The book of Proverbs, the book of James of the Old Testament, because its theme is pretty much the same. Practical wisdom for practical living. And if there's one thing that I notice traveling around that is needed, it is practical Christian teaching. Just being taught through the Bible, or the principles of the scripture on a consistent basis, practical wisdom for practical living. That's the theme of the entire book of Proverbs, wisdom. That we might live a life that's pleasing to God. And yet, there are so many people I have noticed around the world that don't know some basic practical ways to please the Lord, and to live the Christian life.

They're saved, but they don't know how to walk. They don't know how to witness effectively. Every week they get told by the preacher, witness more, pray more, live an effective Christian life, love more. And inside their hearts ache and saying, I want to. Show me how. Teach me how. Give me some meat. Some principles, some practical stuff that I can grab hold of that will transform my life. And that's such a need in the church. I believe it's crying out for that kind of stuff. Oftentimes they get preaching every week. Telling the same people who have been saved 30 years how to get saved all over again.

Or the guy will stand up there and yell. If it's a weak point, he'll just say it louder and get people to be moved emotionally. Or off on some pet little teaching, rather than teaching consistently through the scripture. God said in his word to the prophet, my people perish for lack of knowledge. The book of Proverbs is one of those books that really is tough to go through expositionally. We said so last week. And my aim tonight, as we go through it, is to not cover every single verse.

I figure you can do that on your own time, your quiet time. And certain verses can speak to you. And I'm going to, sort of, categorize it. Show you what parts pertain to what things, and we'll do some exposition along the way. But keep in mind that what God is doing in Proverbs is reaching his fingers down into the every day kinds of activities that you and I go through. Last week we spoke about integrity in the business world. Talks about raising families, loving husbands and wives. How not to nag. How to be a devoted husband, a submissive child. A good person on the workforce.

It gets down into practical living, so that we can become mature in every area of our walks. You see, we need to recognize that God is not just interested in us when we come inside of a building and open up the Bible, or when we bow our head to pray, or when we sing worship songs. God is interested that our life conformed into his image in the world, while we are living in the world, yet not of the world. He's interested in the total package. He's interested in us becoming mature Christians.

Now I have found that there's a lot of Christians who will say they want to be mature, but they don't want to go through the disciplines that would bring them to maturity. Oh I want to grow. I want to be a strong Christian. I want to be just like that, but I don't want to have to study the Bible every single day. And come to Bible study and take notes and memorize things, and be disciplined and witness, and on and on. It's, sort of, like Americans who buy lots of gadgets.

If you're like most Americans, the one thing that frustrates you when you go out and buy the atomic powered TV or the nuclear powered stereo system, you know, they always have a bigger and better one every year. Or the vacuum cleaner that takes out all the dirt in your house, or whatever. Is it there's always a package of instructions that's rather thick. And if you're like most of us, you say, I don't need to read these things. I just want to plug it in and watch it work, right. And so you plug the thing in, and it turns on. You found the red button that says on. It works. This is fancy. I don't need to read the manual until you mess something up about 10 minutes later.

And it takes you all night to mess it up, or to fix it. Or you have to go back and return it because you broke it. And you know it's always best if you just sit down first, and go through the instructions. I was a price Club the other night and I bought a razor. Now this is like a computerized razor, shaver. It's got these little computer lights that tells you if it's half charged or 100% charged. And little seed D comes on, and all these little gadgets. It took me about 30 minutes to read the instructions on how to make it work. And it's frustrating sometimes. And perhaps many Christians think that.

I don't want to have to pour over Proverbs, 1 Chronicles, Leviticus. But let me tell you, God put those things in there for a purpose. Just like when you were a kid and you wanted to have the pizza and not the vegetables. Your mom knew that you needed to eat the vegetables to become strong and big and healthy. That she just can't live off pizza all of your life. And so God has given us, in His word, His wisdom. And what's beautiful about the scripture is, at so many parts of it are written differently. It's not just all narrative. It's not all 66 epistles, or 66 gospels.

There's poetry. There's narrative. On and on, in different ways of teaching. And Proverbs is one of those areas, as we said last week, where the truth is melted down into little capsulized nuggets. So don't get too anxious in your spiritual growth. Wade through the discipline of getting on a consistent study of the word of God. Go through it. Become mature, but devote yourself to reading the instructions. As you go through Proverbs, you're going to recognize different paths.

Perhaps this is the greatest asset for us going through Proverbs. Is that once you go through it, you recognize that in life there are different paths going different places. And on those paths, there are different people walking down them. And what's beautiful is that the book of Proverbs tells you the end. So you're walking through the tunnel of life, so to speak, and everybody sees doors as they go. One says, sensuality, sex. The other says, get high, take drugs. The other says this, on and on and on. All sorts of little paths.

And everybody sees those doors as they travel through life. And now as our kids are growing up in this generation, no more are there doors that are closed with signs over them. The doors are wide open. Everything is out in the open. All this stuff is exposed in plain sight, and it's easy for them to peer in and gaze. The book of Proverbs shows you those paths. The paths of the Godly. The paths of the harlot. The paths of the wicked and the violent, and it shows you the end of it. So that you and I might become wise and think, I won't go down that path because the end of that path is death.

