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Amen. So Proverbs chapter 13, we're continuing through the book of Proverbs, and like we all know now from chapter 10, it's been lots of individual Proverbs to learn many, many different sort of just quick points of wisdom from. However, I haven't kind of been going through and giving you a recap, I just want to remind you that there was in chapter 10 and 11, especially, you know, especially though chapter 12, just nearly full of the contrast between the wicked and the upright. So although there was a bit, chapter 10, chapter 11, almost every Proverbs, this is contrast between the wicked, the upright, the wicked, the upright throughout that chapter, and that does continue into this chapter a little bit. Why? Because this book is so that we become wise. That's the goal of this book, is for us to be able to spot that, to be able to see the difference, to be able to become wise in life, and that's one of the areas that, oh, people just need to wise up about. Okay, that's just the way it is. A lot of people, a lot of God's people just need to wise up about this thing. Proverbs 13, we're going to start with verse 1, and just to remind you again, please take notes, please, please note down any Proverbs that you kind of, that maybe talk to you. If you need a pen, you're welcome to go and grab one from the back if you need one, please, please make a point of making notes if you can. I do want, I don't want you to just go back and go, oh yeah, there's some called fathers there, but I can't remember any of them, and I can't remember what it was that stood out to me, yeah? Proverbs 13 and verse 1, it starts with, a wise son heareth his father's instruction, but a scourner heareth not rebuke. I'm going to pray before we carry on with this chapter. Thank you for your word, thank you for this great book of the Bible, Lord, and just so much wisdom we can gain from it. Please help me to just preach it in a way that people in our church, our church people here, Lord, would just, just gain the wisdom that you want them to have, Lord, for me to preach it in a way that people remember the things you need them to remember, especially for them, Lord, those things which are really going to affect people at this point in their lives. Help me to just preach it clearly and accurately and boldly and fully in spirit, Lord, and everyone to just really pay attention. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Okay, so he said, a wise son heareth his father's instruction, but a scourner heareth not rebuke. And if you're saved, there are two types of father in your life, okay? You've got your earthly father and then you've got your heavenly father, alright? And if you want to be wise, you need to listen to the instruction of both. You do need to listen to the instruction of both. Now of course true wisdom comes from the word of God, but one of those instructions is to honor thy father and thy mother. Okay, talking about your earthly father and mother, one of those instructions is to honor them, to respect them is one way of looking at that, and there's a few areas that we need to honor them in. And yes, there may come a time when you look back on some worldly instruction from your father and choose to ignore it. It's not that, you know, everything that our worldly parents have instructed us in life is something that we need to follow on. But let's face it, especially when young, most kids would just do well to just listen to their father's instruction. Pretty much, across the board most of it, isn't it? Because the reality of it is that most parents, look, not in every area, but most parents in general, they're trying to instruct kids for their own good. And you know what, even if the instruction wasn't necessarily always that sound, there's a mentality thing as well. And you want to get your mentality right from young and early to just be able to listen to instruction. Just listen to the instruction, because if you can listen to your earthly father's instruction, you'll hopefully be able to listen to your heavenly father's instruction as well. And that'll make a big difference to your life. It's a mentality thing to be open to instruction. It is. You've just got to be open to it. You've just got to understand that we all need instruction in life, right? It's wise to be humble and to do as you're told by the authorities in your life. And when you do that, and with kids it starts with your parents, you're more likely to then hear your father's instruction, your heavenly father's instruction, as you go into adult life as well. And however wise they try to appear, okay, Christians who can't follow the most basic instructions clearly aren't wise. So however wise, however much someone tries to look like they're very intellectual, very theological, you know, got all the terms, you know, maybe they've memorized this and that and everything else in the Bible, if they can't just listen to basic instructions, they're not wise. Okay, it's not someone wise. You just can't just do basic things, basic instructions. And, you know, you see this in many areas. He said, a scorner heareth not rebuke. Now what is a scorner? It's someone that scoffs, and usually it's talking about the things of God when it comes to scorners. From the clown atheist to the person making a mock at sin, God's commandments in various places, just mocking it, mocking the commandment, they're all scorners. And the worst type are those that are haters of God, the wicked who just can't hear rebuke. And you might have been around these people before, thought about these people, they just can't take rebuke. They just can't deal with it. They can't handle it, and that's often what turns them in the end. It enrages them. Sometimes they'll be swimming along happily, pretending to be one of us, and then when they get the rebuke from God's Word, that's what turns them, that's what changes them, because they just can't hear it. They can't accept it, they can't accept the rebuke from God's Word. And we don't want to be those that can't hear rebuke. So yeah, you've got the extreme on that side, but we would just want to be as far away, this way, sorry, the extreme is that side, want to be as far away from that extreme, that scorner, as possible, yeah? Verse 1 said, A wise son heareth his father's instruction, but a scorner heareth not rebuke. How do we do that? By just making sure that we're just open to instruction, and not just get our backs up every time we feel like there's potentially rebuke coming our way. Verse 2 says, A man shall eat good by the fruit of his mouth, but the soul of the transgressors shall eat violent. So it's another reminder of the power of our mouths. And firstly, unto salvation. Turn to Romans 10. Matthew 12 37 says, For by thy words thou shalt be justified, by thy words thou shalt be condemned. And it's with the mouth that confession is made unto salvation, isn't it? It's our words. Romans 10 10 says, For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. But also in our mouths we have the power to get other people saved. And I'll just make that point quickly there, because that's kind of like the latest kind of YouTube attack on the Gospel, and on Soul Winning Church, it's just can't believe, getting people to call on the name of the Lord, you know, it's like, there's a lot of people to attack, you're trying to attack Soul Winning Church to go out and preach in the Gospel, and getting people saved, and try and suddenly suggest that it must be work salvation. Well, my Bible says, For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Okay, and that's pretty clear to me, they're the same thing. Calling on the name of the Lord is putting your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. But anyway, it's also in our mouths that we have the power to get other people saved. Romans 10 14 says this, How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him in whom of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And what does that do when we go out and we and we preach gospel, it results in the soul winner being blessed by God. Verse 15 says, And how should they preach except they be sent as it is written, how beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings and good things. That's why a man shall eat good by the fruit of his mouth. We're blessed by the fruit of our mouth. By us going out and preaching the gospel does result in us eating good, of us being blessed by God. But the soul of the transgressors shall eat violence. So the second part of the verse is a reminder of eternal damnation for the unsaved. Okay, the soul of the transgressors shall eat violence. And it's a reminder for me, when he's also reminding us that a man shall eat good by the fruit of his mouth, and it's just reminding us, what's at stake here, really? Because they shall eat violence. The transgressors are going to hell. And sometimes I think we need to remind ourselves that the difference is heaven and hell. Everything you do, everything you going out and preach the gospel is the difference between someone going to hell and going to heaven. And he's reminding us of that there, but he's also making it clear that it's not a maybe. It's not a kind of, well, yeah, you know, they might even go to hell. No, the soul of the transgressors shall eat violence. And really, ultimately, that's in eternity, isn't it? There's nothing really more violent than burning in hell fire. That, for me, is what verse two is talking about there. A man shall eat good by the fruit of his mouth, but the soul of the transgressors shall eat violence. Verse three says, he that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life, but he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction. Okay, so aside from salvation now, this is talking about our physical life, and really how we need to learn to control our mouths. And I think many of us need to learn to control our mouths. You know, many of us will sometimes struggle, some will struggle more than others with this, just to be able to control what they say. It's our mouths that get us into trouble, really, isn't it? It's your mouth that gets you into trouble. You go, what do you mean get you into trouble? Well, sometimes it's your mouth that gets you in trouble with your spouse. Sometimes you just say things that maybe you shouldn't have said. You say things that maybe you didn't