(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

Proverbs 11. It's been a couple of weeks since we were in the Book of Proverbs for our Sunday Evening Series. A few weeks ago we started this sort of quickfire section of Proverbs in Proverbs chapter 10 with lots of individual, often unconnected, proverbs to each other. So sometimes there are, you know, themes and stuff, sometimes they're a bit unconnected. Now I'm not going to recap as these can easily be just read as standalone chapters, right? So there's no need for me to keep recapping as we go through now the Book of Proverbs from here, but just to remind you that the way to get the most out of these sermons is to have a pen and write down, please mark your Bible, whatever, there's loads of pens at the back if anyone doesn't have a pen, with the proverbs that really speak to you right now, okay? So look, you know, obviously this is all written for our edification, there's not useless proverbs in there, but right now there's going to be something that's speaking to you. In this chapter there might be something that you hear preached, you hear mentioned you think, actually yeah, I really need to make a note of that, I really need to think about that proverb, I need to maybe memorise that proverb, I maybe need to just have a note of that, maybe look into that a bit more, think about that a bit more. Please do that, please have a pen, if you don't have a pen you're welcome to grab one if you want, because look, you know, we're going to get the most out of something as kind of scattergun as the Book of Proverbs, as all these chapters, if you kind of make your note and make your point of things which apply to you, because it's not, look, there's a way of preaching which I do sometimes a lot in topical sermons where I'm preaching like one point and trying to hammer a point, hammer a point, hammer a point, now I might have a few points to that point, but ultimately you're maybe trying to hammer one truth home, right? And that's a good way, if you have an hour preached on a topic, a topical sermon, it's a bit hard to walk away from that sermon and be like, oh it sounded great, I really enjoyed it but I just can't remember what was going on in there. That's not an effective sermon then, right? The effective sermon is that you go home and you think about, and you know, that's you as well, you can sit under the best preacher in the world and ultimately it's still down to you what you get out of a sermon ultimately, right? However, with something then that's not a one point it's very easy to hear something and think, oh yeah, that really applies to me and then within two minutes you've forgotten it because there's something else, there's something else, another point, another topic and another topic, and thinking about it for one minute in here isn't going to change your life. And the point in preaching is that we want to change your life, right? That's the whole point, isn't it? That's why God wants his word preached regularly from the pulpit, that's one of the reasons we gather here, yeah, we edify each other, we encourage each other, yeah, we sing praises to God, yeah, we pray for each other, but the preaching's a big part, that's the main part of our service, isn't it? It's not because, you know, well I just want to stand up here and, you know, just tickle your ears a bit or something else, it's because we want to make changes to people's lives with the Word of God, right? So please, if there's something that you think's going to make a difference for you in this chapter, then please do so as we preach through it. So Proverbs, Proverbs 11, and we're going to start with verse 1, which is, a false balance is abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is his delight. I'm going to pray before we get started with the message. Father, thank you for your word, thank you, well for the Book of Proverbs, Lord, for this great chapter in the Book of Proverbs, so many great truths here, help me to just preach them just accurately, Lord, as they were meant, help me to just preach to them, so everyone really understands, can really just take something from this chapter, take some Proverbs, take some truths that they can apply to their lives, help me to do that accurately, clearly and boldly, Lord. Fill me with your spirit, please, and the whole room as well, Lord, and for those that are here watching at home as well, just help them to really be able to focus on your word as well, in Jesus' name, Proverbs, Amen. Okay, false balance is a set of scales, if anyone's wondering, so used for trading, purchases, weighing produce, weighing money, et cetera, a false balance is one that's rigged, okay, so it's rigged, it gives a purposeful advantage to someone, it's dishonest, okay, so it's a dishonest measuring, yeah. So first off, just first application there, the Lord hates dishonest business practices, he hates that stuff, people trying to con people, trying to trick people, trying to do stuff to like, try and deceive them a little bit, he hates that stuff, conning people to make money, he hates it, okay, God hates a false balance, we let, you know, God forbid it's ever said of people from Strong Tower Baptist Church that they're dishonest in their business practices, they're dishonest to make money, they're dishonest to get money out of people, we don't want that to be the case, and there are, of course, there are vocations which just have a reputation for this, for example, mechanics, they just have a reputation for ripping you off, don't they, and I've had this over the years where I've noticed that mechanics, a lot of the time they'll start, they'll be really, like, seem to be, wow, that seemed really honest at the beginning, I mean, the guy just barely charged me, and then a couple of times down the line, suddenly you're almost lured into not trying to get a price before, and then next thing you know, oh yeah, I'll let you know how much it costs, and then it goes up through here, and there's stuff like that, and that does happen, sometimes they'll try and maybe, I'm not trying to knock out if anyone is a mechanic, God knows any mechanics, they're not all like this, but there is a bit like that, and you know what, a good rule of thumb with that is, if someone, if you take your car somewhere, ask them how much it's going to cost, you know, when I've done jobs before, when I used to, like, landscape, I didn't just go, I'll just let you know at the end, I'll just let you know at the end, you'd better give me the money, I mean, what on earth, what sort of business, I mean, how tempting is that for anyone, right, so, you know, something that they try and avoid you doing is just getting a price off it, how much is it going to cost, you're meant to be the expert, you're meant to know what that job's going to cost, right, I mean, that's just, that should be normal, shouldn't it, but so many try and get away with the old, oh, we let you know when it's done, let me know when it's done, who isn't just going to add on some money, sadly, most people will, won't they, but that's something we should never do, right, okay, so, so you could be a mechanic, just don't be a dishonest mechanic, used car salesman is another one that is just known for being dishonest, they're just trying to con you that it's a better deal, that it's a better car, that it's had less issues, it has, again, not all, but, but they're sort of vocation, salesman, a lot of the time, of many kinds, and that's a hard job to go into, if you're trying to sell stuff and be successful at it, a lot of the time, people then, they start to be more dishonest, but what, what's great is if you can be known in your business, whatever it is you do, is being an honest worker, right, oh, well, I go to him because he's an honest salesman, I go to him because he's an honest mechanic or whatever it is, right, and buying in, buying and selling in general, so it's not just in work though, obviously, we should just do our utmost to be honest in life, yeah, so whatever it is, it's abomination, so you might have got a great deal from someone after blagging that that car wasn't worth what it is, great, you know, I managed to sell my old car and, you know, they didn't realise that it had this, this or that, but God's angry, isn't he, God's looking at you and he's angry, and I had a problem with the minibus because it was like, man, like, it's got all this rust underneath, but it costs a bit of money, it was like, it's like, I don't, I can't really pay to get it done, if I pay to get it all fixed, it's welding, welding, it might just continue, continue to continue, seemed to be an honest mechanic, funnily enough, this one, but again, I'm going to be careful in the future, but, but, so it's, well, what do you do, because it should really, if you spent a couple of grand in it, it should be worth like three and a half grand, but I don't, I'm not spending a couple of grand in something that could just keep going, keep going, and then am I going to get that, well, it worked out great, because then it was like, we buy any van or we buy any car, I didn't have to lie, I didn't have to do anything dishonest, I just put it in, I didn't put the condition or anything else in, the guy, when I turned up, went around and tried to completely rip me off, and offer me what, what should have been a completely ridiculous amount for it, however, because it did have all this welding needing doing, it actually worked out to probably be approximately a fair price, I didn't have to lie, I didn't have to be dishonest, I just turned it, no one asked