I won't say, well, I'll just check it out. The book of Proverbs keeps you from, well look at what it says in chapter 12 verse 1. Whoever loves instruction, loves knowledge. But he who hates reproof is stupid. Keeps you from being stupid. It shows you the path from the beginning. Now we left off in verse 15 of chapter 12, and we pick up there tonight. In verses 15 through 28, the rest of the chapter speaks about the life and the death of the foolish person. And the life and the death of the wise person. It contrasts those.

And first of all, we understand a few principles. A foolish person is independent of other people. A wise person is accountable and dependent on other people, or interdependent. Look at verse 15 again. The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he who heeds counsel is wise. A fool's wrath is known at once, a prudent man covers shame. We mentioned last week in the book of Judges, it says concerning the nation of Israel, that every man did what was right in his own eyes. Or loosely paraphrased, everybody did his own thing.

Which if you could tag a motto over our society, I believe that one would fit perfectly. Every man is doing what is right in his own eyes. More than anything else it seems, people want independence. And the attitude is, you or no one else has any right to tell me, or suggest to me what is right and what is wrong. I want no restraint. I want no base of authority except my own. A fool is one who is independent. A wise person is accountable and interdependent.

Our society has the philosophy that man is the measure of all things. I am my own value detector. And so, if you walk up to someone today and you tell them, hey man, that's wrong. To them that is a no nonsense statement. Because we have come to accept the fact that that person, that you are pointing the finger at, is his own value detector. He says, well it might not be right for you, but you have no right to tell me what is right and what is wrong, nor does anyone.

Man begins with himself, and builds his system out from himself. Himself is the only detector as the base of what is right and wrong. It's relativism, existentialism. That's how our society operates. Interesting, this morning my wife called me at my office and she said, quick turn on the TV. Donahue is in Denver, and he has got some-- he's doing a big thing on Satanism in Colorado. So I turned it on. And he's interviewing the crowd and interviewing different people. A counselor, people who have been in it. One person who was in it.

And the question from the audience was this. What can we do for our children so that they can avoid all of this garbage, the satanic stuff. And this one lady on the panel was quick to answer. She said, teach your children to listen to their inner self. OK. And what she was trying to say was their conscience, I'm sure. She has a semi valid point. However, people's inner self tells them to do a lot of weird things. People's inner self says, sex is OK before marriage. If it feels right, do it. The inner self says, I can take that even though I didn't pay for it. I deserve it.

The inner self is deceptive. The heart of man is deceptive. Above all else, the Bible says, who can know it. And what I appreciate it is one of the counselors on the panel was quick to interrupt and say, well more than that. Parents must set parameters for their children and pass on a system of values at a young age and everybody clapped. In fact, one kid stood up and said, doesn't matter what we look like on the outside, if we have long hair, earrings, or jeans or whatever. What needs to happen is parents need to give us values on the inside.

The kids were asking for a value system, because they see a society that is rampant with all sorts of garbage and crime and Satanism. Because of the idea that man is the measure of all things, and there are no values. They were saying, please give us values. That's how we avoid it. That's the reason, folks, that people get awfully uncomfortable with you. When you tell them that you have the absolute truth. That Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father but by Him. And what you have to share with them is the absolute truth for them and everybody else. They get mighty upset at that.

They put you on the level of a toothpaste commercial. And they say listen, they go, oh come on. How can you say? That's-- you're deliver-- you're trying to make promises, you can't deliver them. You're nuts. Because they have been reared in a mindset, in a humanistic mindset that has put away all values. And people who are independent of any value system are fools. People who are wise are accountable to a value system. In this case, God's value system. And they're interdependent on one another.

It says, he who heeds counsel is wise. Now let's take that into the church for just a minute. The church is the body of Christ. And I understand that being an American, that independence, is the hallmark of Americanism. We love the John Wayne figure, the pioneer. The Lone Ranger. The guy who goes from the east coast and moves out west, and settles down with $5 and just a pair of boots. Doesn't need anybody. Did it all on his own. Sang Frank Sinatra song, I did it my way all the way as he was going. Independent. We admire that.

In the church folks, that is a dangerous philosophy. It ruins churches and it ruins people. Nothing ruins a church quicker than independence. I don't need any body. Nobody needs me. I won't get involved. I'm independent. I'll go worship God here, and then I'll go worship God there. And then I'll go to this service, and then that churches service. And I'll sit Sunday morning under a tree out in the woods, and that will be my church. I don't need to be committed. But you know how Paul describes the body of Christ, don't you, in 1 Corinthians 12.

Listen, he says the body is a unit, though it's made up of many parts. And though all of its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ, for we were all baptized by one spirit into one body, whether Jews, Greek, slave, or free. And we were all given one spirit to drink. Now the body is not made up of one part, but many. If the foot should say, because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body. It was not, for that reason, cease to be a part of the body. And if the ear should say, because I'm not an eye, I not belong to the body. It would not, for that reason, cease to be a part of the body.

