You Are Important to God

What God wants to do for you, IF you choose to do His way

Fred R. Coulter—January 2, 2021

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Greetings, everyone! Welcome to Sabbath services, the first Sabbath in the year 2021!

• What is it going bring?
• What is going to happen?

Today we're going to see how reaching back in time, and reaching forward to us in God's eyes is the same.

• Why are we here?
• What is God doing?
• Why do we understand what we understand?
• How is it that we can sit here, be here and God knows we're here?

We have a special relationship with God, but the rest of the world out there—even though God created and made them—don't have a special relationship with God. Let's see what is so important that God is doing for us, to us and through all of His people down through time.

Remember that Jesus said in Rev. 1, 'I am Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the Ending.' That has a lot to do with us and what we believe and why we believe it, and why God is dealing with us.

We'll set the stage with what we're dealing with. There are religions out there, people who start movements, movement and things to make you 'better, younger, taller,' whatever. If that doesn't work and your hair doesn't stay it's natural color, 'we'll fix you up with a little dye and tint,' and if that doesn't work 'we'll figure something else out.' But all of that is temporary!

Let's see what God has called us to be part of. This affects every one of us, young and old. The best time to apply all of the things that we're going to cover today is when you're young, before you get yourself in deep trouble.

Titus 1:1: "Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect… [selected; that's important to understand] …and the knowledge of the Truth that is according to Godliness."

Truth is above all! Everything that is done must conform to truth, even in the physical world. If you're an engineer, you've got to have certain parameters to do whatever you're going to do in whatever field of endeavor that you're working in. If you're an architect, like Jonathan, you've got to have the plans down to the details.

Whatever it is, it must conform to truth! Even the world understands that, until it comes to the point that it is so corrupt it can't tell the truth from the error. Unfortunately, we're pretty close to that right now.

Here is the key, the greatest thing possible. I want you to think about it, whoever your are, wherever you are—you're sitting there listening and reading—ask yourself: What is God inviting me to? It doesn't matter what your age is: What is God inviting you to?

Verse 2: "In the hope of eternal life… [that's what He's calling us to] …which God Who cannot lie…"

That's why the Word of God is true. That's why it's important that it is translated correctly. When we get into some of the things concerning the Passover and leading up to that, we will we how important that it is.

"…promised before the ages of time" (v 2).

Think about this: We have a good number of young people here today. That's great! What if you told some of your friends at school that you were in touch with the greatest alien that the world does not know? That may sound a little fishy, but it's true! You can even say 'an ancient alien' going way back before the creation of the world. They would say, 'Have you been watching NatGeo lately, Ancient Aliens?' No! it's in the Bible! 'Before the ages of time!' think about that! Do you want something important? There it is!

• Are we important to God?
• Every one of us? Yes!
• We're called the elect!
• Who did the calling?
• Who did the selecting?
• Who opened our mind to understanding?

We will see this reinforced, again:

2-Timothy 1:8: "Therefore, you should not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner…"

This is so important that it doesn't matter, even if you're locked up in prison. Think of that! Paul went through an awful lot.

"…but jointly suffer with me for the sake of the Gospel, according to the power of God, Who has saved us and called us with a Holy calling…" (vs 8-9).

The great Sovereign Who rules and Who has created the universe! I want you to think BIG! The universe! That God is dealing in our lives, personally! That's something!

You need to understand that this is not a 'religion.' This is a special way of life that God has ordained for His people for blessing in all circumstances:

• whether there's a trial
• whether it's a joyful event

"…not according to our works…" (v 9).

• not because we're brilliant
• not because we know this, that or the other thing

It's because of God!

"…but according to His own purpose and grace…" (v 9).

God has a purpose for you! This becomes important. John wrote, 'Behold, what glorious love the Father has for us, that we—all of us together—should be called the children of God' (John 1).

We know that we're made in the image and likeness of God (Gen. 1), so that's a tremendous thing in itself. 'We're the children of God, but it has not yet been manifested what we shall be, but we will be exactly like Him, for we shall see Him!'

