Episodes
Saturday Feb 22, 2014
Proverbs 5, God Designed Intimacy
Saturday Feb 22, 2014
Saturday Feb 22, 2014
Intimacy
the state of being intimate.
a close, familiar, and usually affectionate or loving personal relationship with another person or group.
These relationships are with each other and God. Love God and People
[Mat 22:36 ESV] "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?"
[Mat 22:37 ESV] And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.
[Mat 22:38 ESV] This is the great and first commandment.
[Mat 22:39 ESV] And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
[Mat 22:40 ESV] On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets."
This is the point of the whole Bible.
Remember the #1 Commandment.
[Deu 6:5 ESV] You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
With God:
Emotional Intimacy; Worship, prayer, Bible study, Obedience
Physical Intimacy; not erotic, but as a living sacrifice. Wear our-selves out obeying.
[Phl 2:17 ESV] Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all.
[Phl 2:18 ESV] Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.
[Ecc 5:12 ESV] Sweet is the sleep of a laborer, whether he eats little or much, but the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep.
Spiritual Intimacy; obedience, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
[Jhn 16:7 ESV] Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.
[Jhn 16:8 ESV] And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment:
[Jhn 16:9 ESV] concerning sin, because they do not believe in me;
[Jhn 16:10 ESV] concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer;
[Jhn 16:11 ESV] concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
[2Cr 1:21 ESV] And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us,
[2Cr 1:22 ESV] and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.
Intellectual: Bible Study and Obedience, Science There is no such thing as blind faith.
Isaiah when exhorting Israel to repent of evil, says the following.
[Isa 1:3 ESV] The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master's crib, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand."
[Isa 1:4 ESV] Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly! They have forsaken the LORD, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are utterly estranged.
[Isa 1:16 ESV] Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil,
[Isa 1:17 ESV] learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause.
[Isa 1:18 ESV] "Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.
With People. Intimacy has moral laws to guide the depth of intimacy.
Emotional Intimacy;
[Rom 12:15 ESV] Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.
Physical Intimacy; two levels, not erotic and erotic.
Non-erotic:
Paul teaches Timothy: [1Ti 5:2 ESV] older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity.
We will discuss the erotic with Proverbs 5.
Spiritual Intimacy; Fellowship, prayer
Intellectual: Talking. Working through issues.
These four intimacies are Interdependent. They are connected.
When you go deeper with one, it effects all the others.
As humans, this is what real love looks like.
An exhortation to listen
[Pro 5:1 ESV] My son, be attentive to my wisdom; incline your ear to my understanding,
[Pro 5:2 ESV] that you may keep discretion, and your lips may guard knowledge.
Avoid the easy woman.
[Pro 5:3 ESV] For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil,
[Pro 5:4 ESV] but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.
[Pro 5:5 ESV] Her feet go down to death; her steps follow the path to Sheol;
[Pro 5:6 ESV] she does not ponder the path of life; her ways wander, and she does not know it.
Exhortation to listen
[Pro 5:7 ESV] And now, O sons, listen to me, and do not depart from the words of my mouth.
[Pro 5:8 ESV] Keep your way far from her, and do not go near the door of her house,
Consequence of adultery (premarital physical intimacy is adultery)
[Pro 5:9 ESV] lest you give your honor to others and your years to the merciless,
[Pro 5:10 ESV] lest strangers take their fill of your strength, and your labors go to the house of a foreigner,
Sinners eat their own.
Gossip, Slander, Hypocrisy (although they do it to, you will be used as their smoke screen)
How many pastors and priests have fallen to sexual immorality?
**Youth ministry leadership training.
Un-repented guilt leads to hatred of God & His rules.
[Pro 5:11 ESV] and at the end of your life you groan, when your flesh and body are consumed,
[Pro 5:12 ESV] and you say, "How I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof!
[Pro 5:13 ESV] I did not listen to the voice of my teachers or incline my ear to my instructors.
[Pro 5:14 ESV] I am at the brink of utter ruin in the assembled congregation."
** These are the perpetual victim people. It’s never their own fault.
Stay faithful to your spouse
[Pro 5:15 ESV] Drink water from your own cistern, flowing water from your own well.
[Pro 5:16 ESV] Should your springs be scattered abroad, streams of water in the streets?
[Pro 5:17 ESV] Let them be for yourself alone, and not for strangers with you.
[Pro 5:18 ESV] Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth,
[Pro 5:19 ESV] a lovely deer, a graceful doe. Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight; be intoxicated always in her love.
God designed physical intimacy. It is for His Glory. Song of Solomon is a celebration of physical intimacy and passion. It is not an allegory of Christ.
[Pro 5:20 ESV] Why should you be intoxicated, my son, with a forbidden woman and embrace the bosom of an adulteress?
God knows what you are thinking
[Pro 5:21 ESV] For a man's ways are before the eyes of the LORD, and he ponders all his paths.
[Pro 5:22 ESV] The iniquities of the wicked ensnare him, and he is held fast in the cords of his sin.
