06-28-20, Proverbs 4;11-27, The Choice

Proverbs 4:11-27
The Choice
June 28, 2020
First Baptist Church
Jackson, Mississippi
USA

What’s the number one thing?
The Glory of God!
1 Corinthians 10:31 NKJV
31Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or
whatever you do, do all to the glory of
God.

Father,
Teach us Thy statutes (v12),
Open our eyes (v18),
Stir our hearts (v2,32,36),
And enlighten our minds (v27,34,73,125).
Psalm 119

Proverbs 4:1-2 NKJV
1 Hear, my children, the instruction of a
father,
And give attention to know
understanding (grow wise);
2 For I give you good doctrine (the truth):
Do not forsake my law.

3 When I was my father’s son,
Tender and the only one in the sight
of my mother (an only child),
Proverbs 4:3 NKJV

4 He also taught me, and said to me:
“Let your heart retain my words
(never forget them);
Keep my commands, and live
(a long and happy life).
Proverbs 4:4 NKJV

5 Get wisdom! Get understanding!
Do not forget, nor turn away from
the words of my mouth.
6 Do not forsake her, and she will
preserve you;
Love her, and she will keep you.
Proverbs 4:5-6 NKJV

7 Wisdom is the principal thing;
Therefore get wisdom.
And in all your getting, get
understanding.
Proverbs 4:7 NKJV

8 Exalt her, and she will promote you;
She will bring you honor, when you
embrace her.
9 She will place on your head an
ornament of grace;
A crown of glory she will deliver to
you.”
Proverbs 4:8-9 NKJV

10 Hear, my son, and receive my sayings
(do as I say),
And the years of your life will be
many.
11 I have taught you in the way of
wisdom;
I have led you in right paths.
Proverbs 4:10-11 NKJV

12 When you walk, your steps will not
be hindered,
And when you run, you will not
stumble.
13 Take firm hold of instruction, do not
let go;
Keep her, for she is your life.

14 Do not enter the path of the wicked
And do not walk in the way of evil.
15 Avoid it, do not travel on it;
Turn away from it and pass on.

1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in
the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth
in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the
seat of the scornful.
Psalms 1:1 KJV

There is a downward progression
(regression) of sin—from walking, to
standing, to sitting, from passing
through to spending time, to being
comfortable with it.

That is why Solomon says in Proverbs
4:14, “Do not enter the path of the
wicked.”
"Don't even take the first step. Avoid it at
all cost."

2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD;
and in His law doth he meditate day and
night.
Psalms 1:2 KJV

3 And he shall be like a tree planted by
the rivers of water, that bringeth forth
his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall
not wither; and whatsoever he doeth
shall prosper.
Psalms 1:3 KJV

4The ungodly are not so: but are like the
chaff which the wind driveth away.
Psalms 1:3 KJV

Believing (walk in the counsel) think.
Behaving (stand in the way) live.
Belonging (sit in the seat) forbidden
fellowship.

In First Corinthians, Paul first corrected
the errors in their wrong thinking
(believing), then he addressed their
wrong behavior and finally he came to
the subject of joining the wrong crowd
(belonging).

16 For they do not sleep unless they
have done evil;
And their sleep is taken away unless
they make someone fall.
17 For they eat the bread of wickedness
And drink the wine of violence.

18 But the path of the just is like the
shining sun,
That shines ever brighter unto the
perfect day.
19 The way of the wicked is like darkness;
They do not know what makes them
stumble.

20 My son, give attention to my words;
Incline your ear to my sayings.
21 Do not let them depart from your
eyes;
Keep them in the midst of your heart;

22 For they are life to those who find
them,
And health to all their flesh.
23 Keep your heart with all diligence,
For out of it spring the issues of life.

24 Put away from you a deceitful
mouth,
And put perverse lips far from you.
25 Let your eyes look straight ahead,
And your eyelids look right before
you.

26 Ponder the path of your feet,
And let all your ways be established.
27 Do not turn to the right or the left;
Remove your foot from evil.

Jon Courson's Application
Commentary of the New Testament
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/MuRmxkCObIY/hqdefault.jpg

WatchYour Step
ATopical Study of
Proverbs 4:26-27

1 “Woe to the rebellious children,” says
the LORD,
“Who take counsel, but not of Me,
And who devise plans, but not of My
Spirit,
That they may add sin to sin;
Isaiah 30:1 NKJV

Isaiah 30:2 NKJV
2 Who walk to go down to Egypt,
And have not asked My advice,
To strengthen themselves in the
strength of Pharaoh,
And to trust in the shadow of Egypt!

