God has got to be in everything for Him to direct your path. There is more to learning than hearing about. And that's what James meant when he said, be doers of the word, not hearers, only deceiving yourselves. And God will accept. A gallon Effort.
just as much as a successful one. If your gallant effort to serve God fails, He is faithful. He will not fail, and he won't fail you. It won't write you off. This is Cross Reference Radio with our pastor and teacher, Rick Gaston.
Ricky is the pastor of Calvary Chapel, Mechanicsville. Pastor Rick is currently teaching through a topical series. Please stay with us after today's message to hear more information about Cross Reference Radio. specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching. But for now, let's join Pastor Rick as he begins his message: Proverbs and Fasting.
Proverbs chapter 1. We are I'm going to resume answering the questions that were submitted.
So All right. No. I'm trying some new stuff and uh I'm trying it on you. Proverbs chapter 1. We'll take the first seven verses.
The proverbs of Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel. to know wisdom and instruction. to perceive the words of understanding to receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, judgment, and equity. to give prudence to the simple to the young man knowledge and discretion, A wise man will hear and increase learning And a man of understanding will attain wise counsel. To understand a proverb, and an enigma.
the words of the wise and their riddles. The fear of the Lord. is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Now, the reason why I'm reading those verses from Proverbs is because the second question that we have. is life Application of Proverbs. That's how it was written. And I think The question is. How do the Proverbs Apply.
to the Christian life.
Well, I have another proverb. That I'd like to use to begin answering that. And if you Of our teams, this is a very good one for you to always remember that one in verse. 7 of chapter 1. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.
But fools despise wisdom and instruction. That's That's what make all the difference. Between the useful servant of God. And they're not so useful. But the other verse, Proverbs 12, 1, whoever loves Instruction Loves knowledge.
But he who hates correction is stupid. That's what it says. That verse does not fool around with hard-heartedness in the presence of the Lord. And We want it, you know. I had a mentor long before I was a Christian.
He was not a Christian, but he had a saying. He had quite a few of them. One of them was: the love of learning opens the gateway to knowledge, and how true that is. And I think that's one reason why a lot of Christians They know the Lord, they love the Lord, they want to serve the Lord. But they get bored at Bible study.
And maybe it's because there's just not that love of the knowledge of the word. as it could be, as it is in others.
Well, that verse Whoever loves instructions Loves knowledge. It tells us What the Proverbs have for us, as the seven verses I read in the beginning, they inform us what these proverbs are all about. We don't have to guess. But there's not much benefit. to the self-willed person.
Now we adults We who can drive, we have a lot of experience with the self-will when we're on the road. whether it be in others or ourselves. And so that Certainly makes us want to stay in the fight, not give up, and do our best no matter. How many setbacks there are? Great benefit.
to submission To the Lord, of course, in that context. And so the fear of the Lord, the beginning of knowledge. But fools despise wisdom and hate instruction. They'll never admit it, they just do it. They won't tell you.
I hate being. informed and instructed But they just do it.
So the two eyes of Proverbs Instruction and Insight. Going beneath the surface of common thought and common sense and common behavior. What is the antidote? to the Proverbs as a Christian. All of these insights given to us, and I'll get a little bit more into that in a moment.
What is the antidote To the Proverbs.
Well, stubbornness, of course, that hard-heartedness, that self-will. Laziness. Laziness will turn you into what you should never have been. Job said, How forceful are right words? And it's so true.
If you can tell me something that's right, that's true. It it makes an impact on Those who are not stubborn. We do not automatically know life. We don't come into this world laughing. We come into it crying, gasping for air.
And that's just the beginning. We don't automatically know life in Christ. We have to learn it. And so here's a life application of Proverbs. The question, life application of Proverbs.
Well, here's one: Go from the presence of the foolish man when you do not perceive in him the lips of knowledge. I'm glad nobody got up and left right now when I said that. If you're you're if you're in the workplaces, this this person Is a reprobate, or this person is so carnal, or this person is a fool because of their stubbornness. Don't hang out with that person unless you get to preach to them, unless you're ministering to them, of course. That's the exception to almost everything.
