What do you know about the rebellion of your own soul? Solomon tells us about the lure of both the wicked and the adulterous woman. He was well qualified to know! But we all have infidelity working out within our souls don’t we. Have a listen to his counsel.
Proverbs 4: A Father's Wise Instruction
1 Hear, O sons, a father's instruction, and be attentive, that you may gain insight,
2 for I give you good precepts; do not forsake my teaching.
3 When I was a son with my father, tender, the only one in the sight of my mother,
4 he taught me and said to me, "Let your heart hold fast my words; keep my commandments, and live.
5 Get wisdom; get insight; do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth.
6 Do not forsake her, and she will keep you; love her, and she will guard you.
7 The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight.
8 Prize her highly, and she will exalt you; she will honour you if you embrace her.
9 She will place on your head a graceful garland; she will bestow on you a beautiful crown."
10 Hear, my son, and accept my words, that the years of your life may be many.
11 I have taught you the way of wisdom; I have led you in the paths of uprightness.
12 When you walk, your step will not be hampered, and if you run, you will not stumble.
13 Keep hold of instruction; do not let go; guard her, for she is your life.
14 Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of the evil.
15 Avoid it; do not go on it; turn away from it and pass on.
16 For they cannot sleep unless they have done wrong; they are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble.
17 For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence.
18 But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day.
19 The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble.
20 My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings.
21 Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart.
22 For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh.
23 Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.
24 Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you.
25 Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you.
26 Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure.
27 Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.
Proverbs 5: Warning Against Adultery
1 My son, be attentive to my wisdom; incline your ear to my understanding,
2 that you may keep discretion, and your lips may guard knowledge.
3 For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil,
4 but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.
5 Her feet go down to death; her steps follow the path to Sheol;
6 she does not ponder the path of life; her ways wander, and she does not know it.
7 And now, O sons, listen to me, and do not depart from the words of my mouth.
8 Keep your way far from her, and do not go near the door of her house,
9 lest you give your honour to others and your years to the merciless,
10 lest strangers take their fill of your strength, and your labours go to the house of a foreigner,
11 and at the end of your life you groan, when your flesh and body are consumed,
12 and you say, "How I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof!
13 I did not listen to the voice of my teachers or incline my ear to my instructors.
14 I am at the brink of utter ruin in the assembled congregation."
15 Drink water from your own cistern, flowing water from your own well.
16 Should your springs be scattered abroad, streams of water in the streets?
17 Let them be for yourself alone, and not for strangers with you.
18 Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth,
19 a lovely deer, a graceful doe. Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight; be intoxicated always in her love.
20 Why should you be intoxicated, my son, with a forbidden woman and embrace the bosom of an adulteress?
21 For a man's ways are before the eyes of the LORD, and he ponders all his paths.
22 The iniquities of the wicked ensnare him, and he is held fast in the cords of his sin.
23 He dies for lack of discipline, and because of his great folly he is led astray.
Things to think about…
1. Proverbs 4:4 says hold fast to his commandments and live. We are called to choose life. Some think that the Lord’s commandments are a burden. Yet for those who love life, they are a joy to keep. Obedience is certainly the way to blessing. Perfect freedom is bound up in obeying the truth of God’s Word. The truth shall set us free. What are the areas where you not experiencing the Lord’s freedom? Is death still working out in some parts even as you live? If so, you should get that looked at.
2. Jesus paraphrased Prov 4:23 by saying that what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, Matt 15:18. Hence the need to keep our hearts with all diligence. Have you had a heart check-up lately? Who by? What was the diagnosis?
3. In the opposite way of the Word of the Lord, the words of an adulteress are also as sharp as a two-edged sword, Prov 5:4. The only thing that can save a man is the Word of God which is sharper still, Heb 4:12. Let the Word of God dwell in you richly. It is only able to do that if you are reading it and meditating on its counsel.
4. Do not be like the person in Prov 5:14 who is on the brink of ruin in the assembled congregation. Some people keep their sin and their struggles while they happily go to church and meet with Christians every week. Get rid of this abhorrent hypocrisy. The Lord rebukes and chastens those whom he loves, Heb 12:6; Rev 3:19. Confess your sins one to another. Let’s keep fostering more of this within the church and our friends circle.
5. Men who are married – are you intoxicated with love towards your wife, Prov 6:15-19? Are her breasts the only ones you delight in? May we all rejoice continually in the wife of our youth. If you are not married, wait your turn, God’s blessing is upon those who wait. But the opposite is also true, vs 22 and “He dies for lack of discipline, and because of his great folly he is led astray”, vs 23.
Vision Point for cell groups
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Title was “Maintaining a healthy view of God – Reading Hebrews 12:18-29
1. What is the most fearful situation you have been in? What is is earliest fearful memory, have you ever been in fear of your life?
2. The ancient Israelis were in fear of their lives at Mt Sinai. Mt Sinai was covering in fire, smoke, lightening. There were loud trumpet blasts and the earth was shaking. Do you recall what was going on at the time with respect to Moses and the children of Israel? Did their fear ultimately save them and make them turn to the Lord?
3. We have come to Mt Zion. It is different than Mt Sinai for a number of reasons. Do you remember what some of those reasons are? Sinai is a place of law. Mt Zion is a place of grace. Has God changed in any way? The writer to the Hebrews says “Our God is a consuming fire”, Heb 12:29, not “was a consuming fire”. Jude, the Lord’s brother says he Apostle John says “And have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.” Jude 1:22, 23. He is basically saying some are saved through fear, others are saved through compassion. How do we discern/know the difference when we speak to people about Christ?
Prayer Points
1. Sydney floods – pray for safety
2. That the reversal of Rowe v Wade has a profound effect on future children yet unborn.
3. Safety for those travelling over the school holidays.
4. Peace to rest over Ukraine.
5. Folk sick with Flu A and Covid – relief and healing.
6. Pray for other building projects – café roof, the repair of the house roof.
7. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to remain and increase.
Praise Points
1. Good response to Newscop article from Ukraine.
2. More new folk came to CBC on Sunday.
3. Worship on Sunday – thankyou and technical team.
4. Café helpers on Sunday.
5. All those who faithfully serve in ministries, Worship, Sound/Technical/Kids Church/ Cell Groups/Admin - Bulletins/Finances/Property/Welcoming/Spiritual Leadership/Cafe
6. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
Announcements
1. Remember to check your duty rosters.
2. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
3. Tune in again this week on our youtube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
Catechism question for June...
Q. 5. Will the bodies of the dead be raised to life again? A. Yes; "There shall be a resurrection of the dead, both the just and the unjust.