When a member of the body of Christ becomes independent of everybody else, a malfunction takes place. He is not cooperating. He is not receiving the message from the Lord. Jesus Christ is the head of the church. The Holy Spirit, as the nervous system, if you will, conveys the message from the head, to the parts, to the finger. George and Sally and Jim get the message of what God wants them to do in the body. If one member refuses to cooperate, you've got problems.

If a whole bunch of people refuse to cooperate, you've got big problems. And let me tell you, the churches around our country have big problems. Jerky, kind of, movements. Members aren't cooperating. Independence instead of accountability and interdependence. Last year I was in LA I was speaking at a church there. And the day before, I was walking out on Venice Beach. How many have ever been to Venice Beach? OK. That is a subculture all of its own. It's like another planet.

They have out in Venice Beach, a place called Muscle Beach. If you've been there to Venice, you've seen it. And there are these buff looking dudes who can just lift just about everything. And I was looking at these guys pump iron out on the beach, and all the people just, kind of, standing around, like just looking at them. And I was thinking, how neat it is when the body is fit. Trim, fit, and it works well. And as I was looking at those guys on Venice Beach, I was reminded of an experience I had a couple of years ago when I almost had surgery on my body, because a member of my body was not cooperating inside.

I got taken into the hospital. I had a high temperature. I had an infection. She said, the doctor said, I'm going to have to do exploratory surgery if this doesn't go down. They did test after test after test, because one stupid little member, intestinal part, was not cooperating. And they took me down to x-ray and they gave me upper G.I. We have to drink this barium stuff, and it tastes horrible. And you've got to take pictures of your belly. And they gave me, what is affectionately termed an radiological talk, a BE. Which is a barium enema.

I thought of the words of Job, that which I have feared has come upon me. See, I used to do those things to people when I was in radiology. And I thought, you know, what goes around, comes around, doesn't it. And I'm sitting there on the table. It's a humiliating position to be in. All these people around, and you're having a barium enema. And I'm thinking if my body would only cooperate. Which part in there is doing that to me? That's unfair. Now that's the human body. In the larger body of Christ, when a person says, no I won't become involved. No, I don't need anybody. I am the measure of all things. I'm doing what is right in my eyes. That person is not only a fool, that person is doing severe damage to the body of Christ.

The Lord is trying to get a message across. And we're being John Wayne in the spirit saying, I don't need anybody. And it hurts. A friend of mine, who has multiple sclerosis, was describing what it does to his body. That there's actually patches on his brain or his spinal cord that become hardened, scleroses. And because of that, the synapse is the connections that are made from the brain to the parts of the body. They don't connect. Or they connect, but they don't go through all the way.

Because those areas that should receive the impulses are hardened, they're calloused. So the message does not make it smoothly from the brain to the part of the body that says raise the hand, lift the leg. And so, the body becomes jerky. There's no control. And that's how the church looks oftentimes to the world. Jerky and out of control, because the members of the body are not cooperating with one another. Interdependence and accountability is the way of the wise.

And I love that end of verse 15. He who needs counsel is wise. One of my pastors was talking to someone on the phone and the guy on the other side of the phone says, I'm getting a divorce from my wife. Why? Has there been marital unfaithfulness? No. We just, you know, it's hard. We've had our struggles. We try to work it out. We can't work it out. I'm tired of it. We're getting a divorce. So the assistant pastor said, do you love Jesus? Yes, I love him with all my heart. Do you believe the Bible is the word of God? Yes sure, I believe the Bible is the word of God.

Asked him questions like. He said, in your heart of hearts, do you believe that it is the will of the word of God, and the will of Jesus whom you love with all your heart to divorce your wife? He said, no. So are you going to divorce your wife? He said yes, it's done. I'm doing it.

He who heeds counsel is wise. See, we can become hard in so many areas of our life. Saying one thing, but becoming independent in another. And we need each other. We said last week, we all have blind spots. We think that what we're doing is right. We have our path plotted out, and it seems so right. We've thought it through.

But it takes the wisdom of other people around us to say, have you considered perhaps this. Oh I've been so blind to that. Thank you for showing me. The way of a fool is independence. The way of the wise is interdependence and accountability. Also the mouth of the wise is the source of blessing.

It says in verse 18. There is one who speaks like the piercing of a sword, but the tongue of the wise promotes health. That's another thing about the wise and the foolish. The mouth of a wise person brings health, or promotes. It's a source of blessing. The mouth of the wicked or a fool brings pain. Look at verse 22. Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who deal truthfully are his delight. Look at verse 25. Anxiety in the heart of a man causes depression, but a good word makes it glad. A good word makes it glad.

Jesus said, from the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. We'll get more into that in chapter 15, when we discuss length, more of the tongue. But that's, sort of, the highlight of that. Now look down to verse 24. The hand of the diligent will rule, but the slothful will be put to forced labor. A third thing we discover as the difference between a wise person and a foolish person, is that a wise person is diligent in his work, in his life. A foolish person is lazy or is slothful. Now this is a theme that goes all the way into chapter 13, and is highlighted in several verses. That's why I'm not going to cover all of the verses in chapter 12 and 13, but just to state that theme.

Diligence should be a mark of God's children. Listen to what Paul said to the Colossians. And he was not just speaking to employees. He was speaking to slaves of the Roman Empire. Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything. And do it not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart. That's diligence. As working for the Lord, not for men.