me, they don't ask you a question, it's all just done on like, they're a little computer system, they go around with a magnetic thing to see how much filler there is on it, see how ring the dust, the rust, keep dropping the price and dropping the price from what they originally said, and then they're like, this is how much we're giving you, I was like, that sounds about fair, you know, and so, but it's, you know, praise God for that, because it can be hard, can't it, I'm not into, I don't, I hate selling stuff, right, because it's just awkward, isn't it, it's uncomfortable, it's just, it just feels awkward, but anyway, point being that God doesn't want a false balance, so had I rung, if I'd put an advert in the paper and tried to rip people off into thinking it was worth what it was a year ago, in fact, well it probably wasn't, had we had a chance to get up on a ramp and see the underneath, and if I'd, if I'd tried to sell it for three and a half grand, or whatever, maybe it would have been worth without the welding, I mean, that would have been, that would have been like, that would have been something that God hates, right, you look at me going, what are you doing, he's ripping someone off to then go home and think they've been stitched up, and he'd go, great, couple of extra grand, you know, what can we use that for now, God doesn't want that, even if it's for his church, right, a false balance is abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is his delight. Some will turn their blind eye to extra change from the cashier, but God's angry, right, he's angry when you do that, you got given an extra bit, they thought it was a, they thought that you, that you gave them only a 10 when you actually gave them a 20, I actually pulled up a cafe for this the other day, he was a bit rude, he was like, you need to keep an eye on your money, mate, I was like, no, I just, I was trying to be nice, it's, sure, I think I gave you a 20, not a 10, and then, and, yeah, that's how we should, I'm not trying to boast about myself here, but that's how, I'm sure everyone here would be the same, right, if you thought that someone had given you back too much change, hopefully you're going to say to him, no, no, I think you've got that wrong, yeah, because, because really, what's that extra 10 are going to do compared with God looking down going, that's an abomination, how dare you, yeah, how dare you as a Christian try to rip people off, right, it's an abomination to God, and whatever you think you've gained from that is going to be completely futile. Just wait, it's his delight, he loves fairness, when you make the thing, when you make that choice to do the honest thing, he delights in you, that's great, right, and your father up there watching, his eyes are everywhere watching, delighting in what you do, that's how we want to live, right, much better than whatever you think you can gain by being dishonest. Verse 2, when pride cometh, then cometh shame, but with the lowly is wisdom. So with pride there will be eventual shame, okay, they go hand in hand, and from a simplified angle, the more you focus on your standing with others, the more you focus on trying to look good, the more automatic shame you'll eventually get from all your failings, won't you? You think about it that way, so the more you're focused on how other people see you, the more shame you're going to feel when you do fail, and you are going to fail, and you are going to have failings, and people are going to see your failings, and if it becomes so important to you how other people see you, then automatically the shame is going to increase when you fail, even without God being involved or anything else, just that alone, right? When pride cometh, then cometh shame. So as soon as you start lifting yourself up, as soon as you start getting pride full, well look, you get a full at some point anyway, and it's going to be even worse because it matters to you too much, matters to you even more than it would to anyone else. The more puffed up you get, the more embarrassed you'll get too, right? And the humble are wise, okay? It's wise to be lowly, isn't it? It's wise to have humility. Think of it like this. If you have low expectations of yourself, well, you'll regularly be pleased as well. If I'm looking at myself going, yeah, I know, I'm failing this, this, this, this, I've got that genuine humble attitude, then I'm going to be more pleased when I do succeed at things. Whereas if you're lifting yourself up, puff yourself up, persuade yourself you're such a great person, you're only going to be disappointed more. You're only going to be a bit more gutted, okay? Because none of us, look, we've all got failings, right, okay? Verse 3 says, the integrity of the upright shall guide them, but the perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them. So the honest option, the non-sinful path, the way that keeps us from temptation, okay? The integrity of the upright shall guide them, okay? Being a man of your word, doing what you say you'll do, being where you say you'll be, that's part of it as well, right? Like, it's just all of that is part of being someone with integrity, isn't it? So I'm going to be someone, I'm going to be someone, right? So I'm going to do something, I'm going to do something. We pray, God guide my path, okay? A lot of people will pray that. I will, God and everything else. And often, often he's already guided your path, you just don't realise it. The crossroad can be just between letting someone down or not, do you know that? You're like, what do I do here? Did you promise someone you'd be somewhere? Well then be there. That's the choice. You know, often it's already been, the way he wants to guide you has already been made. The path is already there in the word of God, isn't it? The choice, you know, of reneging on a promise or not. Don't renege on a promise. You said you'd do something, do it. That you're yay be yay and you're nay be nay. You know, that should be, a lot of the time our path is already there, set out in front of us. Choosing the job, which means I'm in church. Remember we looked at the upright, the upright, you know, ultimately being someone that's not in presumptuous sin. So we're going, God just don't know whether to do this job or not. Is it going to stop you being in church if it's not the right job for you? Simple. Job done, just give me a sign. Give me a sign. Here's a sign, Strong Tower Baptist Church. There's a sign for you, you know. Here's your job stopping you from being in Strong Tower Baptist Church. That ain't where he wants you. Simple, right? The hobby that doesn't interfere with my Bible reading is the hobby he doesn't mind me doing. But if the hobby interferes with my Bible reading, my soul winning, my church life, the things of God, you don't need to pray to God, should I be doing this or not? No, he doesn't want you doing it, right? The honest path. Just the honest path in life is where he wants you, right? The path which doesn't make you have to lie, cheat, deceive a little, say something here or there. Well, I don't know, does he want me to go this way? But I've kind of got to say this, I probably have to lie. That's the wrong path. You've already gone down the wrong route. Turn back, go the other way, right? You have to turn to Psalm 19, 13, if you remember, said, keep that back, thy servant, also from presumptuous sins. Let them not have dominion over me, then shall I be upright. So that's how you're upright and I shall be innocent from the great transgression when you're not doing the presumptuous sins. It's the integrity, the honesty that guides us. But when we pervert those commandments, it said, but the perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them, in verse three. When we pervert those commandments, we bend the rules just for ourselves to justify the covetousness, we bend scriptures, pervert the Word of God to justify various presumptuous sins, it destroys us. It just destroys you in one way or another, okay? You're just going to, you're just going to end up with all sorts of issues, all sorts of problems when you're perverting the Word of God and doing all that sort of stuff. Okay, let's keep going, verse four. Richest prophet, not in a day of wrath, but righteousness delivereth from death. What's the day of wrath? Well, turn to Zephaniah 1 quickly. It's that day coming, the day of the Lord, when he returns, okay? The saved get raptured, things get a bit rough for the unsaved masses as the vials of the wrath of God are then poured upon earth, okay? Zephaniah, it is Zephaniah, and chapter one and verse fourteen, Zephaniah 1.14 says, the great day of the Lord is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even a voice of the day of the Lord, the mighty man shall cry there bitterly. That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of waste-ness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities and against the high towers. Verse seventeen, they will bring distress upon men that they shall walk like blind men because they have sinned against the Lord and their blood shall be poured out as dust and their flesh as a dung. Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord's wrath, but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land. So you know what's not going to help in that day? Like it said here, like we just saw in Proverbs 11.4, riches, it said here neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord's wrath. Then I say that, and you think, well why does it make that point of that and why does it make the point here as well? You can imagine when it's coming to that day and we're trying to say to people get saved, get saved, and things are just like weird and we've got all like the weird stuff, yeah of course there's going to be many that just take the mark and fit in and conform and everything else, you know, as you're getting up to, as we're getting through that point and then, you know, obviously we're going to be going through that tribulation, it's going to be like a rough time, the great tribulation is going to be here and there, but there'll be a lot of like sort of so-called think-they're-free-think types out there trying to get as much money and the hideaway and if I could stock up this, none of that's going to save them. None of that's going to save them. The only thing that's going to save them from God's wrath is faith in Jesus Christ. There'll be people with all these plans and plotting and ways that they're going to somehow be saved for, don't worry I'm going to like pay for a bunker in some way or other, God's wrath's coming, ain't going to save them right. Revelation 6.15 says that the poor and rich will meet together. It says that the kings of the earth and the great men and the rich men and the chief captains of the mighty men and every bondman and every free man hid themselves in dens and in the rocks of the mountains. They'll be together when it comes to that hiding away and getting God's wrath spilled out from them and like I said it's only Jesus Christ's righteousness imputed unto us that will deliver us from eternal hell. That's why it says riches profit not in a day of wrath but righteousness delivereth from death and that's Jesus Christ's righteousness imputed unto us. Verse 5 says the righteousness of the perfect shall direct his way but the wicked shall fall by his own wickedness. Now this is similar to verse 3, the integrity of the upright shall guide them but the perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them. The perfect to the complete, those walking the walk and here we're looking now at that righteousness which we have to strive for. So this isn't the righteousness of Christ imputed unto us, this is that breastplate of righteousness that we can put on and put off. Okay this is the new man that we can choose to walk in or not. Not for salvation, this isn't talking about salvation but this is talking about living right after salvation. Where does it come from? That righteousness, well 2 Timothy 3.16 you don't have to turn there says all scripture is given by inspiration of God is profitable for doctrine, for a proof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. Okay so it comes from the Word of God and that righteousness should direct our way, it should help us to make decisions to choose the right path like we just looked at. But the wicked fall by their own wickedness and that's something I have seen happen now many times since I've been saved and you know living the Christian life. It's their own wickedness that exposes them a lot of the time isn't it with wicked people. Their wickedness is eventually what exposes them, their wickedness causes them to just make bizarre choices sometimes. Sometimes you look at like these people you're just thinking what a bizarre choice, what bizarre thing to do when you're trying to pretend you're a good person. And it's the wickedness that exposes them right. It says the righteousness of the upright shall deliver but transgressors shall be taken into own naughtiness. Their wickedness will eventually expose them and it's their wickedness that destroys their lives okay. That's what we're seeing in verse 6. The righteousness of the upright shall deliver them but transgressors shall be taken in their own naughtiness. So he's talking about being delivered from tribulation, it's our righteousness which is like a breastplate okay. It can get us through the trials, help us to stay faithful to not fall into sin when things are hard. So like it or not look you're just going to have tribulation in life okay. Stay upright, stay in church, in your Bible, in prayer, soul winning and you will get through it. You're going to have it okay, it doesn't matter. Sometimes you're going to be getting chastised, sometimes you're just going to have some tribulation and trial in life. If you stay in the things of God, if you're upright remember that's not in the presumptuous sins, the rights of the upright will deliver you from that. But transgressors shall be taken in their own naughtiness. The ones who then stop serving God choose the presumptuous sins they will fall. That's how you're going to fall. And it's so funny, not funny really, but it's sad really, that people when they need deliverance, and I'm not talking about some weird Pentecostal deliverance here okay, I'm just talking about when you need just help you need some help in life right. You're like I'm in a hard time, in a rough time, this is a hard trial, that's so often when they then go into the presumptuous sin. They stop going to church, stop reading their Bible, they stop praying, they stop going soul and they stop doing that stuff and what happens, they just get taken in their own naughtiness. Things get worse and worse and worse don't they? It becomes a spiral then. Verse 7 says when a wicked man dieth, his expectations shall perish and the hope of unjust men perishes. So the wicked, the reprobates, well they take kind of whatever eternity they've convinced themselves of to hell with them basically. Because there are some that are pretty probably stubborn. I mean sometimes we look back, we talk about it sometimes, you know me and my wife about this stuff and people we've dealt with in the past and you just think they must know they're wicked. They must know. Surely they, you know, they're just, surely, you know like when you look back at all the kind of people, the guile, the manipulator, all this stuff, you're thinking they must know they're wicked. But I don't know, they still I think they have some expectation don't they? I think even with all, because they're so puffed up and privately they just have to somehow even with all that wickedness they're trying to convince themselves, well when they die their expectations shall perish, whatever it is they convince themselves they're going to somehow achieve, is going to go to hell with them, right? And the hope of unjust men perishes. And I think he's reminding us that the regular unsaved are on their way to hell too. I think that's what he's saying, he's saying when the wicked man dies his expectations shall perish. And the hope of unjust men perishes. Because the unjust are just the unsaved. You have to turn to 1 Peter 3.18 says, for Christ also suffered, has once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust. By the way that's all of us, okay? You were unjust until you became justified by faith in Jesus Christ. The just for the unjust that you might bring us to God being put to death in the flesh but quickened by the Spirit. So the hope of the unjust men perishes, that's just the unsaved. We were all unjust and if you stay that way your hopes perish with you, don't they? Whatever hope the unjust, the unsaved have, whether it's hopes of heaven based on whatever false gospel, whatever it is that they're trusting, they're going to hell as well, right? Verse 8 says, the righteous is delivered out of trouble and the wicked cometh in his stead. So often when we're delivered, the wicked replace us, don't they? They end up getting what it looked like you were going to get. It makes me think of Proverbs 26, 27 which says, who so diggeth the pitch, a fool therein, and he that rolleth the stone it will return upon him. And that's something that we did see previously at our church, didn't we? Okay, clearly just saw that stone roll upon them, right? And you'll see that throughout life, you'll see the wicked getting the same trouble that they plotted for us. They're plotted for you, they want something to come to you, wicked people in one way or another. Stay strong, stay in the things of God and then you'll just watch it just slowly getting reversed onto them, right? Verse 9 says, and hypocrite with his mouth destroyeth his neighbour, but through knowledge shall the just be delivered. What's the number one criticism of religious people, by the way? Probably hypocrites, isn't it? How many people will go, I stopped going to church because they're all the hypocrites. I'm just so sick of the hypocrites in religion. I'm sick of the hypocrites in you name it and everything else. They're all just hypocrites. Hypocrites, hypocrites, they preach holiness but their life stinks. And there are a lot of these people around, right, if you think about it. All these work salvationists, they're all hypocrites really, aren't they? They preach holiness but really, behind closed doors they're into all sorts of filth and wickedness, these false prophets, right? And what does it do? It destroys people, it puts them off the things of God. Think how many people have been just put off any thought of Christianity, and I use that word loosely, because of the Catholic priest. I mean, that's why the media have a field day with it, every time. That's why you don't hear much about the pedo rabbis and the rest of them but you do about the Catholic priest, do you? Don't you? Because at least it connects it to Christianity and of course, if it's like a Baptist or whatever else, it's going to be even more so, right? Because they want to just keep trying to slant it and everything else. What are most of these hypocrites preaching with their mouths? Work salvation, right? That's