(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

And so it's Proverbs chapter 14 now. And like I said earlier, I am only going to do the first half of this. Thirty-five verses is a big stretch to do in one sermon. And I know I went into a long sermon last time and that was only 25. But you can preach a sermon off, you can preach sometimes more than one sermon off every one of these proverbs. And there's so much in here, isn't there? So much to learn from. And as much as I don't want to be in Proverbs for the next 10 years, on the other hand, I also want you to get a lot out of it as well. So as I keep reminding you, and I'll just keep reminding you, please use a pen for this sermon. We're basically going to be hitting 17, maybe 15 different topics. There's a few kind of doubled up a little bit. But that's a lot of topics to try and remember afterwards to try and, you know, because what's the point in preachers? We want to grow through, we want to be edified, we want to be able to apply it to our lives. So please use a pen, please make a note of any proverbs, anything that maybe talks to you tonight. And ultimately, what's the goal of this book is wisdom. And it's a good thing to be wise. With all our getting, we want to get understanding, don't we? And it's going to come from this book and hopefully from these proverbs that I'm going to go through shortly. So Proverbs chapter 14, we're up to, and we're going to start in verse one, which is, Every wise woman buildeth her house, but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands. I'm going to pray and then we're going to get started. Father, thank you for your word, thank you for this, well, this great book of the Bible, Lord, and just how applicable, how practical, how much we can just apply it in so many areas of our lives, Lord, and help us all to do that, Lord, with what we hear today, what we focus on today. Help me to just preach it accurately and boldly and clearly and full of your spirit, Lord, and just for everyone to really pay attention, stay wide awake after what's been a long spiritual day so far, Lord, and just to really just make notes physically and mentally of those proverbs, which you know, you really want them to hear today. Jesus, don't throw away this. Amen. OK, so our goal is to be wise, and if you're a wise woman, you'll build your house. Every wise woman, it said, buildeth her house, but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands. Does he mean get on site and learn some trades, ladies? Is that what he's talking about? No, you build your house or your home by putting effort into it. That's what he's talking about. Put effort into your house, put effort into your home, OK? If there's one place in life that you want to put maximum effort to especially, you know, wives out there, it's into your home, yeah? It's into your house, into your household, your home, your children. You know, the trouser-wearing feminist will put effort into her career, won't she? Yeah, she'll love to put a load of effort into her career. And what's the goal of that? Holidays, maybe? Cars, Botox, stuff being the end result of that, yeah? Well, maybe take a leaf out of her book, but instead of putting it into that nonsense and into the rewards that she wants, put it into your home. A wise woman builds a house by putting effort into it, is what it's saying here. She puts effort, for example, into her marriage. You need to put effort into a successful marriage, did you know that? Yeah, just because you got married doesn't mean that suddenly you're going to have this perfect marriage, no, you need to put effort into it. Put effort into how to get the best results of your marriage. Put effort into knowing each other, learning each other, learning what makes each other tick, how to get the best out of each other. A wise woman will put effort into that. She'll put effort into teaching and training her kids. A wise woman will put effort into that. We'll not just do the bare minimum. We'll not just, well, let's find the easiest curriculum, the easiest way, the easiest that makes my life easier. No, she needs to put effort in. A wise woman is going to put effort into her children, effort into training them, effort into chastising them when they're young. Betimes, you know, doing it early. You know, look, you need to put effort into that because if you just leave them to it and you just can't be bothered, it's too much effort, I have to get up, you know, I'm going to have to put down the telephone to be able to do that, then you're going to end up with problems. A wise woman builds, yeah, she puts effort in. Effort into making her home a nice, peaceful, happy home. Because sometimes that needs a bit of effort to find ways of it being a peaceful home, to find ways of avoiding the rows, avoiding, you know, just turmoil sometimes with the kids. As you have more and more kids, sometimes, you know, it's not always that peaceful a home with lots of children. It takes effort, it takes effort, it takes building to be able to do that. And it takes effort to make sure that that home is built on the rock. And the rock is the Lord Jesus Christ. That takes effort, you go, oh, well, they're saved, they're built on the rock. The rock needs constantly, needs basically constant maintenance, really, doesn't it? You need to constantly make sure that the rock is the centre of your home. And that takes effort. It's effort with the spiritual things. This is an ongoing process, you've got to keep building. Because, why? Because the end result is much more important than the stuff that those career obsessed will spend time and effort putting into it. Isn't it funny, is it, that there'll be people that put their whole life into their career, men and women? You know, that is ultimate importance, and that's all they care about, all they think about, all they focus on, all they talk about. And what's the end result? Just a bit more stuff, a bit more cash. Everybody got the job? You know, a bigger car, a bigger house. But all these things, there's nothing in comparison to a happy home, is it? To having children that are well-rounded, that grow up, to love the Lord, to serve the Lord, to have a happy marriage, all those things. That's where the effort is worthwhile, isn't it? The foolish will pluck it down with their own hands. She'll, for example, personally destroy her marriage by treating her husband with contempt. She'll pluck down her house with her own hands, her own efforts, by listening to femi-Nazis with wrecked marriages. That's what a lot of women do out there. They'll pluck down their own house by spending their time listening to the varying versions of femi-Nazis out there. And they come in subtle ways, those femi-Nazis as well. They'll come in literature, they'll come in different videos, they'll come in different little YouTube clips and everything else. Just ways of weakening, poisoning and encouraging you to pull down your house based on just nonsense, rubbish. Based on trying to get you to get all prideful, based on trying to get you to get all manly in one way or another. Don't pull down your houses. She'll ruin her kids by sending them to weirdos for seven hours a day to be influenced by the feral brats in the playground. She'll just pluck down her house. She's like, yeah, I've got the kids, I've got the husband, I've got the Lord, and now I'm just going to send my kids off to just get destroyed by the world, to get destroyed by people that you wouldn't even socialise with them in your home. You wouldn't even invite most of those teachers into your house and want them anywhere near you, yet they will send their kids off for seven, eight hours a day with these people. They'll have them around kids that, if you heard what came out of their mouths, you wouldn't want them anywhere near your kids for one hour, let alone for all day every day. That's how you tear down your house. She'll spend the family time, when she should be with her kids, drinking and practising social media poses. She was plucking down her house while she's just there after the next glass of wine, doing the new duck pout and looking in the mirror and seeing if she can make herself look a little bit more attractive for social media and try and maybe learn some airbrushing techniques. I'd imagine that probably most cameras do it automatically now, I don't know, but this is what people spend their time doing, don't they? And they're just plucking down the house because what should she be doing with her time? Spending it with her kids. Like, having family time, right, with her kids and with her husband, while her house crumbles around her and she blames her husband because he was just that too controlling. That's usually what happens, isn't it? Their life collapses and whose fault is it? It's that controlling old husband, who, I tell you what, wasn't controlling enough. Verse 1, Every wise woman buildeth her house, but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands. The lesson is to build instead of destroy your house