Proverbs 23:17-24

Fighting amongst children is always fun. So, nobody wants to join, they just want to tattle. That's life. Well, good morning. Welcome to Coffee and Devotions. I'm going to jump online here and make sure everybody was able to come on here. Okay. Well, good morning, good morning. Welcome to Coffee and Devotions.
This is where every day we get together, we get into God's Word. And we grow in our love for the Lord together. And this year, 2021, we'll make it through all the wisdom literature. Today we're at Proverbs chapter 23, verses 17 through 24. It's so good to have you. Why don't we have some coffee?
We'll pray and we'll get into God's word. Lord, we thank you so much for this day. And we thank you for your word. Father, we pray that as we read your word, you would bless us and care for us. We pray that we would follow after you. In Jesus' name, amen. We go Proverbs chapter 23, verses 17 through 24.
Do not let your heart envy sinners, but be zealous for the fear of the Lord all the day. For surely there is a hereafter, and your hope will not be cut off. Look, there are lots of people in this life who have all sorts of good things, great things in this world. They might have big houses and fancy cars and all this other stuff. But you know what you should be after? What your heart should be set towards? Follow the Lord. Zealously seek after Him. Fear Him. Because this day in our life is going to end someday. Each one of us has a destination, a date with death. And each day, It's going to come.
And so are you concerned about now? Or do you take seriously God's word when he says, it is appointed for every man to die. But after this, the judgment, what is your heart set on? Is it on the things of this world, the pleasures of this world? Or is your joy in God? You figure out in your heart what you're going to be zealous for.
But just know that there is a hereafter. verse 19 through 21. Hear my son and be wise, and guide your heart in the way. Do not mix with winebibbers or with gluttonous eaters of meat, for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and drowsiness will clothe a man with rags. This is, again, the dad speaking to his son. He's saying, hey, listen up. Listen up. There are gluttons and there are drunkards.
Don't go on their way. Don't go with people who are given over to sensuality, people who are given over to just wanting and wanting and wanting and wanting and wanting more and more and more, and don't have self-control. Don't have any sense of satisfaction. Don't go with them. Going that way leads to poverty.
It's interesting in this world, we live in a materialistic world where our economy, especially certain people in our government, like to think that the more and more and more we can buy and consume and get, the better off we are. But the reality is that sets us up for failure because our desire is just to get more things, to have more pleasures. Jesus says, hey, be careful. out of Jesus' own words, mouth, he says these words about the man who is going after the cares of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth and it will choke out even our hope.
I remember when I was running a business and there was always this churn. When you're running a business, you're looking for profit, you're always trying to get more to provide well. But there was a problem and I had to write it on my bathroom mirror so when I woke up I remembered to not let the seed that God had planted be choked out by the deceitfulness of wealth or the cares of this life. Don't go after the winebibber, don't go after the glutton, don't go after the people who are just wanting more, more, and more. Their way leads to poverty.
Verse 22, listen to your father who begot you and do not despise your mother when she is old. What's this saying? Hey, your mom and dad brought you into this world, listen up. Keep the fifth commandment, honor your father and your mother that it might go well with you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you. This is the first commandment with a promise. Listen to your mom and dad. Listen to your parents. When they tell you wisdom, follow their wisdom.
Verse 23, buy the truth and do not sell it. Also wisdom and instruction and understanding. Let's listen to this again. Buy the truth. Buy it and don't sell it. Don't get rid of wisdom. Don't get rid of understanding. Go, seek after it, sell everything you have and go and get wisdom, get truth.
Now, I'm just going to say to you, this does not mean everywhere that seems to peddle philosophy and their idea of what the truth is is worth going to. People spend tens of thousands of dollars going to universities to get degrees that have zero to do with anything that's true. This is not saying go and spend everything you have. But on the flip side of that is I've seen people who have drank deeply of God's Word, who have drank deeply of books, theology, and for a moment have sold it for a moment of illicit pleasure. have given away their entire ministries, have given away their entire families because of what they decided to watch on their screen, or that girl, that man they decided to go with afterward. Buy the truth and do not sell it.
Get understanding, get wisdom. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Verse 24, the father of the righteous will greatly rejoice, and he who begets a wise child will delight in him. It is a delight to rejoice in seeing our children walk with the Lord. It's a joy. It's a joy to see our children following God, but yet, on the flip side, it is also a burden.
There's a two-fold burden. One is the burden that we have as parents to disciple our children, one of which I did not do well there as I sent Deborah away when they were fighting. I probably should have stepped away from this to go disciple them instead. But the other burden The other burden is that at the end of the day, Solomon can write all these things to his son, but when the testing came for his son, his son had to own it.
And Jeroboam decided to go with the young men and their counsel, whereas with the wise men, a father rejoices to see his children walk in wisdom. Do you walk in the wisdom of your father? Do you lean in and listen to his words? When the time of testing comes, will you follow him?
Let's go ahead and pray. Father, we thank you so much for this day. We thank you for your word. And we pray now that as we read your word, that we would follow after you and love you. In Jesus' name, amen. May the blessing of the Lord be upon you this day. Even though it's raining, I pray that your heart might be filled with the light and joy of Jesus Christ. And I'll see you tomorrow. Bye.