PROVERBS 232007 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Proverbs 23

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2007.

Now we're back in the book of Proverbs, and we need to take a moment to remember some of the basic things about the book of Proverbs. If you remember, as I've shared many times, Proverbs is the book that God has given to us to give us his principles for life.

as I've shared the many horrendous cooking stories that I have and my attempts in the kitchen, we've talked about that the book of Proverbs is God's recipe for life. If you follow his recipe, you'll get a great meal, you'll be well fed, and it will be wonderful. But if you disregard his recipe, then you're headed for a disaster in the kitchen, just like my experience is there. We've also talked about...

Relating it to driving directions. And how so often we second guess those MapQuest directions and find ourselves lost or maybe it's just me, but it's God's directions for life. On the road of this life, he's given us the directions and instructions where to turn and where to go straight and how to live and behave ourselves so that we can get to the

ultimate destination to where he wants us to be. And that is the rich and abundant life that he has promised for us. These principles are God's commands to us. Now, again, God does not command things simply just to have the opportunity to punish us if we disobey. He commands us these things because these things are what is best for us.

He tells us, I want you to do these things and those things are the things that are what's good for us and will bless us and will enrich our lives. And he tells us, I don't want you to do these things because those are the things that will destroy us, that will ruin our lives, that will bring us to destruction. And so we find that obedience to the principles that God gives brings to us

The blessing of a full life is God designed. But disobedience to these principles brings to us the sorrows of an empty life, which God desires for no one. As we're looking at Proverbs, we're talking about things relating to wisdom. It's the book of wisdom written by, mostly by Solomon, who asked for wisdom from God and became the wisest man, aside from Jesus Christ, who ever lived.

And wisdom, we have learned, is not about how smart you are. It's not about how many things you know or how high your IQ is or what type of degrees that you have. But wisdom is how well you receive and obey instruction. The very least intellectual person can be wise if they receive God's word and are obedient to him. In contrast, the most intellectual person can be a fool.

If they do not receive God's word and if they're not obedient to him. And so as we remember these things, as we look at these proverbs, I challenge you, I remind you, I encourage you as I do myself.

Let's allow these things to change our lives. Let's allow these principles that God has given, these right turns and left turns and indicators to go straight. Let's allow them to change the direction, the course of our life and the way that we live. As we study these Proverbs this evening,

I believe that God will speak to your heart through some of these verses, through some of these words of encouragement, through some of these principles and commands. And I encourage you to write down the things that he speaks to you and spend some time meditating on the verses that really stand out. And maybe you don't know why they stand out, but they stand out.

Take note of those things. God wants to speak to your heart. And so take some time to meditate on those verses. And I want to start with verse 12 of Proverbs chapter 23 to encourage you in this area. He says, apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge.

Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge. These are not just things for us to know intellectually or to read and check a box that say, well, we've read that chapter and we're well on our way going through the Bible and we've accomplished that or done this. But instead, we're to take these things and apply our own hearts to them.

And so as God speaks to your heart through some of these portions, through some of these verses, apply your heart to these things. Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to these words of knowledge from the word of God. Meditate on these things. Now, how do you meditate on the verses that God highlights to you or the scriptures that God points out that he wants you to meditate on? Well, I relate it to beef jerky.

You know, beef jerky, you buy... I'm not talking about, you know, the cheap stuff. I'm not talking about the sticks and, you know, the beef sticks and Slim Jims and all those things. No, I'm talking about the real old school beef jerky. And you have the big slab of it, right? And you buy it and it's really good. And you can get all the different kinds, but the best kind is just the regular beef jerky, black peppered. It's the best. But what you do with beef jerky is what? What?

Well, you don't cram it all in your mouth. You got to chew it, but you chew it a little piece at a time, right? You bite off a piece or you tear off a piece if you're sharing with someone else and you chew on it. Now, if you're like me, you don't just kind of chew on it like you normally chew your food. You know, you just kind of chew it enough to get it to be able to go down the throat. But with beef jerky, you want to chew on it a little bit extra longer because you want to get

all the good juices out, right? You want to get all the flavor out until it's like this kind of blah, and then you swallow it. And then you can take another little bite and chew on it for a while until you get all the juices out, and then you swallow that piece. And by the end, you've done a lot of chewing and your jaw is tired, but your taste buds have been very satisfied. The same thing is true, and that relates to meditation.

