In this sermon, Pastor Babij explains how the wisdom of God’s Word has a practically rescuing aspect to it. In particular, the Bible warns against adopting the way of and becoming the prey of wicked men and wicked women, especially when it comes to sexual immorality. Pastor Babij explores Proverbs 2:10-22 as a sobering warning against pornography, marital estrangement, and adultery.
Auto Transcript
Note: This rough transcript was automatically generated by YouTube’s AI algorithm. We provide it here for your convenience, but know it will surely contain errors as it has not been proofread or edited by a human.
okay this morning let’s take our Bibles and we’re going to turn to um Proverbs this morning I’m going to step out of Mark this week and look to Proverbs chapter 2.
and uh look at what is being taught here for all of us um to glean concerning the wisdom of God and so that’s what we want to look at today and I want to just uh focus in on the rescuing nature of wisdom let’s pray Lord this morning I just ask you Lord that you would enable me and help me to preach your word I prayed that you would impress it upon our hearts so Lord we would take Serious the epithy sayings of Proverbs that it would prod our mind and thinking to consider the beginning the middle and the end of a matter so Lord we can avoid evil and we can avoid trouble just by putting these things into practice enable us Lord to be rescued Often by wisdom as we think through things more thoroughly before we Act and I pray you enable us to do that in the power of your spirit I pray this amen so this morning we want to look at chapter two I’m going to look at verses 10.
through verse number 22 and then of course some other ones I will pick up also in chapter five but several weeks ago um when I was in I think it was Father’s Day I gave a message on the voice of wisdom that message ended with an encouragement concerning the fruit and the reward or pres of pursuing Godly wisdom and that is a person who is diligent and pursuing Godly wisdom actually uh we’ll know at three things they’ll know the source of wisdom uh where wisdom actually real wisdom actually comes from uh they will also know two other things about wisdom the path and value of wisdom and then they will know the rescuing nature of wisdom so um considering the first one that I ended with last time was that they will know this people will know the source of wisdom several things come into play when we think of that in verse number five of chapter two it says uh they will know the discern they will have discernment then you will discern the fear of the Lord which of course is the source of wisdom and then um that means they will be able to discern God’s way and remember that the basic meaning of discern uh is to separate and divide in order to choose the right way and to spurn every other evil way it is not merely used in a concrete way to analyze but also in a practical way to know by experience matter of fact I can know something by experience without ever experiencing it wisdom is able to give us that and that’s what really we really want to see in scripture and then of course it will also give us Discovery in verse number five and discover the knowledge of God so see both of these things go together to be able to discern the Lord and to discover the knowledge of God and what do we discuss cover concerning the knowledge of God verse number six that he gives it for the Lord gives wisdom from his mouth comes knowledge and understanding if we want real wisdom it’s got to come from the Lord the emphasis uh In this passage is found in the gift of wisdom uh loyal followers Remain the recipients of divine wisdom of course it’s never known to those who uh are fools and hate knowledge or to the naive who love Simplicity or to the scoffers uh because they Delight themselves in scoffing they’ll never know this kind of wisdom because they don’t seek after that they seek after something else so the search for wisdom brings one into a right relationship with God that’s where it actually leads to and according to Richard Clifford uh he said that the search does not end with the Seeker grasping it that’s just wisdom but in Yahweh bestowing it uh knowing the one who gives it so it comes from God and then in verse number seven uh we also discover that he stores it up for the upright in verse seven he stores up sound wisdom for the upright and if you notice the words uh or the phrase the sound wisdom this wisdoms Effectiveness in getting results such as right conduct the knowledge that leads to knowing God leads to doing what is right in other words it leads people to develop Integrity in life in fact that’s what it says in verse number seven he Shields those who walk it says invert and he Shields those who walk in it are in Integrity that here we have Divine enablement for walking that means the person who walks in the wisdom of God gives uh themselves to God in a way that enables them to walk in what God asks them to walk in it gives them the power to walk in it and then we notice also we discover verse verse number eight that he guards guarding the paths of justice and then verse number eight also and he preserves the way of The Godly ones that uh these are the things that come out of the source of wisdom that God protects the way of the upright from the pitfalls and from the snares of evil the protection wisdom promises is against the violent and the deceitful men of our of any particular day and the seductive women of any particular day in which someone would live so what we have in verse number eight is really the doctrine of the perseverance of the Saints found in other places