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3:00And finally, it promises us how to have biblical balance in our lives. And so I would say the book of Proverbs, like all the Bible, but the Book of Proverbs is particularly important in our lives. And the key to understanding Proverbs is found in understanding its cast of characters. We were talking the other day about your Pilgrim's Progress holiday, or you call it here, Vacation Bible School. We call it Holiday Bible Club. We're hoping that a group of you will be able to come out and do that at our church. In Johannesburg, I lead our Holiday Bible Club, and usually we do the AIG, but we'd love to do the Pilgrim's Progress. But really, to understand Pilgrim's Progress, you need to know the characters. It helps so much.

3:49When I was probably six or seven years old, my mom forced me to watch The Nutcracker. Has anybody here watched The Nutcracker? Yeah, and it was torture. To this day, I'm still scarred. But I think a big part of the reason I didn't enjoy it at all was I didn't understand who was there, what they were doing, the dance of the sugar plum fairies, or any of that stuff. I didn't know what was going on. And it would have helped to know the cast of characters, just like with Pilgrim's Progress. You have characters in there. I think that's your focus this year, right? Different characters in Pilgrim's Progress, so pliable. What does that mean? Why does he give him that name? Or worldly wise, as we discussed already. Or hopeful. How is he helpful to pilgrim? Or evangelist? What was his job and what did he do? And in Proverbs, we also have a cast of characters that it's important to know and understand. It helps us to get a good overview of the book of Proverbs. And there are five main characters that we see in the book of Proverbs. Our title of our message this morning is the five key characters in Proverbs, or the keys to understanding the book of Proverbs. If you'll go through and underline every time that one of these people is named in the book of Proverbs and study those verses about them, it will really help you to bring all of that together. Because sometimes you have a verse here and a verse there and these little proverbs, but you'll see a common thread all throughout. See if you can pick out these characters. Let me read these verses to you again. Proverbs chapter 1, verse 5. A wise man will hear and will increase learning. And a man of understanding will attain to wise counsel. Verse 7, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. Verse 22, How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? And the scorners delight in their scorning. And fools hate knowledge. Well, I'm sure you could pick those out there, but the five characters we're going to talk about today are the simple, simple man, the wise man, the fool, the man of understanding, and the scoffer, are often called the scorner or the mocker. It can be helpful to analyze people in the Bible and where they might fall on this list of characters. And some people in the Bible fall in different categories, multiple categories. Think of Job, where would he fall in there? Or Ruth, another good character to analyze from the book of Proverbs. Saul, he could be in multiple categories. David, also in multiple categories depending on the time of life. Samson, you think about him, I think he would fall in different categories. Jezebel, Jonah, what a complex character there, right? Where would he fall on this list? In the New Testament, we have the Pharisees, and what were they doing to Christ? We have Peter with his personality and how it fits in there. And of course, Paul, at one time in his life, would definitely have been against Christ and then came to Christ and was a major promoter of Jesus Christ. So let's meet the characters in the book of Proverbs and see what the Bible teaches us about them.

7:30Character number one is the simple. And this is defined, this person is defined as open, naive, gullible. He or she will believe anything. And in a young child, this is to be expected. As you grow older, though, it becomes a detriment. And actually, being simple, remaining simple can be an act of defiance against God. How many of you have younger brothers or sisters? Anybody? Yep, okay, you do. Have you ever gotten them to believe something that was just totally unbelievable? How many of you have ever been snipe hunting? Anybody? Yep, okay, snipe hunting. I was, somebody took me snipe hunting, and then I thought it was important to pass that on, so I took other people snipe hunting. If you don't know, I'm not going to spoil it for whoever might take you snipe hunting.

8:27When we lived in Johannesburg, Peyton and Allie, our two oldest, would work for a lady who had like a costume business, and they would go to parties and they would dress up as characters. So I remember one time Peyton was dressed up as Spider-Man, and he was at Titus's house and was on the roof there, and it was for, I think it was Zeke's birthday, and Peyton was up there, and all of a sudden, everybody's pointing at Spider-Man, and he's jumping around on the roof and acting, and they Really thought that he was Spider-Man. And Allie would go to a party, and she would be Sleeping Beauty or Snow White or something. And all the girls were just in awe of who she was because they were little. They were young children. We have a friend that's coming to the wedding. He was in a play years ago, a homeschool play, about Peter Pan. And he was Peter Pan, and he came in. You know, they had him flying over the crowd and all that stuff, and it was really neat. Our kids went and they thought this was the greatest thing. They were probably four, five, six years old at the time. And so they loved the play. And then that weekend, we went to church, and he attends our church, and they saw him and they're like, Dad, Peter Pan is here. Is that really him? And for probably two years, they called him Peter Pan. Even today, they'll still call him Peter Pan if they see him oftentimes. And so it's because they are young, they're simple. And that's a good thing in a young person, but you can't stay there. Proverbs 1, or Psalm 116, verse 6 says, The Lord preserves the simple or the innocent. Says, I was brought low and he helped me. This is being simple concerning evil. So there is a good simplicity even as an adult, but we can't stay simple for all of our lives. Jesus, in fact, says that everybody starts here, right?

