Proverbs - Wisdom For Troubled Times

We are going to be turning now to Proverbs chapter 1 and reading verse 8 to 19. We began this new series in the book of Proverbs last week. We were thinking about the purpose of Proverbs, and the heart of Proverbs, the fear of the Lord, is the beginning of knowledge. And now we're carrying on here in verses 8 to 19. And if you're on 1 of the little tables, you'll you'll have some activities to do, and 1 of them is a word search, a proverbs word search based around chapter 1.

And so you might try to find those words, words like lute I know that's on there. You can find those words as we as we go through. Alright. Here we go. So, Proverbs 1 verse 8.

Listen my son to your father's instruction, and do not forsake your mother's teaching. They are a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck. My son, if sinful men entice you, do not give in to them. If they say, come along with us. Let's lie in wait for innocent blood.

Let's ambush some harmless soul. That swallow them alive like the grave and hole, like those who go down to the pit, will get all sorts of valuable things and fill our houses with plunder cast lots with us. We will all share the loot. My son do not go along with them. Do not set foot on their paths.

For their feet rush into evil. They are swift to shed blood. How useless to spread a net where every bird can see it These men lie in wait for their own blood. They ambush only themselves. Such are the paths of all who go after ill gotten gain.

It takes away the life of those who get it. Let's pray. Father help us now, please. As we look at this passage, please help us to be wise, and listen. Help us by your spirit to apply to our hearts, to our culture.

Help us to not avoid the hard truths, but to, by your spirit, do what we hear. Help us not to look at this passage and forget what it says to us immediately we go out. Help us to internalize it by the power of your spirit that we may live in the light of it in Jesus' name, amen. A human toddler is is an interesting beast. If you know any of them and there might be some around, you know they're interesting beasts.

Not not always, but mostly a human toddler is a violent being. The human toddler needs hands on intervention and pretty strong words, actually, to help them to navigate through the world without them using violence. It's not that the pre toddler is not a violent thing. It's just that they haven't got the body and the wherewithal to throw themselves around, like the human toddler. 2 to 4 year olds, classic we know.

They need clear instruction, and they need strong words and a strong-arm sometimes. Be kind. A words that you're going to use to the human toddler. Give that back. It's not yours.

A words you're going to use. Don't push Don't punch your brother. Why did you throw that dinosaur at your sister? There are all kinds of words you're going to use. Don't talk to your mother like that.

Do you know you were quite spiteful in the way that you spoke to that little boy? Imagine the human toddler growing up without any intervention left to themselves, to have what they want, to have what they desire. Imagine that. Human toddlers need the frustration of being reminded of things again and again. The human toljan needs the frustration of being stopped in in their course of action.

The human toddler needs the annoying fathers and the annoying mothers in their lives to ruin their ambition, and that is to gather all the toys in the play group. Or to have all of the biscuits on the plate. They need that frustration. They have to learn that and relearn and relearn and relearn that violence either in word or inaction is not the way to live. It's not the way to live.

And they have to learn that the world, and this takes a lot of time, doesn't resolve revolve around them and their instant gratification and their happiness. They have to learn that. They need to learn purpose in life, which is not about them. They need to learn that it's not about serving themselves, but it is in fact about serving others. And that's why parents, and it's interesting, its father's day today, we obviously wrote this program to come up with this.

But it that's why you need parents. That's why you need children need them, desperately. They need these parents because parents are showing children authority and power governed and generated by love that is to serve them, that is to help them. And that the children are called to that same purpose to have authority and power in this world governed by love. Part of obeying parents is to instill verse 7.

We should have had verse 7 red. I'm sorry. Of Proverbs chapter 1. The fear of the lord is the beginning of knowledge. The fear of the lord is the beginning of knowledge.

But fools despise wisdom and instruction. So as children need loving authority, of the parents, so parents need the loving authority of the lord. And while children are young, the parents substitute the Lord. They're the ones that bring the Lord's words into children's lives. Representing the lord.

That's why parents and obeying parents is so important. After the early toddler stage then comes the next stage to life. It's where children make friends. And now they've got other influences in their lives other than the parents and the words of the lord that the parents are representing. So the early sort of toddler life is is relatively simple.