Isaiah 30:15 NKJV
15 For thus says the Lord GOD, the Holy One
of Israel:
“In returning and rest you shall be
saved;
In quietness and confidence shall be
your strength.”
But you would not,

16 And you said, “No, for we will flee on
horses”—
Therefore you shall flee!
And, “We will ride on swift horses”—
Therefore those who pursue you shall
be swift!
Isaiah 30:16 NKJV

21 Your ears shall hear a word behind
you, saying,
“This is the way, walk in it,”
Whenever you turn to the right hand
Or whenever you turn to the left.
Isaiah 30:21 NKJV

When would the Israelites hear God's word in
their ear?
When they stopped, when they put aside
their plans, programs, views, and ideas, and
said, "Lord, we're not taking another step
apart fromYour leading and guiding."

"Stop, look, and listen."
We teach this to our kids to keep them from
running into the street or cross the railroad
track.
Spiritually, we need to be taught the same
thing.

Stop what you're doing.
Don't take another step.
Don't go in there.
Don't hang around there.
Look up.

Say, "Lord,You're with me and I want to
cultivate the practice ofYour presence in this
very moment."

Proverbs 19:20 NKJV
20 Listen to counsel and receive
instruction,
That you may be wise in your latter
days.

7a How beautiful upon the
mountains
Are the feet of HimWho
brings Good News,
Isaiah 52:7a NKJV

7b Who proclaims peace,
Who brings glad tidings of good
things,
Who proclaims salvation,
Who says to Zion,
“Your God reigns!”
Isaiah 52:7b NKJV

I see the feet of Jesus walking on the
waves of a storm without sinking.
This shows He's in control of whatever
situation you may find yourself.

I see the feet of Jesus walking in Samaria.
The Jews considered the Samaritans to
be half-breeds and, therefore, had
nothing to do with them. Not Jesus. In
fact, John tells us He must needs go
through Samaria (John 4:4).To give hope
to one woman who had messed up her
life (John 4:7-29).

Jesus walks where no one else does to
bring good news to people who are
hurting, to people who are despairing, to
people like us.

I see the feet of Jesus walking up Mount
Hermon, where He would be
transfigured as the glory of His divinity
shone through His humanity as proof
that He had lived His life perfectly.

At that point, He could have launched up
into Heaven, saying to all of mankind,
"You see? It could be done.You could live
in obedience. But you chose not to." Is
that what He did? No.

The same feet walked down the
mountain to find a boy below, tortured
by a demon, in need of healing (Mark
9:18). Jesus walked from a mountain top
experience down Mount Hermon into
the valley of service to touch people in
need, people in bondage, people like us..

Finally, I see the feet of Jesus pinned to
the Cross of Calvary. And in the blood
that flowed freely from His veins,
arteries, and capillaries, there is healing
for me.

For the times when I have walked into
sin, messed up my life, not watched my
step, or given heed to God's Word, Jesus
Christ made provision.The blood He
shed cleanses from every single sin I've
ever done. He brings good tidings of
great joy! He publishes salvation. He
reigns.

God reigns. Because of our sin and
rebellion, He should rain down anger and
wrath upon us. Instead, because of the
blood of Jesus, He reigns peacefully and
powerfully within any and all who will
embrace Him.

He'll bring restoration and renewal to
you if you'll simply ponder the path of
your feet and say, "Come into my life,
Lord. Cleanse me withYour blood. Reign
in my heart. Guide my steps."

Adrian Rogers
9/12/1931--11/15/2005

The Adrian Rogers Legacy Collection –
Sermons.
Guarding Your Thought Life
www.pastortraining.com
www.adrianrogerslibrary.com

Proverbs 4:23 NKJV
23 Keep (guard) your heart with all
diligence,
For out of it spring the issues of life.

This word heart is used more than 800
times in the OldTestament, but more
than 200 times it deals with the thought
life, not merely the intelligence, but the
emotion, the thought life, the well
springs of life, the thing that motivates
us and moves us and molds us and
makes us.

