I pray that we will encounter you in the words of your revelation. Speak to us about Your person, Your love, Your personal care and concern.

And Lord, speak to us of your power to change us, challenge us. May your word have full effect in our lives. It is so wonderful, Lord, to have the ability to meet together, in a country where at least as of yet we still have the ability to have freedom of worship.

Unafraid and uninhibited, we may come into your presence in a public assembly. Thank you, Lord for the fellowship of believers that you have placed around us. It gives warmth and strength to us to sit amongst our brethren.

As iron sharpens iron, so our countenance is lifted, and our heart is glad-- and because we can come together like this, and receive from you, and from one another. Lord, You are in this place tonight. Not because of the place itself, but because You are where Your people are.

I pray that we will not have happen to us what happened to Jacob at Bethel-- when he said, the Lord is in this place, but I knew it not. I pray that we would know it and experience it, as you speak now to our hearts-- both as a church body, and individually-- members one of another. In Jesus' name, Amen.

We finished chapter 25. We're in chapter 26 of Proverbs. Which has three main themes-- the fool, the lazy person. And then toward the end, the person with a malicious tongue-- or, a gossip, a tale bearer.

It begins by saying, "As snow in summer, and rain in harvest, so honor is not fitting for a fool." In verse 3, a whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the fool's back. "Do not answer a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him."

And then, the next verse would seem to contradict, but actually not at all. "Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes." Simply giving you two ways to answer a fool, depending on his approach to you.

Sometimes it's good to answer a fool, to put an end to the foolish questions, or the ignorance. And in other times, what is being given to you by the foolish person is so ridiculous it's not even worth answering-- be it criticism, or a foolish question, as the New Testament says, brings about strife.

When the Bible speaks about the fool-- and Proverbs, as you have known so far, speaks an awful lot about a foolish person-- or, a fool. It is not speaking about someone who is just simple-minded, or mentally deficient. It speaks about a person who willfully rejects God, and turns away from God's word, His revelation. It is someone who has taken a stand against the Lord.

For instance, it says in Psalm 14, "The fool has said in his heart, there is no God." Or literally, the fool has said in his heart, no God. Which is not saying there is no God-- simply, I don't want God. No God. He is pushing God out of his life. Much like if a waitress were to come to you after dinner in a restaurant.

She comes with the dessert menu, or the big tray with all of those tempting cakes and tortes. And you were to say to her, with your hand out, no dessert. You're not denying the existence of dessert in the restaurant. You are simply saying, as for me, no dessert. I don't want any.

The fool has said in his heart, no God-- I don't want any part of Him. The fool can't find God, because the fool pushes God out of the picture. The fool can't find God for the same reason a thief can't find a policeman. He's not looking for God.

He has pushed God, and the possibility of God ruling over his life completely out of the question. And so this proverb especially speaks much about the fool. It comes so naturally for a person to believe in God. I've noticed when children are born there's this natural innocence and ability to believe in God.

And I believe that you have to plant a lie into the heart of a child for him to disbelieve in God. Because it comes so naturally. There's that natural reaching outward, to understand Him, and His creation, and His environment.

And when that is explained to him about God, it comes so natural for a child to believe, and to grasp. Even Jesus said, come and be like a little child, or you can enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Because the faith of a child is so innocent, and so real, and so rich.

And you have to plant a deliberate deception in the heart of a child for him to think the opposite. An atheist is an atheist by conditioning. Because God has created man with a thirst-- a longing after God. Even though he is born alienated from God, there is a hunger and a thirst to know more about God.

There was a child who was raised in an atheistic home. Father had trained him to disbelieve in God. And the kid walked up to Dad one day and said, Dad, do you think God knows that we don't believe in Him?

[LAUGHTER]

So natural for him to believe in God. I heard Doctor Adrian Rogers say that there was a test conducted in Atlanta, Georgia. I don't have the papers on it. But he mentioned that where he's from they did a test-- a lie detector test.

And they asked a whole bunch of people on the lie detector test, as they were hooked up, do you believe in God? Or, is there a God? Do you believe in God? And they said, no. And the lie detector test said, you are a liar-- basically.

The fool has said in his heart, there is no God. And so we have a lot here about the fool. And it says concerning that, verse 10-- "The great God, who formed all things, gives the fool his hire, and the transgressor his wages. As a dog returns to his own vomit, so a fool repeats his folly." Actually, the Hebrew word in this section for fool is, the insane person-- the insane person.

To God, if you reject him, that's insanity-- spiritual insanity. You must purposely deny some obvious basic facts about your environment to disbelieve in God. When I became a Christian, I had a very simple belief in the Lord Jesus Christ. I watched Billy Graham on television. The Holy Spirit convicted me. When Billy Graham said, I'd like you to pray and receive some literature, I bowed my head and I prayed. And I asked Jesus Christ to come into my heart.

I had a very simple faith. I was raised religious, but I was raised without a real intimate relationship with Jesus. At that point, I yearned for God. I accepted the Lord Jesus Christ my life. I felt the change. I had a simple trust. Something was different.

I had applied for college at San Jose State. I quit, and I went down to Southern California. And spent a year just getting into the Word. And then, I went back to college. During that time, I grew, and I grew, and I grew. And I grew more in love with Jesus.