Life Applications, chapter three. We all know this section. I'll take verses five and six. All of it's good. Trust in the Lord with all your heart.
Lean not on your own understanding. And yet, how many Christians lean on their own understandings that God told me? I'll come to a tragic example in a little bit. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths. God has got to be in everything for Him to direct your path.
There is more to learning than hearing about. And that's what James meant when he said, Be doers of the word, not hearers, only deceiving yourselves. And God will accept. A gallant effort just as much as a successful one. If your gallant effort to serve God fails, He is faithful.
He will not fail, and he won't fail you. It won't write you off. And so that means That if I read those words, be doers of the word and not hearers only, but sometimes I'm not a doer, I am the hearer. I don't like that.
Well, God understands. He's going to keep working with me. to graduate To overcome that.
Now, proverbs are not promises. They are useful. Accurate generalizations. of how things usually work. That gives them value.
makes them worth while The fact that it's from God to us. And the one that really is responsible for the Proverbs. himself could not live up to them. And he said, God said to David. That He would be merciful.
When Solomon failed So It's up to each Christian. To match the Proverbs with the New Testament life, their service in Christ.
Now this thirty-one Proverbs So, as a devotion in a month with 31 days, you read one Proverb chapter a day and you get through the book in a month. as a supplement to your New Testament reading. It's a good exercise.
Some proverbs apply only in certain situations.
Some seem to contradict, but they're just approaching the same problem from two different sides. There's a time to answer a fool. There's a time to leave him alone.
Well, that's true that's true of the pet. They're time to leave your pet alone. And there's a time that the pet requires attention.
So they require the proverbs objectivity, caution, attention. and confidence, confidence that, well, God has given me this. This is a gift. How to serve him with A little extra something. than just passion and truth.
Chapter 2, verse 11: Discretion will preserve you, understanding will keep you. Discretion, making the right choice. When presented with Bad choices also. The fool in the proverbs that is repeatedly addressed. Is that stupid person that was mentioned in Chapter 12, verse 1.
who will do the wrong thing every single time. And when they don't, it's an anomaly. Don't be that guy. Do not be that person. God prefers we perceive.
Rather than experience. It is better. It is better to learn. Hard lessons. through perception rather than experience.
Do you really need to burn your fingers on a hot iron to f learn how it's about a good idea? Or can you perceive it? And it's the truth.
So many things in life. It's better to perceive from a distance. I can see that's not going to work. That is better than well, let me find out. And this is something that Happens too frequently that people have to go out and experience.
things that Their mentors and disciplers and parents and pastors and friends were warning them, and thus we have: faithful are the wounds of a friend, deceitful are the kisses of an enemy. A friend is saying, I perceive. Paul said, I perceive this is going to end in much disaster. They didn't believe him.
So they experienced it. And if it weren't for Paul, there would have been deaths. But God stood by him and told him, There'd be no loss of life, and they made it to the shore under broken pieces of the ship, but they should have never been there anyway. Wisdom is acquired over time. That's one of the great differences between knowledge and wisdom.
Knowledge you learn right away. What wisdom Med has to age. It's an accumulation of knowledge with experience and then the right use of that knowledge. The thing about wisdom, you can't own it. You may.
Be up in years, and someone may come to you expecting you to have a wise and profound response to their question, and it just ain't there. Until they walk away, and she says, Oh, now I remember. I should have told them that, but missed the moment. We can't possess these things, but we can. We can cultivate The soil for them to grow in Far better than What would have happened if we had not broken up the f the fallow ground, that hard ground.
Policymakers in any organization cannot always wait for critics to figure out why a policy is in place. Could you imagine you go to get a job and say, okay, here's our policies. and you question every single one of them.
Well, if you're working for me, I would just politely say you're fired and don't come back. Politely. Take your car with you. I didn't like it anyway. You can't do it that way, it's not practical.