in scripture it’s it says there he preserves the way of The Godly ones The Godly ones who are they they are the seekers in at least in Proverbs of wisdom who are respectable and good and God-fearing people the word specifically means those who are loyally devoted to God and His Covenant and who remain loyal through thick and thin these are the people who develop wisdom they develop discernment they develop Discovery all right it’s for the for it says in other scriptures that the lord loves Justice and does not forsake his Godly ones they are preserved forever and then again in Psalm 70 97 it says hate evil you who love the Lord who preserves The Souls of his Godly ones he delivers them from the hand of the wicked so uh the bottom line is that the fruit of true wisdom is an obedient loyal and faithful people of God that would be the first thing uh the second thing a person who diligently sinks after wisdom would understand is that they will know the value and the path of wisdom and of course that’s in verse number nine of chapter two then you will discern righteousness and Justice and equity and every good course so see wisdom will be more treasured than any other precious object or person on this side of Eternity the person will know that they are pursuing the source and the embodiment of wisdom which is uh which is God himself along with that God will bestow as a gift the shrewdness to keep safe on the road to life and also the knowledge to even enjoy life he will give both to those who are diligently seeking wisdom so those who fail and become dropouts on the road to wisdom God does not and and of course that does not mean that any person is lacking intellectual ability or physical strength it means that they don’t fear God nor do they take his word very seriously so um they don’t pursue wisdom nor do they seek after it but they seek after something but not that now that leads me to where I want to go today and that is the rescuing nature of wisdom the person who is diligently diligently pursuing wisdom will know that it has a rescuing nature to it uh and and this is very much important as this passage of scripture deals with something that’s very close to home for all of us matter of fact it’s something that everyone in our culture must at some time deal with it no matter who you are in fact it’s amazing that chapter two of Proverbs even brings it up for this is many many many years uh ago that this was written but it was written to prepare young people especially young men for the King’s Service for serving in the Kingdom that the king wanted wise people didn’t want fools or the naive or uh you know the scoffers he wanted wise people so the wise people can carry carry out the business of the king I I think of Proverbs in this way it’s like a map and compass it’s like a uh a book that teaches us uh how to prepare for life in other words without doing all of life especially the evil part of life I remember when I was in the Marine Corps I had a Mac map and Compass Course and uh didn’t think much of it when I took it but I I took it and then uh we were put in a situation where we were dropped into this area uh that I was never in and I all I had on me was a map and compass and some C rations and uh me and our platoon went in there and we had to get from point A to point B uh and the only way that I can see where the swamps were and where the cliffs were and where the all the problem areas were was to look at that map and to find out where I was as far as my compass was north south east and west which way I had a head uh and if I did that I could avoid certain things and get to my destination without that map Encompass I would I would be going through swamp I would be going through this I would be going through that and I would get myself in a lot of trouble and so Proverbs is is a lot like that it will help us to avoid the pitfalls of life and it will bring us to a place where we can uh have a sense of I’m not going to go there and I’m not going to go here I’m going to go right here I’m going to walk in the fear of the Lord I’m going to walk on the narrow path that pleases God so there’s three facts about the rescuing nature of wisdom that I want to look at this morning and the first one is this that the rescuing nature of wisdom has a direction to it all right it has a direction to it in verse number 10 here is the direction it says my son or excuse me in verse number 10 of chapter 2 for wisdom will enter your heart that’s the first thing that goes on as far as the direction of wisdom where’s the wisdom heading it’s heading for your heart your mind your emotions and your will that’s where it’s heading it wants to place itself there in fact Proverbs 14 33 says wisdom rests in the heart of one who has understanding but in the bosom of fools it is made known so wisdom is given to us to have the skill to live life in a way that uh is beautiful in a way that is skillful all right and also the next thing under the direction of wisdom is that wisdom is considered to be it says in verse number 10 the knowledge will be pleasant to your soul so see it’s a personal thing when we are gaining and growing in wisdom it has a pleasantness to it uh it will living by wisdom will will will not take away the fun in other words of life or the joy of life it is actually rewarding and it is fulfilling and happy so happiness and pleasure come from obedience this is what wisdom will do for us God’s wisdom that comes from above comes through the word of God to us and also it will give us discretion in verse number 11. this discretion in this way it will guard you it will be like a sentence a sentinel around