because you reap the rewards in the end. OK, you really do. And when you look at people that have done it right and they have a happy, solid family, their kids love them as they grow into adults and stuff, what a great blessing that is, instead of still, you know, baby-ing your 30-year-old and having all the issues that go with that. Verse 2, He that walketh in his uprightness feareth the Lord, but he that is perverse in his ways despiseth him. So remember that uprightness is when you have victory over presumptuous sins, wilful disobedience. You get victory over that. You don't have to turn there, but we've looked a couple of times. That's Psalm 19, 13, which says, Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins. Let them not have dominion over me, then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression. So when you're not in the presumptuous sins, when you're not letting them have dominion over you, then you're upright. OK? And that's where we want to be. We want to be walking in our uprightness, right? And you're doing that because you're fearing the Lord. When you're walking upright like this, you're Bible reading, aren't you? Because that's just a clear command in the Bible. That's what we should be doing. You're walking uprightness when you're praying, regularly, when you have a proper prayer life, when you're soul winning regularly, when you're in church, when you're tithing, when you're trying to get sin out of your life. That's just all... Any of that stuff, that's just presumptuous sin. When you're not really in any of that, you're just in presumptuous sin, you're not upright. We want to walk in our uprightness, right? And we do all of that. Why? Because we fear God. Because there's a healthy fear. And we should have a healthy fear of God, shouldn't we? And like we talked about this morning, because the opposite end is chastisement. Have a healthy fear of God, you're going to walk in your uprightness. But it's the opposite with those perverse in their ways, which, now this isn't specifically talking about perverts as we would use the word. It's those that are turned aside. It's doing everything contrary to the right way, okay? Turn to Psalm 139, 139. The first time the word is used is to describe the way of the false prophet Balaam in the Bible. Numbers 22, 32 says, you'll turn to Psalm 139, but Numbers 22, 32 says, And the angel of the Lord said unto him, Wherefore hast thou smitten thine ass these three times? Behold, I went out to withstand thee because thy way is perverse before me. And that's what's being described here in 14.2, it's a God-hater, okay? The enemies of God who despise or extremely hate him, okay? And like I've explained before, there's a lot of people out there claiming to love God, but they hate the true God of the Bible. They hate the true God where salvation is grace through faith alone and got nothing to do with yourself. They hate the true God of the Bible. And this lines up with Romans 1.30, which calls these reprobate types haters of God, doesn't it? They're haters of God. It's just another reminder that these people hate God. That's what we're seeing here. He that is perverse in his ways despiseth him. The Catholic priest hates the God of the Bible. He hates the God of the Bible. He despises him because he's perverse in his ways. He's a reprobate, he hates him. He's a hater of God. The Jewish rabbi hates the God of the Bible. Yeah, did you know that? Those Jews up the road there with their curly stuff and their stupid hats and their stupid outfits, they hate God. They despise him, they're God-haters. The Pentecostal pastor with his King James Bible sometimes in his suit hates the God of the Bible. He hates him because for him, his works surely will get... His continued non-losing of his salvation will get him to heaven. He hates the God of the Bible. The atheist professor hates the God of the Bible because what are they always talking about? It's the God of the Bible, isn't it? I mean, as far as they're concerned, it doesn't seem like any other God really exists. Well, because they know deep down that there isn't any other God, don't they? They hate him. The infiltrating church destroyer hates the God of the Bible. As much as they claim they don't, they hate him. And Psalm 139, verse 19 says, "'Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God. "'Depart from me therefore, ye bloody men, "'for they speak against thee wickedly, "'and thine enemies take thy name in vain. "'Do not I hate them, O Lord, that hate thee, "'and am not I grieve with those that rise up against thee? "'I hate them with perfect hatred. "'I count them, mine enemies.'" That's a response from the Holy Spirit-filled Psalmist King David, okay? To hate these God-haters. These that are perverse in their ways that despise God, we're told to hate. "'He that walketh in his uprightness feareth the Lord, "'but he that is perverse in his ways despiseth him. "'The lesson is to fear the Lord "'and to remember that his enemies hate him.'" That's what we should, that's a lesson from that prophet. Just remember, yeah, they hate him. His enemies hate him, the false prophet hates him. Whatever they claim. That's the lesson in verse two. Verse three. "'In the mouth of the foolish is a rod of pride, "'but the lips of the wise shall preserve them.'" Now, remember that the fool of the foolish can be another name for these God-haters as well, and you're going, oh, God-haters. Look, that's what the Book of Proverbs seems to be all about so far. It's all about the contrast between those who are walking uprightly and living, right, and God-haters. And we're just being constantly told about them. Psalm 53, one says, gives an example of that type. You don't have to turn, it's a famous verse. Psalm 53, one says, "'The fool have said in his heart there is no God.'" He said it in his heart. Isn't someone just going, oh, yeah, I don't believe in God, though. "'He said in his heart there is no God. "'Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity. "'There is none that doeth good.'" So sometimes when it's talking about the foolish, it's talking about this type of fool. "'Who said in his heart there is no God.'" That's a reprobate, okay? I mean, you've got to be completely walked in your mind to believe in your heart that there is no God, not just use it as a convenient excuse to ignore God. To get to the point in your heart of saying that, that requires a God-given conscience to be said, doesn't it? Well, to reject God to the point of reprobation is really the epitome of foolishness, if you think about it that way as well, isn't it? I mean, you've got to be pretty foolish to reject God and be given over to a reprobate mind. And one of the giveaways of these people is a sheer amount of pride. And it comes out of their mouths. It says, in the mouth of the foolish is a rod of pride. I mean, this is like glaringly obvious to everyone. That's the whole point here. And there are people like that. Now, some of them cover it better than others, but I believe, and I've said this before, it's kind of essential, really, for these full of all unrighteousness, abominable iniquity, like we just saw here, types, to even still function. They need to have that rod of pride because can you imagine being one of those people, can you imagine being that vile, that disgusting, that much of a God-rejecting, God-hater? You'd need some pride to even get through life because without it, you're just going to top yourself. But there are clues. There are clues. They can't really, so even if they manage to kind of cover it up in one way or another, they can't really submit in their heart to authority. And you notice this a lot with these types. So they can pretend and they can like, crouch themselves, you know, and pretend that they're humble, but they just cannot submit to authority in life. They hate being taught. You get these types, they just cannot, they cannot even acknowledge that they've been taught everything, anything, ever. It's like always like, oh yeah, yeah, well I knew that, you know, and something else. They can't be taught. They need to take the upper hand in any situation. So when you talk to them about, so they need to somehow get the upper hand and teach you and show you, keep you below them, you know? You get these people, that's the pride, that's the rod of pride. And pride starts to become, when you see that and you start to learn this, you get wise from things like the book of Proverbs, from the word of God. It becomes as obvious as a rod sticking out of their mouths. Sometimes it's just obvious. As much as people think they're clever with it, you just see that rod of pride coming out. Now look, just because someone's prideful doesn't mean they're a reprobate, okay? But we're just constantly being given these clues, these ways of spotting this in the book of Proverbs. But in contrast, it's a mouth that preserves the wise. And firstly, that applies to salvation, okay? That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth, the Lord Jesus