To meditate on the scriptures. To spend some time chewing on the scripture. Repeating it to yourself. And I suggest to you to do it this way. I think it's something that I heard from John Corson or someone else. But as you meditate on a scripture, emphasize a particular word.

For a while, as you're repeating it to yourself, as you're meditating and thinking about a portion of scripture, emphasize a particular word and then chew on that for a while until you've got all the juices out, until you've got all from that that you could possibly get. Then move on to a different word and emphasize that word in the verse. For example, in verse 12, apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge. Emphasize the first verse or the first word of that and see how that changes your

The way that you relate to this verse and what God would speak to your heart. Because he says, apply your heart to instruction. Now, apply your heart to instruction indicates to us the emphasis of the fact that it does not happen automatically. You have to apply it. It's a command to us. And so it reminds us.

It's something we must do. To just read the Bible is not enough. You have to apply it to yourself. You have to apply your heart to instruction. And you could chew on that and come up with some more things as God would speak to your heart about what it means to apply your heart. But then you can move on to the next word and say, apply your heart. Now that changes a lot too. Because now the emphasis is instruction.

Whose heart is it? It's my own heart that I need to apply. It's not someone else's heart or my spouse's heart or my boss's heart. It's not my neighbor's heart. It's my heart that I need to apply. It's myself that I need to place in the midst of this scripture and see what God is speaking to me.

To me, to my heart. See how God would direct me. As Jeremiah 17, 9 says, the heart is deceitful above all things. I recognize as I apply it to my heart that my heart is deceitful above all things. As I see the scriptures that tell us our need for a savior, I recognize that it's my need for a savior and so on and so forth.

Apply your heart to instruction. Not your mind, not your intellect, not your understanding, but your heart. The core of your being. The very center of who you are. Your motivations, your emotions. Apply your heart to instruction. I encourage you as God speaks to your heart this evening. As God highlights verses in your mind, take some time.

To meditate on those verses, meditate on those things and allow him to transform you even further. But let's begin in verse one. Verses one through three says this. When you sit down to eat with a ruler, consider carefully what is before you and put a knife to your throat. If you're a man given to appetite, do not desire his delicacies for they are deceptive food.

Anybody here given to appetite? Please don't accuse me of being a man given to appetite. The issue here is desire and your ability to control fleshly desires. But, you know, I think this verse is important and we should maybe read it perhaps, you know, before we go to hometown buffet or to what's the super king buffet or all the other buffets that we go to.

The idea here is this. The ruler would have an abundant table, which would include foods that would not be on an average person's table. They would consist of the necessities on an average person's table or their life would consist of what they needed. And sometimes, occasionally, the luxuries of some extra special meal or something. But for the most part, it would just be average meat and potatoes type of

But if you were at the table of a ruler, well, it's a different story. Now, there's not the really limitation of the cost of the food. If you ever take some time to go through the account of Solomon and read about all that went on his table and all the animals that were killed each day to feed his table and those who ate with him.

It was great. And so they would have this abundance of food, these delicacies that would not normally be offered to a person.

And he says, consider carefully what is before you. Consider carefully the table that is before you. Now, a person given to appetite is someone who is not able to control themselves, but gratify the body's cravings and desires. They're given over to their appetite. It means that they're subject to their appetite. They have to fulfill the cravings of the flesh. Kind of like Augustus Gloop. Anybody remember who Augustus Gloop is?

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, that's right. Remember the chubby kid who couldn't contain himself, he couldn't control himself. He saw the chocolate river and his eyes got huge and he went and began to drink out of it and ended up in a world of hurt. But he was subject to the cravings and desires of his appetite.

And here the author of Proverbs says, if that's how you are, then you need to be careful. You need to take whatever precautions that you need to to keep yourself from being caught up in gratifying your flesh. Now, is it wrong to eat a good meal? No, of course not. But if that consumes your life,

then you have a problem. If it takes you to a place where you lose control, you have a problem. Like Paul said in 1 Corinthians 6, verse 12, all things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. And of course, for us, the lesson applies to more than just food. You and I, we need to consider carefully what we become involved in today.

And we need to keep ourselves from anything that would bring us into bondage, where we would be subject to the desires and appetites of our flesh. Verses 4 and 5. Do not overwork to be rich. Because of your own understanding, cease. Will you set your eyes on that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings. They fly away like an eagle toward heaven.