And when I went to college, I was challenged on all of the fronts that I believed in, and held so dear to-- that God created man in his own image. And the professor at the college I had in zoology said, now, how many people here have the audacity to believe in special creation? And I'll admit to you, as a year-old in the Lord, I didn't raise my hand the first time he asked that question. I was scared, because nobody else raised their hand.

And he took the first half of the class knocking the idea that some people believe in God-- a personal God who creates people. And I kept going on to college. And I had professors who went on and on about the fact that God doesn't exist, it's foolish to believe in God. And all of a sudden that simple faith that I had in the Lord was challenged to its roots.

So I started doing a whole lot of study-- independent study, in what is called apologetics. And as I studied evolution on my own, and read books on paleontology, and microbiology, and so forth-- at least at the level I could understand-- reading both sides.

I came to the conclusion, that after all that I had read-- being objective with both sides-- that it would take more faith for me to believe in fortuitous concurrences of accidental circumstance than it would for me to believe in special creation, and the processes God has inaugurated, initiated in this universe.

And as I really studied both, I thought, this is wild. It's insane. Well, at least it takes more faith to believe this than this. And when people would say, oh, you believe in creation? I believe in evolution. I'd say I got, to hand it to you, man. Don't talk about all the faith that I have. You have much more faith to believe in that. You've got to take a lot of leaps to believe in that. Talk about blind leaps-- the Kierkegaardian leap. You've got to take a few of them.

In verse 11, [LAUGHS] is a verse that sounds repulsive-- a dog returning to his own vomit. So a fool goes back to the same things he did. He repeats his folly. Now, Peter picks up on this in his second epistle. And listen to what he says. "For if after they escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them."

But it has happened to them. According to the true proverb, a dog returns to his own vomit. And a sow, or a sow-- pig-- having been washed to her wallowing in the mire picking up on this proverb that we just read.

Now, that brings up the whole issue-- and I'm not going to delve into it tonight, because it's a debate that's been going on for a long time, and that is eternal security. There are some who hold to the idea that you can lose your salvation. And some people go to such fanatical extremes. They're saved one day, and all of a sudden they wake up the next day, and, I wonder if I'm saved. As if it's like a pocket watch that you can lose and misplace, forgetting the fact that Jesus said, no one can pluck them out of my hand-- solid and secure.

And while I believe in the security of the believer, I also believe in the insecurity of the make-believer. Not everyone who says, Lord, Lord will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but only those who do the will of my Father who is in Heaven.

And many people will say, I raised my hand at a Christian concert. I went forward and wept tears at Calvary Chapel. You gave me a new believer's growth packet, a survival kit. I wept tears. Lord, Lord.

There is quite a difference between emotion, and being sorry, and true repentance. There's a lot of things I've done that I've been sorry for, but I keep doing them again. I'm sorry every time I go over the speed limit and get a ticket. I'm very, very sorry. I tell the police officer I'm sorry. He didn't seem to care. He writes me up.

He goes, well, I'm glad you feel that way. What's your what's your Social Security number? I even stop, and I tell the Lord. I get so convicted after that. Lord, I'll never do this again, it's wrong.

And usually, I'm very sorry. I'm remorseful, because I've been caught, and I'm suffering consequences. And my insurance is going to go way up. I have real sorrow. Repentance means I won't do it again. That's change. That's the insecurity of the make-believer-- a person who is sorry, but has not repented, and come to the Lord in repentance, sincerity.

A person who promises often, gets convicted, and gets sorrowful-- and goes back to it, and keeps going back to it, and keeps going back to it-- is a fool, who is like a dog that returns to his vomit. It's foolishness. There's no repentance. There's no change.

When Zacchaeus was in that tree in Jericho-- and Jesus said, Zacchaeus get down off that tree. Hurry up, because I'm going to your house for lunch. Zacchaeus got convicted in the presence of Jesus. And he said, From whom I have stolen, I will now return for full. And if I ripped somebody off, I'll give it back to them. He's not saying that, I'm going to be saved by works. But I'm not going to do it again. I'm going to really show via lifestyle [INAUDIBLE] change.

And so the fool, returning like a dog to his own vomit. Do you see a man wise in his own eyes, verse 12? There is more hope for a fool than for him. In other words, the only thing that's worse than a fool, is an egocentric fool-- trusts in himself, and has spurned the Lord.

The next several verses speak about the slothful man. And then, from verse 20 on, we get the person who is involved in malicious gossip. It says-- verse 20-- "Where there is no wood, the fire goes out. And where there is no tale-bearer, strife ceases. As charcoal is to burning coals, and wood to fire, so is a contentious man to kindle strife. The words of a tale-bearer are like tasty trifles." And they go down to the inmost body. And admit it, when we hear about someone else, and we hear gossip-- let's call it what it is-- there is a certain appeal to us. We do want to hear more.

When somebody goes, hey, did you hear about-- we naturally incline our ear to that. We're interested in things that go wrong in other people's lives. It's just part of the fallen nature. You have to realize, that's part of the makeup. Now there are people, who after a wrongful incident has occurred, they keep the bitterness stoked on the fire by adding fuel to it-- adding more. They just won't let it drop. They got to dwell on it, and think about it, and talk to other people about it. They just can't drop it, over and over, and over again.

Now, if you don't put any fuel on the fire, it's eventually going to die. So if somebody has wronged you, somebody has done something wrong, go to the person. Let him bear his heart to you. Let there be repentance. Forgive the person, and stop it. Don't keep putting wood on the fire, and spreading gossip.

