Amen. We're into Proverbs 23 and part 2 now. We're looking from verse 19. We'll just remind
you, if you haven't got a pen, please grab a pen. There's not as many as sometimes, there's
still quite a few subjects here, there's a few grouped together now in these later parts
of Proverbs, but if you need a pen, the ushers just coming around with a pen, please just
grab one from him. You've got notes section on the back of your bulletins, you can make
notes in your Bible. Just so hopefully you take something away from this, there's a lot
of subjects, you might go away forgetting what was preached. It's not just like a one-point
sermon. We're going to look from verse 19 in Proverbs 23. Verse 19 says this, Hear thou
my son, and be wise, and guide thine heart in the way. I'd like to pray. Father, thank
you for your word, thank you for the book of Proverbs, thank you for the wisdom we can
get from it, please help everyone here, Lord, to just be edified by your word here, to apply
what they especially need applying right now to their lives, and Lord, to just really make
a note of what your word is saying to them today, Lord, help me to preach it accurately
and in a way that people will remember it, will apply it to their lives, Lord, will benefit
from your word today. Help me to do all these things through Jesus Christ's holy name. Amen.
Okay, so, Hear thou my son, and be wise, and guide thine heart in the way. So God's writing
through Solomon, as you know, if you've been listening to the book of Proverbs, this is
Solomon writing, but God obviously has inspired Solomon with this, and he's saying to his
children here to be wise, and this is obviously after salvation, okay, Proverbs 9, 10 says
the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the holy is understanding,
so it's the beginning, the fear of the Lord is the beginning, without that you're not
wise, okay, but to be wise, to be then, to go on to be considered wise, you need to hear
God's words, his commandments, his testimonies, you need all of that, right, and without hearing
you won't be wise, you're not going to be wise, okay, without reading his word, without
hearing his word preached, you will not be wise, ultimately, okay, that's just the way
it is, okay, you will not be a wise person, you cannot be considered wise, if you're not
saved, you're not wise, okay, but after salvation, you're not automatically wise, you need to
hear it, you need to hear thou my son, and be wise, okay, you won't work out life on
your own, okay, so it's just not going to happen, you need God, you need God to help
you with it, there's so many mysteries in life, there's so many hard things, hard decisions,
decisions which ultimately need your wisdom to make them right, and without God's word
you ain't getting there, it doesn't matter who you go to, where you learn from, how intelligent
you think you might be, how well read you think you might be, if you're not well read
in the word, you ain't going to be wise, you need to hear thou my son and be wise, right,
talking about the word of God here, you don't have it all sorted, and also, you know, wisdom
alongside the knowledge of God does just either increase or decrease in life, okay, that's
something you need to remember as well, because some people think, well, I've learned it all
now, I'm all right, you know, nothing to see, move on, but that's not how it works,
you either keep increasing wisdom, or you decrease wisdom, you don't level out, because
often you just quickly forget stuff, and it's not just that you forget stuff when you're
not applying it, when you're here and you're not a doer, when you're not applying it to
your life, well often the wisdom just gets lower and lower, and we want to be wise, don't
we?
I'm sure everyone here wants to be wise, there are people all over the world who are
the same, who are desperate for wisdom, and they go to all sorts of weird and wacky places
to try and get wisdom in life, and we have it all here, and you know it's true, you know
it's true, you've put your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, you have that Holy Spirit in
you, helping you understand this word, and this word will make you wise, you've got it
here, right?
Well what does the wisdom from hearing give you the ability to do then?
Well, guide thine heart in a way, it said.
It helps you to guide your thoughts and emotions, basically, okay?
To sift through what's of the flesh and what's of the spirit.
That's what the word of God helps you to do.
It helps you, because look, we all have different emotional responses to things, we have sometimes
some foolish thoughts, don't we?
We have foolish ideas, we have things that go into our head where we think, you know,
we think, oh this is a good idea, maybe I should do this, I should respond like this,
I should act like this, I should make this choice, I should do this, and what the word
of God does, it helps you sift through all of that, it helps filter it all to see what's
wise and what's not.
It helps you to guide your heart, your emotions, the seat of your emotions in the way, to recognise
the foolish thoughts when they arise, to recognise the bad choice options, because they're everywhere,
aren't they?
Look, there's forks in the road everywhere you go, and the word of God helps you to recognise
which way to go with everything, doesn't it?
Helps you to guide your heart in the way.
You need to hear thou my son and be wise and guide thine heart in the way he's saying here.
So basically, if you want to be able to guide your heart in a way, you need to be wise,
if you want to be wise, you need to hear God's word.
Pretty simple proverb to start with there, right?
Okay, that was verse 19, let's move on to verse 20 though.
Verse 20 says, be not among winebibbers, among riotous eaters of flesh, for the drunkard
and the glutton shall come to poverty, and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.
What's a winebibber?
Well, verse 21 indicates it's a drunkard, doesn't it?
What's a riotous eater of flesh?
Verse 21 indicates it's a glutton, someone who's an excessive eater.
They overindulge in a big way, okay?
So a riotous eater of flesh isn't just someone that's a bit overweight, for example, okay?
There are people that are underweight that are gluttons, okay, and there are people that
are overweight that maybe aren't, okay?
There's many reasons for things, but here it's talking about someone that's out of control.
Think of the word riot.
Someone who's rioting is someone that's out of control, they're unrestrained, okay?
This is an out-of-control eater of flesh, is what it's saying here, a riotous eater
of flesh.
Okay, this isn't just someone that, ah, maybe they're gonna overeat a little bit.
This is a real glutton, okay?
Be not among winebibbers, he said, among riotous eaters of flesh, which could mean one of two
things here, okay?
Number one, don't be a drunkard or a glutton.
Be not basically considered one, don't be among them in terms of don't be that drunkard
or glutton.
Number two, it could be saying don't hang around with them.
Be not among winebibbers, among riotous eaters of flesh, and I would say that it's both.
It's both, really, because if you hang around with them, you'll eventually end up being
one.
Why?
Because ultimately we're just followers in life, we're sheep in life, and we get desensitized
as well.
So the more, when you're around someone, you're just fine, you just start to pick up more
and more, start to act a bit more like people you're around.
It's not because you're, oh, I'm not like that, I'm just so strong, no you're not, you
lie.
You learn who you are off someone and somewhere, okay?
That's the way it goes, and the people we're around, it just rubs off on us a bit.
Especially with sin, sin just, you just become desensitized to it.
It just becomes a bit more normalized, you just become a bit more likely to do it, the
more you're seeing it around you.
He said be not among winebibbers, among riotous eaters of flesh.
Now why is it bad to be a winebibber?
Why is it bad to be a riotous eater of flesh?
Well, he says here, for the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty, and drowsiness
shall clothe a man with rags.
Okay, now like we said, we've just seen that the winebibber is a drunkard.