[Pro 5:23 ESV] He dies for lack of discipline, and because of his great folly he is led astray.
Whoopi
[Mat 5:28 ESV] But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
Everybody is guilty,
Sin is the great equalizer. It puts everyone on a level playing field.
[Job 31:1 NIV] "I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a young woman.
God says, Rules for erotic physical intimacy are the following:
marriage covenant required. one adult man, one adult woman
The world says, no covenant required, gender doesn’t matter, number doesn’t matter, age does not matter. And coming soon, humans do not matter.
David prays an incredible prayer of intimacy to God.
[Psa 139:23 NIV] Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
[Psa 139:24 NIV] See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
Wisdom Proverbs 5; God Created Intimacy
Saturday Feb 15, 2014
Proverbs 4, Wisdom VS Popular Immorality
Saturday Feb 15, 2014
Saturday Feb 15, 2014
The Setting:
[Pro 4:1 ESV] Hear, O sons, a father's instruction, and be attentive, that you may gain insight,
[Pro 4:2 ESV] for I give you good precepts; do not forsake my teaching.
[Pro 4:3 ESV] When I was a son with my father, tender, the only one in the sight of my mother,
[Pro 4:4 ESV] he taught me and said to me,
"Let your heart hold fast my words; keep my commandments, and live.
[Pro 4:5 ESV] Get wisdom; get insight; do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth.
[Pro 4:6 ESV] Do not forsake her, and she will keep you; love her, and she will guard you.
Do not turn away: Even in this town of limited choices, evil is the easiest choice.
As long as you avoid church, avoid fellowship, avoid the teaching of Bible and don’t study yourself; Evil wins in you.
[Pro 4:7 ESV] The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight.
[Pro 4:7 NASB] "The beginning of wisdom is: Acquire wisdom; And with all your acquiring, get understanding.
Acquire; buy, invest, collect.
Benefits of Wisdom
[Pro 4:8 ESV] Prize her highly, and she will exalt you; she will honor you if you embrace her.
[Pro 4:9 ESV] She will place on your head a graceful garland; she will bestow on you a beautiful crown."
Garland, crown. Wisdom becomes visible on you, it is personal but not private.
Wisdom adds to your self-worth. **carefully** Our self-worth comes from Christ alone, not apart from Christ. But that is the beginning of Wisdom.
Exhortation
[Pro 4:10 ESV] Hear, my son, and accept my words, that the years of your life may be many.
[Pro 4:11 ESV] I have taught you the way of wisdom; I have led you in the paths of uprightness.
Benefit
[Pro 4:12 ESV] When you walk, your step will not be hampered, and if you run, you will not stumble.
Exhortation;
[Pro 4:13 ESV] Keep hold of instruction; do not let go; guard her, for she is your life.
Remember how Wisdom is leveraging other people’s pain for your gain?
Wickedness is popular but it’s evil. Yes, everyone is doing it.
That is a really good indicator that something is evil.
[Pro 4:14 ESV] Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of the evil.
[Pro 4:15 ESV] Avoid it; do not go on it; turn away from it and pass on.
[Pro 4:16 ESV] For they cannot sleep unless they have done wrong; they are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble.
Concerning people who reject God
[Rom 1:32 ESV] Though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.
Such Things. . . . .
[Rom 1:28 ESV] And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.
[Rom 1:29 ESV] They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips,
[Rom 1:30 ESV] slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,
[Rom 1:31 ESV] foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.
When you reject God & His Wisdom; He gives you just what you wanted, plus more!
[Rom 1:16 ESV] For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
[Rom 1:17 ESV] For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith."
[Rom 1:18 ESV] For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
[Rom 1:19 ESV] For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.
[Rom 1:20 ESV] For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
[Rom 1:21 ESV] For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
[Rom 1:22 ESV] Claiming to be wise, they became fools,
[Rom 1:23 ESV] and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
[Rom 1:24 ESV] Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves,
[Rom 1:25 ESV] because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.
[Rom 1:26 ESV] For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature;
[Rom 1:27 ESV] and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.
Repent means to turn away from and pursue a new way. The way of Jesus.
Jesus talks about our physical and spiritual death, without repentance.
[Luk 13:1 ESV] There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.
[Luk 13:2 ESV] And he answered them, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way?
[Luk 13:3 ESV] No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.
[Luk 13:4 ESV] Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem?
[Luk 13:5 ESV] No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish."
The Unrepentant
[Pro 4:17 ESV] For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence.
Compare and Contrast. Righteous VS wicked.
The journey of the Bible is amazing! Miracles, Missions and life to the fullest.
[Pro 4:18 ESV] But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day.
[Pro 4:19 ESV] The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble.
Put your back into it.
[Pro 4:20 ESV] My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings.
[Pro 4:21 ESV] Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart.
Benefit
[Pro 4:22 ESV] For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh.
What to keep and what to throw out.
[Pro 4:23 ESV] Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.
