"Wisdom Notes" 7/10/24 Pastor Benjamin Foster

well good evening and we want to welcome you you today to the Divine Encounter Church bible study and just glad that you decided to tune in and to be a part of this what a blessing it is to to look into God's holy word and we love God's word we value his word and we're just glad to be here on this evening we want to look at a passage today uh and gain some wisdom from God's word uh you know we we have to grow in in wisdom and so I said well let's do a lesson today dealing with the topic of God's wisdom we want to grow in wisdom we want to do better uh by the grace of God so that we walk in wisdom and walk in wisdom uh all the time let's open up with a word of prayer dear heavenly father in Jesus name we thank you for this bible study on today and the opportunity that you have given unto us oh God to look into your holy word what a blessing it is to have your word what a blessing it is to study your word and we just ask that you would be with us in this bible study on tonight let your will be accomplished oh God we need you today your will be done Lord God all that you desire bring it to pass uh in in our Bible study tonight anoint my head with oil oh God let my cup run over give me to be highly effective oh God in this Bible study and we ask these rich blessings in Jesus name amen so we want to look today at a passage in in Proverbs and um we want to just grow in God's will wisdom uh we know many of the Proverbs were written by Solomon King Solomon who was the third King uh over all of Israel King Solomon uh was a man whose very life was characterized by wisdom uh he was a man who really really valued wisdom he valued it and he he didn't uh he didn't just uh look at wisdom as something that was unimportant but he sought God for wisdom even more than he sought God for riches and honor and fame because when God asked Solomon ask of me whatever you will Solomon's reply was that God should give him a Discerning a wise and Discerning heart so he could judge the people of Israel and so that was his desire and that's what his Focus was our Focus has to be on Divine wisdom because wisdom is so valuable it's so precious and it can it's so transformational in our lives if you want to see your life go up you want to see the blessings of God in your life you've got to pursue wisdom and you've got to Value wisdom and this is what Solomon did um Solomon's name means peaceful and when Solomon reigned God gave Israel peace during his days as king he gave Israel peace and I believe that wisdom is one of the keys to walking in peace uh Solomon spoke 3,000 Proverbs and 1,5 songs so the wisdom of God in Solomon caused Solomon to write a huge volume of Proverbs but even also gave him the wisdom and the insight to write songs music flowed from the wisdom that Solomon had because of his wisdom he was able to write songs a th5 songs the wisdom of God that Solomon had was vast it was so vast that Kings and people from around the world would come to Solomon just to hear the wisdom that God had given him Solomon would speak about trees and birds and fish uh he spoke of all kinds of things and his he had great breath of knowledge great uh great breath of knowledge and people just marveled at the great wisdom which the Lord had given to him there's something about wisdom uh genuine wisdom that even ungodly people will recognize and they'll they want to hear what you have to say they want to hear and and find out what you know about life something about wisdom there's something about it and so we've got to be people of wisdom we've got to grow in wisdom we got to value wisdom and uh I believe if you study the life of Solomon you're going to be encouraged to do just that the wisdom of Solomon caused him to have great wealth he didn't even ask for great wealth but uh his wisdom caused wealth to come his way even though he wasn't looking for that and Fame even came his way even though he wasn't looking for that he just wanted to please God and do God's Will and he wanted God's wisdom to be abundant in his life so he could be effective in doing God's Will and just because he had that heart God gave him great wealth such that there was no King like him before him or after him and G God gave him uh great Fame he he really blessed blessed the life of Solomon because Solomon valued wisdom and my question for you today is do you value wisdom how much do you value wisdom you know you you got to Value wisdom a lot you got to see just how precious it is to have God's wisdom you gotta you got to discern the value of it it's kind of like a person who uh is walking down the street and they see uh a coin on the street and they assume oh that's just a dime that ain't worth anything and they keep walking and don't even pick it up then another person who has better sense re realizes that well let's take a look and see what that coin is it could be an old coin that has great value and so they bend down they stoop down pick up that coin and they find out when they take it to a coin shop that that coin is worth millions of dollars because it's an ancient coin uh you see you've got to recognize the value in things and wisdom I believe can help you to discern value and so Solomon uh was a man of extraordinary wisdom uh the the Queen of Sheba came to Solomon and asked Solomon the most difficult questions that