Whether we have a few good days ahead of us, or whether we immediately get into calamity or whatever it may be, remember that is God's purpose.

Now let's look at a couple of other things so that we can understand and keep our mind on God's Word and realize what it is.

There are books out there written that the Bible is worthless, that these things have never happened, and so forth. But here's what God says about His Word, and this is what we need to keep in mind. There are times that we don't understand certain things.

There are some verses in Romans that I pondered over for 20 years before I understood. That was as a minister. But this shows why continuous study is necessary. When you come to understand the Truth of it, it's like a light goes on and you understand the Truth! Have you ever had that happened to you?

Psa. 119 is a great long Psalm, one of the longest, and it's all about the Laws, precepts, commandments of God, the love of God, what we need to do, how we need to lead our lives and so forth. But I want you to see the consistency in it, because this is going to help us really apply what we're going to cover in just a little bit.

Psalm 119:142: "Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness…"

• God is eternal
• God is love
• God is true
• He sanctifies us with His Truth

"…and Your Law is the Truth" (v 142).

Remember this one important, profound lesson: No man—theologian, leader, religious leader—can add to and improve the Word of God! No man can! They can have their interpretations, but just like the man who wrote the book Jesus, James, Joseph and the Past and Future Temple by David Heilbron Price; he doesn't believe that God the Father was the Father of Jesus conceived in the womb of the virgin Mary, but that it was from Joseph.

He got all upset because I said, 'With that, the rest of your book is not worth reading. Because unless it agrees with the Truth of the Bible, of what value is it?'

Verse 151: "You are near, O LORD…

How near is God to you? As close as your knees are to the floor! You can get on your knees and pray to him at any time. If God has His Spirit in you, He's not only near you, but in you. Isn't that true? The begettal?

"…and all… [no exceptions] …Your commandments are Truth" (v 151).

Verse 160: "Your Word is true from the beginning, and every one of Your righteous ordinances endures forever."

What are some of the righteous ordinances of God? The Sabbath and Holy Days! Those are the things that the world rejects and neglects. But those are the things that give us understanding of the Word of God. That's why He has them.

You have a Bible; God's Word is true in any medium that you have IFit's properly translated from the original. Granted, in some translations there are a lot of difficulties. It takes a lot of study and searching into the original to get to that so that you know what the Truth is.

Verse 89: "Forever…"—never outdated!

Go back and look at the rebellion of Lucifer and the angels that went with him; before the creation of any human beings. They sinned and rebelled! Where there's no Law there is no sin! Isn't that true?

"…O LORD, Your Word is settled in the heavens" (v 89).

Everything that we have written down here, or digitized in your cell phone or laptop, what that represents is something that goes back before the ages of time. How valuable is that? It's eternal life itself!

Dan. 10—this was at a time when the angle Gabriel came and spoke to Daniel to give him some understanding of the prophecies.

Daniel 10:20: "Then he… [Gabriel, the angel] …said, 'Do you know why I come to you? And now I must return to fight with the prince of Persia…."

There are battles between the angels of God and the demons of Satan the devil. With all of this stuff going on with what's happening with the election and so forth and events in the world, there is a lot of battling going on. We'll have to see how that comes out.

"…And when I go forth, lo, the prince of Greece shall come. But I will show you that which is written in the Scripture of Truth…" (vs 20-21)—or Scroll of Truth!

What you have here in your Bible has come directly from heaven, from God, where He has the original writing of it: Old Testament and New Testament!

It's all true; that's why whatever we do, we have to deal with Truth! Sometimes, we come up with something that is true on our own, but all the errors and difficulties that have happened within the Churches of God and the 'Christian' churches of the world is that they have left the Truth! When you leave the Truth, who fills the void? Satan! He fills it with a lot of exciting things to do to draw you away!

Sidebar: I got a call from Michael Heiss and he told me that on the Ambassador Forum there are a great number that used to attend Ambassador College who are clear back into the world and say what a wonderful thing that Christmas is; even those who had been ministers.