Here the encouragement is to not overwork to become rich. This word overwork, it's usually translated to labor or to become weary. The idea is that you don't weary yourself or spend your whole life or spend everything that you have chasing after riches.

Now, there's always a great balance in God's principles in the things that we find in the word of God. There's many verses that warn us against laziness and the importance of diligence, the importance of working hard. But just because working hard is good, that doesn't mean that working harder is better.

Just because working is good doesn't mean that working more is better. There's a balance of how we are to live and the way that we are to expend our energy and our time. God intends for there to be a balance. He intends for you to use your gifts and talents. He intends for you to work hard, but not with the goal to become rich, but not to chase after the things of this life. Instead,

To do the things that he has called you to do. Now I think we've all experienced times of being overworked. Maybe you're in one of those places right now. Maybe you're having to work two jobs at a time just to make ends meet. Or perhaps there's a season, this happened in my life, where your job gets really tough and you're working long hours for a long time. There's those times of being overworked. And I believe it's right and appropriate at times and for a season.

But what happens in our culture and what we must guard our hearts against is being caught up in the career, the possibilities, so that we overwork to become rich. Now, in meditating on this portion of scripture, I began to think, what does it mean to be rich? The dictionary says that to be rich is to possess or control great wealth. I didn't think it was a very good definition because it's

You define great wealth one way, and I might define it a different way. It's subject to our own opinions of what great wealth is. I think the point, though, and the right attitude is that of contentment. We need to be content. Paul said in 1 Timothy 6, verse 8, having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.

Be diligent, work hard, but have a balance. Work to provide for your needs, for the needs of your family. Work to provide for other needs that God brings to your attention, but do not overwork.

to become rich. Do not overwork to attain beyond those things. Don't wear yourself out chasing those things. Now, of course, we can justify it with all kinds of reasons. You know, just think, if I could just get this money, if I could just accomplish this or get this established, how much I could do for God if I was rich or if I had this wealth or if I was a millionaire, you know, just think of what my tithe would be and how many churches I could build and orphanages I could build and...

But understand that God does not need your money. He doesn't need your money. He doesn't call you to overwork to become rich, to attain that goal, to achieve those things. He calls you to be diligent with what he's given to you, to meet your own needs and the needs that he presents to you.

but not to work to become rich. In 1 Samuel 2, verse 7, we're told that it's the Lord who makes poor and makes rich. He brings low and lifts up. Hey, if God makes you rich, if He gives you more than you need, then that's awesome. Praise God and use it to glorify Him. Use it to meet the needs that He brings to you. Use it as He leads you. But do not make getting rich your life because it's

The author of Proverbs says here, riches will fly away. You'll ever be chasing them. You'll be seeking after them because you're not content. The key is contentment. Be content with where God has you and what he has given to you. Verses 6 through 8. Do not eat the bread of a miser, nor desire his delicacies.

This is another interesting portion, again about eating. I was wondering if maybe God wants to speak to our hearts in some way.

He says, don't eat the food or the bread of a miser. I like the way the New International Version puts it. I think it's very accurate. Do not eat the food of a stingy man. Then it goes on to say, for he is the kind of man who is always thinking about the cost. Always thinking about the cost. Now, I thought this was interesting because God, in a sense, is asking us to be like him. Because God never wants...

From us or he never wants us to offer to him anything that we're not giving willingly and cheerfully. Remember what Paul said in Second Corinthians nine, seven, let each one gives as he's purposed in his heart, not out of grudging, not grudgingly or out of necessity, because God loves a cheerful giver.

And so words should be the same way. Don't eat the food of someone who is only worried about the cost of the food that you eat. You know those people, they invite you over to dinner, but you see them adding up and say, cha-ching, every time you take a bite, cha-ching, cha-ching, that's another quarter, ten cents. Man, they always eat my food. It's...

The invitation is there, kind of on ceremony, you know, I'm supposed to be polite and offer this person food or take this person to dinner. And then they ordered the $10 steak. I can't believe it, you know. And they're counting the cost, but it was their invitation. They're counting the cost, but it was at their request.

And he says, don't eat the food of that. Don't receive something that someone is giving grudgingly or not willingly and cheerfully. Hey, if people want to bless you, receive it. But not if it's out of necessity. Not if it's a grudging thing where they're counting the cost. Because he says, you're just going to vomit it up. You're going to waste your pleasant words. You're going to say, thank you. That was such a wonderful meal. But it's a waste of time. It's a waste of words for you to do so.