she had she really grilled Solomon asked him the hardest questions that she knew uh that she could come up with concerning life she just really really grilled him and Solomon was able to answer her questions very thoroughly and very well and Solomon was able to uh confound her with the extraordinary wisdom that God had given him and when she beheld uh his his uh Palace and his servants and all the things that Solomon through wisdom had put together and come up with uh she said the half has not been told it blew her mind the great wisdom and the depth of knowledge that God had given to Solomon and so uh wisdom is precious wisdom is valuable and we've got to understand and recognize just how precious it really is Proverbs Chapter 11 starting at verse one says a false balance is abomination to the Lord Lord but a just weight is his Delight well what is a false balance a false balance is something that is not fair it's something that's designed to cheat people it's something that is designed uh to unfairly uh take advantage of people that's what a false balance is really about it's about taking something from someone else uh in an unfair unrighteous fashion you take something you rob somebody of something that is rightfully theirs through a false balance now we know that in the Old Testament times they use balances in the marketplace if you went to to a market and you wanted to buy some fish they would weigh out the fish on that scale and then they would put on the other side of the scale uh the payment and they would uh or the weight that you asked for I should say they would put on the other side of the scale the the weight that you asked for and then they would say they would try to make sure that the amount of fish that you bought equal the weight uh that you requested in fish and so they they use the balance for that purpose so if you wanted uh a pound of fish you put one pound measurement on one side and then you put fish on the other side and you put enough fish to to equal the one pound weight well what happened in Bible times is that you had people that decided you know what I can probably get away with having a false weight that really only weighs a half of a pound and people are going to think that they're buying a whole pound so I'm GNA use a a false balance I'm gonna use a weight that's gonna throw off uh the measurements of the fish or whatever it is that the person is buying is going to throw it off and it's going to make them think they're getting something that they're really not getting I'm gonna trick people uh with this false scale okay or they they could also Tinker with the scale itself and make the scale uh read uh in their favor so that's what this is talking about it's an Abomination to the Lord to do that we see this happening today even at gas stations some gas stations that you go to you got to be careful because what they'll do at that gas station is they'll they'll show on the pump that you're getting 20 gallons when in all actuality you're only getting about 18 gallons and so they will rig the pump at some gas stations even today so this is what this is dealing with Proverbs 11 And1 a false balance is abomination to the Lord a false balance is something that is highly detestable to God it's something that God is in no way pleased with it's not just a sin but it's a deeper level of sin is what this implies it's an Abomination to the Lord to have a false balance okay but a just weight is his delight and so God likes Justice God likes Justice don't think that God is pleased when there's Injustice that is happening in the world God is aware of Every Act of Injustice he is aware of Every Act of unfair dealings when somebody swindles another person when somebody does another person wrong God is aware of it God is very much aware when the auto mechanic tells you that your car has a much worse problem than it really has yeah God is very aware of that and they Swindle you out of your money and say you know what you got to pay me $2,000 when you really only owe them $200 it's a minor issue but they're lying to you and telling you it's a big gigantic issue see that's a false balance and God is keenly aware of every time that somebody is taking advantage of God is keenly aware of every time when there is Injustice in our world Injustice in our legal system God is concerned about it Injustice in the courts God is deeply concerned about it uh Injustice at the gas pump Injustice uh in the school system Injustice on college campuses whenever there's injustice God is aware of it and God is deeply saddened by it why because a false balance is an Abomination to him okay God wants fairness God wants right dealings and righteous dealings God is pleased when people do things in a manner uh that is fair upright honest and full of Integrity yeah God is pleased with that he likes it when there is integrity in the dealings of man and so we can we have a right as the people of God to pray for fairness we have right to pray for that to ask God that there are fair uh that there's Justice in the world this verse lets you know that God wants Justice you can't pray God's will be done in earth as it is in heaven when you don't know his will but if you know that it's God's will that justice prevails you can pray for God's justice you can pray for God's intervention in the Affairs of men man when you are done