Why do you suppose that they would come to that? Because they didn't understand the Truth the way that they should have, and to realize how important it was that God has given these things to us.

We're going to learn in the book of Proverbs, especially when we're young, but can apply to us as those who have been in the Church for a long time. When we're young, God expects us to learn the things of Him in a way that He has produced for you to learn. That's found in the book of Proverbs. It's still part of everything that we have covered, because this is important.

• How many of you have friends who have done things in their lives that is permanently harming them?
• What did they think?
• What did they do?
• Why did they do it?

The book of Proverbs is given so that we may know how to think! The human brain and mind was made to learn, and was made for Truth!

But because God doesn't want robots, He's given free moral agency. We have to choose. Choices are what we have all our life long. God wants all the young people, and all of us who are senior citizens, to have these things reinforced for us. What does God want for you?

• He loves you
• He wants you to be successful
• He's provided the way so you can learn that you can be

That's quite an important thing to understand!

I know that through the Internet there are a lot of things that Satan has on there that are very attractive. Your friends at school are immersed into the world; they think like the world, and it's difficult for you at times to really understand the difference between what God wants and what they want.

One think important to remember: Just because anything is fun does not mean that it's true or right! In many cases, that which is fun is an introduction to sin, and you don't know it!

Example: Christmas; let's look at that.Everybody, especially when you're young… I remember growing up and I looked forward to Christmas. My mom would take me down to the big department store.
This shows how stupid we are as little kids!
Guess who was there? Santa Claus! Everything is fine and you tell him what you want. He says, 'You be good, and I'll come down the chimney and I'll give you this.'

We're so stupid at that age we can't figure out… Is the department store the North Pole? When you get a present, you think that's good. Well, you might say that there's nothing wrong with it. What's the whole motive? To get you to agree with something that Satan wants you to agree to!

Same way, when you get a little older, with drugs! Now you're into a whole lot of dangerous things. Those can be permanently messing up your life if you get involved in it! When you're 13-15-years old, you're learning; 16-19 you're learning more, and you discover that your parents also make mistakes, so that makes you more important. But it doesn't! When you see that you forget that you also make mistakes.

• that's why there is God
• that's why there is repentance

Because you can change!

So, here's the book of Proverbs; here's what God wants!

Proverbs 1:1: "The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel: to know wisdom…" (vs 1-2).

Do you want to be smart? Not a smart aleck, but to be smart!

"…and instruction…" (v 2).

We've been made to learn and learn and learn! I'm still learning at 86-1/2-years-old.

• What do you think it's going to be when we have eternal life?
• Don't you think there's a lot we're going to have to learn?

"…to perceive the words of understanding; to receive the instruction of wisdom…" (vs 1-3).

That's what God wants you to do, receive it! That means to accept into your mind and heart so that you can live by it! That's important because there are decisions that you're going to have to make when your parents aren't around. Maybe when you're with your friends in school, or with those you shouldn't be with and you're parents don't know that you're with them. They've told you not to be with them, but you are with them. When that happens, guess what? Trouble can ensue!

"…righteousness, and judgment, and equity; to give prudence [guidance] to the simple…" (vs 3-4)—to the ones who have not been educated. It doesn't mean stupid!

However, if you never learn instruction, you may end up stupid instead of just simple.

"…knowledge and discretion to the young man…. [or young woman] …A wise man will hear…" (vs 4-5).

Think about what I'm saying today; ask yourself: Are you wise? This is the Word of God, will you hear?

"…and will increase learning…" (v 5). It will be a constant growing in knowledge and understanding as God leads you!

"…and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsel" (v 5).

• Why? Because you have stayed with the Truth! You have learned what God wants you to learn!
• When do these things occur? Certain things occur when you're 18-20-years-old!

But by the time that you become 25, you've learned a few things. By the time you're 30, you're ready to be a full-fledged adult. Don't say that I'm trying to put you down, or make you infantile because of that. That's just a fact of life!