Now just to make it clear what that is, that isn't someone that, okay, so just to explain
this, because some people get a bit confused about this, okay, as we're going to see as
we go through this chapter, okay, alcohol is clearly forbidden in the Bible, okay?
Being drunk is clearly, clearly forbidden, but alcohol itself is forbidden, however,
and then people go, if he ever finds out that I've had a drink, he's going to kick me out
of the church.
No, because being a drunkard is what gets you kicked out of the church.
Now there's slightly differing things.
Being a drunkard is someone that gets drunk, okay, or someone that drinks regularly.
Now if you're neither of those, I would say you've got even more reason because you should
find it even easier to not drink, and if you are one of those, then ultimately the Bible
says to put away from among yourself that wicked person, okay?
You shouldn't be in the fellowship in the local church, you know what you should do?
You should stop being a drunkard and then be in the fellowship in the local church.
That's a whole idea, right?
Okay, it's because that little leaven leavens a whole lump because it causes trouble amongst
others in the church because it desensitizes others because of the many issues that go
with it.
However, they're two separate things really though, okay, and you might go, well I'm a
social drinker.
It is one of the ways we work out whether you're a social drinker or not, because people
like to say the social drinker one.
When you drink on your own, you're not a social drinker, okay?
If you're drinking on your own, that ain't social, okay?
That's anti-social drinking, okay?
And that's a sign of a drunkard, okay?
So look, we don't go around and we're not like trying to work out and have a little
sniff as you go past everything else, okay?
But you know what, if it comes to the attention of the church that, yeah, this person seems
to be a drunkard, then yeah, you should be disciplined and put out of the church until
you can get right in that area, right?
And hopefully you can get right straight away with that, but some people that's not an option
but it should be an incentive not to because it's a bad sin according to God, right?
Well here it's talking about a wine bibber or a drunkard and a glutton, okay?
Now he said that they come to poverty and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.
They end up with little because the result of both drunkenness and gluttony is drowsiness,
okay?
It's an inability to work properly.
That's what happens with both of them.
Now obviously we can see that with a drunk, you think, yeah, of course a drunk person
can't get to work.
What's the issue with someone that's a glutton, that's a riotous eater of flesh?
Because what happens is that they end up with a general sense of tiredness, of lethargy,
of drowsiness.
They're basically, what happens with a lot of people that are gluttons is they're unable
to really be productive in life like the drinker.
Because the drinker, it's not just when they're drunk, is it?
The boozer, the person who's drinking a lot, just ends up being able to do less and less
because they wake up feeling lousy because they end up feeling lousy on a day-to-day
basis and they're just unable to be productive.
They end up drowsy.
And if you're wondering, really with a glutton?
Look, anyone who's ever overeaten, and we've probably all overeaten at times, how do you
feel afterwards?
Exhausted, tired, drowsy, you don't want to do anything.
When you feast and you have a big meal, and look, you're not a glutton if now and again
you have a feast.
If you're feasting every time you eat, and that's every time, that's breakfast, lunch,
dinner, and maybe second breakfast as well, and Eleven's is, and it's tea time and supper
and dinner, and you're doing all of that, then yeah, sure, you're going to be drowsy,
and you're not going to be able to do stuff in life.
Well, what's the result of that?
You end up being clothed with rags.
Because eventually something's got to give with that.
And if you think about it, look down the road, and look at the drunkards down the road, and
they're generally clothed with rags, aren't they?
At least the modern equivalent of that.
We spoke to a guy earlier and he was stumbling down the road with a can of beer, said he
was homeless, and I said, look, if you're drinking, I'm not going to try and preach
to you.
I'm not trying, I've only just started it, so I thought, okay, give him a chance.
Nah, nah, don't really have the time.
You're homeless walking down the road with a can of cider.
What are you off to do?
You say, I'm going to go and sit down and contemplate life.
Well, didn't have the time.
But the guy, again, you're looking at him, you're thinking, that's kind of borderline
rags, at least our version of that, right?
Why?
Because he's unable to work.
He's unable to provide for himself.
He's unable to have at least just normal clothing.
The result of it all, he said, for the drunken and the glutton shall come to poverty and
drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.
You only have to walk down the road, like I said, to see that, but he said here to not
be among them, be not among winebibbers, among rioters, seeds of flesh.
For the drunken and the glutton shall come to poverty and drowsiness shall clothe a man
with rags.
I don't think it's so, well, you don't want to be around all those poor people.
It's because eventually you're going to end up going down the same road.
So the lesson is to have self-control and really avoid those that don't.
And don't go on a knee-jerk here and go, actually, I think so-and-so might have drunk
some alcohol once, never talked to them again, or so-and-so, I still let them eat, they got
the supersize, might be a glutton, that's not what he's talking about, but it's people
that are clearly just rioters, eaters, they're drunkards, they're going to end up, it's going
to end up rubbing off on you.
Okay, so have self-control, avoid those that don't.
Okay, verse 22, harken unto thy father that begat thee and despise not thy mother when
she is old.
Now, of course, it goes without saying that this applies to a child first, obviously,
okay.
Colossians 3, 20 says, children, obey your parents in all things, for this is world-pleasing
unto the Lord.
Look, kids should obviously harken unto their fathers, they should despise not their mothers.
How could they be about, how could they be honoring thy father and mother if they weren't
doing that?
Believe that this is specifically talking to the adult.
He said, harken unto thy father that begat thee and despise not thy mother when she is
old.
Now, to harken here is to listen, but also it's to attend, to regard, to give heed to
it.
And this especially needs saying to older children and young adults, I think is probably
the main people that need to hear this, who can easily think that they know best, can't
they?
Look, if you don't have older kids, or you haven't been around them much, or the young
adults, just remember when you were.
And we often thought we knew best, didn't we?
Sometimes we still do, okay, but especially when you're young at that sort of age, you
start to think that you know it all, and they need to remember to harken unto their father
that begat them and despise not thy mother when she is old.
And what happens is that, look, children suddenly disregard those years of experience, don't
they?
Children, older children, young adults, suddenly they think, well I know better, they suddenly
get confident in their own worldview and everything else.
And not just worldview, just things in general.
Just life itself.
Life itself just gives you experience, doesn't it?
And aside, because obviously some people here are thinking, well my parent isn't saved,
so what are they going to tell me?
Yeah, but aside from all that, just life in general.
Just so many things in life, it's so handy to have someone a bit older around who, so
yeah, actually because I have dealt with that, because I've just had so many years, I've
been through that, is what most old people can say.
Older people, older than yourself, they've got more experience, they've been there, they've
done it, they know, and it can be about 101 different things, from chores at home to dealing
with a problem with your car, to just so many things, you know, it's nice to have someone
older to ask, right, to harken to, that has experience.
Now like I said, if your father is unsaved, you're maybe not going to listen to spiritual
counsel, but there's a lot of knowledge beside that.