And a lot of people, in the name of concern, spread gossip. Oh, did you hear about so-and-so? I just have to tell 20 people, because I need you to pray for me. Please pray for me. Well, it's just really eating me up. And 15, 20 people know. And it's wrong. And we'll get to the reason why in the next few verses, or in the next couple of chapters.

Look at verse 27-- "Whoever digs a pit will fall into it. And he who rolls a stone will have it rolled back on him. A lying tongue hates those who are crushed by it, and a flattering mouth works ruin." Now, chapter 27 and 28. See, we're coming to the close at the book of Proverbs here. There are proverbs of action, in relationship to different things. Chapter 27, the first part of it speaks about, again, the wise and the foolish-- proverbs of action in relation to life in general.

And then, the next several verses-- oh, from verse-- oh, in chapter 28 it speaks about the relationship to the law, to the legal system, to the government-- to policemen who pull you over and write you tickets.

And then, the last part of it speaks about a relationship to wealth. But there is a lot in chapter 27 about friendship. I want you to notice a few verses. Now, look over at verse 5. Verse 5 says, "Open rebuke is better than love carefully concealed." And the context is the next verse-- "Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful."

Remember Judas Iscariot? He's in the garden-- Judas comes up, is assigned to the Romans, kisses Jesus. Jesus said, Judas, do you betray the son of man with a kiss?

On the other hand, faithful are the wounds of a friend. When someone who is close to you and around you sees the blind spots in your life, and is able, in love, to take you aside and say, I see some recurring problems with you that I'd just like to come alongside and pray with you through. Perhaps I'm wrong about this, but I'd like to share them with you. Even though that may cut, and that may hurt, those wounds will help you heal that flaw.

And happy is the man or the woman that has friends like that. Woe to the isolated person, who doesn't have a close group of friends, or a buddy to be able to cry on that person's soldier. Who do you call at 2:00 in the morning, when you've got a real problem? Do you have someone? Do you have to look in the phone book for someone? Or do you have a friend that you can really put out your heart to?

"Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful." Then, it says in verse 9, "Ointment and perfume delight the heart. And the sweetness of a man's friend does so by hearty counsel Do not forsake your own friend, or your father's friend, nor go to your brother's house in the day of your calamity. For better is a neighbor nearby than a brother far away."

In such a mobile society, that's an important proverb. Go down now to verse 17. "As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend. Oh, to be able to have a brother or a sister that you can sit down with and discuss spiritual matters, and discuss your doubts.

Instead of wearing the veneer, the facade of having it together, to be able to say, you know, I have real problems with this biblical teaching, and this character that I read about, of the Lord in the Bible. I have problems with it. Here are some doubts that I have concerning Christianity and spirituality. Here's some things I'm wondering. Without that person having his say, uh, you're kidding, you think those thoughts? Um, sorry I even brought it up.

But "iron sharpens iron, and a friend sharpens the countenance of another." To be able to be open-- to be able to discuss and pray through, is such an incredible thing. Relationships boil life down to its essentials. Take out the creature comforts, take out the pursuits that we often put his primary, and all that you have left is a relationship with God, and a relationship with the people that are in your lives. And those are the most important things. And yet, we are so often the most lacking in those important things-- relationships, friendships.

In a church of 4,000 adults, there is about 10% to 15% that are involved in kinships. Now, I understand that people work in different capacities, and do different things. And I'm not saying that every person who attends here must belong to one. I would be great if you could, but not everybody can, and we understand that. But to have a close-knit body of people around you is such an asset-- people to hold your trampoline, when you're bouncing up and down off the ceiling in life.

Look at verse 19. "As in water, face reveals face. So a man's heart reveals the man. I don't like the way that's translated. The NIV does a better job. Water refreshes the face. So a man's heart reveals the man. There's other proverbs that speak about the refreshment of a friend-- much like the previous verse of scripture, that talks about the countenance of his friend. In the book of 2 Timothy-- I think it's 2 Timothy-- there's a guy by the name of Honacifiris. And Paul said he uplifted the house of Honacifris, because Honacifris came to his prison, and often refreshed him in the Lord with his friendship.

Now, I want you to go back to the beginning of Proverbs 27-- look at the first verse. It's a principle that we already discussed, but I think it's important at this juncture. "Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth." As this chapter is written, speaking about our relationship to life-- doing different things, having friends.

The very first verse speaks about the fact that life is short. It is precarious. And you can't tell what's going to happen from one day to the next. And so you can't boast about tomorrow. You can't say, well, here is my life all planned out. Even though you should make certain goals and plans, you can't always be sure of it. And so you need to plan well enough in advance for eternal values.

A couple of weeks ago I spoke at a graduation ceremony. And all of these lovely speeches went before-- about planning, and success, and goals. You know, the idealist speech. And when you get out of high school, you're generally an idealist-- conquer the world plan. And that's probably good, to a certain extent. So they're being pumped up-- plan, go, succeed. I'm doing it.

And I had to share for three minutes at the very end-- the benediction. So I simply agreed with all the people who had gone before me, and said, you know what? You have heard some great speeches tonight about planning. And I encourage you to plan ahead.

Just make sure you plan far enough ahead. Don't just plan for what college you're going to go to. And you're going to get married, and have a house in the country with a white-picket fence, and a dog, and a cat, and two kids, and two cars and a garage.