your life to guard you from things all right to protect you from things uh discretion uh has the ability to actually act appropriately in different manners uh in different times in different places and then again in verse number 11 uh understanding will watch over you now so the wisdom that we gain from God will watch over you now this is all setting us up for what is coming um and that’s the second thing about the rescuing nature of wisdom and that the rescuing of nature of wisdom has a purposeful design and what is that design well there there’s a general purpose and that is in verse number 12 to deliver from the path of evil to deliver you from the way of evil all right and in other words don’t even somebody who’s growing in wisdom don’t even get on the path of evil that leads to evil people in other words you will crash across paths with people who are evil but don’t walk where they walk don’t do what they do all right and then there’s a specific purpose and that’s deliverance from the people of evil not just the way of evil but the people of evil and of course it says in verse number 12 it says from the man who speaks perverse things so in other words the design the rescuing nature of wisdom has a purposeful design to deliver you and I from the evil person from the evil man now of course when we think about that the evil man doesn’t have a a name tag or a plaque in front of whom says I’m an evil man evil men are usually very likable people matter of fact they’re very good with words they can get you to like them they can get you in their frame of thinking right that’s why it says in verse number 12 I’m to be delivered from the evil man who speaks perverse things well how do I know he speaks perverse things I don’t know unless I’m wise unless I’m growing in wisdom see these perverse words picture of value system that is turned upside down see truth becomes error and error becomes truth like it says in proverbs 10 31 the mouth of the righteous from the mouth of the righteous flows with wisdom but a perverted tongue will be cut out the lips of the righteous bring forth what is acceptable but the mouth of the wicked what is perverted see their words by their words they draw others into the morass of their way of thinking and behaving they are clever at making a wicked deed sound like the right thing to do words that give the appearance of freedom and Independence but actually are words that lead to slavery and of course if you look at verse number 13 of chapter 2 it says I am protected from those who leave the path of uprightness all right so they forsake the straight road for a more traveled one he takes the broad Road of irreligion and vanity and vice the road where the pursuit of God is absent in fact in verse number 13 It also says to walk in the ways of Darkness he likes the ways of the Shadows and then verse 14 who Delight in doing evil and rejoice in the perversity of evil so see this person is caught up in sin and enjoys it gets a kick out of sins perverseness and they approve of everything god disapproves of if we just recalled what the prophet Isaiah was saying to the people who were no longer listening to the word of God this is what he said to them tell me if this sounds like today’s news woe to those who call evil good and good evil who substitute Darkness for light and light for Darkness who substitute bitter for sweet and Sweet for bitter woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight Isaiah chapter 5 verse 20 and 21 that is Keen to what’s going on today how do we navigate those kind of things in our life because in verse 15 of chapter 2 you notice whose paths are crooked and their road is ever winding about and turning in every direction now in saying all that let me just bring it down to at least one way in which evil is pressed Upon Us by evil people and it is done many times cloaked in profit Financial profit because certain things that are evil are very profitable now you say what are you talking about well let me just uh give you a word about the path of evil concerning pornography it is Big Business and lucrative and it is promoted by Wicked people many get caught in the Trap they have found a way to get into your home into your bedroom through your computer they’ve found the way to get there they found a way to charge you for it but pornography is a great danger to the physical and emotional and psychological and spiritual well-being of the human being men and women boys and girls if we are going to walk on the paths of wisdom we simply cannot allow pornography to become or remain integrated into our lives Tim Challis wrote a book called sexual detox and he calls pornography the monster in Disguise and suggests some helpful ways to think about pornography in a way that we can kill the thing and not go near it he said that pornography is really has something inherent in it it is first of all mocking to God secondly it is something that is violent in its nature and then thirdly it is Progressive it will take you deeper and deeper and deeper so you can’t get out of it see let me just consider the first one that it is mocking that pornography makes a mockery of God’s intention for sex and goes against God’s purposes God says the purpose of sex is to build Unity between a husband and a wife pornography says it is about fulfilling any perceived need with any partner willing or unwilling God says sexual desire is good and in a in a controlled context because it urges a man to pursue his wife and a wife to pursue her husband in the context of course in marriage only pornography says sexual desire cannot and should not be controlled but should be allowed to