You have the self, the toddler, and you have an outside intervention, the authority, the parents. It's a rarely so it's sort of fairly simple life. But this stage now there are friends coming in, other influences to egg them on, other advice other than the parents, other fun things to do that they've never thought of. And there are also groups to get into. So that they can be in a group and they can exclude others from their group.

You've got all of that dimension going on. So the child grows, and the child grows through these different stages of life until young adulthood. And in that process, there's the difficult working out of growing up so that you're more independent from parents, but still listening to advice. Children have to learn to take more and more responsibilities for their actions and therefore for their life, and that is absolutely important. That's what growing up.

Does. But the question is, will he or she when they're in that young adult life when they become adults? Will he or she fear the Lord? Are they established in the fear of the Lord? Wisdom.

Or have they got that in their hearts so that when outside influences come in, they know what to do. Or are they going to revert back to being a toddler? There'd be a more sophisticated 1 obviously, but largely, are they going to revert back to be a toddler. Now, we're looking at this book of proverbs, and in this passage, there's warning about reverting back to being violent like a toddler. Will we give up the wise life when we're adults?

Or will we go for folly, which will be seen in violence? That's how folly is going to be seen. That's this first passage here really. So verses 10 to to 19. They they show us what happens when we give up on wisdom.

And when we give up on wisdom, When we give up on the fear of the Lord, we will start taking advantage of other people. And usually it's in a violent way. That's what it's trying to show us. Romans chapter 3 is very interesting because it shows us what not fearing the Lord whatnotfering the Lord will produce. In fact, he ends this little passage by saying, there is no fear of God in their eyes.

Just listen to a part of this in Romans chapter 3, verse 13. Their throats are open graves, their tongues practice deceit, that violent language really. The poison of vipers is on their lips. Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness. See the violence?

Their feet are swift to shed blood, ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know there is no fear of God in their eyes. The lack of fear of God will produce violent language and violent bloodshed. There's a tendency in us the Bible saying, and you can see it from the toddler. There's a tendency, a natural tendency in us to be violent. James chapter 4 in the bible says this.

What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but you do not have so you kill. Just go to the play group and you'll see that. You cover it, but you cannot get what you want.

So you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. So you've got rid of God in your life and there'll be quarrels and fightings and bitternesses and nasty viper tongues. All that is part of sinful nature. We want something, we can't get so we revert to violence.

We revert to being a toddler. The toddler shouts, I want the doll and pushes the other kid away. The adult the adult shouts, I want my team and shouts out at the referee or the linesman violence. It's just the same. Now there's no doubt that we live in a in a world of violence.

I mean, they just found a massive knife on a kid, in Chestington. It's a huge knife I've just found on a kid in Chesley. We live in a violent world, and it it uses and it abuses people physically and verbally. Adults reverting back to toddlers and gangs of toddlers in the way that we speak of people. From calling each other names at school to canceling people and trolling people on social media.

We live in a world where 90 percent of girls we're told have been sexualized in some way at school. So much so that teachers and head teachers have to not do anything about it because there's so much violence towards women. We live in a world where boys are scared to stray into another neighborhood in case they meet up with other people from another neighborhood. The title of this sermon is how to become a toddler That's the title of the sermon. And this passage shows us that if you don't want to become a toddler, you need wisdom.

If you don't have wisdom you'll become a toddler. The fear of the lord will stop you being a violent person. Get rid of the fear of the lord, and that's how to become a toddler. So that's the introduction. I hope it's got you thinking, okay, let's have a listen.

Here's my first point. The first point is the beautiful life. The beautiful life, you see it in verses 8 and 9. Listen my son to your father's instruction, and do not forsake your mother's teaching. They are a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck.

The outworking of verse 7, the fear of the Lord, is to listen to your father's instructions and don't forsake your mother's teaching. Now, of course, that's talking about fathers and mothers that are applying the word of God. It's not talking about fathers that are pushing their own ideals and ideologies onto children or mothers that just want to prejudice their kids with the traditions and ideas that they have. The these are the teachings of the Word of God, obviously. In fact, the old the old puritans used to to to say that the father here stands for the scripture, and the mother here stands for the Holy Spirit, and there's something in that.

So it's talking about godly parents that are not just teaching what they want to teach, but they're teaching the fear of the Lord. Listen to instruction Do not forsake teaching. Now if you think about it that there's effort there. There's effort in listening and there's effort in not forsaking. This isn't just flowing down the river of your desires.