what they're all preaching, work salvation. Now it said, a hypocrite with his mouth destroyeth his neighbour, but through knowledge shall the just be delivered. Where does knowledge come from? Well, Proverbs 7 said, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. That's how we're just, through the fear of the Lord, the knowledge of salvation. Through knowledge shall the just be delivered. We become just, we're delivered through the knowledge, which is ultimately of salvation in the first place, right? Verse 10, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Verse 10, when it goeth well with the righteous the city rejoiceth, and when the wicked perish there is shouting. So that's a knock-on effect of the blessing that God gives to his people, okay? So when it goes well with us, it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoiceth, because he will bless a place because of it going well with the righteous, because of them doing things right. I mean, a great example we see is, you know, is like a classic example is with Sodom and Gomorrah, where he was willing to spare the whole place and not bring upon it what it needed for 10 righteous people. And when it goes well with the righteous, when there's righteous people in a place of righteous, ultimately saved people, and it's going well with them, which means they're going out, they're doing things, they're preaching the Gospel, they're doing things of God, then the place is going to be blessed for that, yeah? And when the wicked perish there is shouting. When bad people go, things improve, and I think the shouting is celebration here, I think, okay? When the wicked perish, there is shouting. Verse 11, by the blessing of the upright the city is exalted, but it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked. So the same theme, okay? It goes well, like in verse 10, by the blessing of the upright the city is exalted. When the righteous are upright, what's upright? Like, you know, this kind of goes hand in hand with this one, really. Upright, like we said, not in presumptuous sin, and are therefore blessed, the city is lifted up in God's eyes, it's exalted, yeah? However, it's a mouth of the wicked that destroys people, doesn't it? How do people ultimately get destroyed? How do people end up in hell, really? It's the mouth of the wicked. Now they still get the choice, okay? It's not, oh, it's all those wicked people, otherwise everyone would have got saved. No, they still choose life or they choose death, yeah? But it's a mouth of the wicked which overthrows, and ultimately it will overthrow a whole city. So it's what comes out their mouth, it's a false way. It's the false gospels in their various ways, the false salvations, the false gods. And a lack of saved people, if there's all these unsaved people, that will overthrow a place, won't it? You go, oh, well, there's a lot of places around with no saved people, yeah, and most of them are absolutely hell holes. You know, it's unbelievable out there, isn't it, sometimes, you know? Verse 12. He that is void of wisdom despiseth his neighbour, but a man of understanding holdeth his peace. So the despising should be reserved for God's enemies, by the way. So in case you're looking at that, going, oh, you just, you've got to love everyone. Well, you've got to obviously compare Scripture with Scripture in the Bible, okay? You have to turn to Psalm 139, famous verses. The psalmist says in verse 21, do not I hate them, O Lord, that hate thee? And am not I grieve with those that rise up against thee? I hate them with perfect hatred, I count them mine enemies. That's a Holy Spirit-inspired psalmist saying that he hates the haters of God, okay? Aside from those, we're not going to go off on a tangent there, we should try to love our neighbours ourselves, though. So aside from clear God-haters, we should love our neighbours, we shouldn't despise them, it's not wise to do that. He said he that is void of wisdom despiseth his neighbour. Does hating someone gain anything, really? Now, hating God-haters does gain something. Do you know what it gains, at least just on one angle, is it just stops you being around them, it stops you having all the pitfalls and the dangers and the influence and everything else you're going to get from them. But with the average person, does hating them really achieve much? It doesn't, does it? He said he that is void of wisdom despiseth his neighbour, but a man of understanding holds his peace. So someone with understanding keeps their mouth shut. And when you say, well, what do you mean, you know, a man of understanding holds his peace, he just keeps his mouth shut, what does that mean? Well, it starts with a thought, doesn't it? So it always starts with a thought. But then what's the next thing after a thought? It's usually with the mouth. James 3.8 says, but the tongue can no man tame it, it is an unruly evil full of deadly poison. Once you start verbalising something, it's all kind of downhill. So once you start saying, I just hate that person, or I just don't like that person, I just don't, you know, I despise or whatever else, it's already manifested now into your speech. So you might have thoughts, we all have foolish thoughts, right? You'll have foolish thoughts, you'll have times where you kind of think bad of someone or something else, but you need to cut it off at a thought. Once it starts becoming verbalised, then it becomes more of a problem, doesn't it? Then it's manifesting and manifesting. He that is void of wisdom despises his neighbour, but a man of understanding holds his peace. You know, you need to not let something progress into it being something verbal. Verse 13 says, a tale-bearer revealeth secrets, but he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter. Now, we don't want to be tale-bearers, or another word is gossips. Going around telling everyone people's secrets. Just like, did you know about this? And, you know, you hear someone, you've got some real juicy secret on someone, I'm going to tell everyone else. That's not how we should behave. Now, just to make it clear on this, because a lot of this, we apply a lot of this to church life because we're Bible-believing Christians in church, right? I'm not talking about reporting bad behaviour. So, if someone, you know, if someone's preached a false gospel in the church, you ain't a tale-bearer. If you come up to me going, yeah, that so-and-so person came into the church who's telling everyone they do have to repent lessons to go to heaven, okay? That ain't tale-bearing. You need to tell someone that, okay? If you're not doing that, you're a problem, okay? And obviously, another similar stuff, so it's not just the false gospel, right? It could be other sorts of bad behaviour. Whether, by the way, that person said it was a secret or not, I just want to show you a secret. I don't want you to tell anyone, however, did you know that this Bible verse actually means this, blah-blah. You know, that's, you're not, okay, you're not a tale-bearer for that, okay? But there are those that will get you to confide in them and then go and tell others. You know there are people out there like that, okay? There are people who will literally say to you, confide in me, talk to me about whatever it is, come and, you know, don't worry, it would never say anything, and then they will literally go and tell other people what you said to them, okay? That's someone you do not want to be. That's a tale-bearer, okay? We should be of a faithful spirit, a trustworthy spirit, and conceal the matter, okay? And believe me, in this job, you know, you're just, like, because obviously it counts people I know people about wicked people that we've kicked out of our church that I've never repeated to anyone, because ultimately if it's stuff for, like, a council or something else, a counseling session or something else, it's not my business, like, I'm still not going to reveal that stuff. And you might think, well, why not? Because ultimately I shouldn't be doing that, right? Now, when it's just, like, when it's clear, like, when it's, like, behaviour, like, false gospel stuff, reigning stuff, all that stuff, yeah, that stuff's going to be talked about, right? But, you know, we ultimately, we shouldn't just be revealing everyone's secrets to everyone, right? Verse 14 says, where no council is, the people fall, but in the multitude of councillors there is safety. So we need guidance in life, okay? And of course there's the Word of God, but sometimes it's not a straightforward problem, okay? Sometimes the biblical answer isn't as clear. And that's the key, though, okay? You want biblical counsel because counsel is different to instruction. So where counsel applies to directing your judgment or conduct, which, for it to be sound, it would have to be biblical, wouldn't it? Okay, that's what counsel is. So counsel's not instructing just in anything, okay? Counsel's sort of judgment, conduct, things like that. Where no councils are people fall, okay? But in the multitude of councillors there is safety. And although sometimes, a second or third opinion is sometimes useful in difficult cases, I don't believe this verse is telling you to get multiple councillors for everything. So in case you're looking at that, go, right, and he, because some people do that, okay, they literally just go opinion shopping. I don't know if you've ever been around people like that. They'll ask you, they'll ask your council something, but really they're just going around asking ten people's council until the one that they already wanted, the