mean. Maybe you just need to learn to keep your mouth shut at the right time sometimes, right, and deal with things at the right time when they're able to be dealt with, and often we get that wrong. Sometimes for kids, and even with adults, it can be with your parents as well, can't it? Just learn to just keep your mouth shut. And some kids have trouble with that, right? And you need to, that's something that we try and teach our kids, don't we, is to learn to just shut your mouth sometimes. You don't have to always have the last word, you don't have to always try and justify yourself, explain yourself. It's just, he that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life. Sometimes it could be your boss at work. Sometimes you just got to learn to shut your mouth. Sometimes you might get reproved for something, you might get correct for something that maybe wasn't your fault, just learn to keep your mouth shut. Learn to just shut your mouth, to keep your mouth, you keep your life, but those that just can't keep it shut, that can't zip it, they end up in trouble, he said, but he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction. And this also applies in the spiritual battle by the way. So the enemies are often just probing you for information, searching for iniquity, and there's various ways that they do that. Something that they can use to make the slander more believable. So if you can get a certain amount of info from someone, then the slander starts to sound more believable. Something that they can grab and then twist a little. And then it's just take a truth, twist it a little bit, then it makes you look a hundred times worse than what the reality really was. And that is a real threat, and it's not just, I'm not just talking about myself as a pastor, that's everyone here. They want to be able to say, but you said this or you did that, so didn't they say this? And it's learning to not just constantly just spill out your whole life to people. Sometimes I've had it where people are literally probing me or probing my wife, even my kids, just to get any info they can to then make the slander more believable, to build up the picture that they want to try and create of you. And it sounds more believable if it's based on some sort of personality character traits and everything else that other people will be able to see. What's the answer? Well, David said in Psalm 141 verse 3, Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth, keep the door of my lips. Do you know what the answer is? It's to pray to God for help with that sometimes. Sometimes we find it hard, sometimes you just want to talk, right? Some people are communicators, they just want to talk, they want to chat, they want to talk about things, they want to share things, but sometimes you've got to say to God, Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth, keep the door of my lips. Just help me to be wise with what I say and what I don't say to people. Let's keep going, that was verse 3, which was, He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life, but he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction. Verse 4 is, A soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing, but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat. Now, soul isn't just talking about eternal things, in case you've ever wondered that in the Bible. A soul is a person too, an individual, and in Scripture it can even be referring to kind of the appetite of that person. For example, you'd have to turn to Proverbs 27, 7 says, The full soul loatheth and honeykind, but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet. In case a soul can be applied to a person, even their appetite wither. Here in Proverbs 13, 4, it's that lazy people don't get what they want. That's just a fact of life. If you're lazy, you just won't get what you want, whether that's the food they want or any other wants, goals, desires. If you're lazy, you're not going to get it, because most things in life require some work to achieve them. You've just got to put some work in, you've got to put some diligence in, you've got to put some effort in. However, like we talked about last week, we shall reap if we faint not. The problem is a lot of lazy people faint a lot earlier than other people, and then they just don't get the soul of the sluggard desireth. If only I could have done that, if only I could have had this, if only I had this or that, well, you've got to stop being a sluggard then. Get some up and at them in you, you know, and work for what you want. And then the answer is to be diligent. And that's what that basically is, it's working, it's putting effort in, it's putting time and thought into what you're doing. The soul of the diligent shall be made fat. Now he's not saying put some effort in and you're going to be a beast, okay. What he's talking about is just basically, is having plenty, okay, receiving plenty for your effort. To the hungry, he said, sorry, the soul of the sluggard desireth and had nothing but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat. It's a good thing to just put some effort in in life, in all areas of life. That's how God wants you, God wants you working as unto the Lord in everything. Everything you do, work as unto the Lord. Put some effort in, put some diligence in as if you're working for the Lord. Verse five, a righteous man hateth lying but a wicked man is loathsome and cometh to shame. Right, do all believers hate lying? Do all believers hate lying? No, no, it's talking about a believer who's upright in his way, okay, and that's often what we're seeing. It's not just talking about those who have Jesus Christ's righteousness imputed unto them. Often when we talk about the righteous man here, first they need to have Jesus Christ's righteousness imputed unto them. Otherwise, you know, their righteousness deserves filthy rags. But then it's talking about someone who's then living upright, as we've seen many examples of, a believer trying to live right, okay, who's trying to live righteously, who's trying to live according to God's commandments. And when we do that, we should hate lying. So if you're living right and you're doing the things of God and you're trying to live for God and trying to live for the Word of God, you should hate lying, not trying to excuse it all the time. A lot of people just trying to excuse lying, constantly trying to find a way to excuse lying. We should hate it. You should just hate it. And sometimes you might find that due to some reason or other, you find yourself in a funny situation, you do something, or it could come for something else, maybe come for some laziness or some pride. You tell a lie and you should hate that, shouldn't you? You should recognise that and be saying to God, I'm sorry, I hate that. Because we can all do that, right? Not, it's only a lie, a little white lie, you know, that's not someone that hates lying, right? We should be able to say that lying lips are an abomination to the law, we should recognise that and understand it for what it is. He hates it. He hates it. The wicked don't hate it. And again, we're being given the contrast between, well, between these types of people, because there are people that claim to believe. There are people that read the Bible, they go soul-willing, they pretend to be a righteous believer, and I'm not talking about new believers, just to make it very clear here. There are new believers that, you know, can take time, right? I'm not talking about backsliders. There are people that kind of, you know, they're in the things of God forbid, and then they're backsliding out, and again, when they're out of the things of God, things are going to go downhill. That doesn't mean they're wicked, that doesn't mean they're fake. Okay, anyone can, there are people out there that will never get in the things of God. But there are people that seem to tick all the boxes, they have all their ducks in a row, but one giveaway might be that with all those ducks in a row with seemingly righteous in all these other areas of life, to the onlooker, they're just full of deceit. Something's not adding up there, right? Full of deceit, full of dishonesty, they choose, they set out to lie. But the Bible says a righteous man should hate it. They hate lying. So that's one of, and again, that doesn't, right, false prophet kick them out, that's not what I'm saying, but he's constantly trying to give us clues, in a way. Give us ways to just recognise this sort of thing, because it's not always as simple as, oh yeah, well it just must be a flaming sodomite or something, you know? And this isn't just about church life, this is in every area of life. There are people that claim to be one thing that aren't, and one of the giveaways is just choosing to lie when they appear to be upright in many other areas, they're just full of it. Full of deceit, dishonesty, they're setting out, they're planning to lie. It doesn't add up, and eventually they come to shame. It says a righteous man hateth lying, but a wicked man is loathsome, and cometh to shame. Verse 6. Righteousness keepeth him that is upright in the way, but wickedness overthroweth the sinner. Right, upright in the way. Proverbs 11 and 20 uses the term upright in their way, it's the same term really. It's talking about someone living right, okay? So not in presumptuous sin, they're ticking the boxes, okay? Like we said, an upright person, someone, like it might say righteous. Righteousness keepeth him that is upright in the way. And it's the righteousness that keeps that person, that helps them avoid the snares, helps them avoid the pitfalls. Because if they're living righteous, then already they know what they should be doing. They know what should be the answer. It's the righteousness that keeps them upright in their way. It's knowing what the Word of God says, how He wants us behaving, that keeps us upright in our way. When you're serving God, really the knives are out, okay? It seems everyone wants to bring you down, don't you notice that sometimes? Family, old friends, people at work, colleagues, sometimes just random people just in the street, you know? Just want to bring you down one way or another, people just want to bring you down. It's the righteousness that gets us through. It's the righteousness which is our breastplate, it's our protection. But without it, without the righteousness, those