draw us to anyone we find attractive so in that sense it is definitely mocking what God has designed and so therefore a wise person will know that wicked men have come up with this and I didn’t stay away from it a second thing is that it is violent pornography reshapes our understanding of sex of manhood of Womanhood it perverts how God designed things like in our culture right now they’re trying to erase the gender distinctions completely from our culture and believe me they’re doing it because they have the power of the media so if it’s if the church doesn’t get a hold of this and practice it in our own life then we’ll be swept up in this thing also and we cannot be we cannot be because pornography is inherently violent that means it is inherently unloving it’s not about mutual love and caring and commitment it is about Conquest it is about having your own way with someone else it is it really cares love from sex leaving sex as the immediate gratification of Base desires it lives beyond rules and ethics and morality see that’s the power of pornography but there’s a third thing that goes with that it’s Progressive it’s Progressive and that’s the real nature of sin isn’t it see sin is always Progressive as it says in Proverbs 27 20 sheol that’s hell and Abaddon destruction are never satisfied nor are the eyes of man ever satisfied the eyes of man is Never Satisfied see this sin of pornography always wants more always seeks to break out beyond the current boundaries if we give an inch it soon takes a mile a naked body is all the eye needs a single Glimpse provides plenty of full of fuel for a while but before long the heart craves more what was once satisfying is now boring what it was once gross is now desirable this is always the way of sin it will gain Mastery over you and make you its slave that’s always the nature of sin it will take you further than you intend to go it will keep you longer than you intended to stay and it will make you pay more than you want to pay and it will bankrupt you that’s what it’ll do it is Progressive we see we desire we take that is the pattern the downward spiral of sin so young men young men men in general you must not let this to be integrated in your heart and get on the path of evil which on that path are the evil people behind it we must not go there if we do if one does they will remain a foolish deceitful cunning and they will end up being a predatory male you will remain immature and self-centered ungodly just living a fulfilled the base Cravings of the flesh see wisdom and God’s word brings us far beyond that Real Men Real Men Who desire to be Godly by submitting to God and his commands will be willing to wait and they will want to wait not because of lack of sexual interest but because a healthy fear of God has taken place in their heart it is a love which expresses itself in protection from sin and shame and for the woman who is willing to and wanting to wait for the same reasons will want to marry a Godly Man who is self-controlled and has a clear sense of his calling as a man a man who will in the end be her provider and protector and her loving leader so see so so waiting will reveal whether your heart has been pursuing purity that’s what waiting will do Pursuit Purity is the litmus test waiting is the practice of sexual purity doing things right in the manner of our heart means understanding the incredible power you wield in deciding to wait for sexual intimacy until you’re married see that’s wisdom is that an easy path today no because it see it’s a struggle we’re all confronted with it but we have to take this seriously or we will be led down the path that those wisdom says don’t be led down don’t be led down by these evil people see pursuing wisdom in other words in the fear of the Lord will keep you off that path and keep you away from the people of evil behind it that’s what it’ll do it’s got a rescuing nature to it because I now I read the scripture I know what this can do to me and I don’t want to go there I know it’s going to do it to my mind and I don’t want to go there I know how it will pervert my mind when I when the person does meet the person they’re going to marry that they are thinking in their mind if they’re wise about pure things and not about all these images that have been logged into their brain and now they’re evaluating the person they’re marrying by what they the images that are logged in their mind and that is very destructive it is destructive not only before marriage it is destructive in marriage so we must stay off that path and by God’s spirit we will because see God’s desires to sanctify us that’s his will in Thessalonians to sanctify us to set us apart from what from what the world is doing and how the world is thinking and how the world is going in the way we should not go all right getting back to our text now this leads to where I’m going because the rescuing nature of wisdom’s purposeful design will also keep you off the path of evil women notice what it says in verse number 16 to deliver you from the strange woman now the evil woman is called strange because she is a woman outside the boundaries of the marriage relationship she becomes a spiritual and social Outsider because she deliberately chooses to violate the Covenant of her people see the relationship described as a relationship outside the circle of what is proper between a man and a woman she pursues men for her own evil purposes she wants to entangle men in an improper relationship and how does she do that well she does it the same way the man does with her words that’s the way she does it she does it with her words look at verse number 16.