shalt believe in thine heart that God is raised from the dead, thou shalt be saved. But in the context of pride, humility in life coming out of our mouths preserves us, doesn't it? Because it's wise to be humble, to not lift yourself up, which will sustain you in all areas of life. Proverbs 16, 18 says, pride goes before destruction and an haughty spirit before a fool. Pride goes before destruction and an haughty spirit before a fool. And that fool from the haughty pedestal you've created for yourself is a lot more painful than a fool from that low position of humility. When you lift yourself up and you puff yourself up, as believers say I'm talking about, and you fool, it's just more painful than if you're already low in the first place. I mean, that's just the common sense, isn't it? Verse three said, in the mouth of the foolish is a rod of pride, but the lips of the wise shall preserve them. So there are clues for us there and also a reminder as to how to behave in that verse. Verse four, where no oxen are, the crib is clean, but much increases by the strength of the ox. Now, I just want to get on women a bit today. I kind of was getting on the men a bit more this morning before the occasion. Generally more of a thing for men, not always. Obviously it takes two to tango, but this makes me think of housewives complaining about the extra workload of cleaning up after a working man. And yep, there are housewives out there that will complain about the mess and doing this and having to clean up after their working husband. Here it says, where no oxen are, the crib is clean. A crib is a feeding trough, kind of like a manger, okay? It's a feeding trough here. And here really, well, if that's you ladies out there or any future wives, just remember this, the increase, the earnings, come from the strength of that brute animal that you married, okay? Let's put it this way, okay? That brute animal that you chose to marry, okay? It's his strength and his ability to keep working that has ended up with you being able to have that feeding trough and the stuff in it in the first place. So he might cause a little bit more extra work and a little bit more cleaning and stuff like that, but it is the strength of the ox because I know like, you know, we live in a world where they try and act like, you know, these women are just as capable and everything else. They're just not. They're not. To be able to just graft and put the graft in and put the hours in. Yeah, they're capable to sit there in an office and, you know, do some of, you know, some of the easier jobs out there in the world. But when it comes to really grafting, putting hours in, you know? Working, you know, sometimes long hours, right? Long, hard hours of working and providing for a family. That's a man's job. That's a man's role. That's how God created us. And the truth is is that you've got to accept, appreciate women that if you've got a husband doing that, sometimes you're going to need a bit of cleaning up after. Right? But we're no oxen. Oh, the crib is clean, but much increases by the strength of the ox. Okay, that's how you got what you've got there. That's how you got the food in the first place. You might have a cleaner kitchen if you were single, but you wouldn't be able to pay the rent or put food on the table without that ox. And the welfare system isn't a justified excuse or an alternative, okay? That's ridiculous. And the much increase comes by the strength of the ox. And there are a couple of truths there in that part of the verse. Number one is that men are suited to hard work, like I said. They're just suited to it. Number two, if you want much increase men, you had better work hard because it said the crib is clean, but much increases by the strength of the ox. Get strong, get working hard. I'm not just talking about man your work. I'm just talking about being able to persevere and put the time and put the effort into work, right? Much increases by the strength of it. And point number three, and it's something to think about, is that the crib cleaners, and I'm talking about wives here, okay, the crib cleaners, they're usually happier when that ox is being beneficial. And maybe we could even put this across to kids here as well here. Kids, your mums especially will be much happier if you're actually doing something, you benefit, you're helping, you're getting stuck in and stuff like that. And it's the same with husbands. So if you're some husband sitting around doing nothing, doing the bare minimum work and doing very little, and your wife is just grafting all day doing this and that and cleaning up after you, she ain't going to be so happy. Do you know when wives are usually happiest is when you're working hard. And they're much happier when you're working hard and you're putting the effort in, you're putting the graft in to then clean up and do that stuff and clean that crib. He said, where no oxen are, the crib is clean, but much increases by the strength of the ox. And remember that when it comes to appreciating hard work is in all areas of life, really, right? Okay, and you can even think about it, you can translate that to a church. Sometimes, it can be frustrating sometimes, with churches and there's literally just junk left everywhere and you think like, how do you leave a half drunk cup of tea on the floor? How do you leave, why is it like origami bulletins all over the place and stuff like that? But you know what, we have a church to be able to go out and do some work. Anyway, you shouldn't just leave, I'm not your wife and neither anyone else here that cleans up and even the women that come in here. But at the end of the day, much increases by the strength of the ox. And we've got to understand as well that we're a working church as well. So there's going to be a bit more mess because of that. Verse five says, a faithful witness will not lie, but a false witness will utter lies. So I believe it's a contrast again between what God's children should be like and what the devil's children are like. And when it comes to being a false witness, there is no more apparent than when it comes to the gospel. Okay, that's clear as day. Lying false prophets are everywhere. They're everywhere, 10 a penny, all over the place. Just lying false prophets, all with their own version of work salvation usually. But here's the thing with this here, if it's to help us to spot the difference, it said the false witness will utter lies, plural, because they're full of deceit. So again, when we're seeing this, a faithful witness will not lie, but a false witness will utter lies. We've seen it, they're just full of deceit. It's not like, well, they utter the odd lie. They utter lies. Just so much of these types of people, it's just lie, lie, lie, lie, lie. And with time, that becomes more apparent as well. Open lies for all to see. And that should be a no-brainer, okay? And you see that with people, and sometimes it makes me chuckle when you get these stalker weirdo types, you know, they hate our church and other churches and stuff like that. And you just see open lies for all to see on the internet and stuff. That should just make it very clear what these people are. I mean, can you imagine just, sometimes they'll do it with their name behind it, or sometimes from their ridiculous, pathetic, false accounts, and they'll just put blatant, disprovable lies, and it's like, well, thank you. Thank you very much, because you've just proven to everyone else what you are. So thank you, because you made it very clear, and it's nice, and it's a good little bit of credibility for us as a church or other churches like that as well. Because a faithful witness will not lie, but a false witness will utter lies. And our goal should be to be the faithful witness who will not lie singular. That should be our goal, shouldn't it? I mean, I hope everyone here wants to be a faithful witness, especially when the opposite is a false witness that utters lies. So our goal shouldn't be to lie. You shouldn't be setting out to lie. You shouldn't be choosing the option of lying. Now and again, look, there are times when people lie and, you know, spur of the moment lie, and you should feel bad about that, right? It's a bad thing. We shouldn't be just going, oh yeah, well, you know, I had to lie in that situation. Well, I chose to lie. When it was okay, I just said a lie. A faithful witness will not lie. We should want to be that faithful witness to hate lying, to hate the works of the devil, yeah? And that is ultimately what all these people, they're all just full of deceit, aren't they? Just deceiving, deceiving anyone they can. We want to be like David who said in Psalm 101, verse seven, he that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house. He that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight. That's a bit difficult if you are one of them, yeah? God hates lying lips and we should too. That's what we should get from that as well. Verse five said, a faithful witness will not lie, but a false witness