Tonight our text is found in the book of Proverbs in the 15th chapter. Proverbs chapter 15. Here in our text we have many more contrasts of the children of God, the elect of God, and the world, the ungodly, those left to themselves. It's contrasting back and forth by calling one wise and one fool. calling one righteous and one evil or wicked, as he's been doing all since, was it chapter 10? I think it's whenever he started this.

But you know the difference between the two, the two individuals, whether it's the believer or the non-believer, Christ is the difference. Christ is the difference. The only difference between a believer and non-believer is a believer believes Christ. He's been enabled to, been caused to by grace. The difference is one has been given Christ and the other group, they're left to themselves. One has been given faith to believe and confess Christ and the other one remains dead, unable to believe because they're dead in trespasses and sin.

We say, yeah, we know that. We're aware. Of those two things, but you know, often we need to be reminded of how gracious our God was and not leaving us to ourself when we were dead and trespasses and seeing how hopeless we were and helpless and unable to come to him. He's graces. Well, it's amazing, isn't it? It's amazing. The difference is between the two is one has a righteousness and the other has a dooming self-righteousness. The Lord saved us out of that. I love the fact that he didn't just save us, he saved us from ourself, saved us from our sin. A lot of people in false religion, they don't need to be saved from themselves, they just want to be saved from their sin. You know that's true. We need to be saved from ourself, just as much as we need to be saved from our sin, just as much.

One is a sheep, one's a goat. God's elect have been given the great gift, and it's the Lord Jesus Christ and understanding of him, understanding. That's what I've titled this message is understanding. That's why we read Luke 24. It says, and then he opened their understanding, their understanding of their hearts. Lord, open our understanding. Is it not true that we do not go about bragging and boasting about what we know over others? I know something you don't know. No. The believer's prayer is, Lord, give me understanding today, now. And if I've never had understanding, give it to me now. And the understanding that I had yesterday, give me more today. I need understanding constantly. It's just like grace. We need grace. Give me faith to believe. Give me understanding to know your ways.

God's elect have been given understanding while everyone else has been left to the lie. They've been left to the lie. And the question I hope the Lord answers for us tonight is do I have, and it's gonna be the last question I ask tonight, last point I'm gonna make, but do I have understanding? Do I have it? I don't want a good understanding of doctrine if I miss Christ. You'll see that written in the bulletin this Sunday. I don't want good understanding of theology, having spent hours in the Word and know what this is saying about this and this lining up with that. And then I don't need to know all the timeframe of this happening and that happening, where this was going on, what was taking place. I got to know Him. I've got to know Christ. I need an understanding of Him. I don't need an understanding about him, I need an understanding of him and by him. And that only comes by grace. It only comes by grace. It's life and death, the question, do I have understanding? It's life and death.

Let's read this together, Proverbs 15, 11 through 21. I'm not even there yet, hang on. I'm still in Luke. One flip and I'm there, okay.

Verse 11, hell and destruction are before the Lord. How much more than the hearts of the children of men? A scorner loveth not one that reproveth him, neither will he go unto the wise. A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance, but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken. The heart of him that hath understanding seeketh knowledge, but the mouth of fools feedeth on foolishness. All the days of the afflicted are evil, but he that is of a merry heart hath the continual feast. Better is a little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and trouble therewith. Better is a dinner of herbs where love is than a stalled ox and hatred therewith. A wrathful man stirreth up strife, But he that is slow to anger appeases strife. The way of the slothful man is an hedge of thorns, but the way of the righteous is made plain. A wise son maketh the glad father, but a foolish man despiseth his mother. Folly is joy to him that is destitute of wisdom, but a man of understanding walketh uprightly.

Look at verse 12, 14, and 21 again with me. A scorner loveth not one that reproveth him, neither will he go unto the wise. The heart of him that hath understanding seeketh knowledge, but the mouth of fools feedeth on foolishness. Folly is joy to him that is destitute or void of heart of wisdom, but a man of understanding walketh uprightly.

We can always start each message if we really wanted to by asking the question, who make it thee to differ? Who make it thee to differ? It is not I that chose to get understanding. It's not I that merited understanding. And it's not I that have a claim on understanding. It's that the Lord in his sovereignty chose in mercy by his grace to bestow understanding unto his people.