enemies, those snares, those traps will overthrow you. That's what happens. If you don't have the righteousness, you don't have that breastplate of righteousness on, you just get destroyed by this stuff. You need to be living upright, you need to be upright in the way. Wickedness overthroweth the sinner. Verse 7. There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing. There is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches. And of course there are rich people everywhere without eternal life, okay? Without the Lord, without Jesus. We have nothing, okay? You don't have the Lord, you don't have the Lord Jesus Christ, doesn't matter what earthly riches you have, really ultimately you have nothing. But there are those, then on the other hand, that have made themselves poor to a degree, that have forsaken riches, forsaken the all-consuming career, forsaken the inheritance for the things of God maybe, for the Kingdom of God's sake. But not only do they have the Lord, they have eternal life and have great rewards to come. And that's a good reminder sometimes. There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing. There is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches. Don't forget that if you're saved, and even more so if you're serving your life, if you're saved you've got eternal life. That's great riches enough, right? But if you're serving God as well, I don't think you can even get your head around probably what's up. You can't get your head around what's waiting us. And remind yourself of that, because that temptation can come and you'll get it from angles, won't you? You'll have people trying to act as if you've somehow failed in life if you don't have the fastest car, or the biggest house, or whatever it is, right? There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing. There is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches. But as I say, the ransom of a man's life for his riches, but the poor heareth not rebuke. So I believe that this proverb is saying that whatever it is that preserves our life, that buys us out of trouble, is ultimately what's of highest value to us. The ransom of a man's life are his riches. So for us, our riches, I hope everyone here, are riches of the Lord Jesus Christ. He ransomed us with his precious blood, didn't he? Okay? He's a ransom of our life. But for those without those riches, without the ransom, without salvation, they won't then hear the rebuke of the Lord, will they? And it makes me think of those that claim that if salvation was a free gift, as it is, then it's a license to sin, etc., like Adam preached not long ago. And it's, you know, like they act as if, you know, somehow because of salvation, because of everything else, that we're not going to hear the rebuke, but it's the opposite, isn't it? I mean, not only because you have the Holy Spirit in you now, and you can actually understand the Word of God as well, and you actually get that conviction from the Holy Spirit when you're hearing the Word of God and trying to serve God, and you're trying to be filled by the Spirit and everything else. And the opposite, all these unsaved people, sometimes when, you know, and you shouldn't really go down that road, but sometimes you'll talk to people that claim to be saved and stuff, and they just cannot even recognize the most simple commandments and sins in the Bible, can they? And without that ransom, they won't hear the rebuke of God. They won't hear the true rebuke of God. They're constantly just justifying, justifying, justifying. And the worst types pretend to, but they just won't respond to the Word. So the worst types of people, the real, like, you know, bottom-dwelling, you know, just absolute scum. I'm talking about reprobates here. They can't hear rebuke at all. They just don't. We were talking about it just, you know, recently, about just some of the clown behavior, you know, and stuff, and stuff being encouraged and promoted, pushed. It's just like, what on earth? I mean, it's basic stuff in the Bible, you know. The ransom of man's life for his riches, but the poor hearth not rebuke. Verse 9, the light of the righteous rejoiceth, but the lamp of the wicked shall be put out. So light here referring to our life, okay, our essence, our being. If you're saved and living for God, you should be rejoicing. If you're saved, you should be rejoicing. If you're saved and living for God and feeling close to him in life and serving him and remembering all the promises as well and everything, you should be rejoicing. And sometimes you need to remind you of that, because sometimes you kind of get wrapped up in life a little bit and you forget to rejoice. You're saved. You're living for God. You're serving God. You're on the front lines. I mean, it's amazing. What an honor. What a privilege, right? And the light of the righteous rejoiceth, but the lamp of the wicked shall be put out. The wicked will die forever. That's all that's going to happen. The lamp will be put out. They're going to be dying forever. Verse 9, the light of the righteous rejoiceth, but the lamp of the wicked shall be put out. Verse 10, only by pride cometh contention, but with the well-advised is wisdom. Now, there are two applications here. First off is that so much contention, strife, negative contests, et cetera, comes just due to pride, doesn't it? It comes because so often, and you can think about it between family members, friends, colleagues, et cetera, so much of it is just pride, isn't it? It's just not being able to just be humble enough to just maybe swallow it a little bit, to maybe just think, OK, well, they spoke to me like that, but who really cares? OK, so they said this or did that, but who really cares? And so often it's the pride. It's a wounded ego. It's a hurt pride, which continues strife, continues problems. But really, I believe that the main application is salvation here. It's pride that maintains that enmity with God. OK, only by pride cometh contention. That's ultimately what stops us getting saved. That's what stops now. You've got to be careful with this, because then it starts, some people, it can almost become a kind of almost trusting in their humility for their salvation. OK? However, there are pride people that just won't get saved. And it doesn't automatically mean because you got saved that you must just be a humble person, because sometimes it's just a humble point in your life. And I think pretty much everyone in the world, maybe barring the most vile reprobates, will have humble moments in their life, which is what often we're praying for, for that right time to preach the gospel to someone, right? But only by pride cometh, it's ultimately pride that has stopped, that even stopped you before ever seeking a saviour, maybe. Maybe that was, it was ultimately pride, thinking a lot of the time that you were good enough that, oh, well, you wouldn't go to hell because you're not as bad as so-and-so, because that can be what stops you seeking that. And it's not that everyone that seeks, you know, it's not that you have to seek to get saved, like we know many times, you just knock on someone's door, not really seeking, but they hear the gospel, they get saved. It's a power of God, isn't it? It's a word of God that gets people saved. But it's pride that maintains enmity with God. It's a refusal to accept the need for a saviour, really, isn't it? And that's kind of across the board. And whether they're religious or not, a lot of people just refuse to accept that they need saving from their sins. But the people that are well advised, said, but with the well advised is wisdom, the people that hear the gospel explained correctly, they get the wisdom that comes with salvation. Only by pride comes contention, but with the well advised is wisdom. But people need that. They need to hear the gospel. They need to hear it explained. They need to be well advised in the things of God, because there's no other ways anyone's getting saved. You ain't reading the Bible and getting saved. You're not just working it out and you're only getting saved. They need to be well advised. And that wisdom and the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Only by pride comes contention, but with the well advised wisdom. Verse 11. Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished, but he that gathereth by labour shall increase. Now vanity being emptiness. Here you could say easily, without effort, without work. When money comes easy, do you know what happens? It goes easy. That's just life. If your money comes easy, your money will go easy. People are always looking for the easy money, aren't they? That's kind of across life. People are just looking for easy ways to make money without having to put work in. And there's a lure of gambling for some. There's a lure of criminal activity for others. There's the lure of just like the real easy job, the immoral job. There's all these ways that people are trying to find ways of just making easy money. But the reality of it is, if they don't really work for it, it's just going to go quickly. So it's kind of, it's like a false promise in a way. It's like a false truth that somehow they're going to be so blessed if they get this easy money. Because then you just lose the money. It's just going to disappear. Because it's when you go off for it, when you have to put some work in it, you're less likely to waste it. You're more likely to increase, aren't you? When you put some work in, some effort in for your money, you don't just throw it away or nothing. Now it doesn't mean you have to be like some tight-fisted scrooge and never be generous. We should still be generous, right? It's more blessed to give than to receive. But however, if you work for it, you just appreciate it a little bit more, what effort you've put in, and you're not just going to be completely foolhardy, which so many people who get easy money are. I mean, think about, you know, there's stories, aren't there, of like, you know, what was that absolute clown that you spin a post on? Michael Carroll was this old, I don't know if any of you remember. This is this lottery winner who won, I don't know how many millions it was, squandered it all within a couple of years. Whole lot, he ended up bankrupt. He won the national lottery with like millions of pounds. I think he turned, didn't he buy a house and turn the whole thing into some sort of