Many lessons that you learn in life, do you know how I've learnt so many lessons in my
life?
It's by getting them wrong first, really, isn't it?
So many lessons that you learn in life is because you got it wrong the first time, maybe
the second time, maybe if you're a little bit stubborn, maybe a few times, yeah, and
then eventually you start getting it right, because you're like, well that's not how I
should do it, because that went wrong, let's do it this way, and I don't know about you
guys, I've learnt so many things that way, right, so many, you know, from DIY to all
sorts, you know, after I smashed my thumb a few times, I learnt a bit better how to
use a hammer, you know, after I've messed up and after I've drilled holes in the wall
and end up with these huge chasms on a hammer drill in a plaster wall, I realised maybe
I should have done it, taken it a bit easier, you know, and this wasn't a big bit of concrete,
this was, you know, a little plasterboard, you know, things like that, you just learn
from getting it wrong sometimes, that can be a great way of learning, but you know what's
even better and even more painless, is learning from someone that's got it wrong themselves,
you don't have to get it wrong, so if you actually harken to someone that's already
been through that and had the pain of smashing their thumb with a hammer or whatever it is,
you know, that's a bad example because most people I hope don't do that, but whatever,
right, if you learn from them then you don't have to go through that pain yourself, you
don't have to go through, you know, those, getting those things wrong in the first place,
it takes humility though, and it takes the respect of your parents, which so many adults
nowadays just don't have, do they, so many adults, if you look across at least this nation
there's a lack of respect for the elderly, isn't there, and there's a few reasons
for that that you could probably think of, but that is a big problem, it's a big problem
in our nation where people just, I mean, they basically despise the elderly, don't they,
despise their elderly parents, he said in verse 22, harken unto thy father that begat
thee and despise not thy mother when she is old, why would someone despise their mother
when they're old? Now for me it's, I think it's because the relationship changes,
that's what I think, a normal mother has spent your life thinking and caring for you,
hasn't she, a normal mother, normal mothers have spent their life thinking and caring
for you, providing for your needs, being there for you, then you get older and you no longer
rely on her, you no longer rely, you know, if you do you're probably a bit of a mummy's
boy, okay, but for anyone, right, as you get older you stop relying so much on your
mother, she gets older and is no longer able to do all that that she did, and then what
happens as a result is somebody then starts to resent their mums, because the natural
relationship was that their mother did everything for them, now they don't need that, that's
not happening, they start to resent them, because they're just used to them being
there for them, they're not used to being there for their mums, and they start to despise
their mothers, and think of how many mums are rotting away in some care in inverted
commas home somewhere, a lot of mums in this nation, right, a lot of mums amongst our society
are rotting away in some care home somewhere, sometimes it seems like they're not even
ready to go in the care home and they're getting put in it, and that is a, I mean that
is a bit of a, it's a big shame on our society, isn't it, how many do that, a left
to it by the children that they mothered, the children they put their lives into that
they did so much for, and then the second that they're out there, they've now become
a bit expendable, they're not really going to be able to benefit them that much, they're
packed off to the nearest so-called care home, and it's not just care homes, think about
how many are just rotting away in hospitals and things like that, I don't know if you
ever like visited family, sometimes you get people in there that, you know, you overhear
they don't even know who they are, they don't know who this person is, they don't
know, and they're trying to talk to them, and a lot of the time these are mums and stuff,
no one even knows what they're doing anymore, no one even cares for them anymore, isn't
that sad, right, how sad is that, instead of honouring their parents, they find a reason
to despise them, and that's what happens is, people don't just go, I don't give
a damn about my mum anymore, she's not doing anything for me, oh well my mum's not providing
for me anymore, I've learnt to tie my own shoelaces now, you know, what they do is
they find an excuse, and people will find a reason, and that's sadly what people do
in life, don't they, when someone becomes expendable they find a reason to justify it,
but are they happier for it? I don't think they're happier for it, he said, harken
until thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old, and I think
it's for your own good as well, because you're not really happy, you don't see,
these people aren't just living the life of Riley while their parents are rotting
away in care homes and left to it, fending for themselves, getting picked up by the police
while they're wandering around in their 90s at night, you know, having to be taken
back home, because all that stuff goes on, doesn't it? And I think that really, really
people aren't really happier for it, and I think that ultimately you're not honouring
your father or mother, and you're going to basically be cursed for that.
The proverb I think is a reminder to love and respect our parents, especially when the
relationship roles change, because that can also be with a father, can't it, as well,
it works for both, but when those relationship roles change, still honour, love, respect
your parents. Verse 23, buy the truth and sell it not, also wisdom and instruction and
understanding. Right, how can you buy the truth? Well, keep your finger, turn to Matthew
13, where we see the parable of the hidden treasure, so you turn to Matthew 13, we just
saw in verse 23 there, Proverbs 23, buy the truth and sell it not, also wisdom and instruction
and understanding. Okay, so we're told to buy it, sell it not, and then also wisdom,
instruction and understanding. Matthew 13 says in verse 44, Matthew 13, 44 says again,
the kingdom of heaven is like under treasure hidden a field, the which when a man hath
found he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath and buyeth that
field. Now remember that according to verse 10 to 11 of Matthew 13, these parables were
for the saved to know the mysteries of God. Okay, so the parables were there so the unsaved
didn't get it, but the saved did. He said in verse 10, and the disciples came and said
unto him, why speak unto them in parables? Verse 11, he answered and said unto them,
because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is
not given. And here in verse 44 in Matthew 13, Jesus is saying that when you found the
truth, basically it's worth giving up your whole life for the joy of serving the Lord.
It's really worth that, for the joy, for the for the fulfillment of serving God, the joy
that you get from that, it's worth giving up your whole life, it's worth giving everything
to pursue the things of God. And it really is, it really is. All of that other stuff,
the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, the lusts of other things entering
in, they can't compare to the clean joy of serving God, they really can't. The clean
joy, the joy, look, people get joy from sin for sure, people get joy from all sorts of
vanity, but it's not that clean joy that you can get from serving God. It's not that
clean fulfillment, that clean, that just, just that, just feeling fulfilled in life,
just knowing, yeah, I feel like I'm doing the right thing, I'm doing what God wants
me to do. Nothing can compare to that. The joy of serving God properly. And I think that's
what he's, you know, that's ultimately what that, what that proverb is saying, okay. Sorry,
that's what that, what that parable is saying in Matthew 13, but back in Proverbs 23 and
23, that's what he's saying, he's saying, buy the truth and sell it not. Also wisdom
and instruction and understanding. So he's also saying don't do the opposite. Don't sell
it. Don't swap it for all that stuff, because a lot of people will swap the things that
God will swap that the, you know, so much of what they can get from serving God, swap
all of that fulfillment, swap all of that joy for the things of the world. They'll trade
it the other way round, won't they? Once you've got it, don't trade the truths of God, don't
trade that righteous life for some temporary pleasures. It's really not worth it. And the
bright lights in there and, you know, the attractiveness of these things make you think
it might be worth it, but it really isn't. It's really not worth it. Do you know what
happens with believers when they backslide? They don't just go away and ride off into
the sunset going, I'm so pleased that I've gone back into carnality. What happens is
they just end up living a horrible life and they regret it and sometimes they come back,
right? And they don't come back going, oh, that was, I just had a real great little break
from God for a while. Oh, those sins were fun. Glad I got that off my chest, I'm back.