Since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ that you are serving. The way of the wise is diligence. The way of the fool is laziness. I was working at one time in a hospital with a brother in the Lord. He was a new Christian. And I will never forget the image of him standing in the hallway. He was an orderly. Standing in the hallway not doing his job. He should have been pushing patients upstairs and downstairs. Moving gurneys in wheelchairs, but he'd stop in the middle of the hallway. Push the patient to the side and start witnessing to the patient or to somebody else, for five 10, 15, 20 minutes.

Thinking that that's what he's supposed to do at that job. And I wasn't his boss, but I finally had to take him aside to say, you know what they're giving you a paycheck for? Not to witness. They're giving you a paycheck to push patients. And you can be the best Christian witness by being diligent at pushing those patients around the hospital. As soon as they say get so-and-so from this wing and this floor and that room, get them immediately and do it with joy. When you have spare time, or on the way down, you witness. You preach the gospel. But don't take the time from your boss to do it.

He took offense to it. He didn't do what I asked, or suggested as a brother. He did get fired, and he should have gotten fired because he was lazy in his job. It's the wise who are diligent. It's the foolish who are lazy. Now let's apply this to spiritual things. Second Peter, you don't have to turn to it, tells us that because God has given us all of the tools necessary for spiritual growth. And if I could paraphrase it. Because God has given you everything you need to be a spiritual giant, and to grow as much as you want in the Lord, for this very reason giving all diligence. Add to your faith, virtue. Into virtue, knowledge. And to knowledge, self-control. And to self-control, brotherly kindness. And to brotherly kindness, love.

For if these things are in you and overflow, they will make you neither barren nor unfruitful in our Lord Jesus Christ. Giving all diligence, he said. God's given you the tools, now you give all diligence to add to your faith these things. And that word, giving all diligence, means give it all you got. Put effort into it. This is where a few Christian eyebrows are raised. Now are you saying, I have to do something. Are you preaching works? No, not for salvation. You're saved by grace through faith.

Look around. Look at us. God will take anybody. We're saved by grace, by simply believing in Jesus Christ. You want to grow and get anywhere, you've got to cooperate. Which means you must make an effort, an add to your faith. Paul spoke about the Christian marathon in 1 Corinthians 9. He talked about running the race. He said, don't you know that everyone who runs in a race. Everyone runs, but only one wins the prize. So run, or live your Christian life, so that you will win the prize. Be disciplined. Give diligence. Put effort into it.

The hand of the diligent will rule. The slothful will be put to forced labor. And in verse 4 of chapter 13, the soul of a sluggard desires and has nothing. But the soul of the diligent shall be made rich. And in verse 11, wealth gained by dishonesty will diminish. But he who gathers by labor will increase. Diligence is a mark of a Christian. I was always struck by Paul's use of athletic metaphors. And how he talks about the Olympics as a model for us to live the Christian life. The reason that always caught my attention, the idea of giving diligence as an athlete, is because at one time I was running track.

When I was in high school, I'd run the 880 and so forth, and compete in the meets. And I knew what it took to be able to run. You have to be a disciplined person. You've got to wake up every morning or every afternoon. You have to run every morning, every afternoon. You can't eat certain things. You've got to give up snicker bars. You have to eat right kind of food. You work hard at it. You sweat. It takes mental and physical stamina and commitment.

And then the day of the race comes. And you're out there on the track. You've got your Nike Airs on, your little running shorts. You're all ready to go, but you're kind of-- you're kind of hyped, your heart's beating. Because you know only one person is going to win that race. And you're kind of going [HEAVY BREATHING]. And everybody else is going. You're kind of looking in everybody's eyes, you know, and just seeing where they're at.

And that gun goes off. The moment that gun goes off, all of the diligence that you have put into running pays off at that point. All of a sudden the work, the effort pays off. You feel yourself trained for it. Look at the Olympics when they film these guys run down the tracks. You know how they do it in slow motion, you see the agony in their face. You can see just by the body language, that these guys are putting all of their effort into what they're doing.

And so Paul says, that should be our attitude. Our attitude of winning, of going for it. Of giving all that we can, all diligence, every effort into doing that. Rudyard Kipling said, gardens are not made by singing oh how beautiful, and sitting in the shade. You've got to get out there and put some effort into it. So the wise are diligent, the foolish or lazy. Look at Chapter 13 in verse 2 again, versus two, through four. A man shall eat well by the fruit of his mouth. The soul of the unfaithful feeds on violence. He who guards his mouth, preserves his life. But he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction.

The soul of the sluggard desires and has nothing. But the soul of the diligent shall be made rich. The soul of the diligent shall be made rich. There is a theology running around our country that tells us that once you become a child of God, a Christian, that you're a candidate for incredible wealth and prosperity. And you are freed from the shackles of poverty. And that it is the legal right and inheritance to be freed from the curse of poverty and be rich.