If they're not willingly and cheerfully able to give it, don't eat it. And I think the same applies the other way, too. We need to remember, hey, if you're not willing and cheerful to give to others, don't offer. Don't pretend and play the part. That's hypocrisy. God's not calling us to be false. Verse 9. Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words.

Notice that most of these Proverbs are beginning with or contain the commands not to do something. Do not do this and do not do that. And over and over again, it's a common theme in this chapter. And here the command to us is to not speak in the hearing of a fool. Do not speak in the hearing of a fool. Now, first, let's remember what is a fool. A fool is not someone who simply...

is ignorant or does not know something. A fool is not someone who is, you know, just not very intelligent, doesn't have the street smarts or the book smarts. A fool is something entirely different, unrelated to that. The smartest person in the world can be a fool because a fool is someone who refuses to hear God's instructions.

Who refuses to receive and obey God and the word of God. That's a fool. Has nothing to do with how smart they are, but how well they are obedient to God. How well they receive from God and are obedient to him. So the author here says, don't waste your words on someone who refuses to hear. If they refuse to hear God, they're not going to hear you.

If they refuse to listen to God, they're not going to listen to you. If they're in rebellion and disobedience, if they're running away, if they've made it clear they don't want to listen, they don't want to hear, they don't want to pay attention, he says, don't waste your words. Don't waste your wisdom on those who refuse to hear. Matthew chapter 7 verse 6, Jesus told us, don't cast your pearls before swine. Don't waste it. Don't waste that wisdom. Use it on someone else who will receive it.

Verses 10 and 11. Do not remove the ancient landmark, nor enter the fields of the fatherless, for their Redeemer is mighty. He will plead their cause against you. God always looks out for those who are helpless. Over and over in the scriptures, we see the warnings that he gives against those who would take advantage of the poor. Those who would take advantage of the widows and the fatherless.

He says specifically, do not remove the ancient landmark. Now, the landmark, the ancient landmark is referring to the time in Israel where the property would be outlined or indicated by these landmarks that were set up. Each family was given a specific portion of land and there would be these landmarks to tell the difference of whose land you were on and where you crossed the line, much like we put up fences and things like that today.

And so he says, don't remove that ancient landmark. If you were someone who is a bad person or not very ethical or wanting to take advantage, you would move the landmark in order to give yourself more land, in order to give yourself more property, more value, and so on and so forth. Or,

If you were to enter the fields of the fatherless, that is to take of the crop, to take advantage that the father is not there to defend the land, to defend the rights of the family, that the father is not there to fight for the family. He says, if you do that, if you're removing landmarks, taking advantage of those who are incapable of helping, those who...

You're able to take advantage of it. If you're taking advantage and stealing from them or increasing your land at their expense, he says, watch out. Their Redeemer is mighty. It's not a wimpy God that will fight for them. He will plead their cause against you. So the author says, don't do it. God is mighty. Now, I take great comfort in this verse because there's much injustice in the world.

And to me, it's so hard to believe how people take advantage of the helpless, the widows, the elderly, and so on and so forth. Just even in my own family, the stories that I hear of grandparents who've been taken advantage of by insurance fraud and all types of fraud. I was looking at the Federal Trade Commission website and

And it says this, consumers lose more than $40 billion a year to telemarketing fraud. People over 50 years of age are especially vulnerable and account for about 56% of all victims, according to a recent study. Scam artists often target older people, knowing they tend to be trusting and polite towards strangers and are likely to be home and have time to talk with the callers.

I've had that happen in my family. I know it happens. It's hideous. I can't even imagine what it would take for a person to come to that point to do that. There's great injustice. People taking advantage, $20 billion a year in telemarketing fraud of the elderly. Taking advantage of those who are vulnerable. The government won't fix everything. The Federal Trade Commission will try. The courts will try.

But God, their Redeemer, is mighty and will plead their cause. Justice will be done. He will take care of it. Their Redeemer is mighty. For you and I, let's make sure that we do not take advantage of others. It might not be so severe as ripping them off of thousands of dollars, but here and there, here a little, there a little, God's going to fight for them and plead their cause.

Let's keep ourselves from taking advantage of the vulnerable. Verse 12, apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge. This is what I shared at the beginning, and it's so important that you take heed to this. We've seen it so many times in the scriptures. The scriptures teach us that man does not, on his own accord, seek after God.