You have to proceed without approval of those with less experience and perception. You have to just move forward with or without them. And in a church environment, you hope that there's enough benefit of the doubt. What usually gets in the way with a church, other than a workplace? 'Cause in the workplace at least they pay you to come, so there's some incentive to not make too much of a fuss, but in church it's all volunteer.
What makes it work? is when they're not Impulsive. Emotionally driven, but once they get emotionally invested in a wrong thing. Then there's going to be trouble.
So let's hear out loud a few of the proverbs. Because again, our topic is Their application. What is the application? How do you spread this thing? You know, there's some foods you have to be taught how to eat.
How do you get into a coconut? You know, how do you eat a lobster in public? There's just some things you have to learn. It's okay. Proverbs 3:7, do not be wise in your own opinion.
For eyes, it says, Fear Yahweh and depart from evil. There's a couple of this, there are combination punches. If we were talking about boxing, this would be a combination. Not just one punch. Don't have an exaggerated opinion of yourself.
And also Stay away from evil. You know what that is. You know, evil people know they're doing evil. Because they know that they are inflicting on somebody else what they would not want inflicted on them. It's all unfair.
In that Context. Chapter 6 a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep.
so shall your poverty come on you like a prowler, And your need like an armed man. See, he's little, he puts a little imagery in there for us.
So, the part that the proverb part that we remember is a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands. When you know you're supposed to do something, but you're just Not in the mood. Maybe you're sleepy.
Well, if you're a mom with little kids, you're going to be sleepy all the time. You still have to do your duty. But there are other responsibilities, you just put it off, you procrastinate. You pamper yourself. to a fault.
And then You pay the price for it. But the problem is, the stupid one that we read about at the beginning. They get used to that. They get used to living beneath their ability. I mean, it's hard enough teaching people to live.
at least not above their means. It's best to live a little bit below your means. That gives you disposable income. You can save up. You get nicer things.
Have a little bit more security. Here's another one. Can a man take fire to his bosom? And not Have his clothes burned. No, you can't play with fire and expect if it touches you in the wrong place not to have a consequence.
Then there's chapter 6, verse 6 through 19. I love this one so much because I find it violated so much by Christians. That's a little twisted, I know. It's just the satisfaction of I'm right. They're wrong.
And here's the proof. I'm working on it.
So You've probably heard me quote this quite a few times. Six things Yahweh hates. Yes, seven. Are an abomination to him.
So that's like, you know, he's souping it up. You know, when you used to make a car faster, you called it souped up. And so here he's he's upping it. A proud look, that's arrogance. A lying tongue.
Well, that's a liar. Hands that shed innocent blood, violent people. mean violent people. A heart that devises wicked plans, the masterminds of evil. Feet that are swift in running to evil, those who carry out the plans of the mastermind, a false witness who speaks lies.
That kind of liar is hurting other people directly. You gotta send somebody to jail or the gallows. A false witness who speaks lies, and one who sows discord, one who sows discord. among brethren. You can only sow seeds, right?
I mean, you can't sow anvils.
So One who sows seeds of discord. You know how many people go in a church will sow seeds of discord amongst brethren? And don't understand, God hates that. And then people will go off and boast how, oh, that guy's so spiritual. No, he's not.
is a troublemaker. Proverbs 14. There is a way that seems right to man, but Its end is the way of death.
Well, caution now, we tend to think, okay, that has everything to do with the gospel, and it does, but that's not only for the gospel. That can apply in other areas. I don't think you should walk across that icy lake in the spring. There's a way that seems right. But its way ends in death.
So that applies to many things. where no oxen are The trough is clean. But much increase comes by the strength of an ox. Yeah. Troth should be pronounced tro, or then you just spell it a different way.
I hate that word. The way they spell it. T-R-O-U-G-H, that trough? Anyway. This one, that one's more for leaders and pastors.
You know, children may be a pain in the neck, but they bring so much joy. when they grow up and get married and go out. No. But for a pastor, okay. Where there are no servants.
There's no nothing to clean up. Because there's no service, there's nothing. You got nothing. But when you have the service, you're going to step in stuff from time to time. It can even be, it doesn't always have to be trouble, it can also be.
