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yeah book by book here we are I'm rich

abuse welcome to you to the Quinta

Center it's a Christian Center here in

Shropshire England and I'm joined here

by Paul blacker my old colleague and

also by our special guest for this

particular series that is Jorge vara

who is founder of operation mobilization

that ferries Christian resources and

Bibles and everything else right out to

the whole world and welcome Jorge very

much we're glad to see you today

great to be back again wonderful we're

doing the book of Proverbs and what

we're going to do now is to all first of

all in this first study we look at

chapters 1 2 3 so and we just read from

chapter 1 right away the Proverbs of

Solomon son of David king of Israel for

attaining wisdom and discipline for

understanding words of insight for

acquiring a disciplined and prudent life

doing what is right and just and fair

forgiving prudence to a simple knowledge

and discretion to the young the wise

lisam and verse 7 the fear of the Lord

is the beginning of knowledge but fools

despise wisdom and discipline so first

of all well George I think you'll know

this book well why is this book of the

Bible being so important to you over the

years it's an amazing story but I was

selling Christian books door-to-door my

home area shortly after my conversion I

was very young and I was trying to go to

Mexico I think we're trying to earn some

money and get Christian books out at the

same time this one lady just bought a

lot of books but I think looking at me

she realized I was probably big on zeal

and weak on wisdom so she invited me

into the house I never forget it and

said young man do you do you study the

book of Proverbs I don't know what I

answered her but I don't think I'd got

that far yet and then she said you know

young man a proverb a day will keep the

devil away she's trying to scare me yeah

and then she showed 31 proverbs 1 4

every day in the month and that's over

fifty years ago but because of her and

because it was such a help and blessing

to me I've been reading the Proverbs

almost every day all these 50 some years

so I thank the Lord for that lady and

everywhere I go in the world I challenge

young people anybody to try to read the

Proverbs every day read the Psalms then

go back and read the Proverbs every day

it doesn't take long so this is really

very special then now I can do this

series with you guys on this great book

that's a great start also series I must

say and of course stemming as they do

well many of them from King Solomon and

when he was first made the King he met

God in a dream we read that in 1 Kings

chapter 3 and the role system what would

you like me to give you and Solomon says

I'm just a child I lack so much so I

need an understanding heart and the Lord

is pleased at him and says I will give

you this is one King 3:12 I will give

you wisdom and discernment and that very

thing happens at least for much of his

life most of his life so this theme

repent actually is a highlight is a

great deal in this chapter when verse 14

I see here when the readers they're

warned not to go along with throwing

their lot in with well what I as a

missionaries child from Kenya I remember

is the Happy Valley set and they were a

group of settlers in Kenya who were just

out there to make Kenya their playground

and that was all it was well the first

nine chapters here are David instructing

Solomon on how to be a wise King so when

we think we could say you see that as we

look at these chapters where the father

is instructing the son we could see the

key truth that as David instructed his

son Solomon so the father since the Son

Jesus Christ to display wisdom for us so

when we think of that maybe that helps

us to approach this book what you think

Paul I

do you think so because there's that

wonderful way in which we don't really

realize what a mess were maked of life

always until we see how it's supposed to

be and then when we see how though how

wonderful the Lord Jesus lives his life

that displayed to us then you sort of

often think are that's what life should

be like that's how it's supposed to be

and I think here at the beginning of the

book of Proverbs there's a way in which

wisdom calls out and says to us all

really everybody turn around stop be

going these foolish and destructive ways

to turn around and come to the fear of

the Lord and trust in the Lord and does

that turn around repent that's what

repent means and it's interesting that

the Lord Jesus in Matthew 4:17 the very

first sermon he preached was repent for

the kingdom of heaven is at hand and

some people think oh that's a very

negative message it isn't really he's

saying look you're going into death and

destruction and wasting your life turn

around because the kingdom of heaven is

right here you know it doesn't matter

how bad you've been or what a mess

you've made I will forgive you and I'll

take you on as my disciple and I'll

bring you into the kingdom of God and

I'll teach you wisdom and I love it

that's new every morning is His mercies

because we might go I made such a mess

I'm so unwise he doesn't he still holds

out his hands and says come turn around

I will forgive you and teach you a way

of wisdom and that's how the book of