like Dodgerham track or something? Complete just craziness. Got all this money, wasted the whole lot and ended up bankrupt and kind of, I think, possibly on the dole. I mean, that is easy come easy go, isn't it? That's kind of a real big example of that. The lesson is, what's the lesson, though? Stop chasing easy money. Stop chasing easy money, okay? It's just a waste of time. If you find it, you might be one of those people that have found a solution to easy money with not much work in. Guess what's going to happen with that money? It's going to go. Because you've got it easy, it's going to go easy. Stop chasing it. It will just be diminished, just put some actual work in and you'll appreciate it and you'll actually feel good about yourself as well. Wealth gotten by vanity should be diminished, but he that gatherth by labour shall increase. Verse 12. Hope deferred maketh the heart sick, but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life. So to defer is to delay. It's talking about that frustration when waiting for something that is delayed, okay? And here, really I believe he's talking about that great hope eternal life again. Hope deferred maketh the heart sick. You have to turn to Titus 3.7 says that being justified by his grace we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life, often called the hope of eternal life. It's not because you're like, I just hope it's true. I just hope, I get it, it's because it's a hope, it's something that we don't see but we know is coming, okay? Well, it can make your heart feel sick waiting for it, can't it? Oh, it does. I really want to be up there, you know. It could be a bit rough here, you know, and it does make your heart, you almost get this heart, you know, it's like a sort of, think of it like a homesick feeling because that's really, we're just passers-through, aren't we? And that's where home is, right? Hope deferred maketh the heart sick but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life. I think what he's saying is that when that true desire for heaven comes, and I say that true desire, you're going, well doesn't everyone desire that? No. Do you know that a lot of believers aren't really having a true desire of heaven? Do you know why? Because they still love the things of the world. When you stop loving the things of the world, where you're truly focusing on eternity, when you're at that point where you're just homesick for eternity in heaven, I believe that's the tree of life. That's the moment when maybe you're most effective as a soul winner. You don't have to turn to Colossians 3, 2 says, set your affection on the things above, not on things on the earth. So if you're setting your affection on the things above and you're thinking about eternity, you're more likely to be putting the effort into other people's salvation. Whereas when you focus on all the cares of riches, the deceitfulness of riches, all the things of the world, you're that much less likely to be focusing on other people's salvations and other people's eternities, right? And so many believers are just so choked with the cares of the world, instead of thinking, setting their sights on eternity, right? And I think when you start getting that real homesick for it and you're really thinking about things of God and things of heaven, you're going to be more likely to be preaching that to others. Hope deferred, make the heart sick, but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life. Verse 13, who so despiseth the word shall be destroyed, but he that feareth the commandment shall be rewarded. What sort of people despise the word? Haters of God, okay, reprobates. They hate the word of God, and it's not that they might be destroyed, okay? He said, who so despiseth the word shall be destroyed. Okay, these people shall be destroyed. That's it, they're done, right? But on the opposite end are those that fear the commandment. Now, this isn't talking about fearing the commandment, you know, this isn't talking about salvation, okay? That's a gift. He said shall be rewarded, okay? And I believe, sometimes it talks about the reward in heaven, but ultimately it's talking, you know, just about the fact that we'll eventually be there. But that's a gift. The rewards come from those that actually fear the commandments. They're the extra rewards, aren't they? So the rewards we receive once we receive that free gift of eternity, the rewards we receive after that come from those who are fearing the commandment, come from those that are actually trying to live for God and trying to do the things of God, and that's how you earn those extra rewards. Don't despise the word of God, and don't even be close to that. Don't just neglect it. Be the opposite end. There's two opposites. There's those that despise the word, they're going to be destroyed, they're the reprobate, but then you can fear the word and you can get rewards from that, yeah? But again, you could just argue that it's talking about fearing the things of God to be getting saved. Okay, verse 14. The law of the wise is a fountain of life to depart from the snares of death. Now that makes me think of Proverbs 10 and 11, where it says, the mouth of a righteous man is a well of life, but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked. And Proverbs 11.30, where the fruit is what comes out of the mouth, the fruit of the righteous is a tree of life. He that winneth souls is wise. We just read the law of the wise is a fountain of life to depart from the snares of death. When a saved person, when someone wise preaches a word, it's a fountain of life, okay? And it saves people from the various snares of death. You go, what do you mean snares of death? Why is it a snare of death? Well, for example, that there's nothing after this life snare. You probably came across a few of those out today. That's a snare, isn't it? Now, it's a snare, now, people, it's not like they're like, ah, what a shame that person bought into that. They ultimately choose to buy into that, but it is still a snare. It's a trap to just go, yeah, I'm just going to believe that there's nothing after this physical life. I mean, that's a snare, isn't it? It's a snare of death, because what's going to happen? In hell, they lift up their eyes being in torments. That's what's going to happen. Or the various forms of work salvation snares, and they're everywhere, aren't they? Just different forms, different snares to appeal to the flesh of different types of people. You know, for like the more sort of, more paedophile types, it'll be Islam. For maybe the more just complete crazed, lunatic, possessed types, it'll be Judaism. For, you know, for people that want to like appear to be a bit more kind of bit more like us, it'll be Repent Your Sins Baptist, you know, and there's various types of various types of people, and there's various snares of death, but it's a law of the wise, it's what comes out of our mouth, it's us going out and preaching the gospel, which is the fountain of life, which therefore helps these people to depart from the snares of death. Verse 15, good understanding giveth favour, but the way of transgressors is hard. Where does understanding come from? Well Proverbs 2 says, for the Lord giveth wisdom, out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. It's the word of God again, okay, so aside from salvation, from getting other people saved, good understanding of this book will give you favour in life, won't it? You understand the word of God? If you get understanding and understanding, start to understand how God wants you to live, how he wants you to do things, understand the options and ways to do things in life, you are going to get favour. Now you'll still have trials, you'll still have tribulation, don't think that suddenly you're going to live like this, this carefree life, you'll still have hard times, but the word of God will help you through all of that, won't it? It's the word of God that gets us through those things, it will help you live a worthwhile fulfilling life as well. That's what the word of God does, helps you live a life that's not just wrapped up with all that vanity, all that nonsense, whereas trying to get through life without God, the way of the transgressors, without his word is hard, okay? That's a hard life, that's a very difficult life because they're going to have the same stuff. You know, whatever's accomplished in the world, we have to deal with it as well, you're going to have to deal with the same problems, same trials, same tribulations, everything else, but without God it's so much hard to deal with, isn't it? I mean some of these people, and that's why you see all these suicides and all these crazy people just descending into drugs and all this other stuff to deal with, the same trials and tribulations that we hurt from sometimes, but you get through with the word of God because that good understanding, that understanding which comes from the word of God, remember, out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding, good understanding gives you favour, it helps you get through life. But the way of transgressors is hard. Verse 16, every prudent man dealeth with knowledge, but a fool layeth open his folly. So a prudent man is someone cautious, careful of consequences, not acting rashly, and to be seen as prudent in God's eyes, well first you'd have to be saved, wouldn't you? To be prudent, to be cautious, I mean you're hardly prudent if you're on your way to hell, that's not really a sensible place to be going, okay? You're hardly prudent if you're trusting your own works are gonna somehow achieve you heaven, right? That's not a prudent man. Every prudent man dealeth with knowledge. Someone prudent will be doing things according to the knowledge that comes out of God's mouth, otherwise they're just not prudent. They might be prudent in the world's eyes, they're not prudent in God's eyes, okay? So to be prudent in God's eyes, you're going to be doing things according to the knowledge of God, and being prudent is a good thing, okay? Just to bear that in mind, it's a good thing, being cautious, being circumspect, you know, in the right way, not being a paranoid freak, but being prudent is good, but you'll only be truly prudent if it's according to the knowledge of the word, okay? That's true prudence, if it comes from God's word, because the knowledge of the world isn't sensible, is it? You