10:27Remember Matthew chapter 18. When the little children are coming to him. And the disciples tell him, you know, they ask him, who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus calls a little child over to him, has him sit on his lap or sit with him. And he says, Truly I say to you, except you be converted and become as little children, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whoever, therefore, will humble himself as a little child, the same is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever will receive one such little child in my name receives me. As a young Christian, you will be simple regarding spiritual things. But there is a time factor. As you grow up from a young person to an older person, or as you get newly saved as an older person and then grow, there's a time factor. You can't stay simple. You can't stay innocent for so long because you're receiving more and more input about the world as you grow. Listen to the Apostle Paul with Christ, the Holy Spirit, inspiring him. In 1 Corinthians chapter 3, he says, And I, brethren, he's chastising the church in Corinth for remaining simple. He says, I, brethren, couldn't speak to you as to spiritual, but as to carnal, even as if you were babes in Christ. I fed you with milk and not with meat. For behold, For up to now, you weren't able to bear it, and even now you're not able, he says. Verse 3: For you are carnal, there's envying among you, there's strife, there's division. Aren't you carnal? He says, and you walk as men. And then the writer in Hebrews says essentially the same thing and chastises them for being still babes in Christ. They were still too simple when they should not have been. In life, you're either becoming spiritually wise or you're becoming more worldly wise.

12:33It seems that the loss of innocency happens earlier and earlier with each generation, doesn't it? We might have even said it would take a generation, but I think now we're seeing it happen inside multiple times within a generation, that that innocence is lost. We live in an age of an information explosion. You can get a hold of so much. Just a simple example, we love with our kids in Johannesburg. Every once in a while, we'll watch Little House on the Prairie, and they love it, you know, when they get to watch that and see the latest with Laura and Mary and whoever on there. But think of the children's shows today and how far we've come and what that has done to our society. The world is getting its message out through every medium possible. You can think of all sorts of mediums, and many of them can be good and useful and helpful, but often used for wickedness. Think of our Facebook pages and TikTok and Instagram and all these things. Well, on the other hand, Christians are remaining silent and are muted and are not giving out godly wisdom as we should. And it's no wonder that oftentimes we're seeing with our particularly younger generation, we're seeing so many leave the church and apostasize. Being simple is dangerous. Proverbs 14:15 says, The simple believes every word, but the prudent man looks well to his going. You can tell a simple person anything, and they're going to believe it. And that's not where we should be in our Christian walk. You're not exempt from the consequences of being simple and making wrong decisions. Proverbs 22, 3 says, a prudent man foresees evil. In other words, he sees evil coming, and he hides himself. But the simple, they pass on, and the Bible says they are punished. There's a time when simplicity will cause you to be punished. And so very soon, a child or a young Christian must choose who they're going to follow. Will they follow godly influences, godly parents, godly church leaders, godly teachers, godly friends? You choose who you're going to follow, and that influences your life. Or will you choose to follow ungodly influences, people who do Wrong, ungodly friends. And parents, it's your responsibility to put your children in situations where they have good influences and to teach them godly wisdom, one of the most important parts of parenting. And so that's character number one that we see in the book of Proverbs. Character number two is the wise man. And this is defined in Proverbs as one who will listen. Proverbs 1, verse 5, which we've already read, says, A wise man will hear and he will increase learning. Paul puts it this way in Romans 10, 17, so then faith cometh by hearing, right? And hearing by the Word of God. Mr. McGee this morning was talking about how important it is in Psalm 1 that we read to love the word of God. And that's what helps us to grow, to be that tree planted by the rivers of water with fruit, giving forth fruit, and its leaf also will not wither. Whatsoever it doeth shall prosper. And that's because we hear the word of God. We need to be in God's Word, and that's what a wise person does. Proverbs 19, verse 7, we love that, or sorry, Psalm 19:7, we love that psalm. It says, The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. Okay? So there. A progression. We talked about that in Sunday school as well. There's a progression in our lives. We are either becoming more wise divinely or godly wise, having godly wisdom, or we're becoming more worldly wise. It's simply two paths that we will be on.