decision they'd already made, right? Okay, that's not asking, that's, oh, multitude of councillors is safety because I can find the one which I like, okay? That's not the idea. Here specifically, it's talking about people as a plural. It says in verse 14, where no councillors are people plural or full, but in a multitude of councillors there is safety. In a multitude of people need a multitude of councillors. However, here's another application, okay, that you could add to that being a multitude of councillors themselves. The best council comes directly from the Word of God, okay? And there are standalone verses that are just great council, aren't they? Okay, there are, look, there are verses in the Word of God which are just clear as day and they're great council, okay? But there are many people that receive bad council from the Word of God. Why? Because they're getting it from a single verse out of context. Yeah, there are people out there that get a verse completely out of context and then, right, that's how I'm living my life, new rule, new this because I read a verse but you haven't gone to a multitude of councillors. It wasn't a clear verse. It wasn't a clear way. You didn't compare it because Isaiah 28 10 says for precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little and there a little, right? We should be building, building doctrine all the time, building our understanding on the Word of God and it should be here a little, there a little and getting an overall understanding. Like, for example, you could have read he that despises his neighbour is not wise, I think the verse was, and then go, that's it, I've got to love the sodomites. I'm going out there right now and I'm going to start, you know, putting my arms around them and just showing love to them and everything else. Well, you're completely wrong and you're loving them that hate the Lord because you haven't compared it, right? In the multitude of councillors there is safety, right? Verse 15 says he that is surety for a stranger shall smart for it and he that hateth suretyship is sure. To smart is to feel pain, okay, to be punished. Basically, don't vouch for someone you don't know well, whether financially or else wise, okay? Look, they'll let you down, okay? People will just let you down. If you're just vouching for people, if you're, oh, I know they're good for this, I know they're going to be good, I know they're going to be a great employee for you forever. I know this person is exactly what, I know this person would be a great person to date to someone single and all. Look, if you don't know that person, right, just don't do it. It's mad because it's only going to let you down, right? It's only going to eventually hurt you in one way or another. He's saying avoid being someone's security, specifically here though. He that is surety for a stranger shall smart for it, okay? Like I said, that's being like, like it's, you know, basically being a guarantor or something is a word we'd use. If they can't afford something then they probably shouldn't be getting it. It's kind of generally how it works, right? Now, of course, it's different when it comes to like parents and kids and things like that and you're helping them, like they're your kid and you're kind of, you know, that's part of our responsibility to some degree and you can make that line as to how much you want to help them with things and give them a head start. But when it's people that are a stranger, just hate it, right? He said that he that hates it surety should be sure. You're just vouching for people for things they can't afford, then that's probably not a good idea, isn't it, right? Verse 16, a gracious woman retaineth honour and strong men retain riches. So ladies, if you want honour, here I believe we're talking about respect, by the way, to be held in high regard. Be gracious, right? Favourable, kind, giving. Funnily enough, you won't retain honour, you won't get respect for being more manly. You know that? You ain't retaining honour by being more manly. You might have been told you will. They'll give you more respect if you act more like a man. It's actually the opposite. You're not retaining the honour. People don't respect that, really. By excelling in a career, then they'll really respect me if I'm like, if my career is up here, yeah? No, you ain't going to get respect for that. You ain't going to retain honour by proving your skills in something. There are ladies that want to, oh, just find something I can prove to everyone, I'm the best at this. I'm good at that. You'll be respected for being kind and generous. That's how you retain honour. Be kind, be generous. Show those feminine qualities that people want to see, right? He said a gracious woman retaineth honour and strong men retain richness. When it comes to not losing all your money, men need to get some strength. Men need to get some strength. Now, of course, the obvious thing you think of first is physical strength. That's like the obvious thing. And there's at least something to be said for not being some sort of milquetoast sissy and wondering why you've been ransacked and robbed everywhere you've gone. I just seem to be getting beaten up and robbed every time I go to anywhere that's a little bit rough or something else. But here's the thing. Don't go and spend all your riches on gym memberships, protein shakes and steroid courses either, because you're kind of losing your money already, right? Because the reality of it is you're probably not going to bicep curl that mugger. That's the reality. You ain't going to bench press the burglar, OK? You've just wasted your money, OK? And you've got a bit carried away just trying to look good as well, because that's usually what happens, right? You would be better to invest that money into some sort of weapon or some sort of skill, perhaps. Ability to fight off, you know, the mugger, the whatever it is, the person trying to extort you or something else. But really, the truth is though, when it comes to being strong, you can have all your S&C down, yeah? You can have your MMA, your weapons training on point, and then you could be too mentally weak not to spend all your money on junk. So you ain't retaining riches. You could be the toughest guy. You could be strong as well. Actually, I got that line just right, yeah? I just made it more kind of applicable strength in the gym, yeah? I stuck to those Olympic lifts. I did some stuff which could really go across and be used in fight sports. In fact, I didn't just stick with the fight sports, I went to the Krav Maga. Israeli special forces, man. I know I had to beat up a Palestinian kid who threw a stone. I'll kill him, man. I've done Krav Maga, yeah? I've been trained in how to jab someone in the eye and we just never actually do it because none of us would be in the session. But I know I'll do it because we just stand there and go, if they come at you, you do this, you do that. Defend them all, right? And these guys are eternally paranoid as well, yeah? But I've got that down. I've got the SSC down. I've been practising with the weapons. I go to a shooting range, you know? I've found a way to get a gun licence as well, right? But I spend all my money on my addiction. You ain't strong. You're weak. You're too weak to retain your riches. You spend all your money on vanity. I spend all my money on the gym, on my weapons training. You're too weak to retain your riches, man. You could be too weak to get up and just go to work, right? They just can't get up off their backsides and go to work. It doesn't matter how tough, how strong, physically juicy those biceps are. You need to be able to get to work. Too weak to say no to the latest enticing scam. There's a lot of enticing scams out there, aren't there? The get-rich-quick scheme. Forget work, because if I take on this scheme and that, that... And where does that strength come from? So how do you get that strength? You might be going, okay, yeah, actually, yeah, I can see that a little bit. How do I get that strength, that strength to be, to retain riches, to be that strong man? Well, in Psalm 18 and verse 32, the mighty King David said, it is God that girdeth me with strength and maketh my way perfect. Strength comes from God, doesn't it? That's where it comes from. It comes from the Word of God from following Him. And that's how strong men retain riches. That's how they become strong to retain the riches, is by being a man of God. And it smartens you up, doesn't it? I mean, anyone here, look, if you've, you know, as you've been reading the Bible, you just get smarter, don't you? You get wiser. You start to see the pitfalls more. You start to see the lies. You start to get stronger in many of these areas and you become that stronger man that maybe you never were before, and it comes from God. It's God that girdeth me with strength and maketh my way perfect. It ain't your gym membership and it ain't your weapons, courses and your, you know, skills in Krav Maga or the latest secret military tactical style of defending muggers or something. Verse 16 said, a gracious woman retaineth on us, strong men retain riches. The merciful man, verse 17, doeth good to his own soul, but he that is cruel troubleth his own flesh. So having mercy, showing forgiveness to others and kindness where it's not deserved only benefits you really, doesn't it? Just benefits you. The merciful man doeth good to his own soul. Kind of makes you happier, makes you just kind of, it's just a nicer way to live, isn't it? All the bitterness, all the anger, all the, I can't believe they did that, they