know, well he's a very prudent man by the world's standards, but you know, there's many things that the world teaches and encourages and they think is like a careful way, a sensible way of living, which is not at all by the word of God's standards, right? The fool departs from the wisdom of God and isn't prudent, okay? They're not cautious, and often they just want all to know and see their folly. I don't even notice that with people sometimes, they just lay open their folly. It's on everyone, and again, think of the world as just like teaching, encouraging like celebrities, gurus, all these types, just, they just lay open their folly to all. We should be able to see that and go, that's folly, okay? And that comes from being in the word, learning the word more. Every prudent man deals with knowledge, but a fool layeth open his folly. A wicked messenger falleth into mischief, this is verse 17, but a faithful ambassador is held. And again the two extremes, really. You've got the wicked messenger, and ultimately the false prophet, who eventually falls into the worst types of sin, okay? A wicked messenger falleth into mischief. You go, well really, look, they do. And because they can't resist, they're held with all unrighteousness. Now that's not always manifest clearly to us, but it just comes, it just happens with these people. A wicked messenger falleth into mischief, it does happen eventually, okay? Because they just, they're so driven by wickedness, okay? But a faithful ambassador himself, the true, soul-winning believer, isn't just a messenger, they're an ambassador for Christ, aren't they? St Corinthians 5.20 says, now then, we're ambassadors for Christ, so God did beseech you by us, we pray you in Christ's head, be you reconciled to God. Because we can genuinely reconcile people with God, and that brings eternal health to the soul, okay? So a faithful ambassador is held, but the wicked messenger, they're not an ambassador, they're just a wicked messenger. And because what they're ultimately bringing a message of is just wickedness, is lies, deceit, and damning people to hell, they fall into mischief, but a faithful ambassador is held. Okay, verse 18, poverty and shame shall be to him that refuseth instruction, but he that regardeth reproof shall be honoured. So the clear takeaway is don't refuse instruction, like we looked at in verse one as well. Here's a thing to think about, okay, for those that have an issue with this. You weren't born with ability and knowledge, okay? You were born with borderline zero ability and knowledge, okay? You've been instructed one way or another in life. So whatever knowledge you have now, all the knowledge and ability you have, pretty much, you were instructed it, by someone, or by multiple people over your life, yeah, for the adults here. Kids, everything you know, every bit of ability, every bit of knowledge you have, has been taught to you, by someone, whether it was your parents, whether it was other people you've been, whether it's books you've read, whatever else, right? It's bonkers to suddenly refuse it, isn't it? Whether you're a child or an adult, it's mad, as if you know it all, because we keep learning all our lives, don't we? Every single one of us here will just keep learning the rest of our lives, and if you refuse it, it's poverty and shame. It's a shame. People that can't be taught, don't last long in jobs, and they don't last long in a Christian life either. And there are people out there like that, so it's not that, oh well, they just must all be wicked reprobates, they're just people that get saved and just can't be taught anything. We've had them visit here before now and again, people that walk into a church for the first time, and then they're just trying to teach you, trying to teach you everything. It's just weird, isn't it? And it's not that they're always just wicked, it's not that they're just people that just can't receive instruction, they just need to already know everything. I've already read this and I've already read through the Bible, I know it all, and there are people that are unsaved like that, but there are people that are saved like that as well. Poverty and shame shall be to him that refuseth instruction, but he that regardeth reproof shall be honoured. And here's the thing with refusing structure as well, part of instruction is reproof, isn't it? Therefore, you need to regard and respect it for what it is, because really what it is is it's great benefit. Reproof, do you know what reproof means? When you receive reproof, it means you were doing it wrong. But we're all doing stuff wrong, we all get things wrong. So if you've regarded, if you've received reproof, it means you were doing things wrong. Amen, great! Because they can get it right. So we shouldn't refuse it, we should welcome it with open arms. Thank God someone told me that! But somebody can't deal with it, can they? They just can't take the reproof from God's Word or from people in all areas of life. And if you put it in the right place, you'll be honoured in the end. And that's the thing, isn't it? It's the pride that makes people refuse instruction, right? That's really what it comes down to. However, the honour comes to those humble enough to regard reproof. The funniest thing about it really, isn't it? It's the pride that then stops you getting the honour that you so wanted and so needed to try and uphold and give to other people. The trick is to just accept, I actually know very little. I know very little, I just need to regard reproof, I need to listen to instruction. And all of us do, right? And obviously the ultimate place to get that from is the Word of God. He said, poverty and shame shall be deemed that refuseth in structure, but he that regardeth reproof shall be honoured. Verse 19, we're getting there, the desire accomplished is sweet to the soul, but it is abomination to fools to depart from evil. So when you achieve something, in the context here being a victory over sin, okay, we'll talk about departing from evil later, isn't it great? You know, when you achieve something, when you achieve a victory over something in your life, some stronghold, some problem, some issue, maybe you feel like, yeah, actually, I haven't acted like that for a while, I haven't done that, you know, I'm getting somewhere with that. That desire accomplished is sweet to the soul, isn't it? It's a great thing, it's a great thing to get somewhere, it's a great thing to achieve things, it's a great thing to achieve, I don't know, just, you've read, someone here has read the Bible through for the first time, that desire accomplished is sweet to the soul, isn't it? Maybe it's a great thing, some people here, a great thing to preach the gospel for the first time, a great thing to get your first salvation, it's a great thing, you know, there are many things that these desires accomplished is sweet to the soul, aren't they? But here's an abomination to fools to depart from evil. The fools hate it, don't they? They hate it, and I think specifically they hate it when anyone departs from evil. They hate it when people do, we're not just talking about themselves here. They mock people like us, don't they? Mock us, you know, scorn at the changes, like the family, the friends, the colleagues, whoever, who are just, just scoffed, you know, and don't drink anymore, you know, or too holy to do, too holy to drink alcohol, are you? Something along those lines, right? But why wouldn't they be happy that their old friend, their older, apparently beloved family member, is no longer poisoning their liver and the rest of their body? Why wouldn't they? They should be overjoyed. They actually cared, right? And look, of course there are the friends that just feel a bit kind of, it's like shining the light on them and stuff, I'm not saying they're all wicked, but I'll be with them just ultimately wicked. That these type of fools, because sometimes a fool, like we said before, the fool is sending us out, there is no God, it can be the worst types of people, and it's abomination to depart from evil. I mean, isn't that bizarre? They'll look at it, it's like you're no longer, you know, poisoning your mind and body with drugs, you know, there'll be people here that have had issues, problems, it's like, they've got to, and the family and friends, they hated them for it. It's like, what on earth? And there are people like that, they're like, yeah, my family, you know, they're just kind of, it's abomination, they just say they don't have any fun anymore, they don't party anymore or something, so what on earth? Shouldn't they be happy for these people? They're no longer sleeping around, so that should be a good thing. So, oh, waiting till you're married, you know, what are you talking about? Wouldn't you be going, well done you, well done you, because, you know, there's no longer the risk of disease and awkward broken relationships with children from it, and all the other stuff and the bad memories and the fact that you're probably going to find it hard to have a proper relationship in the future because of all the fornication and what it does to your mind and everything else, but instead it's like they hate it, it's abomination to them that you're just living how, and it's not even by the bible standards really, it's just normal decent moral standards, isn't it? And people hate it, the fact that you're no longer chasing riches maybe, and it's abomination to fools. Oh yeah, they don't, you know, he doesn't really care, they're almost mock, won't they? They're people that mock me for cars I drive, you know, these fools. I remember once, I had kind of slightly off topic, it just came to my mind, I remember once I pulled out of a car park after work, and it was like a 30 mile an hour road, and this big HGV was going about 50, it was like a big, I think like Waitrose big, big delivery one, the one like with the articulators steaming it down the road, and when I pulled out, and they literally floored it towards me, and I had to accelerate to 40 or 50 to not get ploughed into at the back, then I slowed down because I didn't want to slam my brakes on because I was going to get probably killed, you know, got out the car and approached this this Arctic, and I was angry, but I was just like what are you doing, like you've tried to kill me because I pulled out of a car park where had you been going the speed limit, it wasn't