This isn't just following a crowd, you know, like everybody's going that way, so I just follow along. It's not floating down the river. There's hard work here, I think. There's thinking. There's standing firm on truths.

See, wisdom doesn't just come to people. It's not that some people are just born with wisdom or you just suddenly have wisdom. It comes through humble listening. If you don't listen, if you're not a listener, you'll never find wisdom. If you're just mouthing it off before you hear anyone say anything, you'll never find wisdom.

If you think you inherently know stuff, you'll never find wisdom. If you think children know stuff without having being listen having listened, then you're going to be wrong. You have to listen and humbly. You have to apply. You have to stand firm.

And it comes also wisdom through conflicts That's why conflict is quite useful. It comes through foolishness being preached to you. It comes through you making choices, not to listen to foolishness, but 2 listen to wisdom. The son in verse 8, is no longer a toddler, and can't just now wait for mom and dad to intervene. They're being called on to internalize the truth that's been taught to them.

They need to own wisdom They need to stop being a toddler. They need to listen and then live that out. In verse 9, I love this because this is the beautiful life. It says, they are a garland to grace your head, and a chain to adorn your neck. In other words, when you have wisdom, wisdom adorns you.

They're a garland to grace your head. They're a thing on your head, and they're a nice chain to adorn your neck. What that is telling us is this, that wisdom will make you like a king, a garland, a head, a crown. To to to adorn your your head or a queen that has a necklace around her. That's what wisdom is.

In other words, you're a ruler. You're a king and you're a queen. You're not just to responder to a situation. You're ruling that situation. You're not allowing that situation to dictate to you, you're dictating to the situation.

You're a responder not you're not just a responder. You're a ruler in in a situation. You have self control. That's what wisdom is going to do. There's a lovely verse in 1 Peter, chapter 3, that is talking about women who are at home and their husband is a non Christian, and it it talks about adornment.

Out don't have outward adornment like hairstyles, you know, You don't have to follow the Kardashians and be the latest in in good looks. But it talks about this wisdom. It says rather, It should be that your inner self and your unfading beauty of gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. So wisdom is not just a sort of an outward crown, but there's an inward crown and inward ruling or a gentle a strong gentle spirit that follows the lord, and it adorns you. And this beautiful life, of course, is seen in Jesus.

Jesus, when he was a young man, it says he grew up in wisdom and grace of God, in the wisdom and grace of God. Wisdom and grace was adorning him. And Paul says that Jesus is the wisdom of God. So Jesus is the great example of the beautiful life. He's the 1 who is the example to navigate through this world and be wise and know the wisdom of God.

He's the great example of not being a toddler. He's the great example that says the opposite to a toddler. Not my will be done, but your father be done. He's the great example and he's the great teacher that in a world where friends and family, and neighbors, and enemies twisted his words, and were violent towards him. He nevertheless followed the father's plan for his life.

He's the great beautiful life that although he had the garland of the crown of thorns on his head, that crown of thorns said, I will follow the father no matter what, and therefore was wisdom upon him as he was about the father's business. He had the beautiful life. That's the beautiful life. That's my first point. Here's the second point.

Be enticing life. The beautiful life, the enticing life. Look at verse 10. My son, if sinful men entice you, Do not give up to them. Do not give in to them.

If sinful men entice you, do not give in to them. Now, that word in Tice, I looked up this morning and I was really surprised because it's so up to date in its warning. I don't know what you think the word entice means. It actually means to be wide open. To be wide open.

It's interesting. And then as you work through that word, it means to be open lipped and open mouthed to you. And it has this sense of alluring you with an open mouth, an open lip. Many words that will flatter you, that will be open mouth to you. It has all of that sort of feeling to you.

In other words, all are welcomed. This is an inclusiveness and it's to be open mouth and open lips and open an open morality. It has all of that sense with it, that word entice. Open mouthed, open wide. Now, when you look at the things that this gang got up to, I don't know whether you realize when when we read it.

You might say, well, hold it. These are very violent people because they actually kill a man. And so when you read those words, you you you might think, well, just too horrible. I mean, there's no way I'm gonna fall for that. Don't don't tell me I'm gonna go, there's no way I will kill someone.