Proverbs begins - just give us that

warning and welcome and that all

commanders to come in I love that

beginning it's like the Sermon on the

Mount of the way that after Jesus had

said repentance the kingdom of heaven is

at hand

very soon after he sets out his wisdom

is such a tire between the two the

Sermon on the Mount and proverbs the way

this sort of describing what it is to

live like a a citizen of the kingdom of

heaven but always welcoming us in no

matter how much we feel with George

you've seen this of course across the

years right through all of the work of

operation mobilization of the ships and

so on

bringing the words of wisdom to all

millions of people yeah it's wonderful I

was especially helped by one of the

first wit Clift translators that very

same summer later in the summer in

Mexico City

really didn't know fully what we were

doing and again a Wickliffe Bible

translator John Beekman was showing love

to us and he took it out to see the

Mexican pyramids and I'll never forget

again he probably saw a lot of zeal

maybe lack of wisdom and so he said to

me and never forget it he said well

George what do you think of the whole

area of common sense and that really

stuck with me as God began to lead me

especially when I got to Europe to help

birth this movement that we needed that

combination of dynamics spirituality in

all of its aspects but we also need

down-to-earth and common sense and

there's a lot of that a lot of that in

the book of Proverbs and it's I believe

it's often neglected today one of the

traps we see people fall in is different

forms of super spirituality and then om

we got into some of them and people may

seem to be getting blessed it's a bit of

a mystery but people get hurt so I just

love the practical advice my favorite

verse of course here is in Chapter three

trust in the Lord with all your heart

lean not to your own understanding in

all your ways submit to him and he will

make your paths straight you know but I

appreciated what you wrote about that

that doesn't mean this isn't pushing our

mind to one side it's just showing that

balance what this book is all about that

in the end we have all this practical

wisdom we need to be as wise as we can

analyze situations but in the end we've

got to trust in the Lord and this verses

helped me because I had a lot of

struggle with anxiety and all kinds of

things and I just again again memorized

that of course many years ago Obama yes

and well of course it's been a lifetime

work that you've been involved in look

at verse 22 of chapter one friends

because we could ask ourselves why life

is divided up so sharply between the

wise and the foolish ways so wisdom

verse 22 is calling on the foolish to

repent and turn away from the

bloodthirsty and selfish fools actually

is life really such a sharp choice

between wisdom and foolishness between

the fear of the Lord and mocking fools

what do you think George

well it just comes to my mind that one

of the saddest things in our day and we

experience it here in Britain I was at a

prayer breakfast in London just

yesterday morning a small one that you

know we're not allowed to use this kind

of terminology anymore not a lot to say

but you know this guy he's basically

evil I mean you might get arrested for

saying that but you know proverbs is

very very clear that there is a lot of

evil in the political realm sometimes it

gets into the religious well realm we

see it in the newspaper almost every day

and I just thank the Lord for the

straightforward bluntness of the book of

Proverbs to paint it as it really is and

the word repent also is no longer

acceptable even some churches don't

mention repent but it's clearly a

biblical principle and it leads to

continuous revival which we get so many

people praying for revival but I believe

revival is Jesus living in us and

through obedience to the word and steps

of faith we experience practical revival

I know some people think I'm

exaggerating I've experienced that kind

of revival every day since my conversion

I've never missed a day I've had

miserable hours but because of the blood

of Jesus and repentance you know I go to

bed each night the clear conscience

revived by Jesus and this is this is

what we need I believe among God's

people today and I like the way you

refer to the word repent because well

I'm looking at two very pleasant is it

really no it's like it's like the word

adulterous oh dear you see in chapter 2

verse 16

I will save yourself from the adulterous

so following wisdom brings true treasure

evidently but they're following the

quote adulteress brings destruction as

though life is that sort of marriage

between either wisdom or adultery why is

that theme so strong here well it's it's

not just proverbs it comes for the whole

Bible doesn't it and I love it in their

feet ins 5 where Paul's reminding us of

the creation of Adam and Eve and a

marriage was how would that design right

at the beginning and then he says of

course

really talking about Christ and the

church and that we were designed for

that relationship between married to the

Living God so that when we see adultery

and a person is unfaithful to someone

else they've supposed to be committed

and faithful and loving and showing that

love in action to somebody that they're