The Bible calls that the heart, the
thought life. In the NewTestament it
would be roughly equivalent to the mind.
"Keep your mind, your thought life, your
heart with all diligence, for out of it are
the issues of life."We need to pay very
much attention, therefore, to our hearts.
We need to guard our heart.

YourThought Life
• The majesty of your thought life.
• The mastery of your thought life.
• The ministry of your thought life.

Proverbs 4:23 MSG
23 Keep vigilant watch over your heart
(your thought life);
that’s where life starts.

Proverbs 23:7a MSG
7a For as he (a man) thinks in his heart,
so is he.

Your attitudes lead to your actions.The
thought is the father of the deed. Before
you can do a thing you have to think it.
So the heart leads to the attitude, and
the attitude leads to the action, and the
action leads to the achievement.
(Attitude—action—achievement) Now,
what are you going to achieve in life?

Your achievements are going to be the
sum total of your thoughts because your
thoughts are going to lead to those
attitudes, and those attitudes are going
to lead to those actions, and those
actions are going to lead to those
achievements.

It wasThackery who said: "If you sow a
thought, you'll do what?You'll reap a
deed. Okay. And if you sow a deed,
what?You'll reap a habit.And if you sow
a habit, what?You reap a character.

And if you sow a character, you reap a
destiny, you see. And it all begins how?
With the thought life. "Keep your heart
with all diligence; for out of it are the
issues of life." "As a man thinketh in his
heart, so is he."

Thoughts>Actions>Habits>Character. It
all begins with our thought life.

This concept is so fundamental that one
day God destroyed an entire civilization
for what reason?They had heart trouble.
God destroyed them for that.

Genesis 6:5 "And God saw that the
wickedness of man was great on the
earth, and that every imagination—listen
to it—of the thoughts of his heart was
evil continually before God."

God said, "The thoughts of their heart
are so evil, I'm going to have to eradicate
them, I'm going to have to destroy
them," and God sent the flood in the
time of Noah.Why? Because of the
thoughts of men's hearts.Are you
listening today?

The heart of the human problem is the
problem of the human heart. "As it was in
the days of Noah, so shall it be in the day of
the coming of the Son of man."We're still
having the same problem they had back
there, the thoughts of men's hearts.And
God saw that because of the thought of their
hearts they had certain attitudes.

Genesis 6:5 NKJV
5Then the LORD saw that the wickedness
of man was great in the Earth, and that
every intent of the thoughts of his heart
was only evil continually.

6 And the LORD was sorry that He had
made man on the Earth, and He was
grieved in His heart.
Genesis 6:6 NKJV

Because they had certain attitudes, they
had certain action. Because they had
certain actions, they had certain
achievements. And their achievements
were so vile and so disgusting that God
had to destroy them.

Conversely, when God gets ready to
change a man, when God gets ready to
use a man, mold a man, make a man,
motivate a man how does God do it? He
does it by changing how that man thinks.

What does Romans 12:2, say? "Be not
conformed to this world; but be
transformed"—how?—"by the renewing
of your mind."
How does God transform us?

God changes the thought process. We
are talking about the majesty of the
heart.We are not leaving God out.When
God is in the heart, then the man thinks
right, lives right, does right.

When God is absent, the man thinks
wrong, does wrong, lives wrong.There's
this control center. And a very fierce
battle is being raged for the control of
your mind.

Dr.Tim LaHaye has written an excellent
book called, "The Battle forYour Mind."
And no wonder the devil battles for the
mind. No wonder the Lord Jesus Christ
wants us to present our bodies to Him,
including our minds, that He might
transform us.There's the majesty of the
thought life.

Think a little bit about the mastery of the
thought life, because look in Proverbs
4:23 again.What Solomon said to his son
was this: "Son, guard your thought life.
Keep your thought life pure. Protect your
thought life. Be careful of your thought
life. Keep your heart with all diligence;
for out of it are the issues of life."

How important it is that we learn to keep
our hearts because of the battle that is
being waged for your mind for the
thought life.

Now, how am I going to guard my
thought life?Well, again, we want to be
very practical right here from the Book of
Proverbs. And, first of all:You have to be
careful what comes into your mind
because you have to think pure
thoughts.

Now, a text without a context is a
pretext. A pretext is an excuse given in
justification of a course of action that is
not the real reason.