dangerous, there was no problem at all, you've just floored it towards me, and it was a lesbian in there, and as I approached the door, she starts going, you're on camera, you're on camera, you're on camera, and I wasn't gonna start dragging her out the van or anything, I was just going to just say to her, what are you doing, you know, and then when she realised, and I wasn't swearing, and I wasn't, you know, getting physical, and I was just like, what are you gonna kill me, and you've tried to go into the back of me because I pulled out on a road, what's wrong with you, and then she got confident then because she said I'm on camera, she sees I'm not like going nuts and trying to kill her, so then she starts calling me every name under the sun, going, you know, bleep bleep blue car, bleep bleep, look at your bleep bleep car, you loser, and all this, so it's abomination isn't it to these people that you're not some covetous clown that thinks you look better because you're in like a completely ridiculous car that you can't afford, and I was just, it was like a, it was like that old Honda F4 V we had, I thought it was an alright car, get six people in it, it's amazing, you know, but just look at it because it's sky blue or something, yeah, this and that blue car, you just say what, but that's, it's abomination to fools isn't it, it's the abomination to not be driving the latest whatever, and it just, you people are clowns right, they consider it abomination, and the point here is, is just don't let it get to you, don't let it get to you, you know, don't let the fools and their standards and their want for you to just still be in the or whatever it is from your past lives, don't let that get to you, right, and the desire accomplishes sweet to the soul isn't it, it's getting rid of that, going no I don't like, I'm not saying if you've got a nice car, you know, fair enough right, but in all areas, don't let that get to you, when you've accomplished it, you're like no I don't care about that stuff, I don't care about this, I'm not, no I'm not living like that anymore, I've defeated that, I've got that stronghold out, that should be sweet to your soul, yeah. And remember that they're fools, okay, which leads on to the next verse, verse 20, he that walketh with wise men shall be wise, but a companion of fools shall be destroyed, and I know we looked at this verse on Wednesday night in Genesis 38, and we looked at it because Judah and his old buddy Hera are confederate at least in all sorts of just wickedness, so he just keeps, he's just side by side with this just wicked guy, and we looked at this and just kind of pointed that out, that that was one of the things that was standing out, glaring out in that chapter in Genesis 38, because when you're hanging around with fools, that foolishness rubs off on you, doesn't it, that's what we talked about, when you're hanging around with fools, foolishness, now they're not to blame, it's you, you're still responsible, so oh well it's just their fault, you know, it's not really my fault, it's because I was hanging around with someone, no, you can choose not to hang around with them also, but you, you, you, you know, really you're still responsible for your sin, but it does rub off, okay, what happens is you just become more like each other, you know, I remember talking about birds of a feather, you notice how groups of friends often speak similarly, don't they, groups of friends, you think back even to school days, even in workplaces, things like that, a lot of time when there's like a clique, a group, group of friends, they just start to speak a bit more like each other, don't they, that's just kind of what happens when you're spending time with people, things rub off, they sometimes dress pretty similarly as well, don't they, and they just start to dress a bit more alike, they see something someone else is wearing, a group in whatever setting, and that, that's the sort of stuff they're around, so they start to copy that, that's the sort of examples they get, that's the inspiration they might get for their, for the latest addition to their wardrobe, you know, or whatever else, it's not that they're just like, I've got to dress the same because I've got to look the same, be the same, it's just because it rubs off, doesn't it, they also sin similarly as well, if you notice that, but they do, if you think back to sort of the kind of the cliques at school, for example, just, you know, something that it makes me think of is you kind of got the group of the ones that are into whatever wicked sinful grunge music together, and then you got the ones that are into, you know, they're kind of some sort of drugs or whatever it is, right, and, and it just rubs off, a lot of people just behave the same as the people they're around, who you spend your time with just massively affects you, that's just life, it doesn't matter, it's not because you're just so weak, because really we are all sheep, we're called sheep, and I know I've said this before, I say it again, because people try and act as if they're not the sheep, oh the sheeple, oh the sheep lining up for their Covid, Vax, and all this sort of stuff, look, we're all sheep, the trick is just to be led by the right shepherd, okay, and to be around like-minded sheep who are also being led by the right shepherd, because we, look, yeah, you might have seen through Covid, but them same morons haven't seen through whatever spiritualism that's being pushed on them, although the same morons haven't seen through, you know, whatever else, whatever angle and everything else that they're drawn into instead, oh well, you know, I'm not the sheep, I wasn't pulled into all of that, but I'm just obsessed with like Black Lives Matter or something, you morons, you know, it's like whatever it is, they just, we just get pulled up, and the trick is, is to get pulled the right way, and the right way is, is around God's people, wise people, be around wise people and around the right shepherd being the Lord Jesus Christ, make sure, make, and here's the thing, it's not just God's people, it's also being around the wise ones of God's people, because, look, there's a lot of people out there, and there's a lot of people that claim to be Christians out there, and you might have in your private lives and stuff, they ain't wise though, so you're not walking with wise, now how can you tell, how do you identify wise people? By being wise yourself, get wise, or you've got no chance, how do you identify someone with wisdom if you don't have wisdom, you don't know what you're looking for, so first things first, if you're saved, you're like, well I don't know, I mean who, which ones are wise, get wise, get wise, that's why false prophets also prey on babes in Christ, they prey on backsliders, they prey on the outsiders, because they're hoping that you won't be wise enough to see what they are, because we've got the word of God here, and especially the book of Proverbs constantly warning us, showing us what these people are like, but they want to get you before you get wise, they want to get you when you're not wise, so that you get pulled in and influenced by them in many ways, because when you get some wise in you, when you get a bit of wisdom in you, you spot the covetousness, don't you, you get a bit wise from the word of God, you start to spot that covetousness, actually this is like really covetous, it's a bit weird, you know, brother sowing, sister sowing, so, you know, for example, three to thrive, doing this, doing that, everything, just like really covetous, really covetous, that's weird, when you get some wise in you, you spot the promotion of sin, the subtle promotion of sin, we talked about this before, like I said, just that promotion, that pushing, that encouraging it, you start to spot that, when you get a bit wise, the guile, you just start to spot guile, it's just guile, you just feel a guile, I think you're saying it's just like a little sneaky thing here, a little passive-aggressive one there, a little dig there, a little comment there, that's not right, it's not right, you know, that's not how God wants us behaving, right, and again, look, everyone can behave like that sometimes, but like I said, you're trying to spot people that are trying to pretend to be something they're not, you spot the attempts to be the fount of all knowledge, that can be in various ways, you just start to spot that, don't you, you get wise, you start to see that, you're like, okay, that's a bit weird, you know, just constantly needs to be teaching and needs to be the fount of all knowledge, needs everyone to be coming for advice and everything else, that's a bit weird, you spot the shape-shifting, you know, you know, they're shaking, going, what are you doing, David like lizards? No, okay, there are people that appear to be one way, and look, don't get me wrong, everyone has their, like, their church persona, for example, their kind of spiritual thing, you get people out there, you know, they don't say church persona, look, you want to be on best behaviour, obviously, right, we're coming here, we should respect the house of God and stuff, not like coming here and treating it like you do when you're kind of, you know, whatever, when you're sitting at home on your own, we don't turn up here in our pyjamas and things like that, I hope you don't, okay, but there are people where it's kind of, there's this just, it's just something fake, isn't there, you've been around these people, right, this isn't right, yeah, you start to spot that, don't you, start to spot the shape-shifting, the holier than thou junk, just start to spot it, when you get wise, you start to see it, you just start holier than that, and again, new believers are holier than now sometimes, and sometimes people can get a bit carnal and stuff, right, sometimes you just start to see it more and more, you're like, this isn't right, this isn't, this isn't what that person is is trying to promote, because that's what comes from going in God's Word, and the thing is, is that you can get wise, you can get all that wisdom, you can start to see things, you can start to spot problems and trouble and start to steer clear of the unwise, but you can undo all of that by hanging around with fools, and when I said hanging around with fools, because you can undo it all, you spend too much time with fools, like I said on Wednesday, that