And your kids are going to grow up, and you're going to send them to college, and you're going to retire and move to the Bahamas. Then, what? Well, then I'm going to grow old. Then, what? I'm going to die. Then, what? I'll be dead. Then, what? As you face eternity, and you face a God who also has seen the way you have lived your life, and you give an account to him.

And He says, have you built your house upon the sand, or upon the rock? Upon a weak foundation, or a solid foundation? And you give an account. Plan. Don't boast, for you do not know what a day may bring forth. One of the basic problems of man-- and I say that generically, mankind, is a disease called procrastination. The world of manana.

I find myself-- I have got stacks of procrastinations at my house-- projects, books, letters. I have a stack of procrastinations on my office here at the church, and in my office at home. Stacks of it in the garage, in the basement, in virtually every room in my house. I've got my little shrine to the god of procrastination.

That's OK to have. In certain areas, it's all right. Life gets busy. There's one area where you can't have that. And that's in eternal values. You can't procrastinate. You can't put it off. It's a lie of the enemy.

When Paul stood before Felix at Caesarea, and he listened to the gospel. It says that Paul reasoned with him concerning self-control, righteousness, and judgment to come. And as Felix heard Paul's sermons, he trembled. He got emotionally stirred. And he turned to Paul and he said, go away for now. When I have a convenient time, I'll call for you.

That's the last we read of him. He never found the convenient time. In other words, Paul, look, I'm getting convicted here. Go away-- don't call me, I'll call you. I know where you're staying. And he never did anything.

There are not many people who will outwardly say, I don't believe in a God. I could care less about church and Jesus Christ and eternity just leave me alone. There are some who do, but there are few who do. Most people die eternally by procrastination. Atheism has slain its thousands. Procrastination, its tens of thousands. Most people don't willingly die, and end up separated from God in Hell for eternity. They don't plan that. They don't intend to do that.

It's just that the enemy comes along and says, you're too young. You have life to live. You've got things to pursue, man. Don't be a fuddy-duddy now, and become a Christian. They're going to make you wear wingtips, and white shirts, and big Bibles. And they're going to make you look a certain way. You're not going to have any fun in life. You've got so much of your life ahead of you. You're too young. Yeah, I am too young. And so in ignorance they proceed.

And the Lord tries to convict them again, like Felix. And this time it's, you're too busy. You have a wife. You've got kids. You've got business. You don't have time for this stuff. Yeah, too busy. Chug through life-- the Holy Spirit starts hitting the heart again. Perhaps you tremble again. This time, you're too old. You've lived this way all of your life, and it hasn't really hurt you. Chances are you can live this way forever. In fact, you're not all that bad, that you need to change.

You're a nice person. You're an American. You pay your taxes. You believe in a higher power of some kind. You're not down on Christians. Besides, it would take so much effort to get up in the church, and read the Bible, and do all these things. Put it off-- procrastination. Felix trembled.

Don't be fooled by the emotional exercise of a person. Now, it's beautiful when we see it, when the Lord touches and convicts a heart. But it's more beautiful when it goes past the emotions, into the heart. And that person makes a commitment to Jesus. And then, he can look at tomorrow.

And he can say, no matter what happens-- I don't know what will happen tomorrow. I don't know what tomorrow holds. But I know that He holds tomorrow, and I'm set with Him. Then, you're not a fool. You've planned your life where it really needs to be planned. You've thought ahead-- well advance.

If you haven't made a commitment to Jesus Christ-- and I realize this is a midweek Bible study, and most of you attend this church. You come, and you're committed. But some of you have come tonight, perhaps, who don't know Jesus Christ. You know, we've met people at the church. I've spoken to people at church who said, you know, I've come here for two years. It was only today that I became a Christian.

Two years-- listening, hearing, waiting. A lot can happen in two years. One Christmas, I gave an altar call. An elder, a pastor of a church-- an elder man, older man-- came up to me and said, I have been in church leadership for years, and I've never been born again. Today, I want to give my life to Jesus Christ. He came in tears. He did something about it. He didn't say, I'll wait. I'll wait for a convenient time. I'll put it off. I have plenty of time. You don't know what tomorrow will hold.

I knew a man that I was very close to, that I shared the gospel with. Time and time again, he laughed it off. He made silly jokes at me. And one night, I felt that the Lord told me to go and visit his house. About 11 o'clock at night in the city, in the city I was teaching the Bible study at. I go knock on his door.

I knocked on his door, and I woke him out of bed. I said, I feel like I have to share with you, again, about Jesus Christ. I've come just to spend a little bit of time with you. I hope you don't mind. No, come on in. I said, you know, you never know what's going to happen. You put it off for this long, but you never know what life's going to hold, Bob. You could be out. You could be driving your motorcycle down the street, you could get killed instantly.

You don't know how long you're going to live. You need to make a commitment for Jesus now. Do it! Well, I don't know, I've gotten by so far. Three weeks later, he died. The man was my brother.

I beg of you-- if you have not made a commitment to Jesus Christ, and you're putting it off, don't do it. The Bible says today is the day of salvation, now is the accepted time. Come, let us reason together. Come now, God said, let us reason together. Now, tonight, make your peace with God.

I don't share that as a scare tactic-- simply a fact of life. You don't know how much time you have, and neither do I. I know that by experience. I do funerals every month-- people who attend this church-- just about. Such a large-- either themselves, or family members. Life is short. Make a commitment now. Plan now. Don't boast in tomorrow.