In this particular passage Solomon is
talking about the sexual affairs of a
young man, and what Solomon is doing
is warning his son about having impure,
immoral thoughts in his heart and in his
life.

Now, this is the end of chapter 4 and in
chapter 5 he speaks of the heartbreak of
immorality and all of these things that
happen that are, elucidated and
enunciated there in chapter 5.

Well, this verse right before that chapter
5 is a part of that whole train of thought,
where Solomon is saying, "Young man,
Son, keep your heart, guard your heart.
Don't let these impurities get into your
heart and in your mind."

In chapter 6 verse 25 -- you get that same
idea, where he says concerning the
harlot, the fallen woman, "Lust not after
her beauty in thine heart." And then he
says in verse 27: "Can a man take fire in
his bosom and his clothes be not burned?
Can one go upon hot coals and his feet
be not burned?"

You know what Solomon is talking
about? He's talking about what we would
call today pornography, and he's saying
to his son, "Now, son, if you would have a
pure heart, guard your heart from these
things."

The humanistic worldview is that idea, that system
of thought that immorality can be divorced from
love, that it can be divorced from commitment, that
it can be divorced from morality, or that it can be
divorced from responsibility, that you can take it
alone and somehow use it, enjoy it, participate in it,
apart from love, apart from morality, apart from
responsibility, and apart from the other things that
God has joined with it, and you can be successful.

What was horrible yesterday is
acceptable today and is becoming a
stepping-stone for something worse
tomorrow.

Now, there are people who tell you what
you see doesn't affect you. If that's true,
you tell me why someone will spend
almost one half a million dollars for less
than a minute advertisement on the
Super Bowl if they don't believe what a
man sees will affect him and what a man
sees will change him? Of course it will.

You let that come in your mind, you let that
come in your heart, it's got to come out some
way.You've got to deal with everything that
comes into you, and we're the sum total of
those thoughts that come into us and those
words and actions that go out of us, and that's
the reason that we're warned against this, the
poison of immorality. It is psychological
poison.

Four steps that poison the psychology of
a person.
1) Addiction.
2) Escalation factor.
3) Desensitization factor.
4) Act it out.

Immorality (sin):
is psychological poison,
is social sickness,
is domestic disaster, and
is spiritual suicide.

The sun has almost set for America. It's
not a new day. It's the end of an age and
the end of an era and the beginning of
the judgment of God.

James 1:15 says: "Lust, when it hath
conceived, bringeth forth sin; and sin,
when it is finished, bringeth forth—
what?—Death."
Lust, sin, death!
LSD—lust, sin, death!

How are you going to not think bad
thoughts?
By thinking God's thoughts.

Meditation is thinking God's thoughts
over and over again.

2 Corinthians 10:3-4 NKJV
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do
not war according to the flesh. 4 For the
weapons of our warfare are not carnal
but mighty in God for pulling down
strongholds,

2 Corinthians 10:5 NKJV
5 casting down arguments and every high
thing that exalts itself against the
knowledge of God, bringing every
thought into captivity to the obedience
of Christ,

Paul says in the NewTestament,
"Whatsoever things are pure,
whatsoever things are just, whatsoever
things are lovely, whatsoever things are
of good report, if there be any virtue, if
there be any praise"—do what?—"think
on these things."

Something wonderful, something
exciting, something profound. God made
you where you can't think two things at
one time. And if you're thinking what's
right, you cannot be thinking what's
wrong.

Isn't that wonderful? So how do you keep
from thinking what's wrong? Just think
what's right. Now, when he says, "Guard
your heart," he says, "Load up on My
Word. Get myWord in here. Keep it in
the midst of your heart."

"Thy word have I hid in my heart"—
what?—"that I might not sin against
Thee." "Wherewithal shall a young men
cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto
according to thy word." So, store up on
theWord of God.You see, you've got to
think pure thoughts.

How are you going to think pure
thoughts? And those pure, positive
thoughts also are very powerful
thoughts, because the Bible says, "The
word of God is quick and powerful, and
sharper than a two-edged sword."

I'm not just talking about thinking
positive thoughts like thinking about
flowers and bees and birds and trees and
those kind of things. I am talking about
the mightyWord of God. Get it in your
heart. It's power to cleanse. It's power to
keep you. Now, you're going to have to
do it.