It is not our nature. It's not our tendency. We're not automatically inclined to seek after God. And therefore, we're not automatically inclined. It doesn't happen automatically for us that we seek instruction or words of knowledge. It's not something that we're prone to on our own. It's not something we will seek out on our own. It's not something that will just happen if we just kind of kick back and hit the cruise control button and live life.

The only way that we will receive instruction, the only way that our hearts will be applied to instruction and that our ears will receive words of knowledge is if we apply it. If we apply our heart to instruction and if we apply our ears to words of knowledge, it's not going to be taking place automatically. Our natural tendency is to run from instruction, to run from wisdom, to run from knowledge.

Speaking of the knowledge, the wisdom that is true, that comes from God. We saw that in Proverbs chapter 2, that it's God who gives understanding. It's God who gives knowledge. It's God who gives wisdom. You receive them from God. And since it's not our natural tendency to seek after God, to chase after God, since we don't automatically wake up every day and seek the Lord, we need to then apply our heart to instruction. To make the choice. To make the decision. Today, today.

I'm going to let God's word direct and impact my life. Today, I'm going to receive from his word. Read the word of God and receive instruction from him and be obedient. Put yourself in the passage and allow God's word to shape the way that you live. Verses 13 and 14.

Do not withhold correction from a child, for if you beat him with a rod, he will not die. You shall beat him with a rod and deliver his soul from hell. And all the parents said, Amen. You know, today there's big debates about this idea. Should a parent use corporal punishment? Should it be outlawed?

And we can understand the question because of all the child abuse that takes place. And again, those who take advantage of those who are helpless, God will vindicate them. But there needs to be a balance. Some parents do not discipline or correct their children at all.

That's wrong. It's not biblical. It's contrary to what God commanded and would have you do as a parent. Others are too severe and abuse their children. And again, it's contrary to what God desires. We must find the balance and we find it here in the word of God. This is God's principle. So all of you parents can listen up and all you children listen up to parents. You must discipline your children.

It doesn't matter what the psychologist says. Discipline is necessary. It's important. It's mandatory. It will save your child from hell, it says. You shall beat him with a rod and deliver his soul from hell. Again, it doesn't matter what the psychologist says. Corporal punishment is commanded by God.

It must be in balance. It must be controlled. It must be proportional to the offense. But discipline is necessary. Now, of course, physical punishment is not the only way. But the point here is that it is an important, effective, and acceptable way. God tells us over and over again how important it is. Specifically here in verse 14, administer punishment and deliver his soul from hell. Proverbs 13, 24, he who spares his rod hates his son.

But he who loves him disciplines him promptly. Proverbs 19, 18, chase in your son while there is hope and do not set your heart on his destruction. Proverbs 29, 15, the rod and rebuke give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother. Proverbs 29, 17, correct your son and he will give you rest. Yes, he will give delight to your soul. Over and over, God commands. Over and over, he instructs.

You don't have to listen. You don't have to live life his way. You don't have to be a parent his way. But he says, listen, if you want to be blessed, if you want to do what's best for your child, if you don't hate your child, discipline them. Discipline them. Discipline does not demonstrate a lack of love, but instead it proves your love.

And God uses that. Hebrews chapter 12, you can spend some time there. It explains there that God disciplines us as his children and that proves his love towards us. It's a demonstration of love, not a lack of love. It's important and necessary. We need it from God and your children need it from you. Verses 15 and 16.

My son, if your heart is wise, my heart will rejoice. Indeed, I myself, yes, my inmost being will rejoice when your lips speak right things. Nothing brings greater joy to a parent than knowing that their child is doing what is right. Right, parents? There's nothing that can compare. Receiving God's instruction and being obedient to him, it's what's best for you, but understand it brings joy to

to those around you as well. John, writing in 3 John 1, verse 4, tells his readers, I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. Now, he's not talking about his physical descendants, but those who were part of his spiritual family. And he says, I have no greater joy than to hear that they're walking in truth, to hear that they're doing well, to hear that they're walking with God. So make your parents happy.

Bring great joy and gladness to them. Let it spring up from their innermost being by being obedient to God.

By speaking what is right. By having wisdom that comes from living according to God's principles. We'll see this truth again in a few verses. But first verses 17 and 18. Do not let your hearts envy sinners, but be zealous for the fear of the Lord all the day. For surely there is a hereafter and your hope will not be cut off. I think this is a great challenging verse for us.