In fact, Oral Roberts just recently came out with a book, How I Found Out that Jesus was not Poor. Stating that all of us have been wrong all these years, and he has gotten this new insight. Now Jesus was a very wealthy person. Posh, opulent in his lifestyle, which gives us the ticket to also live the same way. Now, if God blesses you with that, that's fine. But you've got a lot of inconsistencies with believing it. You've got a lot of problems. Because that would mean that if material blessing is directly proportional to your spirituality, that the richer the person is, the more spiritual he is. It's the logical connection, and that doesn't pan out.

I know a lot of very wealthy heathens. And godly people who are less fortunate, even to the level of what some would call poverty. That would make wealth the gauge of who is spiritual and who is unspiritual. And of course, you have a lot of contradictions. Paul the Apostle being one of them. He said, I've learned to abound, but I've also learned to be abased. Listen to what he says in 1 Corinthians 4. To this very hour Paul says, we go hungry and thirsty. We are in rags. We are brutally treated. We are homeless. Paul, hungry, thirsty, homeless, in rags. See we've got problems with that position.

Now the bottom line, I believe, is this. If you are diligent at your job, you'll prosper. Doesn't mean you have more faith than anybody else. Now an unbeliever can be diligent and prosper. You just work hard at your job, and you can work your way up in the company. It usually happens. You get a job. You work hard at it. You do great. The boss says, this guy is a hard worker. I'm going to give him a raise. And he works hard. He's diligent at it again. He said, wow this guy's great. I can put him in a higher position of trust. It's the diligent who are made rich.

And again, God might supernaturally bless you with all sorts of materialistic things. Worship him for it. Praise Him for it. Abraham was rich. Barnabas was rich. Many others were, but then use it for God's glory. Use it as a vessel. Become a vessel of what God has given you, to give it to other people. But this idea that it's your legal right to become, you know, drive the best car and have the biggest home, and so forth, is nonsense. In fact, it really defames, I believe, the name of God. Paul spoke about those who suppose that godliness is a means to financial gain.

From such, turn aside, he said. Get out of their presence, so I do. Now in chapter 13 verses 13 through 25, the theme is obedience to instruction brings success. Look at verse 13. He who despises the word will be destroyed. But he who fears the commandment will be rewarded. The law of the wise is a fountain of life. To turn one away from the snares of death. Good understanding gains favor, but the way of the unfaithful is hard.

God told Joshua when he was entering the land, that if he wanted to be a successful person, a successful general. And be successful, or his plans coming to fruition in entering the land of Canaan, that the one common denominator that the people and he had to follow was obedience. Obedience to God's plan brings success in your Christian life. And really, I find that everything, sort of, boils down to that one word. Just obey. Be obedient to what you know He wants you to do. God says to Joshua, be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all of the law my servant Moses gave you.

Do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let this book of the law depart from your mouth. Meditate on it day and night, so that she may be careful to do everything that is written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. And the words successful, by the way in Hebrew, does not mean you'll have the biggest home in Galilee. It means literally to act wisely. You will act wisely.

It also has the connotation of the plans succeeding or coming to fruition. So obey me. Stick in the word Joshua, and you'll have success. And so we go back to Proverbs which says, he who despises the word will be destroyed. But he who fears the commandment will be rewarded. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who is as you know, most of you, was killed as a prisoner in a German war camp for his faith, said this. Only he who believes, obeys. And only he who obeys, believes. Belief and obedience are one in the same.

Jesus, in his sermon on the mount, predicted a conversation that would take place one day between many people who thought that they were spiritually smug and himself. And it would be a conversation that would bring absolute shock to the person who's having dialogue with Jesus. He said, not everyone who says to me Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven. But he who does the will of my Father. Many will come to me in that day, and I listen to the phrasing. Lord haven't we done wonderful works in your name? We've even cast out demons in your name. We've done incredible, miraculous signs. And Jesus will say, shockingly, I never knew you. Depart from me workers of iniquity.

And then Jesus goes into an explanation. And he says, the person who hears my words and does them, he's like a person who builds his house on a solid rock foundation. And the storm comes, and the rains beat on the house, and the winds blow and that thing stands. It's strong. But the person who hears my words, he listens to the word, but he doesn't obey them, is like a man who built his house on the sand. It looked great-- landscaped, stucco, wood casement windows, pitched roof. It lacked foundation. He wanted to cut the costs a little bit. Now why waste, you know, $15,000 for cement. Until it rained. The storms came in just wiped out that house.

The person who obeys the word of God that will be honored. So it's obedience, that's the bottom line. In fact, the very theme of the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus is saying, how dare you say what you say, while you live as you live, which is hypocrisy. I think a lot of people are going to be surprised when they get to heaven. I think you will be surprised, number one, at who's there. How'd he make it? And of course, they'll be thinking the same thing about you. And then you'll be surprised at who's not there. Where's so-and-so? I looked around for 3,000 years up here, and I haven't found that person.

Perhaps to find out that person had a weak foundation. At all of the trimmings, all of the rhetoric. And Jesus makes it clear that you don't get to heaven by good sermons or good rhetoric or a good pep talk, when you get up there. Hey, we did this in your name. We did this, and here's the list. Let me pull it out. And before you say anything, I have a few more things I did. Here they are. Depart from me workers of iniquity. I never knew you. Obedience brings success in our Christian lifestyle.