will utter lies. Verse six, a scourner seeketh wisdom and findeth it not, but knowledge is easy unto him that understandeth. So remember that the scourner is someone that mocks or scorns. We've already looked at this over this series and it's usually the things of God. And there are levels of scourners though. So with the worst types being, for example, the Richard Dawkins type of scourner, where just so full of scorn towards anything to do with God, the Ricky Gervais type of scourner, who just mocks and scorns and scorns and what is it? Always the God of the Bible, isn't it? I mean, can the guy actually write any comedy that doesn't involve mocking and scouring the God of the Bible? Not since the office, I don't think he has. I'm sure there's probably some God scouring in there somewhere if you look through it. Just these people are unbelievable, aren't they? But what they want to do, they want to appear so wise and intellectual, but really they just look like the fools that they are, don't they? They just sound like the fools that they are because true knowledge, true knowledge, not of exploding nothings and fish turning into people, like half man, half fish and whatever other crazed lunacy they come out with, yeah? True knowledge is easy once you understand, isn't it? True knowledge. Where does understanding come from? Well, Proverbs 2, 6 says, for the Lord giveth wisdom, out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. That's where it comes from. It comes from the word of God. Although it's not just being a hearer, but it is being a doer of the word too. And Psalm 111 and verse 10, because I know we've got a lot to get through, you don't have to turn to these verses, but if you want to make a note of them, you can. If you want to turn, if you quit, you can. But Psalm 111 and verse 10 says, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. A good understanding have all they that do his commandments. Plural. That do his commandments, his praise endureth forever. Because the more you live for God, the more you follow his word, the more you start to understand life. The more you really get an understanding of real life, the more you actually live for God, the more you do the things of God. But aside from the reprobate scorner, if you're scorning the things of God, okay, just as a believer, you're angrily dismissing his word, you're just mocking commandments because it doesn't suit you and everything else, well, a scorner seeketh wisdom and findeth it not. So if that's how you approach a sermon, if that's how you approach your Bible reading, if that's how you approach godly counsel or anything else, well, a scorner seeketh wisdom and findeth it not. But knowledge is easy unto him that understands it. If you want wisdom, the message is do his commandments. You want to be wise? Follow God's commandments. Verse seven, go from the presence of a foolish man will now perceive us not in him the lips of knowledge. So I don't believe that we're talking about those that are just lacking the wisdom that comes from salvation, they're after God's word, okay? We're called to preach the gospel to the lost, okay? He didn't take us out of the world. It says go from the presence of a foolish man. Here I believe it's a false teacher. Once you realise that someone is a God-reject, the gospel-rejector type of fool, we should have nothing to do with them, okay? When it, but again, just to make it clear, not because, well, I'm just going to call him a reprobate and then I don't have to, I can cut them out of my life, okay? No, but when it's clear, go from the presence of a foolish man when thou perceive us not in him the lips of knowledge. And we should have nothing to do with that type of person, when it's a clear God-hater, when it's a false prophet of one kind or other, when it's just some obvious flaming sodomite or any sort of flavour, we should have nothing to do with them. David said this, and that's what he's talking about. We'll not know. We don't want anything to do with them. How do we know? Well, Proverbs 1.7 says, The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Without salvation, there is no knowledge, okay? There is no knowledge. When thou perceive us not in him the lips of knowledge. So when you see that someone who is claiming to be and clearly isn't saved, they clearly believe a false gospel or something like that, clearly some sort of false prophet type, we're told to go from the presence of him, okay? That's pretty clear, isn't it? And you say, well, why are you saying that? Don't we know that? There'll be people that kind of, with the uncle Catholic priest, auntie preacher, you name it, you know? Sodomites here and there in the family and everything else, and all these different types of these, but look, the Bible says, go from the presence of them, yeah? Go from the presence of a foolish man when thou perceive us not in him the lips of knowledge. Verse eight says, The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way, but the folly of fools is deceit. So if you want to be wise, be prudent, which is cautious, careful by understanding your way. This is what it's saying, and the wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way. Basically, put some effort into knowing what it is that you're doing. What path you're on, what decisions you're making. The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way, because there are so many in life that will just literally blindly follow whatever they're told. So many, honestly, it never ceases to amaze me. The most obvious one recently was the COVID debacle. How many people just followed what they were told? Just, oh, yeah. Oh, okay. Yeah, well, that's what you're telling me. Oh, okay, so there's this killer illness. It's just wipe you out, everyone. Well, it must be true. I must just do everything you tell me to do. I'll just stop going to church, was obviously one of them. I'll just stop doing, oh, what, there's a vaccine? Oh, yeah, great. Yeah, I'll just line up, give it to me, because, you know, how hard is it to just be prudent about these things and to understand your way? And look, these people are out, look. There's so many people like this. It's not just in that area. That was just an obvious one for me. There are people that just, for example, just blindly trust anything a doctor tells them. He's a doctor, he must be right. And look, it would be great if we lived in a world where it was like that, but it's just not reality. It's not the truth. Now, don't get me wrong. There are doctors that know a lot about a lot of stuff. There are people that know a lot of stuff that we don't know about, but people will just literally blindly trust them. But the wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way. You can get some understanding. God wants you to have some understanding. And when I say blindly, there are people who are just like, they'll be on all sorts. They'll be on, like, medications for life. They'll be on all sorts. They've just got no idea. They don't even know what the side effects are. They haven't even read it. They don't even know what the reason, they don't even know what, it's just like, you just tell me the wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way. It's going to be prudent, right? Get wise. There'll be people that just blindly trust, like I preached about the other week, the corporate food industry. Oh, well, it's sold as food. Bring it on. Oh, well, it says food on it. It's in a shop that says it's selling food. It must be okay. It's like, look, again, you don't have to go crazy on this. They're like, I don't know, show, excuse me, I've come around for dinner. I want to see the ingredients and everything you're cooking for me. Yeah, it would be like that, yeah. But on the same hand, why would you just be constantly eating and constantly buying stuff and being a big part of your diet that you don't even know what's in it? You don't even know what you eat. You don't even know what you're doing. It's not even food. For example, many other areas, they just send their kids off, for example. Just, I don't know what they're teaching. I don't know what they're doing. I don't know who this person, I don't know what this club does. I don't know that person that's in charge of my child for how many hours a day. Or blindly trust the TV producers. That's a big one as well, isn't it? Kids cause you a bit of trouble. You know, it's like, what on earth? What on earth are you doing? You know, what are they teaching them? Like, be prudent, be wise, understand the way, right? And why is it so important? Because these fools, okay, these worst types of fools are full of deceit. It said, but the folly of fools is deceit. That's what they're known for. They're just known for deceit. The most wicked people out there in the world, the people that want to destroy you, destroy your health, destroy your family, you know, destroy your spiritual life and everything else. They're known for deceit. They just deceive you. And they get good at it sometimes