? I'll have precious substance
here. We'll fill our houses with spoil.
We'll have so much stuff, we'll take it home, and our houses
will be plump full of it. And all they said, Christ in
your lot among us, and we'll all have one purse. What's yours
is mine, what's mine is yours. What I steal will be yours, and
we'll share and share alike. Well, they'll all go to the same
jail together. They'll all endure the same curse together. But
oh, listen to what he says. Here's the third time he says,
my son, Verse 15, My son, walk not thou
in the way with them. Don't walk in the way with them.
Don't do that. Don't you know their end? Don't
you know what will happen to them? Don't you know that the
end of them is going to be the grave? Don't you know the end
of them is going to be death? The end of them is going to be
the curse of God? My son, walk not in the way with
them. Don't walk, David said it this
way. Blessed is the man who walketh
not in the counsel of the ungodly. Oh, not to walk in the counsel
of the ungodly. And that's what he says. And
then, listen to this, refrain thy foot from their path. Don't
even walk in the same path they walk in. Refrain your foot from
them. Stay away from them. Keep away
from them. Oh, Lord. Remember your father's
instruction. Remember your mother's law. And
don't go down. Don't walk not thou in the way.
And you know, once a fella starts down, once a person starts down,
you know, a man don't go down to the bottom all at once. People
don't leave the gospel all at once. People don't start exiting
this worship service all at once. It goes by steps. There's give
a little here, give a little there, go down just a little
bit and down a little bit more. And once you start down that
hill, who's going to stop you? If the
grace of God don't stop us, there's not a sin that me and you, I'm
telling you, I know this from the scriptures and I know it
from myself. There's not a sin that you and
I wouldn't commit if God don't restrain us. And that's what this mother and
father want. They want God to restrain their son. Now, son,
refrain. Oh, son, don't do that. Don't
start that direction. If you don't start in the wrong
direction, you don't have to turn around and come back. If the world ain't tossed you
away, you don't have to turn around and come back. If you don't start down, you
don't have, you know, if our hearts were set up, then there
wouldn't be no going down. And that's why they says, my
son, my son, And oh, God restrain us. That's what happened to David.
David never went to the bottom all at once. He looked. He looked. That's all he done. He just stood
and looked. And something clicked in him. And the way he went, he got that
woman. Had a child by that woman. Then
said, try to get her husband home. To cover up one sin, he
committed another sin. And then he got upset when he
thought that somebody would do the same thing that he did. He
got mad. And then Nathan turned around
and says, you're that man. But it started out like an innocent
thing. And that's a child of God. Refrain
your foot. And I tell you, this is where
sin always ends up. It's always going to end up in
an awful, awful way. Sin, it'll always end up bad. And I'll tell you what else they
say here. For their feet run to evil, not just walk. I mean,
they're in a hurry to do evil. They're in a hurry to do evil.
Their feet make haste to shed blood. They just got no qualms
about it, no conscience about it, no heart about it. And look
what he says about birds. He said, surely in vain the net
is spread in the sight of any bird. A fellow sets a way to
catch a bird, he spreads a net to catch a bird. He ain't gonna
do it in sight where birds can see it, because if he did, birds
got better sense than these people got. That bird ain't gonna get
caught in that net. If you're going to have a net
spread for a bird, you've got to hide it. And he says, if a
man spreads a net for a bird, he don't do it out in the open.
Birds has got better sense than a man does. That's what he's
saying. But all these fellas, their feet
are swift to shed blood. And this is what ends up, sin
ends up doing to them, what actually happens to them. And they said,
and they lie in wait for their own blood. You know whose blood's
gonna end up shed? Whose blood's gonna end up required
of them? Whose blood's gonna end up, it's
gonna cost them their own lives. They lurk privately for their
own lives. They work, lurk for other people, for the innocent.
To shed blood, to set robbery, to kill, to murder and to rob. And he said, when they do this,
it's their own blood going to be required of them. It's their
own lives going to be required. That's what they're going to
lose. They're going to lose their blood. They're going to lose
their lives. And then he goes on to say here, so are the ways
of everyone that is greedy of gain. Oh, I got to get out here
and steal some things. This is the only way I know to
get it. And they get this greedy of gain.
and they take away the life of the owners thereof. They steal
from others, take something that belongs to somebody else. And
when they do that, they destroy their own lives, God required
of them. You reckon it's safe for us to
trust in our own resolutions or our own principles? No. No, Lord, keep us from walking
in any way that's not, David said it this way, teach me thy
way. Oh Lord. David said, I'll take heed to
my ways. They said, come with us. And
the father said, refrain you foot. And I tell you what, a tender
conscience, and this is another thing we know from experience,
a tender conscience becomes less and less sensitive every time
it gives in. to something. It gets less sensitive
and less sensitive and less sensitive until sometimes things that used
to bother it don't even move it, don't even trouble it. And I tell you, in my heart's prayer, is Lord keep us, keep us. Keep us. Let us hide ourselves in Thee.
Be our refuge, be our hiding place. Please don't let me be
enticed. Don't let me go in the way of
the wicked. Don't let me dishonor you in these ways. Our Father, in the blessed name
of Christ our Lord, this world has such enticement
and so much temptation, but Lord, you keep us, preserve us, and
Lord, help us to train our children, our grandchildren, great-grandchildren
up in the way, in the word of God, in the ways of the Lord.
And I thank you for every father and every mother, every grandmother,
who's prayed for their children, grandchildren, admonished them,
nurtured them, instructed them, taught them. I thank you for
every one of them, every father, every mother, every grandmother,
every grandfather. And Lord, we thank you that you've
preserved so many among us, kept us, Lord, from going after the
way of the wicked. for shedding innocent blood.
Keep us from that, Lord Jesus, keep us from that. In Christ's
name we pray, amen, amen.