No, usually they come back broken, they come back much more of a mess than they were before
they come back. Just pleased if they are able to get back into the things of God. Don't
get lured away with that stuff. All of that vanity, all of that stuff. Because here's
the thing, okay, it takes following the Lord to know the truth, okay? We've just seen
by the truth, has said it not. But to know the truth, I'm not talking about salvation,
okay? So salvation, that's easy, okay? That's a gift. But to actually know the truth,
the truth of life, the truth of the Word, all those other things, that takes following
the Lord. John 8 said in verse 31, then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him,
so they're saved, if you continue in my word, then are you my disciples indeed, and you
shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. It's not talking about salvation,
it frees you from the burdens of sin. That's what the truth does. From the heavy yokes
of this world, the truths of God's Word, the truths of the Word of God, the wisdom,
all those things that we get from the Word of God. But it's not just the truth, okay?
It's not just the freedom from so much sin that you benefit from. So yeah, it's great
knowing the truth, it's great going through the Word of God and getting that freedom.
But verse 23, where we are, in Proverbs 23 said, by the truth and sell it not also wisdom
and instruction and understanding, it's the accompanying wisdom, the accompanying instruction
and understanding that goes with it. It's not just a list of commands to follow, it
contains truth. The Word of God is so rich, isn't it? It's so amazing when you're really
in it and you're really starting to understand it, the true wisdom, the instruction in all
areas of life. It's not just thou shalt and thou shalt not, it's just instruction in all
these different, as we're going through the Book of Proverbs, it's giving us instruction
for so many aspects of life, isn't it? And it's amazing that the true understanding
of life and understanding so much more, understanding hidden motives, understanding, you know, the
joys of serving God, all these different things that we're learning and understand as we go
through the Word of God, that truth, okay, contains also the sort of, what goes along
with it is the wisdom, the instruction and understanding. It's not just, oh, well now
I know the truth of this, no, you get all of this with it as well. And isn't that stuff
worth forsaking for all of those worldly possessions? Like I said, there are people around the world
that, they will go far and wide, they will go to the furthest corners of wherever to
somehow try and get the wisdom from some stupid Buddhist version of religion or something.
Who will spend a fortune trying to learn the secrets, the truth of this, but it's all
here, it's all here, don't sell it though, don't swap it for the world. He said, buy
the truth and sell it not, also wisdom and instruction and understanding, he's saying
that the things that God apprised us and they benefit you in so many ways, so give away
what you need to to pursue them. Just give it up, whatever you need to to pursue the
things of God. No, you don't have to sell everything and, you know, live in a shed somewhere
and do, no, but he's saying just all that stuff that stops you serving God, just get
rid of it, get rid of it. Verse 24, the father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice and
he that begetteth a wise child shall have joy with him. Thy father and thy mother shall
be glad and she that bear thee shall rejoice. So in the first half, okay, verses 15 to 16,
we saw the pleasure that parents should get from being confident that their kids are saved.
Verse 15 said, my son, if thine heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine. Yea, my
reigns shall rejoice when thy lips speak right things. And I believe with the lips, the fruits
of their mouth being the only thing to go by with salvation, that's what it's talking
about here, okay, that's what those verses were talking about, just to save child. Well,
here in verse 24, now we're still in the chapter and now we've kind of got a slightly
different angle, I think it's maybe beyond salvation now, it's saved and living right.
The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice and he that begetteth a wise child
shall have joy with him. Thy father and thy mother shall be glad and she that bear thee
shall rejoice. So the father here shall greatly rejoice. It's not just the beginning of wisdom,
this child is described as wise. Their parents are glad, their mother is rejoicing, because
that is our goal, isn't it? Look, it's not just to get our kids saved, but getting our
kids saved should hopefully be fairly easy if you're, you know, they're hearing the Word
of God, you're in church, you're full of the Spirit, you preach them at the right time,
you know, you know how to preach the Gospel, you know how to explain it, you know, that
should hopefully be fairly easy, but that's not the end of our goal, is it? It's to raise
them to be righteous. That's what we want our kids to be, don't we? We want our kids
to be truly wise. We don't just want our kids to be saved and then just have, like, a car
wreck of a life after that. No, we want them to be righteous, to be truly wise, and to
go on to serve God, and what does that ultimately result in? It is more souls won. That's what
we're trying to raise our kids to be, to be soul-winning Christians. And the knock-on
effect is more people saved. That's our goal. And how we get to that goal, that's going
to be different for different families, different dynamics, different children, but ultimately
it comes to trying to do it God's way, doesn't it? Okay? And that's why he said you'll greatly
rejoice. And when I said that the goal is winning souls, Proverbs 11 30 says,
the fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he that winneth souls is wise. So if you're
begetting a wise child, for me that's someone that's winning souls, isn't it? That's a child
that's winning souls, that's able to win souls, that goes on to him. It's all well and good,
we might get our kids to do a bit of soul-winning while they're growing up, but our goal is for them
to go on to just be soul-winning Christians for the rest of their lives, right? And hopefully
to raise their kids to do the same and onwards. And that's a big responsibility we have as parents,
isn't it? And that's our goal, that's what we're looking for. And it's not automatic just
because children have gotten saved young, if anyone's wondering that. And I think some people
have been confused by this, you know, maybe at the beginning they're just thinking, well,
kids are growing up in a soul-winning church, I mean, they've got so much more than I ever had,
surely they're going to be soul-winning Christians, three to thrive, reading their Bibles,
they're hardly going to sin, surely? No chance, that's not how it works. They're kids, they're kids
with so many challenges, foolishness is bound in their hearts, they've got all sorts of other,
and they've got other challenges and other angles of attack, being in a church like this to make
them never want to be in it again. And there's so many other things that we're trying to deal with
and other things that you might not have dealt with when you were young, that as a saved child
growing up in a soul-winning church is dealing with. None of it's automatic.
It's also not a given that they will go on to even just live the Christian life, okay,
just because they've learned soul-winning young. That doesn't mean that's automatic either. You
know what happens to many raised in Christian homes, they go on to reject the Christian life.