• When did Jesus begin His ministry? When He was 30-years-old! He was learning all the time!
• Who was teaching Him from the very beginning? God the Father

Isaiah 50:4 "The Lord GOD has given Me the tongue of the learned, to know to help the weary with a word. He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear to hear as one being taught."

He received instruction; He wasn't rebellious. When He was doing His ministry, what was one of the #1 things that the rabbis wanted to know. Here was the Man doing miracles, doing things, so smart and intelligent, having the Word of God. Guess what the #1 question in the circle of all the rabbis and leaders of Judaism in Jerusalem, Judea and in Galilee? Which school did He attend? That rabbi would have been eliminated!

When He came to the Feast of Tabernacles, and He was teaching, they said, 'How does this Man know letters having never learned?' Well, He learned from God, just like it says in Isa. 50.

Proverbs 1:6: "To understand a proverb and its interpretation, the words of the wise, and their dark sayings."

Especially when you're confronted with a choice that you know is going to cause some consequences in your life:

Verse 7: "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction."

That's the way in life everywhere. If you don't believe me, do a little survey online about drug re-hab, runaways and those who have been addicted with drugs. Do a little search, all you young gals, about those who have had children out of wedlock, and the burden that they are loaded down with because they didn't have the wisdom to not submit to that temptation. Remember that the easiest thing in the world is to become pregnant. The solution is not an abortion! The solution is not to get involved until you are an adult and ready for marriage!

Verse 7: "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. My son, hear the instruction of your father and forsake not the law of your mother" (vs 7-8). As long as you are still in the household, mama still has authority over you!

Verse 9: "For they shall be an ornament of grace to your head and chains of honor around your neck. My son, if sinners entice you do not consent" (vs 9-10). It's a gang!

I want everyone to watch NatGeo: Drug, Inc. That will show you how the whole drug system works from the inside. How devastating it is!

Verse 11: "If they say, 'Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood; we will watch secretly for the innocent without cause.'"

• Have you ever seen that?
• What happens?
• Have you heard of ANTIFA?
• Have you heard of Black Lives Matter?
• What do they do?
  • destroy
  • burn
  • steal
  • loot
  • hate
  • beat up people

This says don't get into it!

The rest of it says that if you don't turn to wisdom, you're going to be consumed by whatever it is that you give yourself over to do, that you know is contrary to the Word of God. Contrary to what your parents have taught you. If you don't stop and turn and come back to the Truth, you may come to a point that it is going to be devastating in your life.

Verse 25—here's a penalty; I want you to take whatever you have in your hand and you let go of it, the law of gravity brings it down. Well, the laws of behavior work the same way!

Verse 24: "Because I called… [the way of God, wisdom personified] …and you refused to hearken, I stretched out my hand, and no one paid attention; but you have despised all my counsel and would have none of my reproof" (vs 24-25).

Correction is necessary for everyone all the time! If you're working on a project—say it's little carpentry project—what do you have to do? Measure it just right, put the pieces together just right! You can't just throw it together in a mass. Here's what will happen:

Verse 26: "I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear comes; when your calamity comes like a storm, and your destruction comes like a whirlwind, when trouble and pain come upon you, then they shall call upon me, but I will not answer…" (vs 26-28).

You might say that's pretty harsh, but that's the law of living! Just like the law of gravity.

"…they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me. Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD… [independent free moral agency; you must choose] …they would have none of my counsel; they despised all my correction. Therefore, they shall eat the fruit of their own way and be filled with their own devices" (vs 28-31). It all comes back home right to you!

Verse 32: For the waywardness of the simple shall slay them, and the complacency of fools destroys them. But whoever hearkens to me shall dwell safely and shall be secure without fear of harm" (vs 32-33). That's what we want!

We're going to learn some very positive things that are necessary for us as we look at the future we're facing right now.

(break)

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*****

• How important are you to God?
• What does God want to do for you, IF you choose to do His way?

Whether you're converted or not, the blessing that come are the same in life. But being converted, you have the additional blessing of looking forward to eternal life.