And that's one of the major themes of the whole book of Proverbs, and certainly some of the verses we've been outlining. I think the words of Jesus, and the words of Solomon in Proverbs are summed up beautifully. By an engraving on a cathedral in Ludwig, Germany, which says, thus speaketh Christ our Lord to us. You call me Master and you obey me not. You call me light, and you see me not. You call me the way, and yet you walk me not. You call me life, and you live me not. You call me wise, but you follow me not. You call me fair, but you love me not. You call me rich, and you ask me not. You call me eternal, and you seek me not. And if I condemn thee, blame me not.

James says, faith without works is dead. It's useless. I notice one things about traveling. Just looking at the map doesn't transport you to the place. Now we had a wonderful time traveling over to Israel. Took a 767. On the way back, a 747 and connecting flights. And we were able to go on a bus to all the places we read about in the Bible. It was great. But, you know, you can, all of you right now, look at the back of your Bible and see the map of Israel. And go, oh that's neat. And probably about this far from here to there, and that's how you get there. But you won't be transported there by looking at the map.

Looking at this book won't transport you to the throne of God. Saying the right things won't do it. The wise person obeys. He hears it. And he says, by your grace of God, I am determined to put this into practice. I want to follow you on the path of righteousness. And obedience to instruction brings success. And notice, verse 13, obedience brings a reward. He who fears the commandment will be rewarded. It also turns us from snares, verse 14. The law of the wise is the fountain of life. To turn one away from the snares of death.

It also brings us honor, verse 18. Poverty and shame will come to him who disdains correction, but he who regards reproof will be honored. It also brings wisdom, look at verse 20. He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed. Also obedience affects your family life. Look at verse 22. A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children. That the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous. Look at verse 24. He who spares his rod, hates his son. But he who loves him, disciplines him promptly.

I love that. I love the fact that it's in that whole context of obedience to the instructions of God. And I think it fits that obedient parents-- parents who are obedient to the Lord are concerned that their children become obedient to the Lord. And well disciplined parents will produce well disciplined children. And people who are concerned with God's value system over their life.

People who are concerned that they themselves are not independent. That they are not the measure of all things. But they are submitted and accountable to the body of Christ, and to the values of the scripture. Are concerned that they raise Godly, obedient children. Children who fear the Lord. And so they will discipline their child. They won't be afraid to spank, or to use the rod.

There is a thought, and it is easily corrected with scripture. There is a thought among many parents in this country, that love and discipline are enemies. They don't get along very well together.

That if you love your kid, you'll never discipline them. And if you discipline them, your kid will never love you. And nothing is farther from the truth. In fact, dwell on that verse again. He who spares the rod, hates his son. He who loves him, disciplines him promptly, because he loves and appreciates discipline himself. Turn over to chapter 19 for just a moment. Verse 18, chasten your son while there's hope. My wife quotes that to me when Nathan does something wrong. Do not set your heart on his destruction. You have to appreciate the Old Testament to understand that.

In the Old Testament, a wayward kid, who got to be a teenager, who was rebellious against his parents without repentance was stoned to death. It's written in the law. They've done everything they can. He's out of control. They took his life. And so chastened your son while there's hope, and don't set your heart in his destruction. In other words, do it now while he's young. Chapter 22 for just a moment. Verse 15, foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of correction will drive it far from him. Every child is different.

Some are strong willed. Some are compliant. Some are very sensitive. Some are very hard. Some are very pristine, delicate. And then some are like Nathan, just bulldozers. Every child is different, but each child has something in common. And as a Christian parent, you've got to know this. It's called a fallen nature. Every single child is born into the world in, what is known as, total depravity. David said, I came forth from my mother's womb speaking lies. I was born conceived in iniquity, and in sin did my mother bring me for.

And so discipline comes as a natural result of parents who believe in God's covering of discipline and obedience, and they're willing to be accountable to God. Thus they want to bring up obedient children. Thus because they love the child they will discipline the child. But keep something in mind. That does not give a parent an excuse to be an angry, abusive parents.

And some parents grab their kids arm and whip them around. That's not love, that's abuse. Keep in mind, there's two types of discipline. There is, first of all, corrective discipline, which most of us are familiar with. That's bend over, the belt comes off, and [SPANKING]. We know what that's all about.

The second type of discipline must be in place for corrective discipline to work effectively. It's called preventative discipline. That's where you love your child. You spend time with your child. You read him stories. You sing them songs. You goof off and play the silly games that they want to play over and over again. 20 hours on end, it never ceases. You spend time with them and you are preventing. It's preventative discipline. You have no right to exercise corrective discipline, unless you have been exercising preventative discipline.

You've been spending time nurturing, nourishing, building respect in that child for you, and you respecting that child. Then when it comes time to apply corrective discipline, that corrective discipline will simply buttress and reinforce the preventative discipline. And he will receive know, and if need be, the spank more readily. But it all comes, it all filters down from the top. We must be disciplined in our obedience to Christ. Before discipline and obedience goes in any other realm of our work life, with our spouse, with our children, or anything else. Flows down from the top.