when you are treated unfairly God is keenly aware of it and you have a right as a saint of God to pray and ask God to give you justice somebody does you wrong a police officer whoever it is if they do you wrong you have a right to trust God to bring about his Justice and to make things better because God is concerned about these things sometimes we think that God is only concerned about uh big issues colossal issues we think oh God is only concerned about something that's really really major no God is concerned even about the small Affairs of life God is concerned and his desire is for you to prosper his desire is for you to do well God Delights in the prosperity of his servant God takes pleasure when you do well and so God is not pleased and he is in no way happy when you're taken advantage of so you have a right to believe God for justice verse two says when pride comes then cometh shame when pride comes then comes shame there's something about Pride that opens you up to a fall pride has a way of opening you up to trouble opening you up to all kinds of Anguish uh and various situations uh that would uh just really really uh bring shame to you Pride can cause shame pride is arrogance pride is thinking more highly of yourself than you ought to think pride is not walking in the nature of Jesus Christ pride is when you make a decision whether you realize it or not to walk in the nature of the evil one rather than in the nature of God you're walking in the nature of the evil one whenever you walk in Pride and so when Pride cometh you can bet on it you can Bank on it shame is coming next shame is going to follow shame dishonor and reproach follow Pride that's what happens when people uh get involved in Pride okay so shame will follow dishonor will follow embarrassment will follow because they've allowed themselves to agree in their very nature with our enemy with the devil they're agreeing with the one who is the embodiment of evil they're agreeing with the one uh who is totally contrary to the will of God they're agreeing with him when they decide to walk in Pride and that opens them up to destruction that opens them up for trouble the Bible says that God resisteth the proud but he gives grace to the humble you can end up uh being resisted by by God and you wondering what's going on you're wondering why it is that you're having the issues that you're having and the troubles that you're facing well what the reason that sometimes we fall into trouble anguish and dangerous uh Troublesome times is because we don't realize it but we've gotten over into the realm of pride pride comes before destruction the Bible say says and a hoty spirit before a fall and God resisteth the proud sometimes what's going on is not that the devil is really resisting you but God is resisting you God is actually pushing you away resisting you because of your pride so we've got to be very careful to stay away from the realm and the dimension of Pride because it will cause and bring about our shame then he says but with the lowly is wisdom that's where wisdom resides you want to find wisdom you want to get some wisdom from somebody you don't go to an arrogant person you don't go to a person who is lifted up in Pride and who thinks of them to be more High than they ought to think no when pride comes it will bring shame so you don't go to them you go to lowly people you go to the humble those that are broken those that are humble before God go to them go to the humble because the humble they have wisdom humble people have wisdom arrogant people are foolish because God has to resist them they don't have God's wisdom they lack God's wisdom because they've been lifted up in Pride and God is resisting them and if go them that means that his soul his Insight his knowledge concerning the Affairs of life life is going to be lacking because God is going to resist people when they fall into Pride but God is going to draw near to people that are lowly he likes it when we are humble before him and that brings him great pleasure and great joy lowly people have wisdom so that's where we want to go for our wisdom verse three says the Integrity of the upright shall guide them the Integrity of the upright shall guide them uh you see what this verse is letting you know is this the Integrity that you are developing today is going to guide you in your tomorrow the Integrity that uh is growing within you that is blossoming within you that's going to going to one day guide your very life it's going to guide your tomorrow when Pride uh well verse three the Integrity of the upright is going to guide them okay Integrity uh is the ability to choose to do what is right even when nobody else is watching Integrity is truthfulness integrity is honesty integrity speaks of having a pure heart Integrity uh speaks of having strength Integrity is the strength to do what is right in the face of opposition a person that has Integrity Has the strength to do what is right even when they're facing uh opposition to them doing right a person that has Integrity Has the strength to just stand in the face of all kinds of evil and all kinds of opposition their integrity gives them the strength that they need to somehow stand their integrity gives them the ability to stand up for what is right the reason that people fall and choose sin is because they don't have the level of Integrity