And so I have three questions for us. Here we have the fool and the wise, those that hate. We just went through this. I'm going to read all that he said because it's a lot of information. But here we have the wise and the fool, those that hate reproof, and those who are made to understand or given understanding. That's the difference of the two here. So the three questions I have is what is understanding, number one. We've got to define it. You say, well, we understand what it means. Well, I was excited whenever I delved into it and the Lord revealed the beauty of it. Number two, who receives understanding? And number three, do I have understanding? That's the question we're gonna end with. May the Lord be pleased to answer those questions for us tonight.

What is understanding? Well, it's not just a head knowledge. It's not the same as having the ability to take a test, take a math test, you have understanding of math. This understanding is a spiritual understanding. This is an enlightenment that God does to his people. And I'm going to answer all those questions continually as we go through this. I already answered who gets, who's the ones that get understanding it's the Lord's people. That's the answer for the second one.

But what is understanding? Well, it's not just a head knowledge. It's not just that I have figured out biblical facts and now I know something I didn't know before. So I must have understanding. No, that's not it. It's not an education. Understanding is the gift of God all by his grace, all by his grace. Understanding is the ability to see God as he is and to see ourselves as we are, to see him as holy, to see him as sovereign, to see him as just and true and good, and to see ourself sinners, sinners. Worst creatures on the face of the earth, sinners.

You say, why'd you smile when you said that? Well, because it's a faithful saying and worthy of all expectation. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. That's why I smiled.

The Lord gives you understanding. You will understand that you are a sinner. You will understand that's who he came to save. That's good news. That's good news.

Understanding. is given when God says live, he gives repentance and faith, the gift of grace comes to a center and he says, live. It's not something figured out, something earned or merited. It's bestowed freely by the grace of God.

Turn with me to Romans chapter 10. Look at verse nine. We'll finish off the chapter. This is one of the, it was referred to as a dynamite verse in false religion because they thought that this is exactly how you obtain salvation, is doing this verbatim. But we need to read the whole entire remainder of the chapter in order to understand completely what the Lord is saying.

Is it, is verse nine and 10 true? Absolutely, but then he tells us that it's impossible unless he enables us to. Listen to this, verse nine, that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

" Now he didn't stop right there. That's not the end of the chapter. That's not the end of the book. He kept going. He says, how then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him in whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? Or how shall they preach except they be sent? As it is written, how beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace and bring glad tidings of good things.

But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah said, Lord, who hath believed, I report. So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Who's the word of God? He's not talking about this book. He's talking about the man, the Lord Jesus Christ. He's talking about the Lord Jesus Christ. Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing cometh by the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what he's telling us.

But I say, have they not heard? Yes, verily, their sound went into their ears, or their sounds went into all the earth, and their words into the ends of the world. But I say, did not Israel know? First Moses saith, I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are no people, and by a foolish nation I will anger you.

But Isaiah is very bold and said, I was found of them that sought me not. I was made manifest unto them that asked not after me. That's us. We didn't seek the Lord. He sought us. We didn't ask for his understanding. It was bestowed freely by His grace. I was made manifest to them that I asked not after me. But to Israel he saith, all day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people." What's he saying? He's saying if you've heard this Gospel and the Lord has enabled you to confess Christ it's because He's given you a new heart to do so. He's given you the ability to do so. He's given you understanding to do so. This is what understanding is. It's giving a new heart. It's giving repentance and faith.

Scripture never does take repentance and faith and separate them. They're simultaneous. They come at the same time. And one reveals what we are, and when we repent, it's a change of mind. Literally, our mind has been completely changed about who we are and who God is, and faith enables us to look to Christ as all of our righteousness, all of our hope of salvation. The ability to believe, brethren, is the choice of God alone by His grace alone.

He said that He came, John chapter one tells this, He came to His own and His own received Him not, but to as many as received Him, to them He gave power to become the sons of God. Somebody said, yeah, all I have to do is receive Him then. Well, the next verse says who were born. It's actually not even a complete sentence. The next verse has a colon at the end of that. It says, who were born not of the will of flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God, but of God. It wasn't nothing that we did that determined us understanding the truth. It's the gift of the Lord to understand His.