did this, you know. Just can't believe it. Everyone's so horrible. I'm so nice. You know, it really, it just troubles, it does no good to your own soul. When you don't, okay, when you don't do that, it's the opposite. You do just trouble yourself. How happy are those that just won't forgive? You know, you met like the unforgiving types, they're always just annoyed and angry, aren't they? Always just angry at someone, always got someone that's done something, can't believe they did this to me. They're not like walking around and just having a great day because I didn't forgive that person, you know. Oh, what a beautiful morning. Still not forgiving them. Instead it's just, wake up in the morning back thinking about them again. I can't believe they did that, they wronged me, the big me. How dare they wrong me? That's what people are like, right? And the truth of it is that the merciful man doeth good to his own soul, but he that is cruel, troubleth his own flesh. Those that won't show mercy to others, that won't overlook things, it doesn't benefit them, it just hurts them. It really does. And the opposite is what benefits you, and that's just the reality, isn't it? It benefits you to just be merciful, it benefits you to just do good to others, you know, to just be kind to others will benefit you. Verse 18 says, A wicked worketh a deceitful work, but to him that soweth righteousness shall be a sure reward. What's the wicked's work? Well, ultimately, it's all varying angles of keeping people from salvation, isn't it? Just all deceit, in one way or another. The wicked worketh a deceitful work. That's ultimately what it comes to. Again, if you're wondering, what was it, is it just talking about people that are bad? A wicked here, most of the time we're talking about reprobates here, okay. The wicked worketh a deceitful work, whether it's preach a false gospel, whether it's trying to recruit new sodomites and they're not even interested in the gospel side of things, or it's trying to destroy churches, pull people out of churches, whatever it is, whatever flavour of wicked, it's all a deceitful work. It's all a con. They act like, well, they're just really looking out for you. They're not. It's a deceitful work. It's deceit. They're deceiving you. Well, really, they're just doing their wicked work, and their wicked work ultimately is preventing salvation. It's trying to fill up hell even more. It's for hell to enlarge herself even more. The wicked worketh a deceitful work, but to him that soweth righteousness shall be a sure reward. Who's sowing righteousness? The sole winner. The sole winner sows righteousness. It's the opposite to the deceitful work, and great is your reward in heaven. It's a sure reward. Believe me, when you're out preaching the gospel, believe me, you are getting rewarded for it in heaven. You're mounting up rewards. You really are, and sometimes you need to remind you of that, right? And it's not just based on salvation. It's putting the work in. It's just going out and putting the work in for God. There is a sure reward, but to him that soweth righteousness shall be a sure reward. You can bet your bottom dollar on it that there's rewards waiting for you up there if you're going out soul winning. Okay? Sow that righteousness. Get people saved. Verse 19 says, as righteousness tendeth to life, so he that pursueth evil, pursueth it to his own death. So in the same way that Christ's righteousness results in eternal life, those that pursue evil instead, they choose the other way. So they're pursuing evil. They only end up in one place, don't they? They're pursuing evil, well, they pursue, they pursue it to their own death, okay? And there's only one place, and that's the Lake of Fire and Brimstone, where they're going to end up for eternity, right? Verse 20, they that are of a froward heart are abomination to the Lord, but such as are upright in their way are his delight. So froward is unyielding, not willing to comply, and the froward is usually again talking about the wicked reprobates, okay? David said in Psalm 101, verse 4, a froward heart shall depart from me. I will not know a wicked person. He ain't talking about people that are just kind of a bit awkward and hopefully you'll get him saved. He wants them gone. Gone from him, okay? A froward heart shall depart from me. David said, I will not know a wicked person. And he said here that they that are of a froward heart are abomination to the Lord. He hates them. He hates reprobates, he detests them. Okay? God hates these people. There are people in this world that our loving Lord hates, okay? That's just the way it is. How could he love some people and not hate those that try to destroy them? It's a nonsense. It's fake love, you know, we just love everyone. It's nonsense. How could I hate? How could I love all those people out there, love those people who want to get saved, and not hate the people that are trying to damn them to hell? Makes no sense, does it? Because there's no such thing. There's no real love without real hate. But he delights in the upright. Now remember that's always honest, upstanding, not in presumptuous sin. God delights in that. What a great, what a great, hopefully, you know, at least something for us to think, yeah, I want to be upright, yeah? That should be something that motivates us, right? To be upright. To be that person that God delights in. Wouldn't it be great to think, God's delighting in me right now. God's looking down and delighting in me. I'm not choosing the presumptuous sin. I'm trying to live upright. God delights in me. He said, but such as are upright in their way are his delight. That's got to be a goal, hasn't it? Surely that's got to be, if you're saved and you want to live, look, you don't want to live for God, you just want to like, you just want to please God, well be upright then. Because you're going to be his delight. What a great thing to feel like sometimes at some point, so however long, hopefully as long as possible, right? I'm just being realistic. It'd be great to go, yeah, I'm his delight right now, yeah? That's great, isn't it? Verse 21 says, though hand joining hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished, but the seed of the righteous shall be delivered. Now this phrase is also used in Proverbs 16 five about punish, punishment too, okay? That hand joining hand. So if you've seen that before, for example, it says in Proverbs 16 five, everyone that is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord, though hand joining hand, he shall not be unpunished. And here we saw though hand joining hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished. And I believe he means that although the wicked, the proud, are often mingled amongst us, they will still receive their punishment. I think that's what it's talking about here. That hand joins in hand, so often they're amongst, they're with us, they're joined to us, but they'll still receive punishment. So although they're joined in one way or another to the righteous, they don't get off. They don't get off for claiming to be a pastor, for example. You're claiming to be a pastor, you seem, well you seem to like be a pastor preaching behind a pulpit. You're not getting off. Though hand joining hand, though you seem to be a like the saved people, now you're not going to be unpunished, right? They don't get off, they don't get a let off for seemingly soul winning, for example, for seemingly being a Bible believing Baptist. And there's a lot of those out there. There's a time coming when he will separate the sheep from the goats. There is a time coming, though hand joining hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished. They're going to get punished, but the seed of the righteous shall be delivered. So it's not just the righteous but their seed too. And I think probably talking about spiritual seed here. So the wicked are punished, but those that are genuinely saved are delivered. I think that's what we're seeing there. Verse 22. I've always liked this verse. As a jewel of gold in a swine snout, so is a fair woman which is without discretion. So discretion being prudence, discernment, caution. Is that pig much more attractive with that jewel of gold? Anyone think, well that's done it for me now. It's got the gold in there. Is that sow now marriage material? Well, at least it's got the gold there. It's marriage material now, right? Well it's the same with that fair woman who's got no discretion. And discretion isn't just, oh she's discreet, as we would use a word now. Just, you know, whispers or something. She has no discernment, no prudence, which is for seeing and avoiding evil. That's what it's talking about. That jewel of gold doesn't change the fact that it's a pig, is what it's saying here. It's still a pig, yeah? You say, well how does a woman get discretion? Well Proverbs 5 and verse 1 says, my son attend unto my wisdom and bow thine ear unto my understanding, that thou mayst regard discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge. It's all from the word of God. Not just hearing it, but attending and bowing the ear, basically applying it, okay? So a fair woman without discretion is like basically just a pig with a jewel of gold in its snout. However, you know what, the great thing is that, unlike a pig which can't change itself, you know, a woman can change herself by applying the word of God. She can gain that discretion by growing in the Lord, but ultimately the point going is, it doesn't matter how fair she is, if she's not in the things of God, if she's not building up with the