Yeah? And the word sinner in verse 10, it's not the general word for sinner in the sense we're all sinners. It's a violent. It's using violence. So you may say, no.

No. No. There's no way I'm gonna fall for the enticement, the open mouthed sort of view of these people, the open morality to these people, because I'm not gonna kill anyone. But I think the great thing about Solomon is, he knows the human heart better than us, and he knows the atmosphere in which we live in. And he knows that we can turn into monsters easier than we think we can.

That's why the toddler is a great illustration. Because if the toddler had a knife in his hand, there might be massacre here on a Monday morning. And why does Solomon pick on this? Why does he surprise us with the fact that If we go the non wise route, we're suddenly killing someone. Because it's to shock us.

Don't you realize that this is the atmosphere of the day, you're not a monster at the moment, but you go down that route and you'll be a monster. Last week, I heard her on on the radio. A woman called Sally Hughes. I've never heard of her. She's a journalist in the Guardian newspaper for fashion.

Sally Hughes. I don't know whether you heard this report. And Sally Hughes has just come out spoken out about sites that are called dragging sites on the internet, dragging sites or trolling sites. I'd never heard of them. You can put it in and look it up.

They're basically sites dedicated to people that are already in the media like Sally Hughes. And they're dedicated to trashing those people. Though Sally Hughes had upset some people, She didn't like the language that was on some of her Facebook friends and she said I didn't want them anymore and those people get together to make a site called the Sally Hughes site. And they follow every movement of Sally Hughes. They they they basically, you know, waiting outside her house to take photos.

They're seeing where she went in her car. And then they make up lies and exaggerations. She went in her car obviously to commit adultery against her lovely husband. They make up stories like this, violent stories about her. From her breasts, to her face, to who she met, to the lies they put up on there about where she gets money from.

Now the interesting thing about this site, she decided to do something about it because normally when you do something about it, they have more to work on and it becomes worse and worse. And they were so violent to her. She said I'd have had enough. And she just not decided to try and find out some of these people. And she found 1.

A woman called Becky, that's not her real name and she met up with her and the interview is on the radio. It's worth listening to it. This is how Becky's what this is what Becky says. When it says, why did you come to meet with me? I wanted to see you in the face and they met in a cafe, and then Becky says this at the end.

So this is a troller. This is a dragger. She said, I'm a normal person. I know it might be hard to believe. I'm a normal person.

I'm a nice mom. I'm a good friend and how? How did somebody normal end up getting involved in something which was so hurtful and so violent. And when I read back what I wrote, it was so nasty. And I thought, How was I so blind to thoroughly be so unpleasant?

There's a normal person. Trapped, taken up with violent language. Enticed. Don't think it won't happen to you if you don't fear the lord. And then look at the enticement of acceptance.

You get it in verse 11. They say come along with us, you know, we like you. You could be off friends with us. You could be our friends. You don't wanna be left out.

You don't wanna be non us, do you? You don't you want to be accepted. Who wants to be the odd 1 out? Who wants to be seem to be the mean mouthed person that talks about right and wrong and truth and untruth. You wanna be open, lip, and inclusive with everyone.

Don't wanna be an in an exclusive, mealy, mouthed right and wrong person, do you? Come along with us. You've grown out of the days where mommy tells you what to do. You've grown out of the days where daddy tells you what to do. What's this bible stuff that's been pushed down your throat?

Be open mouthed and let it come out. Come along with us, grow up, and then look at the enticement of freedom. Leave any rules and restrictions behind you. You know, you don't want to take control of your life. Live for yourself for goodness sake.

Give yourself a break. From those old bible truths. Look at verse 11. If they say come along with us, let's lie in wait for innocent blood, let's ambush those harmless souls. Let's swallow them alive like the grave and hole like those who go down to the pit we will get all sorts of valuable things and fill our houses with flub plundered.

Break away from those oppressive norms that say there's right and wrong. You know, come on. Someone wrote, violence is my will be done. And that's what they're saying, isn't it? They appeal to your freedom.

They appeal to your identity Come along with us common cause. Get your identity here, not with those old bible believers. And look at the enticement of a of a safe results. There won't be any bad consequences verse 12. Let's swallow them alive, like the grave and hole, like those who go down to the pit.

Don't worry. Don't worry about murdering people. It's okay. We can cover up our crime. There's no risk in it.