And it says, the righteous eats to the satisfying of his soul, verse 25. With the stomach of the wicked shall be in one. Now in Proverbs 14 verses 1 through 19, again, is the contrast between wisdom and folly. We won't read it all, but look at verse 6. A scoffer seeks wisdom and doesn't find it, but knowledge is easy to him who understands. Go from the presence of a foolish man when you do not perceive in him the lips of knowledge. The wisdom of the prudent is the way or-- the wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way, but the folly of fools is deceit. Fools mock at sin, but among the upright, there is favor.

Verse 12 says, there is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. Feeding on what we already shared. You're going down the tunnel, you see the door. And this is the way of sensual pleasure. This is the way of, whatever. You look at it and think, that seems right. There's a little red light flashing that says death, death, death, death. It tells you the end of the way, so you won't walk down it. So that you won't become a person who's independent and say, I will figure out what is right on my own. You have no right, preacher, to tell me what's right and wrong. God, you have no right to tell him what's right and wrong, and I'm not going to be under the authority of anybody.

To save you from the result of that, which is death, it gives you the warning. There is a way that seems right to a man. What? Now in my opinion, how many times have you heard this. In my opinion, I wholeheartedly disagree with you and Paul the Apostle, and these people who have tried to push Christianity all these years. And my opinion and my view of the universe, my world view, and thus my way of living is this. Fine. You are entitled to your opinion, and you may not believe what I'm about to share with you, but the end of that way is death. Separation from God.

And then look at verse 14. The backslider in heart will be filled with his own ways. There it is again. His own ways. But a good man will be satisfied from above. Again, you have the contrast of the person who says, I am the measure of all things. I am my own value detector. Existentialism and relativism is in. In contrast, that with the wise man who will be satisfied from above. Or literally in Hebrew, satisfied from above himself. He doesn't see himself as the final value detector, but he has a heavenly set of values that he adheres to. A set of absolutes. That is right. That is wrong, and that's wisdom.

And verses 20 through 31, the rich and the poor are compared. People who are rich in wisdom, versus the people who are rich materially. And there are contrasts, and we've covered many of those contrasts before. But look at verse 20. This is interesting. The poor man is hated, even by his own neighbor, but the rich has many friends. How sad, but how true. And that's how sad it is to be a person of great wealth, because you never know the motivations of certain people.

Flying back from Michigan one time, I was handed the Michigan free press by my wife. A man won the Michigan State Lottery. Simple working guys, said oh, I'll never change. I'm going back to work Monday morning. So I won a few million, that will never change me. I'm down to earth. Later on, all of a sudden, people he never really was that close to, started calling him. Hey man, how you doing? Oh, long time no see. Let's go eat lunch on you, of course. I mean, you got paid. A girl married him. Seemed like a happy marriage. She divorced him, wanted his money.

She married him for the wrong thing. She just wanted his money. It happened twice to him. He got married by people who were after the wrong thing. Not love, but money. And so it's a very dangerous position to be in. Versus 32 to 35. Very interesting. Basically show the wickedness and wisdom determine the course of a nation. Look at verse 34. Righteousness exalts a nation, sin is a reproach or a disgrace to any people. The kings favor is toward a wise servant, but his wrath is against him who causes shame. Righteousness exalts a nation.

Israel learned that too many times, until they finally went into captivity and learned it big time. They went into that sin cycle. The cycle of sin where they began with a walk with God. They started looking around at other nations and wanting what they had, like kings, different worship systems, different ways of doing things. They didn't want the confinements of the value system of God, and so they rebelled against God to become like other nations. They started lusting after the gods and the idols of other nations, and they became like the other nations indeed.

And God, to correct them of that, brought them into the captivity. They wanted idols, I'll take you into captivity. That's where all the idols are. While they were in captivity and suffering, they cried out for deliverance and God delivered them up to that high plane of fellowship with him. And then it started all over again. We want to be like other people. We don't like this relationship with God. They started seeking those things. They ended up in captivity. They cried out to God. He delivered them, and they're serving God. They're serving God. They get tired of serving God. They want to be like-- And it goes on, and on.

And you read the book of Judges, and it's like a broken record. And then you think of our own nation, and this verse really fits, doesn't it. Righteousness exalts a nation. Sin is a reproach to many people. The strength of our country is in its spiritual roots. We are rotting from the inside out. We have left the place of strength. Our greatest enemy is not communism simply anymore. Our greatest enemy is corruption from the inside. We have thrown out any kind of system of God, absolutes, or anything.

We're in a humanistic, relativistic society. We have abandoned all that God has set up originally, I believe in this country that this nation was founded on. And we are paying the high price of unprecedented crime, incredible immorality. And it will, guaranteed, only get worse, unless God just either judges soon or there is an incredible revival throughout this land. We have thrown out that which was our strength. God told the children of Israel, my people have committed two evils. One, they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water. Two, they've dug out their own wells, cisterns that can hold no water.

They've left me the source, and they're trying to be fulfilled in something they can never be fulfilled on. And they're paying the price of thirst for that. We've left that place of strength. There's a breakdown. I have found in my study that the great civilizations of the past, Nineveh, Egypt, Rome, Persia, Greece, Germany, England, all believed. And let's especially go back to the more ancient ones that are really gone. All believed they would never crumble. Babylon believed she was the greatest empire.