word, if she's not gaining that discretion that will come from being in the word, then she might as well be that sow with a bit of gold in her nose, right? Verse 23, the desire of the righteous is only good, but the expectation of the wicked is wrath. So do all save people desire only good? No, but the righteous part, the new man does, right? When you're led of the Spirit, when you're in the new man, your desire will be good. The desire of the righteous is only good, yeah? But the expectation of the wicked is wrath. What the wicked will receive though is eternal wrath. So, you know, when you're in that new man, when you're in the Spirit, you're not going to be desiring all the wicked stuff. You should, if I'm led by the Spirit, I'm desiring salvations, right? I'm desiring the things of God, I'm desiring growing in the world, I'm desiring kind of looking after my family properly, pastoring this church properly and everything else, right? When you're in that, the desire is only good, but the expectation of the wicked is wrath. What the wicked will receive, that's ultimately what it's saying. I'm just expecting that, I think it's just saying what they will receive is eternal wrath. That's all that will happen, right? As opposed to the good that will come from the righteous. All that's going to happen with the wicked is eternity in hell. Verse 24, there is that scattereth and yet increaseth, and there is that withholdeth more than is meat, but it tendeth to poverty. So there's something to be said for putting effort in, in life, isn't there? If you want to increase more, you need to sow more, don't you? If you withhold, if you just stockpile and don't put the work in, you'll eventually go hungry, yeah? There are those that are like, well I've got all this stuff, I'll be alright, you know, and then they just kind of, they withhold, they withhold, they withhold and they just eventually go hungry. And you can apply this to all areas, okay? Put the effort in and you'll reap the reward, in whatever you do. Put the effort in, put your effort into your job, put the effort into your schoolwork, put the effort into your home, put the effort into your family. Put the effort in and you'll reap the rewards, whether it's work, like I said, family, or soul-winning as well. If you put the time and you put the effort into the soul-winning, you will reap the rewards. You're here thinking, yeah, but I don't know, I just don't, you know, it's not really, I find it hard to get the salvation. Just keep putting the work in. Keep putting the effort in. Scatter, if you scatter, you will increase, right? And there is that withholdeth more than it is meat, but it tendeth to poverty. And like I said, there are those that put the time and effort in and then there are those that just withhold more than is suitable, and they end up in poverty, and like I said, that could be in various areas. Verse 25, the liberal soul shall be made fat, and he that waltereth shall be watered also himself. Okay, this, by the way, liberal isn't talking about brainwashed green-haired vegans, okay? Liberal is someone giving someone generous, okay? So if you're generous, then people will be generous to you. The liberal soul shall be made fat, yeah? And that's kind of a truth, though, isn't it? There are people in life who, you just, they're just generous people, right? You're around them and they just, they're not trying to take off you the whole time. They're not trying to just like get what they can, they're just generous. They're just, you can just see, they're just like giving people, they're just like, they want to pay for this, they want to do that. And people like that, what does it make you want to do? It makes you just want to be generous to them, doesn't it? It makes you want to do the same back. Whereas the people that are just trying to get everything they can, as much as they can for free and everything else, doesn't really make you, doesn't inspire you to give them more and more, does it? It just kind of puts you off a bit, right? The liberal soul shall be made fat, and he that waltereth shall be watered also. And, you know, in the same way, people that are just going out and doing things for others, though that are watering in one way or another, will get things done back for them as well, won't they? They'll eventually, and here's another thing, if you apply it to watering the seed, you applied it to growing maybe a new believer, for example, well, they're going to also grow themselves in that, aren't they? I don't know if you, you know, if you've ever noticed that, when you try to disciple, you try to help someone, you try to explain, you try to write someone, whatever else, you grow a lot, don't you, during that time? Because you learn more when you're trying to teach it. I remember with my old club, the Thai book scene, I got so much better, technically, when I started teaching. When I was teaching full time, it was suddenly, it was like, wow, like, funny, I'd known all this stuff when I was fighting regularly, you know, because you grow, because you're thinking about it, how to apply, how to teach someone else it, how to show them, and you get watered yourself through that, right? If you're generous, look, people will be generous to you, okay? And that includes God as well, by the way. So, so, you know, I think God will, it's not just kind of in, in, in those ways, look, God, God, God likes to see that, doesn't he, okay? And God's gonna, God's gonna be generous to you if he's seeing you being generous to others. Verse 26 says, he that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him, but blessing shall be upon the head of him that selleth it. So why wouldn't someone sell it? One reason, to drive up the price, to stockpile for themselves. Now, he didn't say here, give it all away, did he? He said, he that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him, but blessing shall be upon the head of him that selleth it. But I think, again, the lesson is not to stockpile, not to just focus on gathering more and more wealth. People do that, don't they? So people try and withhold things to then put the price up, things like that. The point is, it's just, I think, just to be, like, honest, just to not, not, you know, be, like, fair in your business, fair in your work, etc., and don't withhold from people, you know, even if it is just a case of selling it. Verse 27 says, he that diligently seeketh good procureth favour, but he that seeketh mischief, it shall come unto him. Now, remember that mischief is bad, harmful stuff, not practical jokes, okay? So it's like how we use the word now. There are those in life that genuinely seek good, and not just God, but others will favour those people with time, okay? So people who just genuinely seek good, he that diligently seeketh good procureth favour. Proverb 16.7 says, when a man's ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him. His enemies. Not necessarily God's, God's enemies won't be at peace with you, alright? God's enemies are going to hate you, okay? But your own personal enemies, people that maybe didn't like you, when your ways are pleasing the Lord, even, even your enemies will be at peace with you, and there are those that just, look, there are those that, in your life, for example, that have problems with you, and the way, the more you're just doing things for God, the more that you just kind of steadfast, of course you'd be the ones that, they want to try and see if they can upset, if they can try and, so hopefully this is just a fad and everything else, so with time, with time, with time, they just see you upright, upstanding, doing things right, they start to respect that a lot of the time, don't they? You know? When it's your enemies. When it's God's enemies, they don't respect, they just hate you all more, okay? But, he then says, but he that seeketh mischief, it shall come to him, and there are those that just look for trouble in many ways, aren't they? They're just constantly looking for some sort of problem, some sort of, bad stuff, harm to people, it's going to come unto them, like we said earlier, that stone will be rolled upon them, okay? It does come to them in the end. Verse 28 says, he that trusteth in his riches shall fall, but the righteous shall flourish as a branch. And there are many out there that have confidence in riches, aren't there? Okay, whether it's that they think they're blessed, because they are rich, so there are people that just say, I'm just doing great, I'm rich, right? Must be blessed by God, or that their riches are an achievement in life, and it's like, well, you know, I'm fine, I don't even need God, because I've got my riches, right? God's, I don't even need to think about him, because I've got cash, I've got money. It says, he that trusteth in his riches shall fall. It's a snare, it's a trap, isn't it? But the righteous, he said, shall flourish as a branch. Those living for God will flourish, and I believe, like, really here in non-material ways, that when you see people who are just, you know, who are saved and doing things, like, to some degree, right, sometimes you see stuff in a life, you think, they're having some hard times doing some roughs, but they also seem to flourish, don't they? A lot of the time, they seem to still be just kind of living for God, doing things, they seem to have the joy of the Lord a lot of the time, even though maybe if you kind of peel back things and saw what they were dealing with and going through and stuff, you'd be like, wow, you know, that's pretty tough, right? But ultimately they'll flourish