But they don't benefit from that. So it's not like, oh well it's all right, well they've gone
and rejected it, but at least it's just to their own shame eventually, isn't it? To their own hurt,
to their own ruin of life, because what else is there really in life for us to do? What are we here
for? What are you here for? Are you here to serve God? What's the point in it otherwise? You've got
this small tiny little vapour of a physical life here which can affect your whole eternity, and I'm
not just talking about salvation, beyond that. From what you do here will go on to affect yours
and other people's eternities, and that's what we're trying to get our kids to go on to do,
aren't we? How do we avoid that as parents? How do we avoid them just backsliding? How do we avoid
them the second they're old enough and able, they leave our homes or whatever, to just be out of the
things of God, to be out of homes? Well, Ephesians 6 4 says, and you fathers provoke not your children
to wrath, but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. So, it's by trying to
raise them God's way. It's trying not to provoke them to wrath, to bring them up in the nurture
and admonition of the Lord. There's a combination there. It's by giving them time. You don't have
to turn there. Proverbs 29 15 says, the roderer approved give wisdom, but a child left to himself
bringeth his mother to shame. So, it's trying to get this balance and all the other things we see
in the word of God, and trying to get it right, and actually putting some time, effort and care
into our kids. It's trying to get that balance, and if we succeed, then we're rejoicing. Joy,
gladness, and that's a great incentive, isn't it? As a parent, you know, a great incentive. If you
could, if you can succeed at this and say, yeah, look, my child's going on to serve God, to be
wanting to be soul winning, reading their Bible, still in church, being in the race. I mean, joy,
gladness, rejoicing. I think most people here could see why that would be the case.
But it should also be, just last bit on that, it should also be an incentive for children growing
up, shouldn't it, as well. So, kids, if you're sitting here listening, kids, and I hope all the
kids in here are listening, if you really want to give your parents joy, you really want to please
your parents, make a decision to love and serve God. Because if any of the parents here are like
me, and I'm sure you all are, nothing's going to please you more than knowing that your kids are
like, look, your sporting achievements, your academic achievements, your work, you know,
your whatever house, car you get in the future, your husband's, your wife, none of that. All of
that pales in comparison, really, to you going on to serve God. And that's what would give us ultimate
joy, wouldn't it? So if you want to make your parents happy, just make that decision to serve the Lord.
And obviously, ultimately, it should be because you want to serve God and you love God.
So verse 24, it said, the father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice in he that beget the wild child,
sorry, a wise child, not a wild child, don't forget a wild child, but get a wise child shall
have joy for him. Thy father and thy mother shall be glad, and she that barely shall rejoice. So it's
a reminder of our goal as parents of God's heritage, and then the blessings we will get from getting it
right. Okay, verse 26. My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways.
For a whore is a deep ditch, and a strange woman is a narrow pit. She also lieth and waiters for her
prey, and increaseth the transgressors among men. And this is one way that the young man growing up
could go on to ruin all of that. So we're going out, we're going to try and raise him up for the
nurture, the admonition of the Lord, give them the time, don't leave them, you know, don't leave them
to themselves, you know, try and do all the things that we're trying to get right, and then they end up
finding some whore, some strange woman, and they wreck their lives. And you could do your utmost,
you could try your utmost, and that's one way young men growing up here, that you wreck your life,
okay, by falling into the trap set by the many strange women in this world. They're everywhere,
okay. You have to turn to Proverbs 7-12 says, now is she without, now in the streets of life,
and wait at every corner. She's at every corner, they're everywhere. Whores and strange women are
everywhere. They're ten of penny out there. Hence the many warnings in Proverbs. How many times have
we seen this warning about the strange woman, the whores, the harlots, but just constant, isn't it?
Yeah. He said, my son give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways. Which if you know anything
about Solomon who wrote this, okay, this is kind of ironic, ironic considering his demise was due
to women. He probably wrote the book of Proverbs at a younger age than when it all went downhill.
You, you kind of get that feeling when you read it. At the time, I think probably when people came
far and wide to hear his wisdom, probably when he wrote these Proverbs. That's my thoughts, okay.
But regardless, okay, it's, it's not just good lessons that we learn from people. We should also
look at Solomon's life, shouldn't we? The wisest man that ever lived, aside from the Lord obviously,
okay. This guy had wisdom like no other, wisdom and understanding like no other, given as a, as a
blessing, as a gift from the Lord. He had it all and he ruined the end of his life because of his
many wives and concubines. He wrecked it. He wrecked it because of his love of, really, maybe you might
not want to call them strangers. I think some of these are strange women, at least idolaters as well.
Now perhaps here he's already saying, yeah give me your heart, okay. He's saying, you know, to love him
but still use your eyes to observe him. Sometimes think that when you see verse 26. My son, give me
thine heart and let thine eyes observe my ways. We should be observing the way. Look, give your heart,
give your heart to your parents, kids. You know, give your heart to your, to your husband's wives.
You know, give your heart to your wives' husbands. Should we do it? Sure, yeah, especially when it's
leadership in our lives. So dads, husbands, especially, even kids looking up to your mums and
whoever else, but we should still be observing them. Don't follow blindly. Give your heart, but let
your eyes observe them, observe their ways. And that's something that we should all be doing,
shouldn't we, with whoever we're following in life. Whether it's your father, your mother, whether it's
your pastor, right, you should be observing my way. You should be judging me by the word of God. Don't
just follow blindly. Give them your heart, but don't blindly follow. We only follow someone else
as they follow the Lord. That's how we're meant to follow, right? Hebrews 13 says, remember them
which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God, whose faith follow, considering
the end of their conversation. So considering the end of their behavior. How do you consider the end
of their behavior by your, by your eyes observing their ways? Observing their ways, seeing, okay,
you know, is that something, is that part of that, is that part of that person what I want to follow?
And it's one of the, one of the reasons that internet Christianity can be so dangerous really,
can't it? I mean, how many people follow false prophets, or even not, maybe someone who's not
a false lawyer, they're following, they, they can't actually observe their ways. They don't know them.
All they see is that our, that our sermon. And that's not, if, you know, how I, how I stand here
and, and talk about the Bible and preach the word of God and everything else, that's not me though,
is it, the rest of the time. And all you can really do is observe someone's ways and see,
you know, and you can only do that if you actually know them, can't you? And, and don't get me wrong,
like many of us have learned, and many people have listened to good preachers, stuff like that,
but it's not, it's not really Christianity. It's not what we, it's not what we're called to, to,
to internet, internet fanboy Christianity. And there's, there's people all over the world,
aren't they? But they can't observe the ways. People all over the world following people
they've never met, all over the world, following people in whatever nation, in whatever place
they've never even met before. They don't even know anything about them, but they're following
them because, well, they sound good, but ultimate responsibility though, a sight, but even with that,
okay, ultimate responsibility is still with us. So don't get me wrong, I'm not saying, oh no,
don't ever listen to anyone, only come to church, but it starts and finishes with church really.