16:51And one, you'll find as you study this person in the book of Proverbs, you'll find that they are characterized by three main things. Number one, a wise person has a proper fear of authority. We have a lack of that in our society today, I would say, even in our churches today. Not a proper fear of authority. Do you realize that the book of Proverbs begins with the fear of the Lord? Proverbs 1:7, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. This was probably Solomon who wrote this part. And then the book of Ecclesiastes ends with the fear of the Lord. Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter, Ecclesiastes 12, 13, and 14. Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter. Fear God and keep his commandments. This is the whole duty of man. Why? Because God will bring every work into judgment with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil. And so those two books are bookend by a proper fear of the Lord. That's what a wise person has. Proverbs 9:10 says, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Again, and the knowledge of the holy is understanding. In the New Testament, Peter talks about this in Peter, 1 Peter 5:5. It says, likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. It's not just talking about elders in our church, although that is applicable, but older people in your church. Be willing to submit yourself. Yes, all of you be subject to one another and clothed with humility. So a wise man is also known by their willingness to submit, willingly submit to God's authorities. Proverbs 1:8 says, My son, hear the instruction of your father and don't forsake the law of your mother.

18:45So, kids, listen to your mom and your dad. That's what the whole book of Proverbs, right in the beginning, he's talking to his children and his son in particular, and saying, Listen, you need to listen to us because we have wisdom that we're passing on to you as godly parents. And then finally, the third characteristic of a wise person we find in Proverbs: a wise man is humble. In God's economy, the way up is actually down. Proverbs 15:33 says, The fear of the Lord is instruction and wisdom, and before honor is humility.

19:26In God's economy, if you want to have honor, You will first be humble. Does this describe you? Would you say that you're a wise person? Do you have a proper fear of authority? Mr. McGee said this morning that we have taken the word the law of God out oftentimes because it seems offensive that the word of God can be considered a law, something that we absolutely have to do. I think we have a, we also do the same thing with the fear of the Lord and a fear, a proper fear of authority. We need to have that. It's important in our Christian walks. Are you a person that is willing to submit to godly authority? And are you a person that would be considered humble? That's what a wise person is. Consider the benefits of wisdom. Proverbs 10, 1 says, the Proverbs of Solomon, a wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother. If you go to Proverbs chapter 3, and just for the sake of time, we won't do it today, but I encourage you to read verses 1 through 26. And it's a list of benefits if you will listen and you will be wise. Let me just name a few for you. If you are wise, have godly wisdom, it promises long life, it promises peace, it promises barns that are filled with plenty, promises happiness, promises safety, it promises a lack of fear. Those are things. That we all want, right? And the Bible is telling us how we can get that. Now, we understand that there are times in lives and some of us don't experience those things all the time in our life. Book of Proverbs says, if you live this way, normally this is what's going to happen. The book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon says, oh my goodness, you know, it doesn't always happen. And here's why, and here's some things that I'm frustrated with. And so it's important to have that balance. But generally speaking, if we will live as wise Christians and submit ourselves to God's Word, these are the things that God promises to give us. 2 Corinthians 4:18 says, well, we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things that are not seen are eternal. And so we're looking for those eternal blessings in our Christian lives. And God tells us, if you're a wise man, a wise woman, these are the things that you can expect. Character number three, we talked about the simple, we've talked about the wise. Character number three is the fool. This is an interesting character. This is one of those progressions.

22:14You're going from simple to either being wise or simple to being a fool, is really the next progression. And the word fool here is defined as one with stopped up ears. It's literally, if you were to translate it, it would be a fat head. Okay, it's kind of a funny picture that the Bible gives us, right? And it's not just any fat. It's actually talking about kidney or bowel fat. It's talking about our waste, because our kidney and our bowels, they take care of those things that we need to get out of our body. And we know that in Scripture, the kidneys, the bowels, were the seat of emotion for that culture. And so if a person was considered a fat head, it's somebody that was spiritually constipated. They were having trouble. Their head is stopped up with this kidney or bowel fat or with waste. It's emotional constipation because of emotional revolt against authority because a person didn't get their way. Let me say that one more time because I think that's important. It's emotional constipation from emotional revolt against authority. Why? Because a person didn't get their way. Have you ever been at that place in your life where you didn't get what you wanted, and so you were very upset and very angry? Maybe you know some people that are going through that now. Proverbs 1 again says, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. They don't even like to take in instruction. They don't want to hear the wisdom that we find in the Bible. Verse 21 says, How long, ye simple ones, will you love simplicity? We've already talked about the simple one. And then at the end it says, and fools hate knowledge. So a fool is characterized by hating knowledge. This person without the grace of God, they throw an adult temper tantrum. That's their outward ventilation. Maybe you've seen that. They lash out at people. They get angry and say things that they shouldn't say. Or, oftentimes, inwardly, they're bowing their back. Have you ever seen a little child that just gets angry and gets like that? And they put their back up and they're not going to do anything that you want them to do. And that's the picture of this person that is stopped up and they don't want to do. They're angry about the wisdom of God.