So, what is the ministry of the heart?
What is the ministry of the thought life?
The ministry of the thought life is this,
pure and simple; it will govern your
speech. And if we could change the
speech in America, we could pretty well
change our land.

A proper thought life will:
1) govern your speech;
2) guard your sight;
3) guide your steps.

Why do some people go to look at this
and other people don't?Why do some
people look at pornography and other
people don't?Why do some people look
on lewd scenes and other people don't?
Because, you see, there's the ministry of
the thought life.

Not only will it govern your speech, it will
guard your sight, and you can make up
your mind that you're not going to look
at certain things.You're not just a
helpless victim. Do you know what Job
said? Job said, "I made a covenant with
my eyes not to look upon a maid."That
is, he made a decision.

Now, men, listen, and, ladies, listen.You
need to get alone with God in a quiet
place and read your Bible and study your
Bible, and at that time make a solemn
decision before God, by God's grace and
by God's help, you'll not look at this stuff.
Don't wait until you're in the middle of it.
Don't wait till the temptation comes.

Beforehand, make a covenant with your
eyes, because what you see determines
what you think, but also what you think
determines what you see. A pure
thought life will guard your sight.

One last thing, dear friend, it will guide
your steps. Look again. He says, "Ponder
the path of thy feet"—that is, Ponder the
path of your thought life; think about it—
"and all thy ways, and all your ways will
be established.Turn not to the right hand
nor to the left; remove thy foot from
evil."What does that mean?

It means, friend, when your mind is clear
and right with God, when you think the
thoughts of Christ after Him, when you
have the mind of Christ, when you're being
transformed by theWord of God and the
power of God and the Spirit of God in your
thought life, in your heart, then you're
going to be doing the will of God.

God has a plan for you, a wonderful plan.
God wants you to have health, wealth,
and wisdom; God's health, God's wealth,
God's wisdom. God wants you to have a
fruitful life.

God wants you to have fulfillment. God
wants you to have sexual fulfillment. God
wants you to have a happy family. God
wants you to get your prayers answered.
God wants you to have the progressive
realization of His will for your life. God
wants you to know success in the fullest,
highest meaning of the word.

But how are you going to do it?Your
thought life. "As a man thinketh in his
heart, so is he." Out of the heart are the
issues of life.And God will guide your
steps.

Conclusion:
So many people say, "I want to know the
will of God." Friend, the will of God is not
a roadmap; it is a relationship. Knowing
Him, knowing Him, knowing Him, and
thinking His thoughts after Him. God’s
will is not something you find, it is
something you do.

Thank you, Lord, forYourWord. O God,
today, how it's blessed and refreshed our
souls, our hearts asYou have opened our
eyes, stirred our hearts and enlighten our
minds!

Lord, we pray now thatYou will burnYour
Word indelible into the tablets of our
hearts. O God, we pray thatYou will
change lives. In Jesus' name.Amen.

The Plan of Hope & Salvation
John 3:16-17 NKJV
16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only
begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not
perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His
Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the
world through Him might be saved.”
John 14:6 NKJV
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No
one comes to the Father except through Me.”

Romans 3:23 NKJV
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Romans 6:23a NKJV
23a For the wages of sin is death,
• Death in this life (the first death) is 100%.
• Even Jesus, the only one who doesn’t deserve death, died in this
life to pay the penalty for our sin.
• The death referred to in Romans 6:23a is the “second death”
explained in Revelation 21:8.

Revelation 21:8 NKJV
8 “But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually
immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the
lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
• Anyone who’s lifestyle is one or more of the sins listed in Revelation
21:8, will experience the “second death,” if they do not repent.
• To Repent means to turn around, to go in the opposite direction, to turn
away from sin and believe in Jesus.
Romans 5:8 NKJV
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were
still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 6:23b NKJV
23b but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our
Lord.
Revelation 21:7 NKJV
7 “He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will
be his God and he shall be My son.”
• In Romans 10:9-10 it’s explained to us how to be
overcomers.

Romans 10:9-10 NKJV
9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and
believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead,
you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto
righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto
salvation.
Romans 10:13 NKJV
13 For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Do you have questions?
Would you like to know more?
Please, contact First Baptist Church Jackson at 601-949-1900
or http://firstbaptistjackson.org/contact/

06-28-20, Proverbs 4;11-27, The Choice

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06-28-20, Proverbs 4;11-27, The Choice