We understand that His ways are not our ways. This is what we're understanding. We don't understand His ways, but we understand His ways are not our ways. They're higher than the heavens, His thoughts. We don't understand His thoughts because we're not God. but we understand His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. That's what understanding is. Salvation is of the Lord all by grace and understanding is of the Lord all by grace. All by His grace.

Scripture tells us every good and perfect gift cometh down from the Father of light in whom there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. It's God that gives these perfect gifts to His people by His grace. Grace itself is a gift. But this understanding, it's the difference between life and death. This isn't just I know something you don't know. This is something that has to be revealed by the Lord. And what is it that he reveals? Well, he reveals Christ. He reveals Christ. And he shuts us up to Christ alone, not ourselves, not our doing.

As a matter of fact, we look at ourself and we realize nothing I can do is gonna serve me good at all. As a matter of fact, I'm just making it worse every time I do something. See, understand, God don't want for anything. He doesn't need for anything. What does he lack? Name something God lacks. He told the disciples, if I were hungry, I wouldn't tell you about it. I wouldn't tell you. I mean, he doesn't need anything. Somebody said, the Lord needs you to do this. No, he doesn't. No, he doesn't. Doesn't need us. We need him, and we need his understanding.

Scripture tells us, I am the Lord and besides me there is none other. We are but the creatures of dust. Created beings of dust. From dust thou art and dust thou shall return. We're created beings that are born sinners. Born in sin, shapen in iniquity is what David said. And this all came inherently from Adam. We have no hope of changing it. Our nature is corrupt, that's the problem. Need a new one. God, do y'all have a new one? I mean, there's no way we can look unto the Lord. Our nature's corrupt. It's fraud, it's broken, it's ugly. This is what understanding of the Lord teaches his people. This is what the Lord's understanding teaches us.

That it's not just that Christ died to make a way of salvation, but that he is the way, the truth, and the life. It's not just that Christ died on the cross to try to accomplish something. It's that he died on the cross according to the scriptures, how he died, how he died according to the scriptures, how he was buried according to the scriptures, how he was resurrected according to the scriptures. It's the how. That's what makes it the great mystery.

It's not, um, it's, it's how it's the, how we believe the, how now don't say that fast. The how now it's the only way you believe in the Lord gives you understanding. We'll never understand how, how is this possible? Oh, well, I don't know, but I believe it. He died according to the Scriptures. All the prophecies that the Lord had given in the Old Testament, and He talked about Isaiah just right here, but He also talked about it in Luke whenever we were over in Luke.

All the prophecies that were said about the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord said, I've already told you this was going to happen by Isaiah, or by Jeremiah. I told you this was going to happen. And then the Lord was in the fullness of the Godhead bodily fulfilling all things under the Father that was charged to Him to do, fulfilling every one of those prophecies. He died according to the Scriptures for a purpose. And it means name that he said, call his name, Jesus. He will save his people from their sin. This is the understanding that we're given is that where the centers can't fix it. He's the savior. He did.

It might sound simple, but that's the best news you'll hear. If you ever find yourself a center. This understanding teaches us that no man can come to the Father but by him. I don't mean he's a rest stop on the way, or he's the highway. Some act like that's kind of how it is. We have to use him to get to God. That's crazy. No, he has to bring you to God. He's the door, but you don't have legs to walk through it. I don't have legs to walk. He's got to carry us through it. Bring us into the presence of God, having washed us in his own blood. No man come to the father except by him. It's impossible. It's impossible.

It brings us to the second question that I've already answered about 15 times. Who receives this understanding? Who receives it? It's the Lord's people. It's the elect of God. It's his children. Chosen before the foundation of the world, predestinated to be conformed to the image of his son. The ones that God set his affection on because he loved them. He saw them polluted in their own blood. Saw them naked, saw them alone, saw that there were nobody that were going to swaddle them or bring them back to life. And he says he spread his skirt over us. And he said our time was a time of love. I rescued you. I cleaned you up. I put a robe on your back, which is the robe of righteousness. I put a ring on your finger, meaning sonship. You're my child, what he's saying. You're my child. I bought you with a price. You're mine. your mind. Fear not. This is understanding. The Lord's done this for His chosen people.