Make plans. But make plans up to eternity, through eternity. Do it. Just like the Nike commercial, just do it! Look at verse 12-- kind of the flip side of planning. "A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself." You can look at it in a lot of different way-- judgment is coming. Or, at least, I'm going to face God, and have to give account of my life.

Are you going to stand before God and say, well, you know God, I've reasoned this out. And I've heard Christians tell me about the Bible. And I've even read a few verses. It seems to me, the way I look at it-- I don't think you're going to be able to pull one of those numbers standing before the Almighty Holy God.

See, what matters at that point is not your world view, or your opinion. Because this is God's world-- he gave you breath. It's his planet, and he kind of makes the rules. So it's only smart to think about what he has set up in his provision for sin, and for life, and so forth. And to follow the rules. Because he's not going to say, well, you know, we usually don't do this. But in your case, you know, we'll have a little court of appeals here. And if you can convince us that your philosophy is good enough, well sure. It doesn't work that way.

Not everyone who says, Lord, Lord will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus said, unless a man is born again, he will never see the Kingdom of Heaven. Marvel not that I say unto you, you must be born again-- must. Not, I advise you that you should be born again. You must be born again to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself. The simple pass on, and are punished.

That's why I love to study prophecy. Because as I study prophecy, I have, as I read, a general idea of what is going to take place in the years ahead. And I see many of them unfolding today, right along God's path.

Daniel could stand in front of Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar with great confidence, as he foresaw the future kingdoms developing. And you and I can stand with great confidence, as we read the newspapers. And it is tragic what we see unfolding in the world. But we can see the sovereign hand of God. We know where history is going. Prophecy is simply history written in advance.

And a person who sees what's going on makes adequate preparation. A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself. Now, I want to also apply this to something very practical-- just practical daily living. And I'll put it in very terse language-- buy insurance. I'm not an insurance salesman.

But there is this idea that, oh, look, just trust the Lord. You never need to take out life insurance, or car insurance, or medical insurance. I've seen many people live that way and get bit. A wise man foresees that he's in an evil generation, and a lot of things can happen. And it is not distrust to take advantage of the provisions in this world that God has allowed us to come in contact with. It's not a misplace of trust. You're providing for your family.

You could look at it that way. The flip side of that-- he who does not provide for his family is worse than an infidel. A wise man looks ahead, provides, thinks about it.

Let's look at chapter 28-- Proverbs 28-- our relationship to the law. It says, "The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion. Because of the transgression of a land, many are its princes. But by a man of understanding and knowledge, right will be prolonged. A poor man who oppresses the poor is like a driving rain which leaves no food. Those who forsake the law praise the wicked. But such as keep the law contend with them. Evil men do not understand justice. But those who seek the Lord understand all.

Better is the poor who walks in his integrity than one perverse in his ways, though he be rich. Whoever keeps the law is a discerning son. But a companion of gluttons shames his Father. Verse 9, "One who turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be an abomination. We have a responsibility as Christians to civil government. Romans 13 says, let every soul be subject to the governing powers. In fact, it goes on to say that, "There is no governing authority on this earth that hasn't been there appointed somehow by God."

And so we need to obey the law. We need to obey the authorities. We need to obey policemen. I need to obey the speed limit. We need to pay taxes. We need to have building codes. We can't just say, look, we'll just trust the Lord. We'll meet here. It doesn't matter, it's for the glory of God.

We have to keep the law, because we have dual citizenship. We are citizens of Heaven, permanently. We are citizens of the earth, temporarily. And so we need to be faithful in the laws of the land. The Pharisees and the Herodians one day came up to Jesus. Trying to trap him, they said, Jesus, is it lawful to pay taxes, or not?

Now, the Pharisees didn't believe in the Roman government, and their form of taxation. The Herodians, on the other hand, believe that you should pay tribute to Herod, and so on and so forth. And so there was an automatic fight built into that question. Jesus knew they were trying to trap Him. And He said, Look, give what belongs to Caesar to Caesar. And give to God what belongs to God. Give the government what is due. Give God what is due. We are dual citizens.

There's a lot of people that have problems with authority. Our generation is a generation of, I want to be my own boss. Hands off-- don't tell me what to do. I want to do what I want to do. And the voice of parents are not heeded. The voice of the schoolteacher, and the authority in the classroom is boohoo'd. The husband as the head of the home-- God forbid if you think that way these days. Even the president isn't respected as he used to. There is a real anti-authority movement. The big placards of the '60s and '70s on college campuses that said, question authority-- even spiritual authority.

There's many Christians who don't want to be under the spiritual authority of pastors and leaders. That can be taken to an extreme. You can get into shepherding, and not being responsible to the Lord yourself. There's people who have a real problem with authority. We are responsible to the government, as we are also responsible to God. However, there comes a time when those two may come in conflict with each other. There is laws that are passed that sometimes are against the gospel. And when they are, you must go against them.

Acts chapter 4 and 5, they were brought to the Sanhedrin. A law was passed in Jerusalem-- you shall not preach the gospel of Jesus Christ publicly in the city. Now, did they go home and say, no, we must obey the laws of the land. No, they stood before him and said, look, whether you think it's right to listen to you or not, that's up to you to figure out. We must obey God, rather than man. And so they went right back out and disobeyed-- broke the law, challenged their authority, and preached the gospel.

The same principle applies smuggling Bibles into China. The law says, you can't do that. We do it anyway. Because there is a higher law of God that supersedes the law of man and whenever there is a conflict, you must obey God rather than man.