Prov. 2 becomes important, because it shows how God gives us a proposition and if we respond, what He will do. He does it through what is called the spirit of wisdom!

Proverbs 2:1: "My son, if you will receive my words… [you have to have an open mind toward God's Word and receive them as true] …and treasure up my commandments within you." You choose to have it come to you God's way!

Verse 2: "So that you incline your ear to wisdom and apply your heart to understanding."

This is what God wants you to do. He wants you to use the wisdom and the understanding, and that will be the basis for growing in more knowledge and understanding.

Verse 3: "Yea, if…"—conditional!

A lot of people today want to live in sin, but receive the blessing of God. That will never work! It's like saying to stand on your two feet on your head. They call that an oxymoron! I call it a moryoxon because it's so stupid!

"…if you cry after knowledge… [don't ever stop learning] …and lift up your voice for understanding" (v 3). Showing that you pray to God!

• Will God hear your prayers? God will hear anybody's prayers!
• How did any of here, as adults, get to this point that we are here? There was one point when we registered our first prayer!

That first prayer was: 'O God, my life is a mess, help me!' That's generally the basis of the first prayer. Why? Because we didn't follow this!

Verse 4: "If you seek her as silver and search for her as for hidden treasures."

Think about what that means. Have you watched the television program, The Curse of Oak Island? There are billionaires who have money to spend, and they're looking at Oak Island near New Brunswick, Canada, for treasure that supposedly is where the Knight's Templar is buried.

They're literally digging this place up to try and find it. They're trying to find gold that was supposedly there. Even though they're coming up empty, they're still bringing in bulldozers and great diggers to try and find it. So, it shows that you must put forth the effort!

Verse 5—IF you do what God says: "Then you shall understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God."

Which are the two most important things that you can do. Notice that God is then dealing in you life, whether you're converted or not. Hopefully, it will lead to your being converted somewhere down the road.

Verse 6: "For the LORD gives wisdom…"

He will give it and you will understand, and you will begin to see the blessings of God because of it.

"…out of His mouth comes knowledge and understanding" (v 6). That's why you need to study the book of Proverbs over and over!

As a matter of fact, we have special program for the youth, which is this: We have recorded on CDs so you can also online so you can download it to your smart pad and everything else. This comes from the Elizondo family. This is how they taught their children in the Church:

Every morning the father sat down with them and they read one chapter of Proverbs. They had a little discussion. The next day they would read the next chapter. There are 31 Proverbs, so they would read chapter a day for a month—the shorter months they would double up on some of the shorter chapters—and they would go over it.

When they got to the end, they would come back and start again. Why is that important? Because repetition is the best way to learn! It will help you think; that's the most important thing.

Verse 6: "For the LORD gives wisdom; out of His mouth comes knowledge and understanding. He lays up sound wisdom for the righteous… [not for the sinner] …He is a shield to those who walk uprightly" (vs 6-7).

He will place His angels about you! You won't see them or hear them, but they will be there!

Verse 8: "He keeps the paths of right judgment and preserves the way of His saints. Then…" (vs 8-9).

Go back and connect all of this together: if, if, if, then, then!That means you put forth the effort and keep putting forth the effort, and then the results will come back to you in time.

Verse 9: "Then you shall understand righteousness and judgment and equity, every good path." That's what you want!

• Do you want to be smart?
• Do you want to be dumb? No!

IF you want to be stupid, go the way of the world!
IF you want to be smart, go the way of God!

Verse 19: "Then you shall understand righteousness and judgment and equity, every good path. Wisdom shall enter into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasing to your soul; discretion shall preserve you and, understanding shall keep you" (vs 9-11).

What is all of this going to do for you? So you can recognize:

• right from wrong
• truth from error
• make right decisions

To keep you from making lifelong consequences of wrong choices!

Verse 12: "To deliver you from the way of the evil man…"—that you need in today's world; there are a lot of evil people out there!

Sidebar: What do you think is one of the most influential and appealing, alluring—but evil—producers of children's things? Movies, videos, cartoons, etc.? Walt Disney!