It won't get found out. They go down to the grave, No 1 else will know. And even your guilt, you'll quickly get over it. There is no God. There's no day of judgment.

You don't have to give an account for your lives. It's okay. It'll all be forgotten and look at the enticement of riches verse 13. We will get all sorts of valuable things and fill our houses with plunder. Break away from the old thoughts of God of your mommy and daddy telling you what to do and all that advice from the bible, and you'll get lots of valuable things, and you'll live in luxury and comfort.

That's the situation. That's the toddler life that it seems this world is calling us back to. Live for self and trample on anyone that gets in the way or anyone says, let's listen to some other advice. Cancel them. Troll them.

Shut them up. Get them sacked, which leads me onto my third point. Choose life, not death. This is where proverbs is so brilliant. Proverbs in the bible always show us that there 2 ways and there's ends at the end of these paths, these ways.

There's a wise and righteous path, and it will lead to life eventually. And there's a foolish and wicked path and it will lead to death. And so this father gives this parable in verses 10 to 19, and he illustrates the stupidity of the foolish way of life. See, the gang don't tell the whole story. The world that's enticing you are open mouths but only but not with the whole truth.

There's a steam in the tail. Look at verse 15, my son. Do not go along with them. Do not set foot on their paths. For their feet rush into evil.

They are swift to shed blood. How useless to spread a net where every bird can see it. These men lie in wait for their own blood. They ambush only themselves. Such are the paths of all who go after ill gotten gain.

It takes away the life of those who get it. These people are so stupid if you go the road of of of death if you follow them. These people are so stupid. They're more stupid than the birds. The birds that are watching, you lay a snare.

They know. That wasn't there. What's that net doing there? Nice bit of meat, a nice worm. Yeah.

But I'm not going in there because there's a flip in I'm not an idiot. I'm a bird. But you are an idiot. If you don't see the outcome of your violence. You will be a fool.

These men are like drunken hunters with a gun and they see something below that's moving in the bush and they shoot it and they shoot their own foot. That's what he says. There are consequences to actions We're not a free for all. It's not all open. There are consequences to your actions.

There are rotten corpse left in the ground when you murder. There is evidence there that will haunt you. Why do you think so many people are suffering guilt? It's the it's the McBeth if only we're allowed to read those books which I'm not or if you are allowed in school anymore. Where she's got bloodstains on her hands that aren't really there, but it's It's a picture of her guilt and she's scrubbing and the decaying the decaying of the of the corpse festering in our lives and the guilt that we try to cover up.

1 Timothy chapter 6, listen to these wise words. Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap. And into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. Did you hear that? Where are you Where do you hear that?

Do do you have that at school? Let me let me say this again. Do you get that in your economic class? Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.

Some people eager for money have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. The toddler is the picture there. The toddler on their own with all the toys that they've punched people for, but they're on their own. That's it. That's the prize.

Where does the toddler life lead to? Jesus said, Those who live by the sword will die by the sword. That's where the toddler life leads to. They're trapped by their own violence. Just at the moment where they've got everything they want, snap.

The trap goes. Not only are they trapped in this world on their own with their guilt as they've been violent to people. Because there's no fear of God before their eyes, they're trapped in an eternity of darkness. And never get out. The gang, the open mouth Don't tell you the whole story.

There's a sting in the tail. The question is, Who are you going to listen to? You're going to choose life or death. Whose philosophy whose ideology, whose way of thinking is going to influence you day by day, by day. A world without fatherly and motherly word in it will always turn unwise and revert to being a toddler and therefore violence.

Now I know. And I'd I would love to do this. This this is a whole sermon in itself, talking itself. I know there are those that say, no, no, no, we have a utopian vision for peace in this world. We can get rid of God and we'll have peace.

Well, look at it. Look at communism. What's communism produced? North Korea. What's communism produced?

Violence. It starts in violence. It believes in revolution. Repression, the shedding of blood. Or people might say, well what about religion?

Religion will be good. All as sound laws of religion and what does religion do? Produce tyrants and violent men full of corruption? Or think of the ideologies and the freedoms that are shouted out today, What are the reactions if you simply question any ideology or any lifestyle today? What are the reactions?

Because if they're violent, it shows something's wrong. What are the reactions if you say, I don't think, let me just can we just listen to what people said in the past. What are the reactions? It's words like you Nazis. It's words like you intolerant.