Nebuchadnezzar thought this will never ever be destroyed. Belshazzar was at a feast one night. Daniel came in and handwriting was on the wall. And he said, your kingdom-- he basically said, the curtains down. You're history pal. Handwriting is on the wall. Your kingdom is divided to the Meads and the Persians this night, and that night they went into captivity. And then the great Persian Empire came about, and they thought they'd never be subjugated until Alexander the Great came along. Took over the then known world at the age of 30, or in his late 20s. He sat down in his bed and wept, because there were no more countries that he knew of to conquer. Life was bore now.

At age 31 he died a drunk, and his kingdom went to the Romans. The great Roman Empire swore that she would never fall. And you know that Rome never fell because she was invaded by outside forces, but she fell because of a moral problem. There's a man who wrote history of Rome called Caesar in Christ. His name is Will Durant. Historians said concerning Rome's fall, a great civilization is not conquered from without, until it has been destroyed from within. The essential cause of Rome's decline lay in her people and her morals.

Let me read to you what George Washington quoted in his farewell address. He said, quote, of all the dispositions which lead to political prosperity, religion, and morality, are an indispensable support. Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail to the exclusion of religious principles. Then there was Benjamin Franklin, a religious skeptic, until later on during the Constitutional Convention of 18, or 1787. He wrote, now listen to this. We have not hither to once thought of humbly applying to the Father of lights to illuminate our understanding. In the beginning of the contests with Great Britain, when we were sensible to danger. We had daily prayers in this room for divine protection.

Our prayers sir, were heard, and they were graciously answered. Do we imagine that we no longer need His assistance? I have lived sir, a long time. And the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth that God governs the affairs of man. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, it is profitable than an empire cannot rise without his aid. We have been assured sir, in the sacred writings that except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it, and I firmly believe this.

Now compare that with what is said in second chronicles. If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves, and seek my face, and pray, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and I will heal their land. That's why when we have those Sunday night prayer meetings once a month, it's essential, I believe, that we participate. Or have some time of prayer. Pray for our country and our government. Righteousness exalts a nation. Well we're not there, let me tell you.

Sin is a reproach or a disgrace to any people. Francis Schaeffer if you ever want to read on some of these things, read Francis Schaeffer. He said that 80 or 90 years ago a move, a shift took place in America. A shift from the Judeo-Christian ethic mindset. Absolute's, to a shift of a humanistic consensus. Everyone doing what is right in his own eyes. This is my way, it's not your way. You can't-- He said, as soon as that shift took place, we went on a downward plunge that eventually will lead to the absolute disregard of human life.

And he says, look at what we now accept today, that 20 years ago, 30 years ago would have been a complete abomination, like abortion. Like pornography so blatant. Which he says, will eventually lead to infanticide. Children are born with birth defects, so they're not aborted before, you just take them out of life now. Or euthanasia for the aging. The old people who aren't living just the right quality of life, snuff them out. That's the path we're leading. We have total disregard for human life, because we have taken as our final authority a humanistic worldview.

That's what the scripture warns about. But righteousness exalts a nation. Well I wanted to go through 15th, but we'll save that for next week. Let's pray for our nation. Heavenly Father, we thank you for the degree of freedom that we do have in this wonderful country of ours. It's such a blessing to be called an American citizen. It's a wonderful thing to belong to this country. It's wonderful the heritage that we have, built upon spiritual principles. Prayer, a leading of God.

But Lord, we looked around and we admit-- we admit that our country has left the fountain of living waters. And has you now broken cisterns that can hold no water. And although we are Christians, we repent and we pray for this nation. Even as Nehemiah who is Godly repented for Israel. Lord, we understand that the sum is no greater than its individual parts. So Lord, show us how we, personally, can spread the gospel. Because we know that morality cannot be legislated. It must begin with a change of the heart.

So we pray that you might touch people in government. Federal government and state, the local level, turn their hearts toward you. Lord, above all, we pray for our own hearts. That we might choose the way of the wise. For we know, as we have read, that the way of the foolish, although it may seem right to us as we've carved out our own philosophy, ends in death. Lord, I pray that you'd convince people of that tonight, if they're not convinced already. Do that by a powerful working of your Holy Spirit. Cause us to cling to you Lord.

As an athlete to give all of our effort in diligence. And as you continue to pray Christians, I simply want to address those of you who, perhaps are here tonight, but you are unsure of your walk with God. You may be one of those people that Jesus talks about. Who could turn to Jesus and say, hey I wasn't so bad. I did this, and I did this, and I did this in your name. But you may not know him personally. You have never accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, to take away the debt of sin in your life.

The very purpose for which he came. I'm not asking you tonight to become religious, but I would like to give you, if you don't know Jesus Christ personally, if you're not born again, to give your life in totality over to our Lord. To make him tonight, not just a spoke in your wheel of life, but the absolute Lord over your life. If that is your desire, that you want to know Jesus Christ, have forgiveness of sins, I would like you to raise your hand up in the air. Just so that I can see it and pray for you. And leave it up high in the air. If you want to make that commitment to Jesus Christ, raise up your hand right now. God bless you. Keep it up please. God bless you toward the back. Anyone else?