You may think that's kind a tough statement. It is!

• Does it have witchcraft in it?
• Have you ever watched Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs?

All of that is occult and witchcraft! It's all in humor and fun! That's how Satan allures everyone into it!

I remember when I saw the movie Bambi. That was quite an exciting movie. There were some funny things in it, and so forth. That one is not too bad, but someone told me that's going to lead to what is called today the green movement! I didn't understand what was said, but now looking back, it has. What has it led to? That and many other things besides that? The lie of global warming, that we must do something to change it! Well, if there's anything that's causing the weather and things to be upset, it is sin!

They could take all of the carbon dioxide out by having many more plants with leaves, which would take it in and produce oxygen so we can breathe.

"…from the man who speaks wicked things, those who leave the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness, who rejoice to do evil and delight in the perversities of the wicked" (vs 12-14).

Be sure an watch Drug, Inc. and you will see that live right before your eyes.

Verse 15: "Whose ways are crooked, and are devious in their paths; to deliver you…" (vs 15-16).

There are many things you're going to be confronted with out there in life as you're growing up.

"…from the wanton woman… [or the young woman from the wanton man; works both ways] …even from the stranger who flatters with her words, who forsakes the guide of her youth and forgets the covenant of her God, for her house sinks down to death, and her paths to the dead. None that go unto her return again, nor do they take hold of the paths of life" (vs 15-19).

Sidebar: When I was about 12-13-years-old at the time, I had an uncle and was a very invalid man having terrible arthritis. He would smoke up a storm. My mom told me what happened to him, and it was one of those things that you never forget. I would go visit him and he would be shaking and would have his cigarette, and he would have these long wooden matches that you strike and with the cigarette in his mouth he could barely strike it to get the match going and light it and start smoking.

I asked my mom what happened to him, why is he this way? She said, 'Well, he made a wrong decision when he was young and he got syphilis. What you're seeing is the third stage of syphilis, because it's in your body the rest of your life.'

You can tell that I remembered that! This is what it's telling you here, the same thing: "…to deliver you…" (v 16).

Now, connect v 20 to vs 12 & 16; "…to deliver you…" in other words, God is telling you that He's going to help you to stay away from trouble if you are coming to Him. That's a pretty good deal, isn't it? Yes, indeed!

Verse 20: "In order that you may walk in the way of good and keep the paths of the righteous. For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it. But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it" (vs 20-22). That's eventually the whole plan of God!

What do we do then? When we get into Prov. 3, we're getting into where you're a little older, and it applies to every one of us. Think about this in relationship to what is happening in the world, what is happening in the Church, what is happened in the Church and it's going to continue.

We pray that as many as possible stay faithful to God and will stay faithful to God! Here's how to do it, because this is a lifelong thing!

Proverbs 3:1: "My son, do not forget My Law…

What's the first thing that most people forget, and it's devastating? They start relaxing on the Sabbath and giving up on the Sabbath and doing things on the Sabbath that are breaking the Sabbath! Then that draws them away from God and they're not praying and not studying and what does that lead to. Apostasy! Haven't we seen it? All of us have! It's amazing what has happened!

"…but let your heart keep My commandments" (v 1)—all of them! Remember where we saw:

• You're commandments are true
• You're Laws are true
• You're precepts are true
• everything You have is true

Verse 2: "For they shall add length of days…"

How many of you have friends in your school that the kids wanted to go out and have 'ball,' and they were out doing things that they knew their parents told them not to do! And it ended up in a disaster, whether it was:

• with drugs
• a car wreck
• an accident

And that devastated them!

"…and long life, and peace, to you. Do not let mercy and truth forsake you…" (vs 2-3).

That's quite an interesting thing, isn't it? Mercy and truth! You find that combination in the Bible everywhere. Mercy first, then truth! Why? Because mercy implies there is repentance, and you have forgiveness! When you have forgiveness, you want the truth! The truth will help undo whatever it was that you did that wasn't right.