24:42They're characterized by a head swollen with pride. Proverbs 12, 15 says it like this. The way of the fool is right in his own eyes. But he that hearkens to counsel is wise. It shows the contrast there. If you're a fool, you think everything that I, all my thoughts are good and right, and I'm just going to go ahead and do what I want to do because I think I'm right about everything. Proverbs 14, 12 says, There's a way that seems right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of what? Of death. It's very serious. You can't tell this person anything because they already know it all. The fool is developed by a parent.

25:30Failing to instruct them in godly wisdom. A parent that essentially just does nothing, doesn't want to have anything to do with their children, or they just don't want to confront their children. There's a great example of this in the Bible. We've been going through the book of the books of Samuel and going through the life of David, who is a man after God's own heart. And yet, here's what it says, and we know the story of all of David's children.

25:59Here's what the Bible says that David did with his children, 1 Corinthians 1:6, or 1 Kings, I'm sorry. And his father had not displeased him at any time in saying, Why have you done so? In other words, he never confronted his children to say, Why are you doing this? This is wrong. You need to do what's right. Maybe you don't have a parent like that, young folks in here. You need to find a mentor that will speak to you and that will teach you in the ways of the Lord. Somebody that will actually challenge you and say, Why are you doing this? This isn't right. Or explain to me what your thinking is. You need to have people that will challenge you. Fools are characterized by being angry, by mocking sin. They're hard and stubborn. They're destined to self-destruct, Proverbs chapter 10 tells us, and they bring grief to their parents. Usually, a fool is a younger person. Person, maybe in their teen years, maybe in their 20s, because by the time you grow a little older, you move into the next category, which we'll get to in just a minute. The only hope for a fool is proper discipline. Proverbs 22, 15 says this: Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child, but the what? Rod of correction will drive it far from him. Unless a fool learns to properly respond to no from authority, they are ruined. And you see, this is the opposite of a wise person who loves to submit to authority, godly authority. A fool doesn't want anything to do with authority. And we're seeing this play out all over the world today. And this is exactly what's happening: a revolt against authority. And it is not by accident. The devil loves it. And that's what he wants, is us to revolt against authority. Think of God the Father dealing with his children. In Proverbs chapter 3, verse 11 and 12, he says, My son, don't despise the chastening of the Lord. Don't be wary of correction. Why? Because whom the Lord loves, he corrects, even as a father, the son in whom he delights. Fathers, if you're not willing to discipline your children and to consistently discipline them and tell them no and teach them to respond properly to authority, you're going to lose your children to the world. And then in our churches, it's a pastor's role to have authority and for us to submit to that good, godly, biblical authority. Paul says to Timothy in 2 Timothy chapter 4, I charge you, therefore, before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the quick and the dead at his appearance and his kingdom, preach the word, be instant in season, out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine. Why? Because it says we're going to leave sound doctrine. And I think we're seeing that again today. We need pastors, leaders that will stand. I'm thankful for our leaders at Antioch who have stood boldly and strongly against the things of the world and have challenged us as Christians. We have a culture, and it sounds like you do too here, of being able to talk to people about things that are happening in their lives and challenge people in a good, not a nosy and gossipy way, but go and talk to people. And we need that, and you need that. I'm thankful for your pastor and other leaders here who are willing to do that. Okay, so that is the fool is the third character. The fourth character we see in the book of Proverbs is the man of understanding. This is the highest level that we attain as a believer. Look him up in the book of Proverbs. It's amazing to see what Proverbs says. About him. He's a discerner. This person is defined as one who is able to cut, to divide, to separate, or distinguish good from evil. We hear about something else in God's Word that cuts and divides, too, right? Hebrews chapter 5 says this: of whom? It's talking Christ the high priest. We have many things to say. Paul, or whoever the writer is of Hebrews, is saying, I have many things that I wanted to teach you, and they're hard things that you need to understand, but you're dull of hearing. He wanted to teach them deeper things, but they weren't mature enough to take it in. He said, For when you ought to be teachers, you still have need that one would teach you again the very basic, the first principles of the oracles of God. And you're become such as those who need milk and not strong meat. He goes on to say, Strong meat belongs to those that are of full age. So you're maturing as a Christian. You're going from simple to wise to a man of understanding. Even those who, by reason of use, so they know the word of God and they're able to use it, they have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. So they're not just wise in that they know what the Bible says, they're able to actually implement what they've learned from the Bible and to discern what is good and what is right. What is wrong. Proverbs 22, 6 promises us that if you train up a child in the way he should go, when he is old, he will not depart from it. We know that there are exceptions to that rule, but in general, if you train a child in the things of Scripture and godly wisdom, when they're old, they will hold on to that. Job talks about it in Job 28, 28. Unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding. As we talked about in Sunday school again, you're either walking with the world in the ways of the world or you're walking with the wise. And he says at the end here, he departs from evil. That is understanding. You're not just standing there going, I know this is wrong. You're making an action. You're taking action and moving away from what is wrong. That's what a man of understanding says. Go back and read sometimes Solomon's prayer in 1 Kings chapter 3. And Solomon, one of the things that really sticks out there is he understands how little he actually knows. And that's what a wise person, a man of understanding, a woman of understanding, really understands. That we don't know a lot. And we need to constantly be going back to God's Word. We need to constantly be meeting together with our church family and discipling and being discipled so that we can grow and understand things. In verse 9, Solomon says, he asked. When he asked God for what God said you could have anything, he said he asked for an understanding heart to discern between good and evil. And God answers him and he says in verse 12, I have given you a wise and understanding heart.