married to and then they turn away from

that and give that love to somebody else

who it's not supposed to be there that

the Lord God constantly through

Scripture book of Hosea particularly

he's saying do you see how how bad that

is

and what destruction and heartache that

causes think about that says the Lord

because that's what's going on in your

relationship with me that when you go

this way of foolishness and you give

yourself to wickedness and foolishness

and selfishness

there's destruction and it is like

adultery and that when we do that and

turn away from the Lord we may actually

crip commit adultery and earthly terms

we we when we don't care about love and

purity and righteous well then it begins

in our head as Jesus says it's the way

you look at people you lust after them

it goes down into your heart and

eventually will end in action and what

we'll do is we'll take up that thing

later in another study about the realm

of purity from repentance then why don't

we turn to the theme of trusting in the

Lord through the verse you just

mentioned a moment ago George verses

five and six in Chapter three they've

always been favorite verses how do they

take us to the heart of the wise life I

mean how does this chapter describe the

consequences of trusting in the Lord or

in our own ideas well in my own

pilgrimage I've always felt that

proverbs basically is the law it's still

the law connected with the Old Testament

concept and that if we don't move from

proverbs to the message of grace which

we have in the New Testament salvation

by grace we're basically dead in the

water because no one is going to live up

to all this just like the Sermon on the

Mount so I think it's so important as

people study the Word of God

I often challenge people to read the

whole Bible at least 50% of people in

our churches today especially youth

never read the whole Bible months so I

offer a free study Bible for anybody to

read the Bible from one year that's

costing me quite a bit but we can't just

have Proverbs in an isolated way we've

got to go and see the message of Jesus

Redemption and grace and that's just

important as we especially think about

trust and we think about these these

strong verses because the Lord

disciplines those he loves as a father

son he delights in the yeah that jumps

us up doesn't it to Hebrews it yeah

chapter 12 and it's great to go back and

forth between key passages in the Old

Testament and passages in the New

Testament if there has to be this type

always and as we look at I'm now looking

on actually at 3:16 where proverbs

promises long life and prosperity and I

suppose although following this wisdom

that we read about May will bring some

measure of such blessings actually if we

think of Jesus who died so young with

few material possessions is there more

to these promises than just that I know

some people read this and they're just

like brilliant this is how I can live to

be 120 and be a multimillionaire

all in here I'll just clean those

promises and there they are like whoa

whoa that's not what that's talking

about I know and people do that they

literally need them he feeds in it so

and you just have to repent it is wrong

though vote in this wrong that they do

that because in a way that the whole

book of Proverbs has just said turn away

from selfishness and greed and

everything and then a person's coming in

saying yes but I can have spiritual

greed and that's a No remember the

Abraham the Lord said to Abram I have a

land for you and life for you and then

Abram went to that promised land and did

he think right that's it I've got

massive estate on the Mediterranean

coast no he lived in a tent because he

knew

that the lands that the Lord really was

giving him was something much more than

a few hundred acres on the Mediterranean

coast it was a city with foundations

whose builder and maker is God it's

nothing less than the new creation and

the life he's not wanting to live to be

120 or 150 it's an eternal life that the

Lord the long life that the Lord God

gives us is everlasting life so the Lord

Jesus says the meek will inherit not

just a big estate or to live to be 150

they'll inherit the earth and have

everlasting life and will never die so

when people say I want to have a million

pounds and live to be 150 I'll say get

your sights a lot area you need to have

a vision of inheriting the earth and

living forever that's the promise of

vision when you think of Abraham ended

up with one cave and one son yes and he

been told your descendants again to

inhabit the earth

well I suppose proverbs is pushing us

again and again to choose choose choose

between the wisdom or the way of folly

like the Happy Valley said that I

remembered as a child in Kenya the

people who were just living for

themselves they're the white if there

was the Europeans there and we missed

his children we didn't we didn't like

them very much because they took no

notice of us uninterested in us entirely

interested in themselves

we were bored to bits by them and so

when I think of that I'm challenged by

Proverbs to say to myself myself am i a

contributor to this world's needs or am

i a consumer it's one or the other

see you next time

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