That's what it's about. If you really want to serve God, you want to do it right, you want to
follow all of this stuff, you want to follow all these books, all these New Testament books
written to churches, churches, churches, you kind of need to be in church, aren't you, right?
But it's still, the responsibility is still with us. He said, my son, give me thine heart and let
thine eyes observe my ways. Okay, that's your responsibility to do that, for a whore is a deep
ditch and a strange woman is a narrow pit. She's not just a ditch or hole to fall in,
she's a deep ditch. Okay, once you fall, it's even harder to get out, basically.
Whore and strange woman is being used interchangeably here, okay, she's also a narrow pit.
Basically, there's not much room once you're in it. Okay, once you're in that narrow pit,
you're stuck as well. Once she's caught you, it's hard to escape, you could be stuck forever,
is basically it. Once, if you make that mistake, men, young men, look, even married men, you make
that mistake, shame on you, okay? Shame on you, that's wicked, okay? But whoever, you make that
mistake with some whore or strange woman, you're stuck, okay? You're stuck. And whether that's from
becoming putty in her manipulative hand, and there's a lot of women that are very manipulative
and are able to manipulate men as they please, whether it's from having children together,
and now you're basically parenting children with someone that maybe you're not with anymore,
maybe that you're never married or you did marry and you're divorced and it, I mean,
what a mess that is. To divorce arrangements and all of the stuff that goes with that,
and being stuck and being trapped and maybe you're paying, maybe you're paying for this woman
that does nothing for you, that lives separately and hates your guts for the rest of your life,
I mean, what a mess, right? And even just from the mental scars, the mental scars that so many men
who are just burned, and look, don't get me wrong, on the other hand, it's terrible as well.
There's all sorts of wicked whoremongers out there that ruin women's lives, but right now we're
looking at the whore, we're looking at the strange woman, and with the effect on men who end up in
this deep ditch in this narrow pit, and that can be the mental effects of it as well, the bitterness
for life. There are a lot of men out there, aren't there? They just, like, they hate women for the
rest of their lives because of how they've been treated when they, because of something I remember,
I knew a guy many years ago who had a bad experience with a woman who he ended up coming
home and finding her with his best friend, it was horrendous for him, and this guy absolutely hated
women, as long as I knew him, I haven't spoken to him for many years now, hated him. I mean, there's things
he used to say, what he would call them, the way he'd refer to women, just all women, because
he was so hurt by a strange woman, by a whore. And that's why there are so many
warnings here, okay, that's why Paul said to flee fornication, he said flee it, that's why we're warned
about unequal yoking, okay, don't do it, don't, men, as attractive as it might sound at the time,
as interesting as it might sound at the time, just don't do it, just flee it, get away from it,
because those whores, those strange women, that trap can be for life, will ruin your life.
And there are, you know, he said, for whores a deep ditch, a strange woman is in her pit, she also lieth
and wait as for her prey, and increaseth the transgressors among men. So there are women like that,
okay, who are predators, who sadly are literally lying down to trap their prey, basically, you know,
for want of a better description. And what's the end result with these women? They pull men of God
out of the things of God and they prevent sinners coming to God, that's what happens, yeah, they become
a distraction, you know, these whores and these strange women, they don't want, they don't want,
they'll prevent that man coming to God at all, but they'll also pull men of God out of the things of
God, whether it's married men, whether it's single men, whatever it is. She also lieth and wait as for
her prey, and increaseth the transgressors among men. So the result is, the result of these women is
more transgressors, basically, she's doing the work of the devil, basically, that's what it's talking about.
So the lesson is to take heed from the downfall of so many and avoid the trap by doing things God's way.
Okay, last bit, verse 29, but this is a long bit, who hath woe, who have sorrow, who have contentions,
who hath babbling, who has wounds without cause, who has redness of eyes, they that tarry long at
the wine, they that go to seek mixed wine. Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it
giveth its color in the cup, when it moveth itself aright, at the last it biteth like a serpent,
and stingeth like an adder. Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse
things. Yea, thou shalt be a sea that lieth down the midst of the sea, and the sea that lieth upon
the top of the mast. They have stricken me, shout thou saying, I was not sick. They have beaten me,
and I felt it not. When shall I awake? I will seek it yet again. Okay, so verse 29 said, who hath woe,
who have sorrow, who have contentions, who has babbling, who has wounds without cause, who has
redness of eyes. Doesn't it sound like a very good advertisement for alcohol, does it? In case
everyone was wondering, it's about alcohol here. It's not like the sort of advertisement you're
going to see on the TV, is it? On the billboard, on the side of the bottle, in the promotion,
in the supermarket, when you go past the tenth, tenth, not even aisle, just end of the aisle,
or near the checkout where they're trying to lure you and entice you into buying booze, okay?
Basically, roll up, roll up, get some woe. Buy some woe. Buy some sorrow. In fact, get some woe,
and you get some sorrow free. Buy one, get one free there, isn't it? Who hath woe, who hath sorrow.
And here's the thing, this is what people are paying for all over this nation and others, isn't
it? They're paying, and sometimes they're paying something, have they raised the tax on beer
recently? I don't know, they did something in the budget, I don't know if they raised it or reduced it,
I don't know, but they're paying extra tax as well for some woe and some sorrow.
You're getting tax for your woe and sorrow as well. Woe is grief, by the way, misery, right? Sorrow
is pain from loss, basically, and that's what alcohol will do to your life. It will leave you
with pain, it will leave you with sadness, it will leave you with regret. It'll wreck your life, okay?
It regrets your life. You're going to regret things because of alcohol for the rest of your life. You'll
get flashbacks as you're older in life from things you did when you were young and when you were
boozing. It will cause you woe, it will cause you sorrow, contentions here, a strife,
contest. And it can be violent, it can be verbal, right? And isn't that such a reality of alcohol as
well? The amount of contentions caused by alcohol. I mean, you only have to go through a, you
know, a town centre on a Friday or Saturday night and you're going to see people swinging fists at
each other, people starting fights, people shouting at each other, rows, women shouting at each other,
women fighting each other, pulling each other's hair, claws out the lot. You'll have men, you know,
eyeballing each other, people staggering down the road, shouting at no one. Yeah, people starting
fights with lampposts. I've seen it. And they always lose. Unless they're in a car, they might
get that lamppost over, but then they've really lost, right? Because that car's going to be in trouble.
But it's true, isn't it? Rows, fights, beatings, divorces, all because of alcohol.
Babbling, it's said here, is foolish talk, OK? It's gossip, it's idle talk. And isn't that what
pubs are full of, pretty much? Like the old, oh, the good old cornerstone of the British town,
the pub, where you've got a load of effeminate men sitting there gossiping. Gossiping, oh,
nursing their oestrogen promoter while gossiping. That's our cornerstone of British, oh, I can't
believe they're getting rid of pubs. Get rid of them. Yeah, they're full of gossiping old women,
calling themselves men. Wounds, OK? Wounds without cause, which is because often drinkers can't
remember the cause, OK? They don't even know. They wake up in the morning, they're like, I don't even know how
that happened. I don't even know how I got that wound. What on earth happened? And they're like,
they're just trying hard, thinking, what actually happened last night when I've ended up with a
wound? I mean, what on earth? Really? When you look at it like this and you look at the reality of it,
isn't it amazing? OK, but also wounds don't heal so well either when you're an alcoholic.