it says from the adulteress who flatters with her words right that’s what she does in fact look over to Proverbs chapter five and verse number three it says for the lips of the adulteress drips honey so she’s a sweet talker and then in verse 3 2 smoother than oil is their speech she’s a sweet talker and she is a smooth talker and see why is this recorded here in Scripture because the Bible is telling us reality this is the way it happens this is the truth right here if we if we have knowledge and the wisdom of God in our heart and our heart is filled up with wisdom we are going to be evaluating what everybody says to us and Men you’re going to be evaluating with women say to you and women you’re going to be evaluating what men say to you because see why are you doing that is because you’re wise see she uses here words to flatter and the word flatter means smooth slippery and deceitful see women can say things and wear things that arouse the interest of men and they know that actually the new revised Standard Version translates verse 16 like this you will be saved from the loose woman from the adulteress with her smooth words see the point is the Temptation is accomplished first by words designed to interest designed to entice a sweet lure a sweet baited lore with a little flattery a little uh a little deceit works every time the male ego is susceptible to sweet nothings if you’re right there in chapter five look at verse four but this is where Godly wisdom goes this is where Godly wisdom evaluates it says but the end but in the end she is bitter as warmword sharp as a two-edged sword her feet verse number five her feet go down to death her steps lay hold of sheol in verse number six she does not Ponder the path of Life her ways are unstable she does not know it see that’s where wisdom looks the irony is that the woman who wishes to control the man by her words is not actually in control of the events her words and actors had her words and actions have consequences of which she is unaware it says at the end there she does not know it see she’s blind blinded by her own passions and desires and not Guided by wisdom she gives throws to the wind what she knows is right to do in fact if you go back to chapter 2 verse number 17 here’s another thing she does she leaves the companion of her youth now this is very important because this word companion in verse number 17.
and forgets the Covenant of her God becomes the key to avoid an adulterous relationship it says she leaves the companion of her youth the companionship in other words has broken apart with someone else she in other words is no longer close with her husband so she’s looking around and it could be vice versa too this is how adultery begins leaving the companionship and the closeness of your spouse when you are married Proverbs another passage of scripture says in Proverbs a perverse man spread strife and a slanderer separates intimate friends meaning close friends friends that are tight in fact the word used here I used many times in my preaching uh marriages and doing marriages is the word for companion does the word came you can tame a wild animal all right the idea is that you get close you can get close to a tamed animal but you can cannot get close to a wild animal right in other words you can get close to your wife you can get close to your husband in fact the way God designed it you can get closer to your spouse more than any other human relationship on this Earth and that’s how we design it but it is the responsibility of the husband and wife relationship to make sure the intimacy is continually growing no matter how many years you’ve been married that is your responsibility why that is the wise thing to do that is the wise thing to do that will keep us off the path of the wicked person see in other words this is where an affair begins it begins long before another person is involved it starts when both the husband the wife slowly grow distant from each other and in their heart they begin to move away from the closeness and the intimacy of their relationship and they start drifting apart oh they’re still living together they’re still married they still have kids they still have responsibility they still go to work but in their hearts they’re moving away that’s not wise the job of the husband and the wife is to make sure that spark and that fire is going on all the time you’re stoking that fire man and you’re keeping your love and your passion for each other alive why because that’s the wise thing to do because that prevents you from being tempted into a relationship that you should not be in so see see if this pattern is not corrected and the closeness maintained it could lead to a descending level of choices which it usually does in other words if he stops being close to his wife and she stops being close to him then the opportunity for someone else becomes a viable temptation to them in fact in verse 17 it says and forgets the Covenant of her God see so when closeness is not maintained between the husband and the wife both are baited and when the pleasure and excitement and the fantasy of sin kicks in from someone else that’s when you’re willing to even throw the Covenant of God to the wind that she violates the law as she forsakes her husband and deliberately fails to obey her marriage vows made before God of course of course both are sinning one deliberately one blindly but both responsible the situation in the path leads always to destruction see what started out innocently leads to full-blown adultery and becomes destructive to your relationship in fact in verse number 18 if you notice the destruction it says for her house sinks down to death and your tracks lead to death or leads to the Dead that means she’s she’s traveling at debt’s door she she places her house at that store an affair has the potential to cause great destruction in fact if you look again over to chapter 5 verse number five it says her feet go down to death her steps lay hold of sheol she does not Ponder the path of Life her ways are unstable she does not know it see she plunders recklessly to her Rune and drags her victims down with her it is a downward slope the man is destroyed and of