They go to heaven. before you. Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people. That's for political conversation. It should end many arguments.
Here's a This is one of my favorites. One of these days I'm going to learn how to do this one. A soft answer turns away wrath. But a harsh word stirs up anger. You can diffuse a situation by just, not always, sometimes, you know, some folks are just.
They're just jihadists for anything. and you you're stuck. But oftentimes, you know, you can diffuse a situation with just a kind word. Proverbs 16:32. What we're looking at again is how these things apply.
He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, but he who rules and he who rules his spirit Than he who takes a city. Self-control. Proverbs 18, 7.
Now this is another good one because it has violated so much. You know, it A spouse will say, ask for a consultation for marriage counseling alone and. And they'll tell you all the bad things the other one is doing, and the natural thing is to know that person's a scoundrel. I'd hate them with you. And then the other side comes and tells their story, and now, what?
Oh man, I hate the yellow one now.
So here's that proverb. The first one to plead his cause seems right. until his neighbour comes and examines him. And you know, that's right, you gotta watch. There's two sides to the story.
And you just, you know, to just listen to one side and think that's the gospel. Is a dangerous place to be.
Sometimes it is true.
Sometimes that one side of the story is true, but you got, you have to. That it. Validate it. Be careful of jumping t to conclusions.
Some people, that's the only exercise they get. 212 The way of a man is right in his own eyes. But Yahweh weighs the heart. And what that means, yeah, Of course my way is going to be right, it's something I'm convinced of. Until I I factor God in.
Now that forces me to evaluate myself. And make sure I'm not being arrogant. and closed-minded to a fault because I am closed-minded on some things. Like false religions. But not on everything.
Some things you have to weigh them again in the balances. Things change. But not the essential doctrines. There are some things that are fixed. Proverbs 21, 2.
I read that one. 27:6. Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. Yeah, someone who's always slapping you in the back, yeah, great job, but really can't stand you, it's just setting you up. But a friend will say Just tell oh A friend will not tell you something to get you to do what they want you to do.
A good friend will tell you Something that they see is going to happen to you because they care about you. Not them. There's nothing in it for them except their care for you. It's been said I don't know about women, but men.
Well If a man m I A man usually can have no more than one good friend in a lifetime.
Something to think about. Because you know, we're just built different. You have to kind of earn it, and you have to secure it. Usually, you know, may go back to childhood or some common experience. Good friends.
If you have them, you know, be gentle with them. They're a gem. You can have many good friends, many very good friends. But the very best one, hmm, that's something to think about anyway. Be diligent to know the state of your flocks, and attend to your herds.
Well, dad should know what's going on in the house, and so should mom.
So a pastor should know what's happening in the flock. The pastors, we report to each other our interactions with the flock so everybody knows the state of the flock. These proverbs are safety nets. Guardrails for life, so that if you do run off the road, you don't run off a cliff. Application versus inapplication should mean something to you.
Now we're not talking about at this point. those outside the church or fools outside Christianity. We're talking about those who claim Christ as Lord. but won't listen. Failure to apply these lessons comes with consequence, but unfortunately, I think sometimes one thing that fuels A person that is re Habitually Foolish.
Harsh, stupid. But habitually, selfishness is one. And the need for attention is too. And then you add to that a little stubbornness of self-will. Defiance.
Jealousy. How dare you be smarter than me, have more perception than I, and then you have this. person that you love That does not apply lessons and creates problems for everybody. Fall out. There are fools in Christ, and the Bible teaches that very clearly.
Consider the church at Corinth. Demas, Diotrephes, one of the worst characters in the New Testament. The church at Laodicea. How about the Galatians? The Galatians were doing fine.
Listening to Paul and Barnabas becoming Christians. And then the Judaizers, the ones that said, yeah, yeah, Christ's right, that's right, but you still gotta have Moses. Thanks for tuning in today to Cross Reference Radio, where Pastor Rick has some answers for various questions that have been asked. We can't fully express how grateful we are that you've been with us today. But if you're ever looking for more teaching and content from us, you're welcome to subscribe to our podcast.
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