In fact, look, because there's not a line. It's like, well, only the alcoholics, their wounds don't
heal so well. But a guy that's not quite an alcoholic that just boozes every weekend and
gets a skinfall down him, his wounds will. No, his wounds won't heal as well as someone that
doesn't drink at all. In fact, the person that just drinks a little bit each week, their wounds
won't heal as well as someone that doesn't drink at all. Because it's poison, right?
Redness of eyes. And that's because alcohol reduces oxygen to your red blood cells, causing
blood vessels to clump together, resulting in a ruddy complexion and red bloodshot eyes.
It doesn't sound so nice either, does it, right? Who has all of this?
Verse 30 says, they that tarry long at the wine, they that go to seek mixed wine. They're basically
drinkers, boozers, people that drink a lot or that regularly drink. So the solution is what?
Just drink moderately, isn't it? Drink sensibly, like pastor drink a bit down at Oinos Baptist
Church, you know. They know, oh no, no, they got it down. They just, you know, they could take it or leave it.
They, you know, they've got more, it's those people without self-control, but it's all right.
We just have a little bit, just a little bit of booze and I'm fine with that, right? Is that what
he's saying to do? No. He says in verse 31, this is a solution. Look not thou upon the wine when it is
red, when it giveth this color in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. He said, don't even look at it.
How about that? Don't even look at it. Now, this is referring to fermented wine as opposed to juice,
also called wine in the Bible. And if you're confused about that subject, I preach a sermon
called If You Drink Wine You're an Idiot, and it just goes through that at length. Okay, please go
back and look at that. I'm not going to go into that for sake of time today, but clearly in the
Bible where we see the word juice used only once in poetry, in one of the poetic books,
in the Song of Solomon, just as an alternative to wine to not make it redundant in the verse,
in those verses. Aside from that, it's always wine, but because that's just the translation of the word
and it can either be alcoholic or non-alcoholic, and sometimes it's obvious, sometimes it's not.
Here it's clearly the alcoholic wine, isn't it? And we know even more so we know why he's
saying that it's the alcoholic wine, because he actually describes the fermentation process.
So it's not that there's an issue with red wine. It's not like, okay, just stick to the white.
Might get away with the rosé, I don't know, okay, but definitely not the red wine. No, it's because
the traditional slow fermentation process used the yeast in the grape skins. That's how they used
to ferment alcohol. It was with the yeast in the skins, and that's what usually calls the deep red
color, contact with the skins of black grapes over a long time. But it's not just, it's not just if
you notice, it's not just about the red, because that's why he says this. He says, look not thou
upon the wine when it is red. Then he said, when it giveth his color in the cup, because it's
not just the red from the black skins, it's any color, when it giveth his color. And the green
grapes, they produce a golden color. That's him giving its color, because it's the fermentation
from the skins of the green grapes, and that long period of time in contact with those
green skins of that juice results in, if you've ever seen it, the golden type color usually.
Yeah. The moving is because wine fermentation creates heat, which causes convection currents,
which moves the wine around. Okay, that's what it's talking about here. So he's talking about,
don't look at this fermented, describe the fermentation process. He said, don't even look,
don't look upon fermented alcohol, is what he's saying. Don't look upon it. Why? Why not look,
what? I mean, why not even look at it? I mean, come on, is it that bad? Really? Everyone drinks,
don't they? What's the problem? Well, verse 32 says, at the last it biteth like a serpent,
and stingeth like an adder. Why? Because it will ruin your life, it's poison. It stings,
it stings hard. Might not sting straight away, eventually it will sting. It's poison. He said,
thine eyes shall behold strange women. They're those strange women. You know those strange women
that, that he says avoid them. Yeah, those whores, those strange women, they're a deep ditch, right?
They're a pit. They're a trap. Well, guess what happens when you drink alcohol? You start looking
at them. You start thinking, oh, well, that's a good idea. He said, I shall behold strange women.
You're not just, oh, I haven't just glanced at them. Now I'm beholding strange women. I mean,
what, who wants to behold strange women? They're whores. They're a trap. They'll ruin your life.
Thine heart shall utter perverse sings. And that's talking about basically, look, your, your thoughts
and feelings. Perverse is just, it's contrary. Yeah, it can be what we use the word perverse for,
but it's just contrary things, things that you don't want to be saying, things that you don't
want to be thinking, things that you don't want to be, ways you don't want to be acting. Most people
don't go out thinking, I can't wait to go and start a fight with someone who looked at me the
wrong way. But then they have a few drinks and suddenly they want to start a fight with someone
who looked at them the wrong way. Now their hearts are being perverse, things like, we need to smash
this guy. I mean, that's just one example. Usually people don't go out and go, I just, you know, find
the hoariest, most horrendous woman to trap me and ruin my life. Few drinks suddenly, where's that
hoary woman? I mean, that's the reality of it. Yet still people still want to drink. Why? Why they
want to ruin their life? Why when the word of God, that book of wisdom is telling you, don't even
look at it. Yet they still want to drink. To behold strange women. And by the way, if you're
married man, even more reason, in fact for everyone, but that's a good reason, isn't it, not to drink.
You want to be going out as a married man and all these moronic people everywhere, whether they're
married or, or they're, you know, boyfriends, girlfriends, long-term relationships, living
relationships, whatever their version is nowadays, the amount of them are like, yeah, she just needs
a night out with the girls. Oh, he just needs a night out with the boys. You know what they're doing?
What do you think they're doing? Beholding strange women. What do you think those women are doing?
Being beheld by strange men. That's what happens. That's what's going on. It's like, oh well, they
just need a bit of time with the lads, with the boys. Yeah, they want some time with the lads and
the boys to go and behold some strange women, you stupid woman. I mean, what on earth? What do you think
they, oh no, they just kind of need to sit in a bar with a load of women dressed like whores,
just because, you know, that's a nice place to be. I mean, that's what happens, and that's why if you're,
if, look, if you're, if you're married, just keep away from all that, because what will happen? You'll
end up beholding strange women. He said, yea, thou shalt be. Is he that lieth down in the midst of the sea,
or is he that lieth upon the top of a moss? The midst of the sea is generally pretty rough.
Okay, it's going to be, like, it's going to be rough. I don't think you get so many calm. It's going
to be a bit up and down and everything else, like being on the top of a mast, okay. It's that, that
point on the top of the mast is going to be moving the most. Basically, it's going to make you dizzy.