as well. It's just all deceit. Does anyone here think that these people aren't in so many influential positions in life? Anyone think that? Anyone think that, oh, yeah, yeah, well, they're only a certain place. I mean, it's not when it comes to like multi-multi-billion pound pharmaceutical industries. I don't know, there's no wicked people there. No wicked people when it comes to like multi-multi-billion pound media corporations. No wicked people there. That's what it's talking about here. The folly of fools is deceit. The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way. Start getting some understanding. Be prudent in life, yeah? Take some responsibility because the folly of these fools is deceit. They're full of it. Full of deceit, it's everywhere. That's their go-to. Be prudent and remember how deceptive these people really are, okay? That's the lesson from that. Be prudent and remember how deceptive people are in life, how much deceit there are in life, and get some wisdom about you, right? Verse nine, Fools make a mock at sin, but among the righteous there is favour. And there are a few angles to this first part, okay? The worst types will downplay it, okay? They will encourage others in one way or another. Think about, for example, the sodomite influences. I mean, they're just making a mock of it, making a mock at sin. Like, it's all just a big laugh. It's all just a big joke. Someone cross-dressing and doing all sorts of disgusting things in front of kids and stuff. I mean, that's just horrendous, isn't it? Again, we're talking about these wicked people, right? And there are, though, also believers who just don't take it seriously. So you can just be a fool in that way. So not talking about reprobate, for example, here, who just make a mock at sin. They just don't take sin seriously. And believe me, all sin is serious. All sin in life is serious. Serious enough to condemn the unbeliever to hell. That one sin is enough to condemn someone to hell for eternity. Sin is serious, yeah? There'll be believers who say things like, well, I'm just sinful. Well, I'm just another sinner. Look, yeah, we're all another sinner, saved by grace. But sin is still serious. Don't mock it, deal with it. Treat it with the respect it deserves, yeah? Especially if you want favour from God and just in life in general, okay? If you want the favour, you've got to deal with it seriously. If you treat sin how God wants you to, you try to live righteously, life is just so much better. It said fools make a mock at sin, but among the righteous, there is favour. And there is favour from living. This isn't talking about just the righteousness of Christ. It's talking about the favour that comes from living right. A few weeks back in Proverbs 12, 2, we saw a good man obtain a favour of the Lord, but a man of wicked devices will he condemn. So it's not just talking about the saved. A good man. It's talking about people that then after salvation, without salvation, you ain't never going to be seen as righteous at all. You get the righteousness of Christ imputed unto you, but however, we have the choice, like we see the breastplate of righteousness. It's things that we're encouraged to live right, to try and get right, and we get that favour of the Lord with that. The saved that go on to try to live right to do good is what it's talking about here. Fools make a mock at sin, but among the righteous, there is favour. If you want favour, don't mess around with sin. Live righteously, yeah, try and live right. Get right in your life. Verse 10 says, the heart knoweth his own bitterness, and a stranger does not intermeddle with his joy. So I believe this proverb is about how we are most affected by those that are closest to us. That's what I believe it's talking about here. It says, the heart knoweth his own bitterness, and a stranger does not intermeddle with his joy. So bitterness is enmity. It's a real grudge, hatred. And all of that stuff doesn't come because of a stranger. It comes from those that we know. Okay, that's why Colossians 3.19 says, husbands love your wives and be not bitter against them. Don't be bitter against your wife, because we end up getting bitter with those closest, don't we? That's what we do. How, you know, the verse is saying, basically, how's someone you don't know going to really upset you? The heart knoweth his own bitterness, and a stranger does not intermeddle with his joy. You say, what about road rage? What about supermarket trolley rage? That's still a thing. It could be a thing, that, okay. What about that sort of thing? Well, I reckon that's usually due to some already deep-rooted bitterness. I don't think it's really about that individual. I reckon when someone gets out of the car and just starts trying to attack someone, it's usually not because of that incident. That's just kind of like the icing on the cake, isn't it? It's usually because they already have some deep-rooted issues, some deep-rooted bitterness, and usually that's to do with someone they know. The heart knoweth his own bitterness, and a stranger does not intermeddle with his joy. For example, those people that are just so bitter with a politician or some other stranger in life, they don't even know. The real problem is usually closer at home. That's what it really comes from. What's the answer? Well, don't be bitter. Don't be bitter. You go, well, is it as easy as that? Well, Colossians 3.19 showed us that it's our choice. He said, and be not bitter against them about your wives. You have a choice to make, don't you? You can choose to do that. You have a responsibility. You can love your wife, or you can be bitter against her. You can love your husband, you can be bitter against him. You can love your kids, you can be bitter. In many areas of life, we have that choice. You can deal with it, and you can just move on from it, or you can choose to keep that bitterness. And then you can go and blame it on other people. Verse 10 said, the heart knoweth his own bitterness, the stranger does not intermeddle with his joy. Basically, stop blaming external influences and deal with the real problem. Deal with your own problems and stop blaming others. Verse 11, the house of the wicked shall be overthrown, but the tabernacle of the upright shall flourish. So basically, don't be envious of the wicked, okay? The house won't stand. When it comes to wicked people in the household, their families, it's always a disaster, really, okay? It might take a while, but eventually, it's a disaster. It always ends up being a disaster. When you see these people, their lives just kind of end up being an absolute mess. If it's not multiple marriages, relationships, things like that you see out there, kids are usually messed up to some degree. They end up just being a mess. The families are usually torn apart eventually, and you can think of many examples of that with like, even just think about people in the public eye and so many of these wicked people, wicked celebs, and all these people, it's just an absolute mess. It's a car crash of a life, isn't it? Family lives are just wrecked and everything else. And look, and of course that can happen to normal people, to the regular saved guy. That's why it says, the house of the wicked shall be overthrown, but the tabernacle of the upright shall flourish. Are you automatically upright because you're saved? No, the tabernacle of the upright shall flourish. That's the saved person living for God. Do you remember when we just saw that? Ticking the boxes, doing the clear things. Okay, the upright, this tabernacle, shall flourish. So if you want your family to stand, you want your household to stand, then get upright. That's a choice you can make. Oh, well, I'm just not a very good person. Get upright, get upright. Do the things that God tells you to clearly do, like we just talked about, just the clear things, right? That being in church and all those other things, living for God, reading your Bible, just doing all those things, that's all part of being upright. And notice how it said the tabernacle. That's a tent. Because wouldn't it be better to have a tight family unit to have a standing tent than a mansion full of drama and heartache? I'd prefer to have that tent with my family and having a nice family life than a house, than a mansion, than a palace with just all sorts of stress and grief and problems. And that comes from many that focus on the money instead of what they should have focused on, end up with a dysfunctional house. And you see that everywhere. All these people, they haven't focused on being upright, and instead they've just focused on money, covetousness and everything else, and they just have a dysfunctional home. The house of the wicked shall be overthrown, but the tabernacle of the upright shall flourish. The lesson is, if you want to flourish, get upright. Pretty obvious, right? Verse 12. There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. So first off, isn't that the case when it comes to different paths of false religion? The