in life, even with the trials and tribulations. Verse 29 says, he that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind, and the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart. How do you trouble your own house? Well, one way, according to Proverbs 15, 27, is he that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house, but he that hateth gifts shall live. So, you know how you trouble your house? Covetousness, coveting stuff, money, things, just coveting, I need more, I need this, I need that. And if you trouble your own house, you'll end up with problems. And now wind is often being connected with chastisement or tribulation. For example, Jeremiah 22, 22 says, and I know I'm rushing through these, you don't have to turn just because it's going to be a really long sermon otherwise, because it's just trying to explain each proverb and preach a little bit on them otherwise it goes on. We're up to an hour, I'm nearly done now. Jeremiah 22, 22 says, the wind shall eat up all thy pastors, the wind shall eat up all thy pastors, and our lovers shall go into captivity, surely then shalt thou be ashamed and confounded for all thy wickedness. So here when it's talking about he that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind, it's basically talking about the chastisement or the trials, the things that will come, the reminder here is to not be led astray with the error of the wicked. So he that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind, like for example being greedy of gain, and then it says and the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart, because the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart, whether they know it or not, okay, they're ultimately just going to say, I've thought about this before, and the fool sometimes again is talking about the worst types of people and how they can be used for good a lot of the time and they don't even realise it. So they're kind of almost servant in a way that they just, even their own wickedness can be used to create a lot of good from that, okay, and they're servant ultimately to the saved, whether it's here or whether maybe it's in the millennial reign to come or not. So verse 30 then says this, the fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he that win of souls is wise. What a great verse of the Bible, right, and of course it's a great encouragement to win souls isn't it, okay, if you're winning souls you're wise, yeah. What does the first part mean though? So the second part that's obvious, what does it mean the fruit of the righteous is a tree of life? Well turn to Matthew 12, okay, he's not talking about all the fruits of the Spirit obviously, okay, he's not talking about people you got saved either because most of them don't go on to get anyone else saved, okay, your fruits, if you're applying that to people that you've got saved, they ain't going on to be a tree of life most of them, most of them sadly a lot of the time won't do anything for God. The fruits are what comes out of your mouth, that's what it's talking about here, and you can see it when we compare it in Matthew 12, the Pharisees call him possessed, okay, that's the fruits of their mouth by the way, he said in verse 31, wherefore I say unto you, in Matthew 12 31, all manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men, but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. Now this isn't talking about people saved, you cannot blaspheme the Holy Ghost if you're saved, okay, but it is a sign of reprobation isn't it? He says, and whosoever speaketh, he said speaketh, a word against the Son of Man it shall be forgiven him, but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come. Now the speaking against the Holy Ghost, the blaspheming the Holy Ghost as we see when we compare it to Mark's Gospel is saying that he had a devil, it's calling Jesus possessed, it's coming out of their mouth, yeah, okay, it's the fruits of their mouth is damnable heresy. He said either make the tree good and his fruit good, or else make the tree corrupt and his fruit corrupt, for the tree is known by his fruit. Oh generation of vipers, how can ye being evil speak good things about what you speak, for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. Clearly talk about what's coming out of their mouths with these wicked devils, okay, that's what he's talking about here, wickedness comes out of their mouths in the end. And it doesn't work now, it's not always the obvious damnable heresy, maybe it's just the wicked railing, the covetousness, all this stuff, eventually by their fruits you end up knowing them, okay, it's not, it's not that, you know, it's not that always it's just going to be somewhat, oh well, you know, eventually we're going to hear them preach repent your sins, do that, it's the fruits of the mouth, what's coming out of the mouth eventually helps you to know what someone is, because that's ultimately what you know, because out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. They can't speak what's necessary to get someone saved either by the way, because that requires salvation. Now they could say all the right stuff, they could say that when they're trying to fit in with us they could say everything that we say, they can preach the correct gospel to someone. Verse 35 says a good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. And the best ones do seem to say everything right when there's people around, but the end result is still unsaved people. They're never saved. I mean we've been like, we've been sending people soul-willing in Tilbury now for a long time, and the only time they're coming across people that are saved are people that have been preached to by people that we know are And they're coming across people all the time, that people that were in our church, which you know there's all sorts, I mean red flags isn't even the word, just pure, you know, so many fruits coming out which show what they are, and these people are never saved. And then they're getting saved, well sometimes, depending, right? But they're saying the right things. A lot of the time they've got witnesses with them, so they seem to be saying the right thing when there's people there. There's people not there, it's then more debatable, because then people are saying, well I'm sure they said that you've got to do this, you've got to do that, right? However, he said in verse 36, So back in Proverbs 11 30, with that in mind, clearly the fruits, the fruits here is talking about what comes out your mouth, your words, what you speak, right? Back in Proverbs 11 30, the fruit of the righteous, what comes out of your mouth, is a tree of life. It's a tree of life, it gives eternal life. Genesis 3 22, you don't have to tell me this, it says, A tree of life is what's required for salvation, it's the words of eternal life, it's the Gospel. It's the good news, it's the glad tidings, it's the word of God unto salvation, it's preaching the Gospel. And if you're saved, your mouth is a tree of life. Your mouth is a tree of life if you're saved. The wise thing to do would be to use it and win some souls. Your mouth, if you're saved and you're in here, your mouth is a tree of life. It's a You can get people saved. You have the Holy Spirit, you have the word of God, you're righteous, you can get other people saved. And aside from saving people from hell, aside from obeying God, verse 31 says, You know, aside from just, look, we want to pull people out of the fire, don't we? Aside from, we want to obey God, yeah? He's given us a ministry of reconciliation, we're ambassadors for Christ, right? But aside from that, the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth. You're going to be rewarded. Maybe here, definitely in eternity. You're going to be rewarded. Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth. Much more, though, the wicked and the sinner. And the wicked will be rewarded, surefire, they're twice dead, okay, with eternal hellfire. But, and the sinner. So will the sinner. And the sinners are people we can reach. We can reach the sinner. The fruit of our mouth is a tree of life. We can be wise and win souls, because we're going to be recompensed. But much more, the wicked, yeah, the wicked, the children of Belial will be recompensed, but so is that sinner. And every single one of us is, or at least was, considered a sinner. We're still sinners, right? But we're saved by the blood of Jesus Christ, and there are sinners everywhere that need saving, don't they? We've got that in our mouth. Let's go and get them saved, right? And that was Proverbs chapter 11. We're going to finish up in a word of prayer. Father, thank you for, well, the many instructions that we get out of Proverbs 11, and finishing on probably, you know, one of the biggest ones there with those last couple of verses, and that is, you know, that what we have in our mouths is a tree of life, Lord. We're able to get people saved. We're able to preach the gospel to them. And Lord, help us to be those, to be wise, and be wise and win souls, Lord. And we thank you for your word. We thank you for, you know, there's so much wisdom we can get out of that book. I hope that people can apply to their lives. We pray that people do that after this service, just to really think about some of those verses which apply to them. Lord, help us to all get home safe and sound this evening, and for all the sick people to recover, to get well, to get better again, to be able to get back into church, Lord. Help us to return on Wednesday. In Jesus' name, for all of this. Amen.