It's going to make you off balance. It's going to make you feel sick. That's what booze does, doesn't it?
Okay, it makes you feel sick. It makes you want to vomit. It makes you stagger around off balance.
People, you would see them walking down the road. We see a guy cross here sometimes, and we come out
on a Wednesday night. I mean, he's, like, walking like this. I mean, it's, it's terrible, isn't it, really?
Yet people still insist that they need to be drinking. You get Christians that insist that,
no, drinking's fine. It's a, it's a blessing, they say. Wine is clearly a blessing from God.
What on earth? Does that sound like a blessing? Sounds like a nightmare.
He said, they have stricken me, shalt thou say, but I was not sick. They've beaten me,
and I felt it not. When shall I, when shall I wake? I will seek it yet again.
Basically, you will feel like you've been struck down with illness. You'll feel like you're sick,
you'll, you'll feel like you've got the worst stomach bug while you're puking up
all over the side of the street, or, or you're hugging the filthy, disgusting toilet,
and you're cuddling that toilet with your face resting on it, puking into the toilet. Look,
you know that's true, yeah?
They've stricken me. You've struck yourself. It's like you've got the worst vomiting bug ever,
and you did it to yourself. And then when you get that vomiting bug, you go, oh, it's just terrible,
so ill. I can't believe I'm sick. I just, who gave me this sickness? Where did I get,
I just, God, why am I ill? But then people go out and make themselves like that.
They have beaten me. And look, it's something I felt it not. And the thing is, like, we're the
one, some people just get beaten up, okay? I mean, this is like common, okay? People who,
people who are regularly out drinking will eventually either get beaten up,
or at least get close to it, or end up beating someone up, okay? Because that, especially men.
In fact, I think it's a bit more common with women nowadays, from what I understand, okay?
For Lisa, from YouTube videos, it seems that they're just as at it as well, okay?
Pulling hair, beating each other up, because, you know, because that's such a fun way to live,
isn't it? Let's try and be more like, like a drunkard, like a drunk man. But even if you
haven't been beaten up, you'll often wake up in the morning when you drink feeling like you have
been beaten up. And if anyone's been beaten up, feeling like you've been beaten up isn't a good
thing, okay? It's not very pleasant. If you've ever been beaten up, and you wake up in the
morning, and then you suddenly remember, yeah, I got beaten up, that's why my face is aching.
That's why, like, that's why my ribs are, you know, I feel like every time I breathe that my
ribs going into my lungs, that's why, you know, etc, etc. That's not a good feeling. You know
what? A lot of drunk people feel like that because they just cause themselves injuries,
a stagger, even if they don't. I've seen, I've seen drunks beat themselves up, walking down the
road, smashing into things, tripping up, landing face first onto face palming pavements and
everything else. No one even laid a finger on them. It's true. They have beaten me and I've
felt it not. So, after all of that, we've got the woe, the sorrow, the contentions, the babbling,
the wounds without cause, the redness of eyes, bitten like a serpent, stung like an adder,
beholding strange women, your heart uttering perverse things, feeling like you're lying down
in the midst of the sea or upon the top of the moss, feeling stricken, beaten, you will seek
it yet again. What on earth, right? And that's why he's saying don't look at it. Do you know why
he's saying don't look at it? It's not because all of that's going to happen when you look at it.
It's not because all of that's going to happen when you sip it. It's not because all of that
will happen when you have one drink. It's because if you're looking at it, you're going to be
drinking it and when you're drinking it, the chances are you're going to end up eventually
in this place when you'll still be seeking it yet again. Because the alcoholic, because the drunkards
carry on, and not even the physical ones, not even the guys that are up the road who are, you know,
drinking cans of super tea first thing in the morning. The guys that just, the people that just,
every single weekend on a Friday night and Saturday, if they've really got some
strength in them, will get smashed. They're still waking up and what are they doing the next weekend?
Seek it yet again. They've come home beaten up, smashed up, having hugged the rancid toilet with
stains all over it and puking in it and everything else. They've done all of that, wrecked their
their health and then they've gone to work complaining with a headache for however long
and then the next weekend what do they do? Same again. They're not even physical addicts
and that's alcohol. When shall I wake? I'll seek it yet again. And that is one of the marvels of
alcohol. It is. It's a marvel. It's a miracle. God did give a miracle in alcohol. Do you know what
the miracle is? How anyone even buys it. How anyone with all of that still goes out and buys
alcohol. Still goes out and convinces themselves that drinking is a good idea. That is a miracle.
It's one of the marvels of the world and one of the marvels of this society is how many people
have bought into that as well. Which is why in verse 31 we're told by God through Solomon,
look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moves
itself aright. A bit hard if you're still drinking isn't it? A bit hard if you're sitting and going
yeah I was going to drink a little bit. Well you look you want to drink you drink but you know what
God said don't even look upon it so don't don't don't go home and convince yourself oh don't worry
I'll go and find some preaching from you know pastor drink a lot and don't worry I'm gonna
find some you know what if I go to another version of the bible I'll find something saying it's okay.
Because that's what people just want to find a way to justify don't they find a way to excuse it
but you know what God's word doesn't contradict itself so somehow this you've got to work this
out if the bible says don't even look upon fermented wine then hmm hmm riddle me this
how then can we even drink alcohol how then can we call it a blessing how does it all work out
I'll tell you how it works out I'll tell you how it all makes sense it's because wine isn't always
alcoholic in the bible and once you work that out you're gonna see yeah God said don't even look at
it don't ever drink it simple look not that upon the wine when it is red when it giveth his colour
in the cup when it moveth itself around and if you don't drink alcohol you can avoid all of this
stuff and that sounds like a blessing to me right on that we're gonna finish your word
thank you for your word thank you for uh lord well the the clear instruction you give us about
alcohol lord that it just takes reading the bible getting to proverbs 23 and you know for for
someone that really wants the truth should be able to look at that and just say okay we're told to
not even look upon it don't look at fermented wine you know and that's that should be clear now
lord sadly there are you know there are strongholds in people's lives there are things
which maybe aren't so easy for people to give up to get out of their lives lord but we pray that
you just help people to be convicted that they want to do that to want to get rid of it and if
they have that heart they have their their heart in the right place I'm sure you'll help them with
that help them to see how you see it lord this is what you want your children to do to just get
their hearts their minds just just in line with how you see things how you view things lord help
us to just see through the mockery of this subject the people that want to try and mock
the the you know the t total stance which your bible clearly teaches lord help us see through
that and just understand that people want to justify their sins but you know it doesn't mean
we should help us to to just you know get this sin out of everyone's life in this church lord
help us to be a healthy functioning church a church which you know is is just not conformed
to this world in in as many areas as possible and especially in the area of of drinking alcohol lord
uh help us to um to have a good week now to get home safe and sound to eternal wednesday
for the midweek service please stay in front of this amen