or the level of strength that they should have to stand against evil their strength is small and people that have integrity are people of great strength people that have integrity are people that spend time with God people that have integrity are people that have been strengthened through prayer strengthened through the word that's what people of Integrity uh have done okay and so their integrity guides them their integrity helps them to make right decisions just simple Integrity will cause you to avoid a lot of evil in this world a lot of trouble that you could fall into you just won't fall into it because of your integrity your personal Integrity will cause you to avoid a lot of the pitfalls of life because your personal Integrity will steer you around those pitfalls around those evil things around those sins and those obstacles of evil it'll just steer you around it and you just won't go in that direction because your personal Integrity will guide you so your integrity that you're building today is going to guide your life in your tomorrow don't underestimate the value of personal integrity and then it says but the perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them what destroys the transgressor what destroys evil people that like doing what is wrong what destroys them and brings them down well what really brings the evil down so that their uh their Kingdom doesn't endure forever their Throne does not endure forever uh what causes that to happen is their own crookedness their own perverseness their own evil ways their own evil character that's what destroys them the evil fall upon their own sword is what ends up happening to them much like Saul became more and more corrupt King SA Saul became more and more corrupt with time and his inward corruption uh culminated when he fell upon his own sword that was when his own evil came to its highest level when he committed suicide the evil that was within Saul became so great that not only did it kill others but it killed him too you see that's the danger of evil the danger of evil is that it doesn't just harm other people it will ultimately harm you it will ultimately destroy you because this verse says the perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them we don't want to be those that are walking in that perverse character we want to be people of uprightness and uh that's the right that's the righteous way to live that's the good way that's the holy way verse four says riches profit not in the day of Wrath but righteousness deliver from Death all the riches that people possess are not going to mean a thing in the day of God's Wrath the Bible says there's coming a day of judgment for this entire world the Bible says in the book of Acts God has appointed a day in the which he will judge the world in righteousness God is going to judge this world in righteousness his righteousness uh is going to be demonstrated in his judgment it's going to be very clear that God is a holy and just God in the day of judgment the day of Wrath there's coming A Day of Reckoning people think they're getting away with all kinds of things 50% of murderers never get caught because 50% of murders are never solved and so you got a lot of people who do evil even murder other people that think that they got away they think that their crime was without a cost and they think that they just killed somebody and nobody saw it happen but this verse is letting you know that there is a day of Wrath there's a Day of Reckoning God has appointed a day in the which he will judge the world in righteousness riches don't profit in the day of Wrath we've got to be ready for this reality all the money that a person has I don't care how rich they are I don't care if they have gained the wealth of the entire world if they got the riches from every single person on planet Earth and somehow took it to themselves they had all the wealth of the entire world in their hands that their riches are not going to profit them in the day of God's Wrath it's not going to benefit them one bit that they uh heaped up all of those riches not going to benefit them one bit in the day of God's judgment riches just don't profit you uh why because you can't take a penny of your money with you when you leave this world and when you leave this life and enter into the realm of Eternity not a penny can be taken with you all of your wealth no matter how much it was is going to be left behind then your children and your friends and your and other people acquaintances uh your mailman your Postman they're gonna fight over your money after you die and you're not going to have a say in it they're going to fight over it they're going to trying to battle over it when you leave this world they're going to all be fighting over your wealth and that's what happens unfortunately in this Fallen World uh people end up fighting and battling over the wealth that others accumulate and for years and years you see battles and uh you see people fighting over money it's just a sad reality but you can't take a penny with you naked you came into this world and naked you're going to leave it you're not going to take a dime with you Jesus said what shall it profit a man if he should gang the whole world and lose his soul riches are not going to profit you in the day of God's Wrath but what will profit you is righteousness righteousness