"…bind them around your neck; write them upon the tablet of your heart" (v 3).

This is a modern saying: Programming your mind. You've heard of that. What the Chinese are trying to do, and Americans are trying to do, is they're trying to get chip that they can insert into the brain and try and make them smarter, stronger, whatever. I don't know how they can figure out the brain language that God has put in there genetically that will interface with the chip. I don't know if they can do that. That's what they're trying to do.

God says that if you want that, 'Come to Me! I'll give it to you!'

Verse 4: "And so you shall find favor and good understanding in the sight of God and man."

What's one great example of that? Remember Joseph? He was the youngest son of Israel, and he was kind of a hothead and showoff. He went around and said, 'I had a dream, and you all will bow down and worship me.' It was a true dream, but he should have kept it to himself, but he didn't.

So, his brothers said, 'That smart aleck, let's get rid of him.' So, they sold him to the Arabs as they were going into Egypt. The brothers took a little kid goat and killed it and put blood on the robe and took it back to Israel and said, 'Look! Joseph had been eaten by wild animals.' Well, it devastated his dad. I mean you talk about a heartbreak for 17 years! That was!

So, Joseph was sold into Egypt and spent time in prison, and God gave him grace and favor. He was able to interpret dreams. So, here's Pharaoh who had a dream of seven fat cows and seven thin cows. The baker told the Pharaoh what the dream meant, because he wanted to know. 'There's a man in prison named Joseph who can interpret dreams.

In one day Joseph is elevated from a prisoner to becoming #2 in ruling the whole land of Egypt, because he gave the interpretation that a famine was coming and to store everything up now.

You never know when God is going to lift you up and put your through and open door. That's why you have to remain faithful!

Verse 5 applies to every one of us, and this what we need to do today, and every day:

Verse 5: "Trust in the LORD with all your heart… [a complete commitment to God's way] …and lean not to your own understanding."

Why? Because there's a way that seems right to men and women that leads to death! The big trick is that IF you don't know the Word of God, THEN you won't know right and wrong. Anything that you think is right in your own eyes if you're going to profit from it. How do you think that they get people involved into buying and selling drugs?

Verse 6: "In all your ways… [this is quite a statement] …acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths."

Let's see what is true with every human being whether they are converted or not. Acts 17 is when Paul came to Mars Hill and was preaching the Gospel. There were so many statues and deities there that he came up—when he was invited to speak—he said,

Look, I came into your city and I saw all of these things, and I can tell you're very religious. But you have one dedication to the unknown God. Him I'm going to preach to you!

All the 'religions' today are based upon the Greek philosophy. We're soon going to have a wonderful book on that, which will be very interesting, indeed! But here's the point I want to make:

Acts 17:23: "…He Whom you worship in ignorance is the One that I proclaim to you. He is the God Who made the world and all things that are in it. Being the Lord of heaven and earth, He does not dwell in temples made by hands; nor is He served by the hands of men, as though He needs anything, for He gives to all life and breath and all things" (vs 23-25).

There's about 7.5 billion people on earth.

• What does God provide for every one of them? Life, breath, food, etc.!
• Are they converted? No!
• Does He love them? Yes! To the point that He gives them those things!

In His plan He'll take care of the later on! They all came because of the way that God created the reproduction of human beings.

Verse 26: "And He made of one blood all the nations of men to dwell upon all the face of the earth, having determined beforehand their appointed times and the boundaries of their dwelling; in order that they might seek the Lord, if perhaps they might feel after Him and might find Him; though truly, He is not far from each one of us" (vs 26-27). Every one in the world! Here's the key; this is true of every human being:

Verse 28: "For in Him we live and move and have our being…" We all exist because of God! That's why we have the Proverbs.

• How do we get in contact with God?
• How does God want us to live?

Proverbs 3:7: "Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and depart from evil. It shall be health to your navel and marrow to your bones" (vs 7-8).

Read all of Prov. 3 and in the last part there are five things that it says do not do! Now, here's what the fear of God will do for you.