Look at verse, you're still here in Romans, look at verse 13 through 17. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on Him they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach except they be sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good joy.

But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."

Look at verse 20, But Isaiah is very bold in saying, I was found of them that sought me not, I was made manifest unto them that ask not after me. These are the ones that the Lord chose to save.

Can you think, we can think logically about this, you wanna try to make sense of it, election. Now the why is because of grace, there's nothing else you can say but that, we just gotta believe that.

But if you were about to adopt a child, how much, I'm talking about an infant, talking about an infant, how much, Does their opinion matter in that adoption? What do they have to do to become adopted? What is their responsibility? What is their requirement? Well, their requirement was to be born an orphan. We can't even be born. Lord's got to do that first, doesn't he? Got to do that first.

So in adoption, the parents get all the glory in salvation. It's the same thing. God chose to save his people from their sin. He chose to adopt us unto, uh, his children. He ordained us before the foundation of the world. He ordained the entire salvation, the perfect salvation that Christ accomplished so that we would have eternal life.

The one that received this understanding of those that are ordained to eternal life, they're predestinated by God's grace in and by the Lord Jesus Christ. These are the ones that have understanding, enlightened. We read this on the call to worship. So I'm just going to quote it to us.

But in Luke chapter 24, he says this. He saith unto them, these are the words which I spake unto you while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the law of Moses and in the prophets and in the Psalms concerning me. That's what I just said a while ago. He mentioned that to the disciples right before his ascension. He said all this had to happen so that all this would be fulfilled.

Then he says this, then open he their understanding that they might understand the scriptures. But everyone else, Everyone else that's not his sheep. They have their understanding darkened. Darkened, and they believe the lie. They believe the lie. It's by their own corruption.

Listen to what he says in Ephesians 4, 17. This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk in the vanity of their minds, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them because of the blindness of their heart. That's us by nature. The blindness of our heart, our ignorance. We didn't know who God was. We didn't know anything about God. He had to introduce himself to us whenever he called us out of darkness into his light.

And thank God he did. Could you Imagine the terror that people stand before him and have to bow for the first time on that side when it's too late. No, he gave you the greatest gift that you can receive in this life that anyone ever could receive, and it's eternal life. It's the ability to bow right now with the understanding that he's on his throne and he's holy, he's sovereign, he is Lord, and confess Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. He does that for his people because he saved them from their sin. What a gift understanding is.

Here's the good news of God's grace. All that the Father giveth me shall come to me, and he that cometh to me, I'll in no wise cast out. John 17, the Lord is praying to his Father. He said, all that thou hast given me, I have lost none. I've finished the work given to me.

The people whom the Lord loves, those whom he died for, we receive this understanding. He's God, and I'm not, and we love that. We absolutely love that. People in this world want to be their own god. They want to be their own. You can look at entertainers that are big on the scale, whether they pack out stadiums and things, and that's them expressing themselves as gods. They're being worshipped. That's what that is.

Now, do I mind concerts? Absolutely not. The point I'm making is, is that's what they're doing. That's what all people want. Look at me, look at me, look at me. You know what the believer says? Look to him. Don't look at me. Don't look at me. Look to him. That's why there's peace and harmony in the Lord's churches, because we don't stand over each other saying, well, you're a lot worse than I am. We had a lot of that in false religion. Had a bunch of people, I guess they thought they were the Bible police or something. I don't know, but they would come browbeat him. Don't do that to the sheep. No, the Lord's sheep, we, We encourage each other, don't we? And what do we encourage each other to do? Look to Christ.

The understanding that we receive is found in Romans nine, where he says, for the children, you're right here, let's turn back to Romans nine, look at verse nine, or chapter nine, verse 11. For the children being not yet born, either having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God, according to election might stand not of works, but of him that calleth. It was said to her, the elder shall serve the younger as it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. What shall we say then, is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. For he said to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy. And I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth nor of him that runneth, but God that showeth mercy. For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, even for this same purpose, have I raised thee up that I might show my power in thee and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy and whom he will, he hardeneth.

It goes on and it says, well, why does he yet find fault? And he says, who are you to reply against God? Oh man, you're just a man. You're just a man. No, this understanding has to come by God, and it comes to His children, it comes to His people in His appointed time, by His gospel, by His Spirit. This is His will, His purpose, by His power.