more someone commits to it, the more they convince themselves that it's right, don't they? There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. And like we see when we're at this, the people that do more and more for that, the more they commit to that false religion, the more it just seems right to them, doesn't it? There are some people, you're just amazed, you're just showing them clearly in the Bible, there's claim to be Bible believers, you're showing them it's a free gift, it's a gift, you don't have to work for it, it's not of works, et cetera, et cetera, and they just, because for them, it seems right to work your way to heaven. It seems right, that way seemeth right unto a man. But the end of all of those different ways, different paths of that broad way, that way that leadeth to destruction, is death, isn't it? That's what it is, it's death. There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. And they do seem like these people, they do. Sometimes they really convince themselves, don't they? They'll convince themselves beyond belief, you have to be good to go to heaven. It's like they're going, yeah, I believe the Bible, I believe the Bible's the word of God, look at that verse, look at that verse, look at that verse, look at that verse, look at that verse, look at that verse. You must be good, you have to be, ah! It's crazy, isn't it? Absolutely crazy. But I do believe as well that this also works on the physical level, where we can easily convince ourselves that we're on the right path in something, in anything. So we just have a habit of convincing ourselves what we want to believe. So for example, like the guy when it comes to salvation, and they just want to believe that they've somehow earned it or they can earn it, we can do that in life as well. Verse eight, for example, said, the wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way, but the folly of fools is deceit. Just because it seems right isn't good enough. Just because something seems right to you, be prudent and understand the paths that you choose. Okay, that's, I mean, that should be obvious, shouldn't it? There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. There are many things that seem right by your understanding, but be prudent, put some effort and put some diligence in, especially when it comes to a way, a path that you're going to go down in life. And that applies, like I said, to physical health and just things in general as well. Verse 13, even in laughter, the heart is sorrowful, but the end of that mirth is heaviness. So for me, I believe this proverb is telling us not to try to gloss over serious problems, not to try to laugh them off. So some people do that, you just kind of, everything's always just kind of surface level. They never deal with a problem. Sometimes things just need dealing with, don't they? Sometimes you've got to deal with something in life. Sometimes a joke and a smile doesn't solve a deep problem because the problem is still there, isn't it? I know we like to, you know, laughter is the best medicine, but it's not always, is it? Because sometimes it just kind of glosses over something that you should have handled. Now, there's nothing wrong with laughter, obviously, but it doesn't solve all of our problems, does it? Can't solve a few problems, but it doesn't solve all our problems, does it? Laughter, you know, has a place, but, you know, even in laughter, the heart is sorrowful. And the end of that mirth is heaviness. And I think there is often a payoff as well. There's people that try and go and cheer themselves up when they have problems that need dealing with and end up in a worse state once they have that let down. You know, once they're back in the real world, once they've gone out, oh, I'm just going to have a good old laugh with so-and-so and that will deal with it. And then how do they feel the next morning? Usually even worse. And I'm not talking about, you know, adding booze into the equation or anything else. There's people in general, they kind of, they forget something, try and put it out of their mind and everything else. They're not dealing with it. And then they feel even worse when it comes back in their mind again. Because it's kind of like a let down after having had that high of being happy and laughing it off. You don't have to turn to Ecclesiastes 7 and 4 says, the heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. So we can have a joke and a laugh, but we've got to not forget that whilst the world is masking its problems with comedy, people are going to hell. People are going to hell. There's serious business in life, isn't there, to deal with. What's the answer? Deal with the problems in life instead of laughing them off. Deal with your problems, deal with the issues, you know, don't just laugh everything off. It's just, it's not all a joke, right? Verse 13 says, even in laughter, the heart is sorrowful and the end of that mirth is heaviness. Verse 14, the backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways and a good man should be satisfied for himself. So a backslider is someone sliding back away from the things of God, which combines with falling into sin, doesn't it? When you pull away from the things of God, you fall back into sin. What's a backslider in heart, though? A backslider, now that can be someone that's backslidden or someone that's backsliding physically as well and spiritually you could add. But there are those that go through the motions, aren't there, maybe? Maybe they're physically there, but their heart isn't. There are those that may be like, they're already backsliding in their heart. And here's the thing, is that whether they are physically or not, some say, I've heard our previous pastors say this before, you just kind of get an idea when people are on their way out. You can see that they're already backsliding in their heart. You can see that they're no longer plugged in. You just see that and maybe they're craving the money. Maybe it's a fornication, maybe it's a boozy. Maybe their heart is just not in the things of God. Maybe they're still ticking the boxes and it's better to be ticking the boxes than not, but you just know they're on their way. The heart's already going. And guess where they end up, those people? Well, we often have to examine our hearts and bring that to God, okay? Because they always, where do they end up? They just end up backslidden. They end up in a bad state and they end up well away from the things of God and that's a hard place to climb back from a little bit of time. We do have to examine our hearts and be like David. He said in Psalm 51, 10, And that was after some bad stuff he'd done as well. And you need to examine your heart sometimes and think about where is your heart right now? Because it will only go one way. The heart leads us, doesn't it, really? Your actions will eventually follow your heart. So where your heart is, you're just going to follow that in the end. You'll end up where your heart's gone. In the same way that good man, that upright believer trying to live right with his heart right, will be satisfied with that. He said the bad man will be satisfied with that. The backslider in heart should be filled with his own ways. So where that heart is, that's what they're going to be filled with. And a good man should be satisfied from himself. He'll be satisfied from that, from that goodness. So get your heart right, live for God and you'll be satisfied. And you can't say that enough. I said it to someone today, you know. They got saved and I speak to them afterwards, and they're just saying, look, there's nothing more fulfilling, there's nothing better than just serving God. There really isn't, there is nothing, life is just empty without that. And a good man should be satisfied from himself when you're doing good, when you're doing the right things, when you're living for God, there is that satisfaction that comes from that, isn't there? Because if you're constantly looking elsewhere, well, as Proverbs 27 and 20 says, hell and destruction are never full, so the eyes of man are never satisfied. So if you're not just trying to do the things that God has done, just trying to do the things of God, you'll never be satisfied. So one way you're ultimately satisfied is a good man should be satisfied from himself. Verse 15 says, the simple believeth every word, but the prudent man looketh well to his guy. Now, this is another proverb, and sometimes in the Book of Proverbs, you see like similar proverbs. It goes really well with verse 12. There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the ender of the ways of death. And of course, verse eight that we looked at, the wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way, but the folly of fools is to see. So it says here, the simple believeth every word, but the prudent man looketh well to his guy. Being simple isn't a good thing. That's not a good thing. Don't be gullible in life. Don't just believe every word you're told in any area of