God is always putting our sights on eternity and

Instead of this life, just as Richard shared with us at the beginning of this service or right before we went into prayer, that our hearts are to be set on pilgrimage, that we're not here for good. This isn't eternity for us, but we're just passing through and we're going to spend eternity with God in heaven and throughout the scriptures. And over and over again, he reminds us and he sets our eyes and our focus, our hearts on eternity and this life.

And we see that here in this portion. He says, do not let your heart envy sinners. Don't get caught up in envying the sinful activity of people around you. Now, if we're naive, we would say, well, I would never envy the sinful. But understand and remember that sin is fun for a season. And so we can look at the people around us and be envious.

And think, man, they have the good life. I'm missing out. They get the nicer cars, the boats and the toys. They get the parties. They get the highs. They get the buzzes. They get everything. And man, I'm just here, you know, just living a boring life. And they have the awesome, rich, abundant life. But remember...

It's more than just now. It's more than just what you see before you. There is eternity that lies before us. God says, don't do that. Don't be caught up in the moment. Look off to the horizon and remember there is a hereafter.

You're going to spend eternity somewhere. You're going to stand before God one day, regardless of if you believe in him or not, or if you follow him or not, you will stand before him. So the point is, live your life for him now so that you can enjoy eternity with him later. To fear God is to be obedient to him. To fear God is to turn from sin and live according to his principles.

He says, fear God because there is a hereafter. You are going to be rewarded for your labor, for your obedience. You are going to be rewarded for fearing God. There is a hereafter, so continue on. Be zealous in it. Be zealous in your obedience to God. But if you do not have a fear of God, understand that there is a hereafter. And you will stand before God one day and give an account for your life.

The only way that you can spend eternity with him in heaven is by receiving what he did for you on the cross. By fearing him. Responding to his command. Doing the works of God. What is the works of God? Jesus says, believe in the one whom he has sent. You must believe. You must believe and receive what God has done for you. In such a way that it impacts and changes your life. Verses 19 through 21 says,

Hear, my son, and be wise and guide your heart in the way. Do not mix with wine bibbers or with gluttonous eaters of meat. For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty and drowsiness will clothe a man with rags. And it's at this point that I need to make a confession. I am a gluttonous eater of meat. But Tom stumbled me, okay? In Okinawa, there's these places called Yakiniku.

And it's absolutely fabulous. It's basically you go and you sit at a table and your table has a grill right there in the table.

And you go get a plate and you put it full of raw meat, how much ever you want. It's all you can eat. And you go back to your table and you put it on the grill and you cook it and then you eat it right there off the grill. It's awesome. It's incredible. And so you just kind of go back. And one of the places we went had a 90-minute time limit. I'm not sure about the other place if there's a time limit or not. But you just gourd yourself on all this meat. So I'm a gluttonous eater of meat. And I enjoyed it. It's really good. You've got to go to Okinawa. It's a lot of food.

There is one around here. In fact, I'm not going to advertise for them, though. But the point here is, again, someone whose life is consumed by this. The drunkard is not just someone who has an occasional drink, but one whose life is defined by drunkenness. The gluttonous is someone who not just participates in an occasional feast, but one whose life is defined by feasting, by gluttony.

Those who are consumed in the indulgence of the flesh, we see here, will be brought to nothing. It will clothe a man in rags. And so he says, do not mix with them. Do not join with them in their activities and their endeavors. Do not participate with them because it will reduce you to nothing. Verse 22. Listen to your father who begot you and do not despise your mother when she is old.

Listen to your father who begot you and do not despise your mother when she is old. You know, there's a time for independence. There's a time for you as a son, as a daughter to make your own decisions, to be out on your own. But there is never a time to disregard the commandment, honor your father and mother. There's never a time to

to disregard those that God has placed in your life as your parents, as your father, and as your mother. We need to honor our parents. We need to receive from them, to listen to our fathers, to not despise our mothers, but to treat them well with much honor because God has given them a great position of prominence and honor in being our parents. So we need to honor them.

Take heed to that. Verse 23, buy the truth and do not sell it. Also, wisdom and instruction and understanding. I thought this verse was really interesting because I thought if you can buy the truth, what does it cost? And how do you pay that cost? And if you can sell it, what do you get for it? What do you receive for selling the truth or wisdom, instruction and understanding?