The laws of God always supersede the laws of men. That also goes for relationships. There are some people who take the biblical doctrine of submission to husbands by the wives to a very unbiblical extreme-- thinking that whatever the husband says to do-- if it's immoral, if it's wrong, just obey.

Just submit, and God will take care of you, because it's pleasing to the Lord. Baloney. If he's telling you to do something that is against the word of God, it is blatantly unscriptural, you must obey God rather than man. Honey, let's go to the bar and get drunk tonight. I'm a Christian. Submit. OK. No, don't submit. No, I'm not going to go. It won't please God. And I must obey God rather than man.

There was a time when I was growing up-- I became a Christian when I was 18. Although, I was still living under my parents roof, and I was determined to obey them. They make the rules. Even though I'm of age, I obey them. Until they came up to me-- they were very distraught that I had become a Christian. And they said, we don't want you to go to that church anymore, reading your Bible. It's causing you to be so different than the way you used to be. I'm like, yeah, I am different, I'm changed. It's called being born again.

[LAUGHTER]

It's disrupting the family, and we prohibit you from going, reading the Bible anymore. I said, well, I love you very dearly. I really don't want to cause a rift between us. Although Jesus said, I didn't come to bring peace, I came to bring a sword. And from this day forth, a man will be divided against his father, a daughter against her mother.

A man's foes will be from his own household. That's not my intention to create enemies. I want to submit to you. But I submit to you as in the Lord. The Bible says, children, obey your parents in the Lord. It doesn't say, parents, obey your children. That's the way it is these days.

And I said, I'll do anything you ask, practically, but that I will not abide by. And if that is the rule, and that is the condition of my living in this home, then I'll go find some other place to live. Although, I would hate to see that happen, and I love you dearly. At that point, they kind of backed off-- saying, this guy is really serious, and he's determined to carry out the mandates of God no matter what. And we all have to do that.

There are laws all over the place, and we must obey them. But when they come in conflict, then that's the limitation. We must obey God.

Look at verse 1 again-- "The wicked flee when no one pursues." It's called a guilt complex. You're always looking over your shoulder. You're always afraid, because you're not living right in your own conscience. You're doing something wrong. And you're always running and hiding, and you're always feeling guilty. Because you're not a person of integrity, perhaps. But the righteous are as bold as a lion.

When I was growing up, I was not a Christian. My brother and I, in the little town we were at, were troublemakers. We both rode motorcycles. And there was a highway patrolman-- a CHP-- that lived right down the street, who was always looking for us. And he pulled us over. We got so many tickets, and harassment by this guy. And, well, we deserved a lot of it. But consequently, because of that rebellious attitude I had, it still lingers with me. When I see a policeman, to this day my automatic reaction is--

[LAUGHTER]

--I freeze. And then I think, oh, wait a minute. You don't have anything to fear, if you're obeying the law. Be bold as a lion. But I admit, when I see a policeman the first thing I do-- maybe it's the first thing you do is, look down, and see my speedometer.

[LAUGHTER]

Oh, you can relate to, huh?

[LAUGHTER]

You never have to fear policemen-- like Dan Sanchez sitting here, who gives many of you tickets-- if you obey the law. If you do the speed limit. If you go 85 miles an hour and pass a black-and-white, you have reason to fear. Dan even said, Skip, if I see you doing something wrong, I'll give you a ticket too. Well, you really did.

[LAUGHTER]

OK. But the righteous are as bold as a lion. Have no fear, Dan is near.

[LAUGHTER]

Verse 7, "Whoever keeps the law is a discerning son, but a companion of gluttons shames his Father." Verses 11 through 28, it speaks about our relationship to wealth. And I just want you to look at verse 11. "The rich man is wise in his own eyes. But the poor who has understanding searches him out." I gotta admit, that's really poorly translated. And the New International Version is much superior. It says, "The rich man is wise in his own eyes, but a poor man who has discernment sees through him." He has true values and perspective. He doesn't buy, (IMPRESSION) Robin Leach, lifestyles of the rich and famous. And here at the French Riviera--

And on and on, the palatial way of living. And people drool, and kind of dream about that kind of lifestyle. But a poor man who even has discernment can look right through it, and say, big deal. It doesn't matter. That is not sufficient enough planning, or preparation. It takes discernment-- a true value system.

Verse 13-- powerful. "He who covers his sins will not prosper. But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy. It says in 1 John, "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just, to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

Instead of trying to cover it up, get it out by confession. And forsake them-- not just confess them, but it says, forsake them. "Will have mercy"-- that's repentance, in a nutshell.

The more I've been around our country, I've noticed something-- even among American churches-- that repentance is not a popular word. Nor is, sin, a popular word anymore. It is seen by so many as an outdated, negative way of thinking.

Many don't like to talk about sins as much as they like to talk about hangups. They don't call it, I have sinned. It's like, well, I've got a hang up. God forgive me of my hang-up. I've got news for you-- God doesn't forgive hang-ups. He's not in the business of doing that. He's in the business of forgiving sin. Well, nobody's perfect-- it's the whole point of a Savior. But let's identify things as they are, and say, well that's sin. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

But many people take offense when you mention sin in any context, other than perhaps the real obvious-- the hardened criminal. He's a sinner. He needs to change. But how dare anybody compare me with a hardened criminal? I'm much better. I might not be perfect, but I'm better than the hardened criminal.