is going to profit you in the day of God's Wrath in the day of God's judgment that's the one thing that God is going to be looking for is your name written in the Lamb's Book of Life are you saved are you genuinely born again if your name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life if you are genuinely born again and then you will have eternal life and you're going to be delivered from Eternal death you see the question uh that is going to be answered on the day of judgment is are you going to get eternal life or are you going to end up with eternal death which one are you going to end up with which one is going to be rewarded to you eternal life or Eternal death the Bible says in Romans 6 and 23 for the wages of sin is death that's the payment that sin brings in the end sin brings about eternal death not just talking about the physical death but it's talking about eternal death where that that you'll enter into a realm and a place called hell where that there is nothing but death throughout eternity there is a hell to shine and there is a heaven to gain let's make sure that we have righteousness let's make sure that we are clothed with the robe of righteousness the robe of righteousness is Jesus Christ it's Jesus and Jesus is our robe of righteousness if Jesus Christ is living in your heart then you are right with God and you have nothing to worry about you can stand before God in total peace if Jesus is living in your heart as John said in one of his Epistles he that hath the son hath life life and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life is Jesus living on the inside of you you know some Jehovah's Witnesses came to my door uh on last week and I had a chance to reason with them and talk with them for maybe 10 minutes and try to plant some seeds in their heart that would help them and the one message that I gave them was that it's Jesus that that is your savior I preach Jesus to the Jehovah's Witnesses and I emphasize that you've got to have Jesus living in your heart if you want to be saved if you want to meet God in peace you've got to have Jesus living on the inside of you it's Jesus Christ that is your righteousness it's only through Jesus and him alone that a person can be saved neither is their salvation any other for there is none other name under Heaven given among men whereby you must be saved and Jesus said I am the way the truth and the life no man cometh unto the father but by Me Jesus is the singular answer for the problem of righteousness and the issue of righteousness he's the singular answer for this wicked World in which we are living the Bible says that we know that we are of God and the whole world lith in wickedness and that's just the truth uh when you're righteous you have escaped the life of wickedness and you're not a sinner you're not living in sin but God has set you free uh so righteousness is what is going to deliver you from death and God wants to deliver all men from Death he doesn't want a single person to be lost it's not God's will that any should perish but that all men should be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth and you can't blame God you can't blame God uh in the day of judgment for the fact that you are unrighteous because God is giving out get out of hell for free cards every day to anyone who would receive Jesus Christ we we escape his wrath and God is willing more than willing to give you a way of Escape through his son Jesus Christ God is uh God takes no pleasure in the death of the w God doesn't rejoice when Wicked people die he doesn't say good glad they're dead no God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked what God takes pleasure in is when the wicked turn from their sin he takes pleasure when the wicked turn to righteousness and and the wicked make a decision that I'm going to do what is good and what is Holy in the sight of God that's what gives God pleasure and so uh that's what we have to focus uh upon we got to focus on helping people into God's kingdom that's the reason that one of the reasons that God left us here on planet Earth you know if God was just interested in saving us then all God would do is just save us and then kill us but he doesn't do that does he he leaves us here and why does he leave us here because he wants us to have an impact he wants other people to be saved and to receive Mercy just like we receive mercy so righteousness is what God wants to give to every man and it's through Jesus Christ Alone verse 5 says the righteousness of the perfect shall direct his way but the wicked shall fall all by his own wickedness okay your righteousness your uprightness directs your way it keeps you on the straight and narrow path it keeps you from getting off and going in the wrong direction doing what is evil it keeps you from making wrong evil decisions your righteousness will direct you it'll tell you what to do on the inside of you you'll just know to avoid certain things you'll discern it because righteousness uh is at work within you the spirit of God is at work within you so the righteousness your very righteousness will direct your way your very righteousness will keep you uh from going in the wrong direction and from departing from the path of life but then he says the wicked shall fall by his own wickedness so that's what destroys the wicked their own wickedness