And I was reminded of that portion in Romans chapter one. Paul says in verses 24 and 25, therefore, God also gave them up to uncleanness in the lust of their hearts and dishonor to dishonor their bodies among themselves. Notice this in verse 25, who exchanged the truth of God for a lie and

and worshipped and served a creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. Here's what you get in exchange. A lie. He says, buy the truth and do not sell it. To buy the truth means that there is a cost.

But the cost is that you have to give up the lies of the enemy. You have to give up the lies of the world and your flesh. Really, the cost is your life and that you die to yourself to live for God. Now, you might think that that is expensive. You might consider that to be a high price. But understand that it has eternal benefits. And the alternative is more costly.

To exchange the truth for a lie will cost you eternity. So either you exchange the lies of this world in your flesh and the devil for the truth and receive the truth of God and his wisdom and instruction and walk in that, or you exchange the truth of God for a lie. On the one hand, you obey God. It costs you the lies of this world.

the destruction that's promised as a result, and you inherit eternal life. On the other hand, you exchange the truth of God for a lie. You enjoy sin for a season, maybe. Experience the destruction that's promised and then eternity separated from God in eternal torment. Buy the truth and do not sell it. Don't compromise the truth. Don't exchange the truth.

For a simple pleasure. For a momentary pleasure. The alternative is so expensive. Now again, this is not something we're automatically drawn to. We don't naturally seek truth and wisdom and understanding. Because we do not naturally seek God. And all of those things come from Him. And so what we need to do is turn to God. It's not natural for us. It won't happen automatically. We have to make the choice.

To swim upstream. We have to make the choice to follow God. To receive from him. And to buy the truth. And then don't sell it. Walk with God. And don't exchange what God has for you for the temporary pleasures of this world. Spend the time. Spend the resources. And get fed the word of God. Get to know God. To know the truth. And then hold on to it. Do not sell it. Verse 24 and 25 says,

The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice and he who begets a wise child will delight in him. Let your father and your mother be glad and let her who bore you rejoice. Again, nothing, nothing will bring joy to a parent.

Like a child who walks with God, who does what's right. There will be the cases of those parents who are in rebellion against God and perhaps it won't bring joy to them. But the reality is, if you walk with God, if you do what God has called you to do, if you involve yourself in relationship with him, not only is it what's best for you,

But the people around you will be blessed. You're going to bring great joy to those who bore you, to those who raised you. You're going to bring great joy to those that God has given you to. Be obedient to God. Walk with God. It doesn't matter how old you are. Be obedient and walk with God. Be wise and listen to the Lord. Again, verse 25, let your father and your mother be glad.

Let them rejoice as you walk with him. Verses 26 through 28. My son, give me your heart and let your eyes observe my ways. For a harlot is a deep pit and a seductress is a narrow well. She also lies in wait as for a victim and increases the unfaithful among men. Here he deals with the subject of immorality, harlotry, sexual perversion,

Again, disobedience to God. Now, we looked at this in great detail as we covered chapters 5, 6, and 7 of Proverbs. And I would encourage you, if you didn't listen to the CDs, to pick up on the back table the 5, 6, 7 date series that we went through. Because we deal with that portion and this concept in great detail. The reality is, although it's tempting, although it seems so attractive,

Immorality brings great destruction. It's a deep pit, a narrow well. If you think about a narrow well, it's something you get sucked into and you can't get out of. Something you get trapped into. And he says, stay away from it. Give me your heart. Let your eyes observe my ways. Keep your eyes focused on me and not on immorality, he says. Because what happens is she lies in wait as for a victim.

It's a trap. It's attractive, but it's a trap. It's seductive, but it's a trap. It's enticing, but it's a trap.

She increases the unfaithful among men. Stay away from immorality. Flee youthful lust, Paul said. Flee sexual immorality. He warned us very sternly in 2 Corinthians. Every other sin, Paul says, is outside of the body. But this particular sin is especially harmful. It's especially destructive to you. Stay away from it. And if you're involved in it, you need to repent.

Turn your heart back to God. He can set you free, but you need to give your heart and surrender to him. We finish off verses 29 through 35. Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes?

Verse 2.

Your eyes will see strange things and your heart will utter perverse things. Yes, you will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea or like one who lies at the top of the mass saying, they have struck me, but I was not hurt. They have beaten me, but I did not feel it. When shall I awake that I may seek another drink? Here, somewhat similar to the subject of immorality, he warns against sin.