It's words like you unkind, cancel them, sack them, get them sacked. We will not listen to old advice. We will not tolerate intolerance. This passage is saying, be careful of wide open mouthed people that seem to be inclusive, but don't tell you the whole story. Listen my son says verse 8, to your father's instruction and do not forsake your mother's teaching.

It's interesting. On reflecting on my mother's life on Monday when we buried her or commemorated her. It was just interesting to reflect on her life. She was not an educated person really wasn't. She was a stay at home mom.

She was a housewife. All of the things that are unwise today. She didn't travel more than a a couple of miles from where she was born. She lived in the same house which was which is just a few hundred yards down from where she was brought up. She lived in a house with my dad all her married life, never moved to another country, never moved house.

Thankfully, she died in that house, which is what she wanted to do. Never moved. Here's a woman. What a waste of a life, isn't it? Never had the experience of fulfilling all of the bucket list.

Never never moved from a few miles from her house. What a what a boring little life? Yeah? Not educated. Just a housewife.

On her death certificate. What do you want us to write? What job? House wife? How per aesthetic, isn't it?

For a woman just to live like that and yet, this is where in her utter orderliness, Today, she's extraordinary, faithful to her husband, faithful to her children. An utterly faithful woman to her parents, looking after them in there or or or at least that her mother in the old age. Depies today, faithfulness. Friendly. She was a remarkably friendly woman, utterly to my irritation.

Always showing me off. I hated it. You never walked down the road without Peter, Peter, this is my son, this is my son, she was so utterly friendly. When she became a Christian, she was totally committed to fellowship in the church. You wanna see what the vicar wrote about her.

She was generous giver. You couldn't go there in sets for the last few years of her life when she deteriorated so much. You could never go to her house or her come to your house without something she'd I just found this up in the attic. What the heck is up in the attic? Would you like this pot?

Would you like this? Would you like that? It was a joy to stand up at the end of her life and say she was a faithful friendly woman full of fellowship and generosity and I would say that's a successful life. Not violent, not me centered. What will your funeral be like?

There's 1 more thing before I'm I'm sorry, Tom. There's 1 more thing. This is my I'm going on holiday soon, so this is my last sermon. 1 more thing I want you to see in this parable the father gives. And this parable course is played out in the life of Jesus.

Judous is enticed. Isn't he? He's enticed to join the gang of religious people. He's enticed to trap an innocent man. Look at verse 11.

If they say come along with us, Let's lie in wait for innocent blood. Let's ambush someone, some harmless soul. Judous, with all his privileged background, with all the wisdom of God personified that he saw for 3 years, turns back into a toddler. I want it all and I want it now. 30 pieces of silver for wisdom.

Jesus of course chose to follow the father's way. But Judith in the end was trapped. Even though he sold Jesus, who had a crown of thorns on his head. Jesus was living the father's life, which was not about himself, but it was to give himself for others. That's the good life.

That's the faithful, friendly, generous, fellowship life. Jesus. Jesus. But Judas, he's entrapped. He sells the wisdom of God for 30 pieces of silver, and then is overtaken with guilt so much so he kills himself and where he dies is called the field of blood.

Those who live by the sword die by the sword. Where is Judith now? The entrapment that has taken him to hell forever, the money that would satisfy him means nothing. Not even in this world, but Jesus, wise 1. Listen to the father's words, had a crown of thorns placed on his head.

As he served the purposes of the father another people to bring themselves to salvation. What happened to him? The crown of thorns was replaced with the crown that says king of kings and lord of lords on it. He reigns exalted forever and ever. In this world, you have a choice.

It's wisdom or folly. And folly will inevitably have violence towards it. The way you're encouraged not to listen to arguments and you cancel people quickly, that's the folly of this world. The way that you're offended when someone disagrees with you, that's the violent folly of this world. The way to diss old ways and wisdom and scripture so quickly for your own desires is the way of folly.

And it leads with judas to death and to hell. But the way of wisdom in this world may mean being mocked may mean having a crown of thorns on your head as you follow the wise 1 as you follow the business of the father. But across is exchanged for a crown in the next life. So beautiful life or the enticed life is set before you. Let's pray.

For the help us to hear these words, to apply them to our hearts and our lives and this world in Jesus' name,