And so many people are looking at God in a new light. They see God like a history professor in college, who grades on curves. Perhaps God will grade on a curve in my situation. After all, I'm not as bad as so-and-so. There's a real moving away from personal sin. I have sinned. I confess my sin, Lord. I repent and turn from it. Please forgive me of my sin, so that I am right with you. People have forgotten it.

The message of repentance and turning from sin is unpalatable to most middle-class congregations. It's threatening. Let's not call it adultery anymore. Let's call it an affair. Let's not call it sodomy anymore. Let's call it gay. Am I isolating certain people, certain groups of our population? No, all have sinned. I've sinned, and I'm willing to admit that. And I'm willing to stand before God and say, I am a sinner. And believe me, I have a whole list. My wife has a whole list as well-- just in case I may forget a few.

[LAUGHTER]

Oh, now wait a minute. Don't forget that. [LAUGHS] Oh, OK, thank you.

So confess them, forsake them, and you'll find mercy. Jesus said, blessed are those who mourn. First, blessed are the poor in spirit. They recognize their impoverished spiritually before God. That although they're religious, they're not good enough for God, to make Heaven. And so they are spiritually impoverished. Secondly, they mourn over their sins. Blessed are those who mourn, they shall be comforted. Repentance for sin brings comfort, and it brings mercy in forsaking sin.

Verse 23 says, "He who rebukes a man will find more favor afterward than he who flatters with his tongue. Whoever robs his father or mother, and says, oh, it's not a transgression. It's not a problem, not a sin. I'm just borrowing this money-- the same as a companion to a destroyer. Verse 26 says, "He who trusts in his own heart is a fool. But whoever walks wisely will be delivered." Now, remember the scripture that sort of interfaces this-- stands against this-- at the beginning of Proverbs?

Trust not, and lean not unto your own understanding. Trust in the Lord with all of your heart, not unto your own understanding. In all of your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths. Don't trust in just how your heart is feeling. Well, you know, I sort of feel in my heart-- the heart is deceitful. Above all else, who can know it? And so it takes to walk wisely, knowing the principles of God's word-- to be able to apply it, and to walk wisely.

Verse 28 says, "When the wicked arise, men hide themselves. When they perish, the righteous increase." Now, all of Proverbs 29-- and we won't go through it all, just a few select verses in the next five minutes-- speaks about the same kind of a theme, proverbs of action. Comparing the wise and the foolish, this time in relationship to rebellion and stubbornness-- many of the proverbs.

Look at verse 1-- "he who is often reproved and hardens his neck will suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy." He won't listen to reprove. He's smarter than everybody else, he thinks. "When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice. But when a wicked man rules, the people groan." Verse 8, "Scoffers ensnare a city, but wise men turn away wrath. If a wise man contends with a foolish man, whether the fool rages or laughs, there is no peace."

Verse 11, I find interesting. "A fool vents all his feelings, but a wise man holds them back." Some people just want to pour out everything, without the discernment of, how should this be worded? How will it affect the hearer? Yes, I'm speaking the truth, but am I speaking the truth in love, so that it won't purposely offend? Some people think they owe it to just say what they feel. And that could be seen as foolishness.

A wise person will discern and care for the other person. Jesus said to His disciples I have many things to tell you, but I haven't been able to yet. You're not ready for them yet. And it was a conditioning over a period of time.

Verse 15 and 17 speak about correction of children-- the rod and reproof give wisdom. But a child left to himself brings shame to his mother. Verse 17, "Correct your son, and he will give you rest." Yes, he will give delight to your soul. Not perhaps at the time you're spanking him, but later.

Verse 18-- I want to zero in on that, and close with that. "Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint. But happy is he who keeps the law." That scripture has suffered over the years. It has been misinterpreted, because of the way it is rendered in the 1611 version of the King James Bible. "Where there is no vision, the people perish." it's an unfortunate translation. This is a better translation.

"Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint." That has been interpreted as having goals, and vision. Where there is no vision, the people perish. You need a direction, and a goal-- an insight, a plan to arrive at. Unless you have that, you just sort of wander and perish. It's not what the verse is saying at all. It is not speaking about your ability to have insight, or to see, or to have a plan. "Where there is no revelation"-- or, prophetic word of God-- "the people cast off restraint. But happy is he who keeps the law."

You see the contrast is between keeping the law and casting off restraint-- prophetic revelation. I want to give you an example to turn to, to see what this verse means, and how important it is for those of us who are believers to love the Word of God. Turn to 1 Samuel chapter 3, and I think we'll get a beautiful picture of it. 1 Samuel 3 verse 1-- it says, "Then the boy Samuel ministered to the Lord before Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days"-- or, precious. "There was no widespread revelation."

And all you have to do is read the first two chapters of that book to understand the context. People were building altars to false gods, worshipping idols, and casting off the words of the prophets. And what God was saying-- and it came during that period that God wasn't speaking his revelation to the prophets like he used to. It was rare in those days. There was no widespread revelation. The people had cast off the restraining work of God in their lives, and the Word of God. So the Word of God was rare.

"And where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint." It shows that the people have ignored or abandoned the Word of God, are following their own methods, their own dictates of their heart. And the people perish. But he who holds on to the law-- that's the opposite of it.