Here's the good news, 2 Timothy chapter two, verse 19. Nevertheless, the foundation of God standeth assure, having this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are His. The Lord knoweth them that are His. In the fullness of time, he gives a new heart that can look to him and believe on him. A heart of flesh, not a heart of stone any longer. That means it's a tender heart, tender towards the Lord. It bows to him. It says, truth, Lord, I am a dog, but can I be your dog? Can I have a crumb from your table? He gives a new heart and he gives faith to believe him in all things. Believe that we must have him and we're gonna be would be destroyed. It gives us that faith comes along with that new nature where it's looking to Him in all things. We don't mind the things like we used to. Yeah, there's a warfare going on between the flesh and the new man, but is it not true that desire that you have, you didn't have that before? That's part of the new nature. It's glorious what God has given. We heard about that on Sunday, so I won't I don't want to lab too much on that, which brings us to our last question.

And this is the one I want us to ask ourselves, because I need to know this for me, and you need to know this for you, because this is life and death. And if all of our loved ones could be real with themselves and ask themselves this question, and the Lord in mercy would reveal it, it'd be glorious, wouldn't it? It'd be glorious.

Do I have understanding? I don't ever want to sound selfish. I am concerned about you having understanding. I desire that more than anything, but I've got to have understanding. You know what I mean? That's how it is. I've got to have understanding. If I don't have understanding, I'm lost. So it's not just about, well, you need to get your understanding. I'm praying, Lord, have I received this understanding? Do I believe this? Lord, have you given me faith? Am I fooling myself? You ever do that? Am I full of myself? Because the things that I would do, that's not what I'm doing, but the things I would not do, that's exactly what I find myself doing over and over again. And I apologize and I pray and I repent, but then turn around and do the same thing again. Oh, wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from this body of death?

Do I have this understanding? To have understanding means that whatever our Lord has said, you believe. That's what it means. Do you believe everything the Lord has said about Jesus Christ, about himself, about you? If you do, you have understanding. See, understanding don't examine self. Understanding is like faith. It looks to Christ. It points to him. We understand that he is all now. So we're not gonna look at ourself. So as we find ourself looking at ourself, we have unbelief. That's what that is. That's not faith. If we're looking at ourself, we're gonna be let down. We're gonna be heartbroken. We're going to be burdened. You might as well just say depressed, too. It's just how, I mean, we end up getting depressed if you look at yourself too long. Be saddened? Lord, I don't want to be like this. And the Lord says, fear not. I've put away your sin. You shall not die. You shall not die. I've loved you. I have redeemed you. I've called you by your name. You're mine. I bought you with a price. This is the glorious understanding he gives to his people.

To understand our Lord's word means that we believe His righteousness. We need His righteousness because all ours are filthy rags. That's all our righteousness. We need His blood because we see that is the only substance whereby sinners can be washed and made white, whiter than snow. We just had seven inches of snow last Whatever day, Saturday, I guess it was. Was it Saturday? Yeah. Time flies. I don't know. Seven inches of snow. My dogs are Dalmatians, so they're white with black spots. They were out there in the snow, and they look like they're cream colored. They don't even look white. That's how pure the Lord's made his people is that white. You understand what I'm saying? Imagine how ugly, dirty, disgusting we were, and yet he takes our red sin and washes it with his red blood and we come out whiter than snow.

There's something you can't understand. You just believe it by faith. You mean he washes something that's red with something that's red and it turns out white. That's exactly what he said. That's exactly what he said. Though your sin be as scarlet, they shall be as wool, though they shall be as snow, though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. Our sin's red, his blood's red. You say, well, I understand what he's saying, but I can't believe that unless he gives me faith. That's exactly right, that's exactly right.

We need Christ's life because our life is a sinful life. Oh, wretched man that I am, not that I was. We need Christ's death because ours would be in vain. It wouldn't do us any good to die. We'd have to die forever. Would not do us any good at all. We need Christ's death because I would be in vain. We need Jesus Christ as our substitute surety. We can't stand before the flaming eyes of a holy God. No way. We'd be destroyed. We need a substitute.