[Pro 4:24 ESV] Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you.
[Pro 4:25 ESV] Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you.
[Pro 4:26 ESV] Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure.
[Pro 4:27 ESV] Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.
[Mat 7:13 ESV] "Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.
[Mat 7:14 ESV] For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
Wisdom Proverbs 4
Saturday Feb 08, 2014
Proverbs 3, God’s Buffet of Goodies
Saturday Feb 08, 2014
Saturday Feb 08, 2014
Transformation Goals:
1. Know that the Bible is written in a really cool ways.
2. Develop a hunger for God’s Word.
3. Plan a way to obey.
Narratives: stories, poetry, Prose,
"Books of Wisdom" - the Wisdom Literature.
Proverbs, Job, Ecclesiastes.
Definition of a proverb
a short popular saying, usually of unknown and ancient origin, that expresses
effectively some commonplace truth or useful thought; adage; saw.
Who wrote it?:
Solomon highly likely penned chapters 1 to 29.
Agur wrote chapter thirty.
King Lemuel wrote chapter thirty-one.
When was it written?
During his reign from 970 to 930 B.C.
When was it compiled? Compiled and edited from 715 to 686 b.c.
The role of Hezekiah's men (see 25:1)
Etymology: the history of a word.
parallelism
From the Greek, "beside one another"
Exhortation:
[Pro 3:1 ESV] My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments,
[Pro 3:2 ESV] for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you.
Benefit
Keep God’s Word close and Conscience.
[Pro 3:3 ESV] Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart.
[Pro 3:4 ESV] So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man.
Rule of Thumb: When the man disagrees with God. Man IS WRONG.
[Pro 3:5 ESV] Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.
[Pro 3:6 ESV] In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
Morality
Real Science
Bill Nye and Ken Ham debates. Free Live Stream on Feb. 4 at 7pm.
[Pro 3:7 ESV] Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil.
[Pro 3:8 ESV] It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.
Benefit:
What it looks like to Trust & Acknowledge God.
[Pro 3:9 ESV] Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce;
[Pro 3:10 ESV] then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.
Your Spiritual Training; push forward or wait for the boot.
[Pro 3:11 ESV] My son, do not despise the LORD's discipline or be weary of his reproof,
[Pro 3:12 ESV] for the LORD reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.
If you belong to God through Jesus Christ. God delights in you.
God delights in watching you and helping you become mature.
[Phl 1:6 ESV] And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
Remember as a child the silly things we were afraid of?
Our parents would hide their giggles as we would scream in terror of the unknown and fear.
Having a splinter removed
Going into a dark room.
Getting a shot.
Wisdom Personified. Ladies: your BFF, Guys; Your 1st Girl Friend.
[Pro 3:13 ESV] Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding,
[Pro 3:14 ESV] for the gain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold.
[Pro 3:15 ESV] She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her.
and nothing you desire can compare with her.
[Pro 3:16 ESV] Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor.
[Pro 3:17 ESV] Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.
Peace = shä•lōm'
completeness, soundness, welfare, peace
A. completeness (in number)
B. safety, soundness (in body)
C. welfare, health, prosperity
D. peace, quiet, tranquillity, contentment
[Pro 3:18 ESV] She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her; those who hold her fast are called blessed.
God used Wisdom the create the Universe.
Jehovah = "the existing One"
[Pro 3:19 ESV] The LORD by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens;
[Pro 3:20 ESV] by his knowledge the deeps broke open, and the clouds drop down the dew.
Food “chain”
Water “cycle”
[Pro 3:21 ESV] My son, do not lose sight of these-- keep sound wisdom and discretion,
[Pro 3:22 ESV] and they will be life for your soul and adornment for your neck.
Benefits; a double parallelism.
[Pro 3:23 ESV] Then you will walk on your way securely, and your foot will not stumble.
[Pro 3:24 ESV] If you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.
[Pro 3:25 ESV] Do not be afraid of sudden terror or of the ruin of the wicked, when it comes,
[Pro 3:26 ESV] for the LORD will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught.
Response: Be Good. Second half of the great commandment.
[Pro 3:27 ESV] Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it.
[Pro 3:28 ESV] Do not say to your neighbor, "Go, and come again, tomorrow I will give it"--when you have it with you.
[Pro 3:29 ESV] Do not plan evil against your neighbor, who dwells trustingly beside you.
[Pro 3:30 ESV] Do not contend with a man for no reason, when he has done you no harm.
[Pro 3:31 ESV] Do not envy a man of violence and do not choose any of his ways,
[Pro 3:32 ESV] for the devious person is an abomination to the LORD, but the upright are in his confidence.
Contrasting Dualism
[Pro 3:33 ESV] The LORD's curse is on the house of the wicked, but he blesses the dwelling of the righteous.
[Pro 3:34 ESV] Toward the scorners he is scornful, but to the humble he gives favor.
[Pro 3:35 ESV] The wise will inherit honor, but fools get disgrace.
Become a Wisdom Hunter.