Drunkenness. Alcohol. He asked some very good questions at the beginning. And you need to think about this for those of you who are tempted in this area. For those who are considering drinking or think it's okay. Who has woe? Who is the one who has sorrow? And who is the one who has contentions? Or perhaps think about it this way. Do you want woe? Do you want sorrow? Do you want contentions?

Do you want complaints? Do you want wounds without cause? Do you want redness of eyes? If you don't, then don't linger long at the wine. Don't go in search of mixed wine. Don't look at wine when it's red, when it's enticing and sparkling in the cup, when it swirls around smoothly, when it's on the billboards and on the commercials and is so enticing and looks...

I could have a great time. I could really enjoy myself. But the result is woe and sorrow and contentions and complaints, wounds without cause and redness of eyes. At the last, it bites like a serpent and stings like a viper. Again, a great warning. Watch out. It's a trap. It's enticing. But in the end, you'll be bitten. In the end, your life will be full of woe and sorrow.

There'll be trouble and turmoil. You're going to be miserable and caught in the trap. Notice at the end, he says, when shall I wake that I may seek another drink? I'm tossing and turning, reeling and being beaten up and tossed around. I'm miserable. But when can I get another drink? It's a vicious cycle that continues on and on and on. Don't get stuck in that. Stay away from it. But if you're caught in it,

Come to Jesus Christ. Let him set you free. Don't be caught in the bondage of addiction to alcohol or drugs or anything else. Christ wants to set you free. He says, and he promised that the son came that you may have abundant life. He said that the truth will set you free. He said that if the son sets you free, that's Jesus Christ. You shall be free indeed.

Our own lifestyle, as we talked about Proverbs, is God's principles for living. If we don't follow God's principles for living,

Be it in immorality or drunkenness or be it in taking advantage of those who are helpless. Be it in not honoring our father and mother. Be it whatever issue that we're dealing with. If we disregard God's word and his principles, if we follow our own principles for living, our own natural tendency, we're going to be making ourselves miserable, destroying our lives, wiping ourselves out.

Caught in a vicious cycle of trying to fix it ourselves and do it our way. Caught up in the bondage to sin, slavery, to a cruel master. But if we will be obedient, 1 John 1, 9, if you confess your sins, he's faithful and just to forgive you and cleanse you from all unrighteousness. If you will be obedient and believe in Jesus Christ and come to him and confess your sins,

And look to him and rely upon him. If you will walk with him and allow him to fill you with his spirit. If you will allow him, he will change your life and set you free. It's not only for son. It's for all who will receive it. It's not just for the few. It's for you. God wants to give you a rich, abundant life. He wants to give you joy. There will be troubles and tribulations in this life.

But there's great joy that comes from walking with God, from living according to His ways. Because He told us what to do because He knew what's best for us. If we disregard it, it's to our own peril. It's detrimental to our health. But if we will receive it, oh, He has great blessings in store. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, Lord, we do thank You for Your Word. God, that You don't leave us without instruction.

That you don't leave us wondering how we're to live. Wondering what choices are the right choices and good choices. Wondering the way that we can be blessed and experience the fullness of the life that you intend for us. Lord, you give us your instructions. You make it abundantly clear. God, I pray that we would not take your word for granted. But Lord, that we would use it for that which you sent it forth to do. To change our hearts.

Lord, that we would apply our hearts to these instructions. Lord, that we would let you transform our lives by the power of your word. As we're obedient to it, as we receive it, believing what you gave to us and what you spoke to us through those that you inspired to write, through the prophets, through your son, Jesus Christ. Lord, we receive what you say. Help us to walk in obedience to you. And God, if there's an area of disobedience in our lives,

Lord, if there's areas where we're caught up in sin, in bondage to the things of the flesh, consumed by our sinful nature. Lord, if we're given to the appetites of our flesh, that we have to gratify them and fulfill them. God, I pray that you would set us free. Lord, I pray for anyone struggling with those things, who feels that they're in that position. Lord, that you would draw them to yourself.

Lord, they would see you high and lifted up upon the cross, crying out, it is finished. The work is done. It's complete. We're not in bondage any longer to fulfill the law, but also we're not in bondage anymore to sin, to the flesh. Lord, as we studied in Colossians, we've been circumcised in you. The flesh has been cut off. Lord, I pray for any who are struggling, any who are caught up. Lord, help them.

To walk in faith. Believing you at your word. By the power of your spirit. That they've been set free. Set free from bondage this evening Lord. Those who are held captive. May you continue to turn our hearts towards you. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.