includes the media in its various forms, so in this day and age, it's not just about who you're spending your day with, it's not who about who you're spending your evening with, or even who you're spending your time on the phone with, nowadays it's who you're spending your time watching on the phone, you know, because you can spend all, you can, like I said on Wednesday, you can spend most of your time with with wise brothers and sisters in Christ, and then you can spend so much of your day just immersed in fools on social media, on movies, on series, in all these different ways, right? He that walketh with wise men shall be wise, but a companion of fools shall be destroyed. Verse 21, we're nearly done. Evil pursuer of sinners, but to the righteous good shall be repaid. I think likely in a you reap what you sow sort of way, okay? There's a kind of inbuilt punishment for sin, isn't there? The pleasures of sin is just for a season. The drinker has liver and other problems following them, okay? Evil pursuer of sinners. The fornicator has broken relationships, his jointed families, and sometimes disease too, following them. Whatever the sin, there's usually a payoff following. That's just the reality of life. Whatever it is, there's a payoff following, and sadly sometimes there'll be people that got right, but sadly the repercussions of sin can follow, can't they? But when you're living right, it gets repaid. Whether it's blessings in this life or the life to come, to the righteous good shall be repaid. You do good things and things that ultimately, and there's nothing better than doing things that affect people's salvations, and it's not just soul winning. So like I talked about this morning really, a lot of what we do in the house of God, a lot of the work that goes on here, a lot of the effort that goes in here is affecting people's salvations in the long term, isn't it? So even just tidying up the church or doing anything you do in this church, and for like a like-minded church, this sort of ministry, a true real church, whatever you do for that is ultimately doing good, and it's going to affect people's salvations, isn't it? But to the righteous good shall be repaid, and basically it's much better to live righteously however tempting the sin is. That's the point really. Evil pursuit of sinners, but to the righteous good shall be repaid. Now, and it's one of those things, like many things as well, you've just got to take him for his word. The promises are there, but we often start to forget that and lose sight of what's going to happen with eternal rewards, which is a lot of the time. Or often we forget, we forget the prayers answered, we forget the blessings we've had and everything else, and start to focus again on maybe things of the world and everything else, but evil pursuit of sinners. Okay, verse 22. A good man leaveth in inheritance to his children's children. The wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just. Now, is this talking about hoarding money or stuff? Earning as much as you can and leaving it in a will for your grandchildren? Is that what this verse is talking about? The covetous stockpilers out there, they like to pretend it's for the kids, don't they? Oh, I'm just, you know, I just want to leave something for the kids. I just want as much as I can, you know. You know, I'm just checking my bank balance every day and, you know, trying to find the best and wisest investments I can. Oh, it's for the kids. And usually it's not for the kids, okay. They just love money so much, they just keep hoarding and stockpiling and stockpiling. What's the most important inheritance that we have for our kids and their kids to partake in? It's the same inheritance that we're partakers in. Colossians 1 12 says, giving thanks unto the Father which has made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. It's salvation. That's the most important inheritance. How do you leave that inheritance to your children's children? Children's children? By bringing your own children up in the nurturing and admonition of the Lord. If you bring your own kids up right, you bring them up to also go on to serve God, then, for example, for example, the opposite. The children of the various women of your wayward son aren't necessarily going to partake in the inheritance of salvation, are they? So if you don't raise your kids in the nurturing and admonition of the Lord, if they end up rebelling, rejecting the things of God, you might get them saved, okay. So this isn't talking about salvation. Firstly, it's talking about salvation. You need to get them saved. But that doesn't mean they're going to go on to serve God. And they go on to mess up their life because they're not in the things of God, they're not trying to live for God, they're saved. And suddenly they've got kids with various women. Are those kids going to all get that inheritance that you wanted to pass down, that salvation? No. Or the children of your rebellious daughter that went and married some dress-wearing Muslim, are they going to partake in the inheritance of heaven? They're not, are they? He's going to ban her from preaching the Gospel to him and probably, you know, have them, you know, if she doesn't renounce Jesus Christ, he's probably going to have them whipped away to Pakistan or somewhere. And stuff happens. And then suddenly it's like stuffed, you know, they're not going to get that in here. And we should care about our seed. And I know a lot of people don't nowadays, but we should. We should care because you have some responsibility for your children, the children's children, your children's children, and that comes if you raise your kids right in the things of God and raise them in a way, and it's not, by the way, it's not just whipping, whipping, whipping. You know, you need to raise them in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Then hopefully what you want is for them to also not only get those kids saved, their kids, but also to raise them in that way and you start to have a better line to come, right? For example, the children of your liberal compromising Christian son or daughter down at NIV liberal, pat yourself on the back Baptist church, are they really going to, are their kids going to really get saved? Well, they've got to the point where they've just kind of convinced themselves that it's all fine there and just can't work out why they just seem to be a bit off on salvation. It gives you breach out the NIV because there are people there that, you know, I was at a church where they at some point had obviously changed it to the new bible version, but the older people were saved and they probably just can't work it out. Why everyone else there seems to be into lordship, salvation, and other things like that. Verse 22 said, a good man leaveth an inheritance to his children's children and a wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just. So, as opposed to the unsaved, okay, and the unsaved, all the money that they stockpile and focus on does end up finding its way to the saved. You go, well how does that work? I haven't seen that with like, you know, Bill Gates or whoever, I don't know, whoever the idea is, right. Jeff Bezos, yeah, is that the correct pronunciation? Thank you. Okay, but it's not just necessarily in this life, because it can be eventually in the millennial reign to come, okay. That wealth isn't going with them to hell, is it? Jeff Bezos, yeah, and the rest of them, they ain't taking it to hell, okay. They're not. And that wealth eventually, all that stockpiled stuff, all that, you know, they talk about like, you know, the Rothschild family and their stockpiles of gold. They probably do have a load of stockpile of gold. They ain't going to hell with them, though. It's not going to hell, and eventually we're going to be ruling a rating with Christ. The wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just, eventually. Verse 23, much fruit is in the tillage of the poor, but there is it destroyeth for want of judgment. So tillage is preparing ground for growing, okay. It's hard work, isn't it, and often it's a job done by the poor, but it results in a lot of food, okay. So much food is in the tillage of the poor, so it's a very productive job, okay. The poor can be very productive, yet there are mistakes made. I think that's what it's saying here. Produce can be destroyed due to poor judgment. It said much food is in the tillage of the poor, but there is that destroyed for want of judgment. And I believe that the analogy is soul-winning, okay. Often when we see with farming analogies, sowing seed, tilling, etc., preparing ground to sow the seed, okay. That's what we're seeing here. I think that's what the analogy is. There's much food in the tillage, okay, of people going out and doing that. However, poor judgment can destroy potential future harvest. For example, and this is something we need to all watch out for, okay. Arguing when there's no need, yeah. Arguing when there's just absolutely no need for it at all. If someone doesn't want to hear the Gospel, just move on, okay. Debates. Just getting in debates with people on doors. It's a complete waste of time. You're never getting someone saved from a debate. And here's the thing. There is that this is destroyed for want of judgment. When you make that error of judgment, in the future, is that person when we knock around the next week... I had someone the other day that was complaining, going, well, someone knocked on my door, but they were raring with me. They were saying this, saying that, and they seemed to be all right. Now, look, sometimes they're putting on an act because maybe they were on a bad day before, but we've got to be careful because that person, they heard some of it, but they weren't really... I've already had one of your guys preaching to me, basically was just saying, I don't really want to hear it again, you know. And that person I end up in a row with. We can, most of the time, we can avoid. Now, we do get carnal sometimes, okay. And sometimes that does happen, and every one of us here can sometimes be like that. But another one, forcing someone to hear the Gospel when they don't want to. There's no point. You don't need to force somebody. Just give them the option. If they don't want to hear it, they don't want to hear it, you know. And all of that, that could destroy a potential salvation in the future, because