course the marriage could be destroyed if you notice in chapter 5 also verse number 9 that there is something that could take place and in verse 9 it says of chapter five or will you give your Vigor to others and your years to the cruel one all right in other words they can lose every shredded dignity and respect from relatives neighbors and friends because of it and then in verse number 10 it says and this and strangers will be filled with your strength and your hard-earned goods will go to the house of an alien and you will groan at your final end when your flesh and your body are consumed in other words this kind of thing could lead to uh material physical mental anguish physical problems uh and then in chapter 5 and verse 12 and 13 it says and you say how I have hated instruction and my heart’s spurn repute reproof I have not listened to the voice of my teachers nor incline my ear to my instructors in other words they didn’t listen at the end they realized I didn’t listen to wisdom I threw to the wind so they laid down their navigational equipment and that could have delivered them and they gave into temptation and got caught down in the downward spiral of sin that leads to destruction but at the same time when the closeness is not there anymore it’s both the man and the woman’s problem they both contribute to it the woman may drive him away by contentiousness by nagging by crafts and friends and work and family and grandkids and all those things and not paid attention to him the husband may not pursue his wife because he’s into fishing in sports and work and friends and hobbies and you know they’re not nurturing their companionship they’re not protecting their mind and their heart from lustful thoughts they’re not holding the standard of wisdom High see in other words wisdom is saying don’t let this be a part of your life you don’t have to why because you have been given God’s word to show you that you don’t ever have to go there that’s where God never wants you to be ever want you to be carefully guard your relationships with others protect and nurture your relationship with your spouse no woman should be your confident except your wife men and no man should be your confident except your husband women it cannot happen can a married man and a woman have close friends of the opposite sex individually and privately no well what about the innocent married people who are thrust together with up the opposite opposite sex because of their job situation and ends up developing a close relationship well clearly we are told to stay clear of that so what is the solution there is a solution thank the Lord and like I said this is the rescuing nature of wisdom if you were caught in that whether it’s in your mind or in a reality there is a solution see the solution is is simple the solution is go back and build what is lacking in the close marriage relationship go back to the original blueprints to companionship and closeness that is the key to a deep in love to a deepened commitment to a deepened pleasure with your spouse in fact that’s exactly what it says look at chapter 5 verse 15. look what we did with me see wisdom in other words says remain close growing deeper in love with your spouse verse 15 of Proverbs 5 drink water from your own cistern and fresh water from your own well that’s talking about the sexual desires there verse 16 should your Springs be dispersed abroad streams of of water in the streets let them be yours alone not a Strangers With You Verse 18 let your fountain be blessed and notice rejoice in the wife of your youth rejoice in the wife that you married rejoice in the husband that you married and then look at verse 19 can you get any more specific than this verse 19 as a loving Hind and a graceful dough now we don’t use words like that today but you get it it’s poetic it’s telling us listen let her breasts satisfy you at all times be exhilarated always with their love be intoxicated with their love yes I’m married 35 years how can I be intoxicated we’re love you Ken why because that’s the way God designed it so people don’t believe that see they don’t believe that because they let all this other stuff get in they get let all the stuff rowed out Ness good things honorable things no you gotta let that out remember you’re always married to your spouse you’re never married to your work to your kids or to anything else you’re married to each other and that is honorably for the Lord so that’s what it says here and then verse number 20 and why should you my son be exhilarated with an adulteress and embrace the bosom of a foreigner it’s a question why should you do that why should you give your strength why should you give everything you worked for why should you give your character and your integrity and your responsibility before your family and your community and your children why should you give that to someone else see you see where wisdom’s doing here it’s showing us reality this is reality we live in this world right we experience this we know people we don’t have to go there and if we have gone there God will rescue you wisdom will rescue you get back to the closeness in your relationship you’re both responsible for that in fact look at chapter 6 verse 20. look at chapter six this goes on in in chapter nine in other places it says chapter verse number 20 for the Commandment is a lamp Proverbs 6 20. and the teaching is light and reproofs for discipline are the way of life look at verse 24 to keep you from the evil woman from the smooth tongue of of the adulteress verse 25 do not desire her beauty in your heart nor let her catch you with her eyelids for on account of a harlot one is reduced to a loaf of bread and an adulterous hunts for the precious life verse 27 can a man take fire in his bosom and his clothes not be burned or can a man walk on hot coals and his feet not be scorched verse 29 so is the one who goes into his neighbor’s wife whoever touches her will not go unpunished tell me that is not clear but see this was written to teenage boys who were going to work in the King’s Service teenage boys are to know these things so when they go out into that world and they go into that that secular classroom and if