Proverbs 4:14: Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not into the way of evil men. Avoid it; do not go in it; turn from it, and pass on!" (vs 14-15).

That's a good example of the fear of the Lord, because you don't want to get yourself in circumstances that once you're in there you can't get out, so avoid it to begin with.

Verse 16: "For they do not sleep except when they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away unless they cause some to fall, for they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence. But…" (vs 16-18).

Here's the contrast, and this is what is so good about Proverbs. It will tell you something that's evil, and then show you what is right. It tells you how to get out of the trouble and how to stay right with God.

Verse 18: "But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shines more and more to the perfect day. The way of the wicked is as darkness; they know not at what they stumble. My son, attend to My words… [the whole lesson of the Proverbs] …incline your ear to My sayings. Let them not depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart, for they are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh" (vs 18-22).

• What is the most important thing of your being?
• What is it that Satan wants to get at to destroy you?
• What is it that God wants you to develop and improve?

He's given it to you to do it, but you have the free choice of doing it. He wants you to do it! Here it is right here, and this is what you need to do and watch:

Verse 23: "Above all guard the door of your mind…"—or the heart!

That's interesting, because the heart has cells in it just like they are in the brain. That's why it talks about the heart; write them in your heart. That means that it will be there to guide you constantly!

"…with diligence, for out of it are the issues of life" (v 23).

Take a long view! If you have a chance to watch some of the things on television, also watch some of these prison things. Look at those who are locked up, and ask yourself: Do I want to be there? What was it that they did? Some of them are redeemable, some are not! They've interviews mass killers and they've told the interviewer that 'if you let me out, I'm going to kill again.'

• What happened? That person was a sweet little baby born at one time!
• What happened to that life?
• How did Satan get in there?

Now you know why God has the second resurrection! God's plan is greater than all human mistakes, but today He's dealing with the firstfruits! He is dealing with those whom He is calling and choosing. He wants us to "…guard the door of our mind with diligence…" Don't let things into your mind! That will lead you to sin. "…for out of it are the issues of life."

So, here's how you do it; what does it say of human nature?

Jeremiah 17:9: "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?"

That's hard to accept, except by the Word of God. Then you think about all the things that come upon you and realize the temptations that are the result of that.

"…and desperately wicked…"—meaning that if you let it run wild, it's going to be nothing but wickedness! Does that sound a little like ANTIFA? Black Lives Matter? Radical Muslims? Radical whatever?

Proverbs 4:24: "Put away from you a deceitful mouth, and devious lips put far from you. Let your eyes look right on… [keep your eyes and mind on the goal] …and let your eyelids look straight before you. Ponder the path of your feet… [think about where you're going and what you're doing] …and all your ways will be established" (vs 24-26).

Isn't that an amazing thing? But this requires our cooperation with God, and seeing what God wants for us.

Verse 27: "Do not turn to the right hand nor to the left; remove your foot from evil."

All the rest of the book of Proverbs is built on this! If you want the program to go through to do it yourself, or with your family together, let us know and we'll send it to you. It will help you, especially when there are so many thing that are evil  going on today. We need to:

• guard the door of our mind
• live God's way

That's what we need to do in the days that we see right in front of us!

Scriptural References:

• Titus 1:1-2
• 2 Timothy 1:8-9
• Psalm 119:142, 151, 160, 89
• Daniel 10:20-21
• Proverbs 1:1-5
• Isaiah 50:4
• Proverbs 1:6-11. 24-33
• Proverbs 2:1-22
• Proverbs 3:1-6
• Acts 17:23-28
• Proverbs 3:7-8
• Proverbs 4:14-23
• Jeremiah 17:9
• Proverbs 4:24-27

Scriptures referenced, not quoted:

• Revelation 1
• John 1
• Genesis 1

Also referenced: Books:

• Jesus, James, Joseph and the Past and Future Temple by David Heilbron Price
• The Appointed Times of Jesus the Messiah by Fred R. Coulter

FRC:bo
Transcribed: 1/7/21

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