they're like, oh, one of those pushy strong tower lot next year when we come around, or something else. Maybe they would have gone away and looked at the video, had we not been rude, disrespectful, disrespectful of their property, rude about them on the way up the driveway on the way out, and we got caught in a ring doorbell. Because the ring doorbell could be a problem for that. I know Pastor Talkster would say recently about having been sent the clip of one of his church members. I think, you know, saying something, he talked about it in a sermon, saying something about, you know, the person's house. And they're saying, I can send you the clip. They were saying this and saying that about me, or about my house, something else. And they're all stuff we need to watch out for, because that's a lack of judgment, and that can result in there being, it results in people not getting saved, can't it? So we need to remember we're ambassadors for Christ, yeah. We're not bulldozers for Christ, yeah. Much food is in the tillage of the poor. We can do so much work by the tilling, by the preparing of ground as well. It's not just the salvation, not just the reaping the harvest. Much food is in the tillage of the poor. We're preparing ground. We're trying to get people ready for maybe next year, next year, next year. But there is that is destroyed for want of judgment. So we can get a lot done just getting out there working, but let's not destroy people at the same time. Last bit. Okay, verse 24. He that spareth his rod hateth his son, but he that loveth him chaseth him be times. Right, you've got to hear this verse. Anyone out there who might be one of these fake, I'm just too loving to punish my child types. You come across these people, right. I'm just kidding. I've known people like this. I just could never smack their bottom. I just love them too much. You know, there are people out there like that, right. I just couldn't smack poor little Johnny's bum. I just love him too much, you know. No, you love yourself. That's the reality. You love yourself and you're too busy wanting to feel loved by your child. That's what it comes down to. You're too busy wanting to feel loved and not want them to not like you for that minute, five minutes, hour, or whatever else. Because it's about you and it's about what you get back from your kid. Because the Bible's clear about that, isn't it? Really clear about it. Now some will say, look, because you've got to do what's best for them, right. That's loving your child doing what's best and the Bible's very clear that what's best for a child is to get the rod. Clear as day. You say, well, it's not necessarily smack bottoms. I've had people say this to me. The rod can be any punishment. Yeah, I did that one before. Turn to Proverbs 23. I threaten my young child that they will sit down on a step. Well, that's my rod of correction. The step-sit. Yeah, sure, all right. I tell them how upset they've made mummy while crying crocodile tears. If you see that sort of parenting. I've seen a lot of that parenting. I've had family members doing that parenting. You've made mummy upset now. Yeah, good job. You know what, you've just taught your child to be an emotional manipulator and have fake emotions to get what they want. Yeah, great, great parenting that. But oh, you're just too loving to smack their bottom. You're teaching them emotional blackmail instead. Proverbs 23 says withhold not correction from the child, for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die. Thou shalt beat him with the rod and shalt deliver his soul from hell. Not talking about naughty steps. Okay, you're not beating them with the naughty step. I mean, that's, I don't even know how that would work. Okay, he's talking about a whooping. Beating them with the rod. He's talking about a whooping. Proverbs 26 3 says a whip for the horse, a bridle for the ass, and a rod for the fool's back. Somewhere on the back. You get, I think everyone's getting closer now, yeah. So the rod goes on the back. It's to beat with, we call it spanking, yeah. A smacked bottom is another name for it. Proverbs 22 15, because it says a rod for the fool's back, and what does Proverbs 22 15 say? Foolishness is banned the heart of a child, but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him. That's how you deal with children. They need a smacked bottom often. It's pretty clear what the rod is about, okay. It's a quick spanking, which isn't a drawn out punishment. It's not like, right, you're grounded for a week, okay. That just causes more trouble. It's a kinder thing to do. You deal with it, it's over and done with, and it will even deliver their soul from hell. Why? Why? Because it gives them an understanding of repercussions, of punishment for wrongdoing. They understand there's punishment in life. You go, wait a second, but shouldn't they already be saved? That's why Proverbs 13 24 said, he that spares his rod hateth his son, but he that loveth him chaseth him betimes. That's early in time, early doors. Kids that don't get punished don't appreciate that there's repercussions for sin. Early enough for them to get a healthy fear of eternal punishment, for them to not rebel early, because kids can start rebelling pretty early on. It needs to be done early, and God said it's a loving thing to do. He that loveth him chaseth him betimes, because sometimes it's a hard thing to do. But that's a loving thing to do. However, just the caveat, would it be loving to just spank my kids all day every day? Just like, okay, right, time to get up, it's spanking, you know, all the way through, day, night, every time they do anything wrong, just spank them, whoop them, whoop them. That's not loving either, okay? There's a balance. There needs to be nurture along with the admonition. Okay, so you nurture and admonition of the Lord, and our Lord's a pretty loving God, isn't he? Okay, he does a lot for us, and he also forgives a lot as well, and it's not like every single thing your child ever does wrong they need a whooping for. Otherwise, look, you're probably gonna have some pretty imbalanced kids grow up. We need to get the balance right, okay? There needs to be correction with the chasing and love in between. They need to, like, they need some love, right, as well. But there are times when a child needs chastisement, okay, and it's madness not to. And you know what, when you don't do it, you know what you're doing? You're basically just hating them. He that spares his rod hated his son. That's what the Bible says. You might not feel good about it, but that's not what it's about. You might not get those doe-eyed loving looks from your child when you spank their bottom, but that's not what parenting's about. Parenting's about doing the right thing for them. He that spares his rod hated his son, but he that loveth him chasteth him betimes the last one. The righteous eateth to the satisfying of his soul, but the belly of the wicked shall want. Okay, and like I explained before, this isn't talking about those with just Christ righteous and puteth through faith, okay? This is a saved, living, right, serving God. You have to turn to Psalm 37, where he says, Trust in the Lord and do good. You have to do good for salvation. Trust in the Lord and do good, okay? Salvation is a free gift. This is about serving God. So shalt thou dwell in the land and verily thou shalt be fed. Okay, so there's a result of this living right as well. Right, for example, I talked about it not long ago. Lazarus in Luke 16 was saved and was a beggar. He was eating the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. I have a feeling that he was probably probably being chastised, okay, and probably not doing good, okay? Not fearing the Lord, or trusting the Lord as he should. And there's other examples, I'm not going to go into that, but it's conditional. If you want God's provision then you need to start living right. So if I'm saved and I'm just saying, well I'm saved so I'm not going to go to work now. I'm just going to put my feet up, let's see where God said he'd look after me. That's not living right, okay? That's not doing good, okay? So it's not just, right, right. Because some people try and say that, well if you're saved God's going to look after you. No, no, if you're saved you're going to heaven. But if you're saved and doing right and trying to live right and live for God, then you can say to him, but you told me that you'd look after me if I do that, right? The wicked, though, will go hungry. And that's not always the case here, okay? There are some wealthy, well-fed, wicked people, aren't there? Don't you ever notice some of those? There's some pretty wicked people out there that seem to be pretty wealthy and pretty well-fed. But whatever they have is never enough. There's always, they always need to satisfy the flesh in one way or another, you notice that with people. They just, they always need more, more of this, more of that. They just need to satisfy their flesh and it's never enough, they never feel satisfied. And eventually they will be wanting an eternal hellfire. Because do you know what? Not only they burning in hellfire, but I reckon that probably once they, you know, once it's like body and body and soul in the lake of fire, they've probably got an empty stomach as well. That's the worst bit, no I'm kidding. But look, ultimately the belly of the wicked shall want, okay? They will never be able to satisfy themselves and ultimately that will eventually be an eternal hellfire where they're just begging for just a drip of water on their tongue. That was Proverbs 13. So I went over time again on that, but you understand it's hard to preach you quickly. All right, on that we're going to finish off in prayer. Well thank you for your word, thank you for that, that, well there's so much wisdom from that. But Lord I hope I preach those accurately and clearly and in a way that people that, you know, are able to just remember some of those proverbs and apply them to their lives, Lord. Help us to all just be wiser, help us to all try and be wiser, to seek that wisdom that comes from your word, Lord, and to just be open to what your word says and not just hang up on our preconceived ideas. Help us to all get home safe for sound deceiving, Lord, and to return on Wednesday for another or at least half a day evening in your house. In Jesus' name I pray all this. Amen.