they go on to their job and they get involved with some of the things this is going to be slapping them in the face every day they have to know and they must make their choice now as what they’re going to do they must and husbands and wife you must make your choice now on how you’re going to respond and live with your spouse no matter what they’ve done you need to get back to closeness no matter what you’ve done you need to get back to closeness that’s wisdom and not only that it’s the path to a joyful life it’s the path to a healthy life it’s the path to to past Integrity down to your kids I know how to be a husband and a wife why because my mom and dad because of my grandfather and my grandmother you may not have many examples but you need to be the example why because you have wisdom you’ve been given the word of God and it’s right there for us see so there’s a rescuing nature to the wisdom of God it could keep you off the path of evil it can keep you from the people of evil whether it’s a man or a woman and it can actually bless you and keep you in your heart and soul healthy look back at chapter 2 as I conclude about there’s a third and last fact about the rescuing nature of wisdom that means you can get back on the path if you got off the path because the rescuing nature of wisdom has a destination to it what’s the destination look at verse number 20 of chapter two so you will walk in the way of what good men and keep the paths of righteousness isn’t that what you want that is the way to Joy that’s the way to peace that’s the way to be blessed in your life and then also verse 21 you’ll you’ll have the enjoyment of God’s blessing for the upright will live in the land and the blameless will remain in it meaning that as you live in the land God will give you the blessings of that place and then a third thing is that there will be a control of sin in the place that you live it says but the wicked will be cut off from the land that you dwell in and the treacherous will be uprooted from it that means God will take care of things you cannot take care of so wisdom will keep you aware of your own remaining corruption wisdom will give you the right knowledge of the source of Temptation which exists in abundant Variety in our day wisdom will provide discernment for the snares of Temptation wisdom will Enlighten to identify the people of sin in the path of sin see wisdom knowledge and understanding are the equipment the the map encompass against the Flaming darts of evil men and evil women and may I say an evil Society because that’s where our society is going it’s being permeated by evil people from the top down and we have to live in it we cannot become like them we must be as different as the sun we must be because that’s where God calls us to be so I pray that this is preventative medicine that’s what it is this is something I need to hear every year I need to look at this every year and examine myself and see where I stand here because in the end in the end I want to be able to give a good report to the Lord on how I live my life if I stay on the path of wisdom it will bring me to a destination in which I can recover and rescue what sin has destroyed not to its fullness of course but to the place where good conducts Good Conduct carries with it its own reward good behavior carries with it it’s good his own reward and bad behavior carries within its own agony all right I have to make the choice you have to make the choice every day young people you have to make the choice every day how are you going to live with all the Temptations that are out there how are you going to live I just want to end with one thing and it’s this I ran across this book an old book written by JC Ryle and uh when my son and I used to go every Sunday to the Manville Bakery get our Donuts uh we would read this book together and we would talk about the chapter and it it ended up being a very good time with him because we talked about many other things in the book but there’s one quote in the book I just want to leave you with it’s somewhat related to what I was talking about and this is the quote from JC Ryle from this book the thoughts for young men he says this he would willingly make you he’s talking about the cunnings of Satan and in this book and he says this he will willingly make you think evil good and good evil he will paint and mask and dress up sin in order to make you fall in love with it he will deform and Mysteries misrepresent and caricature True Religion in order to make you uh this uh take a dislike to it he will exalt the pleasures of wickedness but he will hide from you the sting he will lift up before your eyes the cross and its painfulness but he will keep out of your sight the Eternal crown he will promise you everything as he did Christ if you will only serve him he will even help you wear a form of religion if you will only neglect the power of it he will tell you at the beginning of your life it is too soon to serve God and he will tell you at the end of your life it’s too late to serve God be not deceived let’s pray Lord I just thank you this morning for the word of God it is an Incredible Book your word Lord it is more up to date than tomorrow’s newspaper it tells us about the thoughts and intents of our heart before we even have those thoughts and intents but Lord I pray that as we consider the truths found in this passage of scripture that you would Aid all of us and enable all of us to every time we’re in a situation we would use the wisdom of God to be able to evaluate the pros and cons the beginning the middle and the end of something before we even engage in it Lord allow us to be men and women who have integrity and special Integrity in the purity of our mind and integrity in the closeness of our marriage relationship oh Lord please keep us away from the path of evil men keep us out of the presence of evil people and if we detect them Lord let us move far from them but Lord give us the compassion and the strength to give them the gospel so they too may come to know and believe in Jesus Christ as their lord and savior Lord we bow down before you and we thank you for your goodness to us and I pray this in Christ’s name amen