life. Now, that obviously applies to spiritual things, too, which is why church dikar's encourage you to read your Bible. OK, we're not like the Catholic Church, telling you just can't understand it. Don't worry, don't worry, I'll tell you what the Latin says. Yeah? In fact, even if you did speak that, you're not really going to understand because you're not a priest. But you know what? That's all over the place. How many times you try to preach the gospel to someone and they just go, well, you know, who's to say that you know what it says? Is that because I'm saved, dummy, and I'm preaching you exactly what it says on the paper? And that's the thing is that people want you to just believe every word. That's what false religion is all about. And before every sermon, what do we do in a church like this? We read a chapter of the Bible that applies to that sermon. We read a chapter of the Bible so, you know, it's not just, you know, the guy up there just, what am I constantly trying to encourage you to do? Either turn to your Bible or I'm going to give you a reference that I'm quoting. Not just kind of use one verse and then just talk, you know, and try and mask it as a biblical sermon. And that's, you know, that's why many people, that's why, you know, we want to be here and preach like that, don't we? That biblical preaching because the simple believeth everywhere, but a prudent man looketh well to his going. But specifically here with this prudent man, there are two ways that you can look at this. OK, number one would be that the prudent man looks well to his own going. So he assesses or as verse eight said, he understands his way. OK, and that would be a prudent thing to do, wouldn't it? To look to your own going, to understand where you're going, the path that you're on, what's going to happen if you do this? For example, we talked about all those different areas that people don't really, they just have no idea what they're even doing, what they're taking, what they're being given. I mean, jabs, and I'm going to use the word jabs just because I know YouTube doesn't like this sort of stuff. It's just a classic example, isn't it? Where people will just bring in their poor little precious youngster and just give them to the doctor to just put in anything they want. Like, I think it's 30 now. I think the UK schedule is like 30 of them. 30 of these things to just be put into some child's bloodstream in the first year, it's beyond, it's lunacy. Absolute lunacy. Yet people just, you know, it's OK, here you go, like that. I mean, that's not being prudent, is it? OK, you should be looking well to your own going, obviously looking well to your child's going who you're responsible for. But you should do the same, you know, we should have some responsibility for our own health as well. But point number two, another way of looking at this, is that the prudent man looks well to the going of the person where the word is coming from. It said, the simple believeth every word, but a prudent man looketh well to his going. And I would say that's a good way of applying it as well. I mean, I'd say go, both of them, right? So, for example, am I going to believe every word of advice on marriage from the guy who's going through his third divorce? Am I going to go, can you just give me some marriage advice, man? I mean, you might listen to his advice and then just take that as advice to never follow. OK, you could be clever with it, couldn't you? But I'm not just going to sit down and go, you just tell me what to do, right? Or health advice from the 20 stone guy who's got a weekly sick note in the workplace or something else. You just not, you know, that just wouldn't be sensible, would it? But in the same way, am I going to listen to health advice? And I'm just, you know, this is on my mind a bit right now, having preached a couple of weeks ago as well, from the spokesperson for a multi-billion pound pharmaceutical company. Is that who I'm going to listen to? To the salesman. I want a salesman, he knows best, because he's, you know, selling the product. Why wouldn't he know what I should be doing, right? Am I going to listen to marriage advice from the lawyer who specialises in divorce cases whilst giving me his card? No, I mean, that should go without saying. I'm going to look well to the way of that person, right? And in the same way, am I going to believe every word from the latest slanderer who behaves just like we're warned about in the Bible? You know, like, but people do this, don't they? They will go to the divorce lawyer. They will go to the pharma rep, AKA the doctor. They will go, it kind of is what it is a lot of the time, they will go to the slanderer hater and just go, well, you tell me the truth about that place, that church, that pastor, whatever. It's crazy. The simple believeth every word, don't be simple. But a prudent man looketh well to his going. I would say you want to look to your own going, you want to look to the going of the person that's telling you the word as well. Yeah? You want to, well, who is this person? You know, what exactly are they telling me here? And obviously, when it comes to the word of God, well, praise God, we can look well to the going of the Lord Jesus Christ, can't we? And the word of God. Verse 16 says, A wise man feareth and departeth from evil, but the fool rageth in his confident. So here's another way to be wise and also to spot someone else who's wise, fearing and departing from evil, which could apply to sins as moral evil, but also just a misfortune, harm, pain, distress, just bad stuff. That's what evil can apply to as well. For example, you know, God will do evil unto someone. It's not talking about sin, it's not talking about moral sin, but it can be talking about people that are sinful and moral sin as well. It depends on the context. If you're wise, you'll fear the repercussions of sin and get away from it, won't you? If you're wise. We're told to flee fornication, we looked at this morning. Flee covetousness, flee idolatry. Yeah, we're told to flee, run the other way. In 2 Timothy 2.22, Timothy was told to flee also youthful lusts, but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart. Run the other way, don't make a mock at sin. Depart from evil. But you'll also try to avoid bad situations, harm, distress. And you know when that sort of stuff often happens? Guess when that stuff often happens? Harm, distress and even sin, problems, when you're angry. When you're angry. When your judgment is clouded. And like I said, that happens with sin too, doesn't it? When you're angry, when someone's raging and they're angry, what are they more likely to? Go back to the old habit that they tried to give up. Go back to the old sin that they were trying to avoid. They use it as justification. Well, I'm angry now and they don't make sound judgment. So the wise man feareth and departed from evil, but the fool rageth and is confident. And that's why it's the fool that rages and is confident doing so. That's a foolish thing to do, you know, to be confident in your raging. And there are people like that, aren't there? They're just so, like, they're full of anger and rage. You're just confident doing everything they do. Don't be a fool, OK? Be sensible. Don't just walk around raging at everything, basically. People just walk around just angry at everything, you know, just raging, mad at everything in life, every perceived problem and issue and everything else. And then what happens? They just end up getting themselves in trouble, because this leads on to our final verse today that I just want to focus on for a minute. And that is verse 17, which is, he that is soon angry dealeth foolishly, and a man of wicked devices is hated. So having a short temper is dealing foolishly, basically. If you have a short temper, you're dealing foolishly. How often, like I said, do people regret things done in anger? Don't you? Most things I've done in anger I've regretted, pretty much. Most things I've said in anger I've regretted. Most things I've done in anger I've regretted. Most actions I've taken when angry I've regretted. It's very rare that I go, I'm so glad I lost my temper and I really dealt with that. I remember my brother, I don't know why this came into my head, but I was going to tell you quickly. I remember my brother when I was younger, used to, when he had people that he had a problem with, and my brother was like a bad guy in the morning. You know, you get those people that are just, mornings are like, keep away, he's going to like, go crazy. He just was an angry morning person. So he used to save up. He'd be like, someone has crossed him, he's got some problem, some fallout with someone. And his plan was always, I'm going to deal with them in the morning. Because he was like the opposite. He was like, if I deal with them in the morning, I'm going to really tell them what I think. I'm going to really, you know, put them to right. So he used to, he'd like ring someone up that he's got a problem with in the morning. Like, right, morning