Remember the blessed man in Psalm 1? "Blessed is the man who does not walk in the council of the ungodly. Stand in the way of sinners. Sit in the seat of the scornful. His delight is in the Law of the Lord. And in His Law, he meditates day and night." I found out something really interesting. It says, "His delight is in the Law of the Lord." It means, his greatest pleasure is as he's meditating in the Law of the Lord, day and night.

"His greatest pleasure." In other words, he looks forward to spending time meditating on God's word. Why? Why does a person look forward to it? Because he sees the Bible, the Word of God, as a method, a tool for encountering the living God personally. He believes, if I get into the Word, I'm going to learn something about God, something about myself. Something He requires, a word of comfort. And I'm going to encounter God. This is my tool to understand the living God. And because of that, it's his greatest pleasure.

I confess to you, the more I study and read the Bible over the years as a pastor, the more I realize I don't know, number one. When I started out in this thing, I really knew everything. I thought-- had a down. I had all the doctrines down, my theology is square. The more I study the vastness of God, I feel like a pauper in front of an awesome King. And I'm so ignorant. But the more I study the Word of God, it really, truly has become my greatest pleasure.

It's not just a nice thing to say. The greatest joy that I find is spending time alone with my Lord, and opening up the Word. And going over things I've gone over for years, and they're fresh. And I see them in a different way. And the Holy Spirit says, I've had many things to share with you, but up to this point you weren't able to handle it. But now you are-- bang, it's fresh and beautiful.

How precious is the Word of God to you? How important is it? Do you devote yourself to its revelation. Do you meditate on the Word of God? Is it your chief joy? I'd like you to close briefly-- ah, it's too late. Read Psalm 19 on your own some night. Maybe tonight-- go home and read Psalm 19. "The heavens declare the glory of God. The firmament shows his handiwork. Night into night they declare knowledge. Day into day"-- on and on And then he says, "The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul." He speaks about the works of God, and then the Word of God-- how God is revealed in creation, and how God is revealed in his revelation.

One speaks about the power of God. The other speaks about the personality of God-- his love, his care, his concern. And how it changes us. One thing that I pray for on a consistent basis-- just so you know-- for all of us in this body, is that we have a renewed hunger and thirst for God's Word-- that we never get tired of it, that we never, ever say, just another Bible study.

Bring on the concerts, bring on the entertainment-- just another prayer meeting. I can always read the Bible. It's no big deal. I pray that we have a hunger and a thirst. And then when we get into it, God speaks to us and we're refreshed. And as we're refreshed, it becomes our chief joy. Because where there is no prophetic revelation, we don't spend time in the Lord, and getting his perspectives, we have the tendency to cast off restraint.

Like we spoke about last Sunday, abide. Be like Joseph-- planted by the well, the spring of water. Getting constant nourishment-- becoming so fruitful that our branches go over the walls. When I give you these exhortations, I give myself the same exhortations. Receive them as from the Lord.

Encourage and exhort one another daily to do the same. You know, we're all running a race, Paul said. We're all running a race. Run that you might win the prize. Run that you might obtain the prize. Now, we're all running the race. Some of us are running hard, or at a pace-- we're going for it.

Others of us are kind of slowed down on the track. We're looking around, seeing what other people are doing. Hey, do I really want to do this? This is boring. This is hard work. I'm going to quit. I'm going to have a hot dog.

[LAUGHTER]

There's a whole lot of us that are out on the track in Nike shoes, shorts, T-shirt. We look good, but we're just hanging out. We got the clothes on. We got the paraphernalia to run with. We're not doing anything about it.

And you what happens with a lot of those people? The minute somebody says, hey, man, get on the track. Let's run. Those people go, you're judging me.

[LAUGHTER]

You've got no right. Hey, start receiving some of that stuff as from the Lord, instead of casting off restraint. Received the prophetic revelation from God, in His Word-- the admonition.

The more I spend time in the Word, the more opportunity I have for the Lord to spank me where I need to be spanked. And believe me, He does. He challenges the way I think, the way I live, the way I make decisions-- the way I deal in my personal relationships, and with Him.

Lord, thanks for Your word. Thanks that You care, and are concerned enough to give us, in this book, all that pertains to life and godliness, through the knowledge of You. Redo a hunger and thirst after the things of God. After Your word, after You personally. May we be content with nothing less than that full encounter and relationship with our Savior.

May we not be content with the outward facade-- with having the shoes, and the shorts, and the baton. But running the race, we can't do it on our own. We need your help. We need your spirit to strengthen us, to empower us. We admit that we fail. We admit that we need the Savior to cleanse us from our sins.

And Father, I pray that those of us who could be sitting here tonight, who have procrastinated, who have put it off, would put it off no longer. Would not boast in tomorrow, we would not listen to the lies of the enemy. Would not make the mistake that others have made, boasting in tomorrow. See that today is the accepted time. Now is the day of salvation.

Real quickly-- as we have been praying, Christians continue to pray. Don't procrastinate, if you need to be born again tonight. You're sitting here. But you're not quite sure of your relationship to Jesus Christ personally.

You may have no church at all. You may have gone to church all your life. But you sense the need to be born again. just make things right with God. If your desire is that, I just simply want to make it an invitation for you. Raise up your hand right where you're sitting, and say, that's me. Right on. God bless you. And anyone else, God bless you here. And you-- thank you.

Over here, God is speaking to your heart. We just want to help you to come to know Him. Anyone else? Raise up your hand. I want to-- God bless you in the back. Thank you. It's God challenging you to come to Him, to not put it off any longer. Raise up your hand.