so this is somewhat repetitive because it very much agrees with what we read in verse three so the word repeats this verse three and verse 5 basically say the same thing these are Concepts that we've got to understand okay we've got to understand these basic principles verse six the righteousness of the upright shall deliver them but transgressors shall be taken in their own naughtiness another repetition said in another way your righteousness will deliver you your righteousness what's going to deliver the upright what's going to deliver uh those that are Godly and cause them to be successful when others fall and become victims of sin when other people make wrong decisions that destroy them what is it that God is going to use to preserve us this verse lets us know is the that your righteousness is going to deliver you and so the righteousness that is developing in your life today is going to deliver you from sorrows and anguish tomorrow transgressors are going to be taken in their own naughtiness in other words their own evil is going to destroy them verse seven when a wicked man dies his expectation Shall Perish isn't that sad what a horrible thing when you really think about it when a wicked man dieth his expectation in other words his hope hope is your expectation for future good when a person that's ungodly and wicked when they die their expectation their Hope For Tomorrow perishes What a Sad Sad thing to have no hope if you die without Jesus Christ you have no hope there's no hope for you at that point because you had a lifetime to get it right you had a lifetime uh to uh to learn the ways of righteousness to embrace Jesus Christ and the Gospel of Jesus Christ you had a lifetime to do it and you you wasted away your time you wasted away your time what a what a sad reality that is when some someone has wasted their life you know that commercial for you for the United Negro College Fund says that a mind is a terrible thing to waste well something that's much worse is a soul a soul is a terrible thing to waste when a person leaves this life and they die and they have no hope there's no more any hope they can't wake up and say oh it's a new day today I can get right with the Lord they can no longer say that it's over there's no more hope left for that person their expectation of good perishes when they're Wicked and they die in that state there's a verse that says let him that is evil Wicked be Wicked still in other words it's just it's over and the hope of unjust men perisheth dies their hope perishes so we want to be found in righteousness we want to be found in the way of uh of Peace in the end so I want to pray a prayer today because I recognize that we have people that even in the future are going to view this video could be years down the line that are going to view this video I want to pray a prayer today for you to receive Jesus into your heart there's anyone who views this today or years into the future I want to pray a prayer today is the day of salvation it's time for you to be right with God it's time for you to make your calling in your election sure tomorrow is not promised no guarantee that you're going to have another day if you're hearing uh this message and you find and you're you're not ready to meet the Lord you better make your calling and election sure don't play the game and think that you're G to win don't play a game with God and think that you're gonna win no call upon him while he is near reject what is sinful and Unholy repent therefore uh and believe the gospel Jesus Christ died for our sins he took your penalty on the cross of Calvary and on the third day he was risen from the dead he died for your sins he was buried he was risen from the dead you must trust in what he did your faith has to be in what Jesus Christ did not in your own goodness not in your own Works your faith must be be in Jesus and Jesus alone make sure your faith is in is in Jesus alone that is the only way that we can escape the wrath of God is through Jesus because Jesus already had God's Wrath poured out upon him on your behalf for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life so pray this prayer dear Lord Jesus I ask you to come into my heart today and to save me from my sins I believe that you died for my sins and you were buried and risen again from the dead and I put my faith in your death and resurrection and I make the decision to turn from sin and to follow you by your grace in Jesus name amen amen if you pray that simple prayer today let today be the beginning of the rest of your life hold on to Jesus never give up that is how you're GNA escape death and you'll live eternally with God in glory and so we are thankful for those who have tuned in on today uh to be a part of our live stream the Divine Encounter Church uh we are glad for anyone and everyone who has viewed this broadcast and uh we invite you to come out and to see us in person we meet on Sundays uh at the Morris Lawrence building the Wasa Community College of ant Arbor Michigan and uh we meet normally in room ml150 I believe that this Sunday we are slated to meet in room ml 160 but we normally meet in room ml150 so uh I would say that probably 95% of the time that we meet we are going to be meeting in room ml150 so come by and visit us we meet on Sundays at 3M may God bless you may God keep you and until we meet again amen