time. And they'd ring up and have these rows. And people thought he was a complete nutter. He's actually quite a nice guy. But he used to deal with his trouble in the morning because that's when he would really tell you what he wanted to tell you, yeah? Well, the truth is he was dealing foolishly. Okay, because I don't think really he got the great results he was hoping from that. But what if that is you though? What if you are just someone who has a short temper? What if you are soon angry? What if you just find yourself flying off the handle often? It's not just easily solved, is it? Well, turn to James chapter one. First off, it would be an idea to work out if there's something making you bitter. So we looked at that in verse 10. The heart knoweth his own bitterness and a stranger doeth not intermeddle with his joy. So that's a good idea first. Work out what it is. What is it that's making me bitter, that's making me soon angry maybe? And try and deal with that. Take that on, deal with it. Don't just laugh it off. Don't just like, don't just palm it off. Try and deal with that. Now in James chapter one, there's some great guidance to help us with this, okay? It says in verse 19, in James 1.19, Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath. So listen first, listen first, okay? That's a good thing. Be swift to hear, yeah? Then control your mouth. Be slow to speak. So I think that's a good start for a lot of people, is just control your mouth. If you've got a short temper, someone that flies off the handle, you need to learn quickly to just keep your mouth shut when you're angry. Keep your mouth shut. And that will then help you to be slow to wrath. It said in verse 20, For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. So when you're angry and you're fuming, are you going to be doing the righteousness of God? 99 times out of 100, no, yeah? Wherefore, he said here, wherefore. So this is sort of, he's kind of giving us, he's expanding here. Wherefore, lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word which is able to save your soul. So he's saying, get away from all the wickedness, as that won't help, and instead receive with humility the word of God. Be humble, listen to the word of God, receive the word of God. But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. So it's no good, well, okay, right, I'm going to lay aside this stuff and I'm now just going to read the Bible every day. That will solve my short temper. Well, no, you've got to live it too. So you've got to live the Bible. You've got to live how he wants you to live. You've got to, like we said, be upright, yeah? He said, but be ye doers of the word, not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man behold his natural face in a glass. For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. So that's how you shorten your temper, okay? You continue in the word of God. You start living for God. You start doing the things of God. You get right with God. You get upright with, you know, you become upright. You just get right with God. And then you're going to have a lot less bitterness in life, aren't you? And now there's lots that that includes. For example, if you love your wife, men, you're going to be much less likely to be bitter against them. Because it's kind of one or the other, really, isn't it? Are you loving your wife, or are you just full of bitterness for her all the time? Bitter about something she said 10 years ago? Bitter about something she didn't do, or didn't say, love your wife, and you follow the things that God wants you to do, and it will help you get out that bitterness. And the more you're given, the more you're in charity, because charity being the principal thing, that's where we're looking to get towards, the more you're going to find that, for me, that satisfaction, that pleasure, from just trying to do good and trying to do nice things, and it ekes out a lot of that bitterness, a lot of that pent-up anger and aggression. So look, you can go too far, and you get people that act like they're never annoyed or angry about anything. Well, we should be angry at sin. We should be angry at wickedness. We should be angry at the wicked. However, we shouldn't be just constantly fuming and flying off the handle at everything. And there's a difference, isn't there? If any man among you seem to be religious and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart this man's religion, is vain. So it should be a natural result of getting right with God, is being able to bridle your tongue then. So there should be a control that comes from getting right with God, from being able to be in that place where we want to be, where we're right with God, where we're in the spirit a lot, should be therefore being able to bridle our tongue. Otherwise we're deceiving our own heart. He said, pure religion and under fire before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction and to keep himself unspotted from the world. So like I said, do good to others, keep away from worldliness. You might get rid of that short temper, basically. Live for God, get right, get upright, start ticking the boxes, doing the things that God wants you to do. Do good to other people with that. Keep away from all the worldliness, all that wickedness, try and get that junk out of your life. And you might find that that temper starts lengthening. You're not as angry and because so often, do you know what so often that is? A lot of the time it's angry with yourself. And a lot of people, the worst anger a lot of people have is when really they're angry at themselves. They're angry at things they've done, the way they're behaving, the things that they're doing, they're angry, but then they have an outlet on someone else and they blame it on something or someone else. He that is soon angry dealeth foolishly and a man of wicked devices is hated. Do you know what happens when you're angry? You end up doing bad things, plotting revenge, et cetera. You do that, don't they? When you're angry and you start, I think that's what it's talking about here is that what happens is you end up being the bad guy, don't you? A man of wicked devices is hated. So you might have been completely, you felt, that was a legitimate anger with my spouse, my friend, my colleague, my whoever, family member, my parent, whatever. But when you get soon angry, what's the result? Usually some sort of wicked devices. Some something you sit, next thing you know, you're saying something to hurt them. Next thing you know, you're trying to craftily upset them or do, there's all these wicked devices that come in your anger, you're lashing out and you end up being the person that's hated. And you might have had justification in the first place. Did you getting angry help solve the situation? It so often happens, isn't it? You see it in arguments in all the areas of life that maybe you were kind of, you didn't feel like I'd done much wrong here and then when you lose your temper and you fly off the handle, suddenly there's this list of things you've said and done and everything that started it is kind of wiped off now. And that happens in all areas, doesn't it? You know, and you don't want to get to the point where now, now I'm full of the wicked devices. I've said this, I've done this, I've shouted that, done that and now I'm hated. I didn't think I'd done much in the first place, you know? But, and you know, that can be in many areas, even when the anger seemed partly justified at least. But really, don't be soon angry, you know? And you know what, when you bite your tongue and you hold onto it and you provoked in different areas, different situations with different people, you're so much happier for it, aren't you? You're not so much happier, you're content, you're like, I got through that, I did all right there. You know, I dealt with that person who's trying to provoke me, trying to wind me up and I just took a deep breath and moved on. And when you don't and you lose your temper, you don't look back and go, yeah, lost my temper and I really let them have it. You just think, man, I let myself down there, yeah. He that is soon angry dealeth foolishly and a man of wicked devices is hated. And that was verse 17, that was Proverbs, chapter 14 of verses one to 17. There's a lot of wisdom in there in those Proverbs and hopefully things that appeal to different people there. We'll be looking at the second half of that chapter from next week. On that, we're gonna finish up with a word of prayer. Father, thank you for your word, thank you for the book of Proverbs. Lord, thank you for all the things we can learn from it and apply to our lives. Help us do that, help us to be a church full of wise people. Lord, a church full of wisdom and help us to just take those lessons to heart. Help us to have a great week now going forward, Lord, having started it in your house. Help everyone to get home safe and sound this evening and to return on Wednesday for the midweek service. In Jesus' name, amen.