We need one that stood up and said, I'll be surety for them. Put it on my account. Lay it to my charge. I'll take care of it. If I don't bring them back safely, I'll bear the guilt. That's what Judah said, wasn't it? I'll bear the guilt. We need one that owned our sin, it's his own, he bore our sin in his body on the tree and took the full penalty of it as our substitute. We need him. If you believe that, the Lord's given you understanding. He took the full penalty of sin because he was made guilty. That's what it talks about in Isaiah 53 whenever it says he Let's see the Lord hath laid upon him the iniquity of us all that word iniquity is guilt You say I don't I don't understand that well, I'll tell you this as well. This will make it even more unbelievable He was offered up as the spotless Lamb of God as a lamb spotless, without spot, without blemish. How can you believe that? Well, how can you believe you can wash red and red that turns out white? This is a mystery.

Understanding is not about knowing all the information. It's about believing God over self. Believing God over what makes sense to the flesh and not worried about it being an intellectual achievement, but it's believing him by faith. By faith, the flesh will never be satisfied with the mysteries of the Lord because they'll never be able to understand it, never be able to understand it. We need his offering because our offering is tainted. Anytime we ever tried to offer anything up to God, unless the Lord takes it and washes it in his blood, it's no good, it's no good.

You know what else we need? We need his resurrection, declaring that we have been justified. That's what the resurrection symbolizes. It says he was raised because of our justification. That means we have been justified freely by his grace, not having done anything. The scripture tells us clearly, you're saved by grace through faith and that not of yourself, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. I quote that one a lot. If you have understanding, you have the one thing needful, and that's Jesus Christ alone. That's Jesus. You don't have a vendetta. You don't have an attitude of I know something you don't know. You don't have an attitude of you just believe what the book says. What thus saith God? I don't care about opinions. You go through and you read what the Bible says and you take it for its word and you compare scripture to scripture because that's how it clarifies itself. We don't need men's opinion involving anything. We need him, we need his understanding.

Thank God, he said, John 6, 45, it is written in the prophets, they all shall be taught of God. Every man that therefore hath heard and hath learned of the Father cometh to me. Every man that's heard and hath learned. You know what that, another word for learned is? Understand. Those that have been given understanding come to Christ. That's what he's saying.

Now quickly in closing, I just want to go back to our text and read these three verses again. Proverbs 15, in the light of everything we've said. Look at verse 12, 14, and 21. This is about the only book that you can do that, pick verses out because they all have something similar to the text that we, or the topic that we picked tonight. Typically we don't do that, but because every one of these are individual thoughts, there's nothing wrong with doing it this way.

12, 14 and 21 says, a scorner loveth not one that reproveth him. Is that not what the Lord does to us is reprove us when he gives us understanding. When you get understanding, you're reproved. He tells you you're wrong and I'm right, but a scorner, A scorner loveth not one that reproved him, neither will he go unto the wise. He won't come to Christ. He won't come to Christ.

Look at 14. The heart of him that hath understanding seeketh knowledge, but the mouth of fools feedeth on foolishness. And the last one's in verse 21. Folly is joy to him that is destitute or void of heart of wisdom, but a man of understanding walketh uprightly.

We say with the Father, as a man that came to Christ, he had a son or a child, it doesn't say whether it's a boy or a girl, but it's a child, a possessed child, possessed from a young age, the Father says. How long has he been this way? He said, from a child. He would cut himself, throw himself in the fire, all kinds of things. The disciples couldn't cast out the demon. They tried, they couldn't do it. And so they brought him to Jesus. And the Lord rebuked him, the demon had to come out, and they said, Lord, why couldn't we do this? He said, this kind cometh not but by prayer and fasting. In other words, you were looking to yourself. That's what he was saying.

But the father said, I believe. Lord said, if you believe, then anything's possible. If you believe. And he said, Lord, I believe. This is us. Lord, I understand. Help my understanding. Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief. Lord, give me grace. Give me faith so I can believe just you and you alone.

Thank God for his understanding given to his people, all by his grace. We would be, thank God. Thank God he gave this understanding freely by his grace. Let's pray.

Father, we are thankful that you give this wonderful gift unto your people. We ask that you would take all these words, you'd bless them to our understanding for your glory. In Christ's name, amen.