33:20But it's not something that you take for granted because we know the rest of the story with Solomon, don't we? He walked away from that and he knew what was good and what was right. And he still decided not to do that. And so we need people in our life that will challenge us in those times. James 1:22 says, Be doers of the word, not just hearers. A wise person hears and gains wisdom and understanding, but the man of understanding actually does those things. Be not hearers, only deceiving yourselves. A wise person is headed for a promotion from God. Proverbs 9 says this: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, the knowledge of the holy is understanding. For by me, your days will be multiplied, and the years of your life will be increased. And you can have a huge impact on your family, on your church, on your town, on your city, on your country. Their effect is far-reaching. Proverbs 28:2 puts it this way: For the transgression of a land, many are the princes thereof. In other words, a land that is sinful has a lot of rulers because they're corrupt. We see that in South Africa. And a lot of people, a lot of people in the bureaucracy want to do all sorts of things. The opposite, it says, but by a man of understanding and knowledge, the state thereof will be prolonged. In other words, a man of understanding brings order and righteousness, makes things simple so that you don't need all of those things. And that's what's maintained by a man of understanding. The greatest impact that you can have on your family, on your church, on your community, is to be a godly man or woman of understanding. And finally, we see, as I mentioned in the beginning of this part, where else does the Bible talk about something that divides or discerns? Hebrews 4, 12, the word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And when you read God's word and you know it backward and forward, you too can do the same. Because that's what God's word helps us to do, to discern and to divide between right and wrong. And then finally, we come to the last character, character number five, is the scorner. We read about him in Psalm. Chapter 1, verse 1 this morning. He's also known as a mocker or scoffer. Anytime you see those words in Proverbs, you can underline them. And this is a person, the word actually means to make mouths or to imitate authority with contempt. What does to make mouths mean? It's when, have you ever been somewhere and an authority says something and somebody behind them is going, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. That's what it's talking about. They're mocking. They're actively, a simple person doesn't understand all these things necessarily. A fool has moved to where he's doing foolish things. A scorner is actively working against God and God's authority. Proverbs 1, 22, How long, ye simple ones, will you love simplicity? And the scorners delight in their scorning. Psalm 1, the godly man delights in the law of the Lord. Here we see the scorner delighting in scoffing.

37:04Proverbs chapter 30, there's a generation that curses their father, does not bless their mother. There's a generation that is pure in their own eyes, and they're yet not washed from their filthiness. There's a generation that says, oh, how lofty are their eyes. They're looking up. Oh, yes, I'm good. I know everything. I am fine doing what I'm doing. Their eyelids are lifted up. There's a generation whose teeth are. Teeth are as swords. They love to cut people down, cut them up. Their jaw teeth are as knives. They devour the poor from off the earth and the needy from among men. The eye, verse 17, that mocks at his father and despises to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it. If you're a scorner, a scoffer, a mocker, your end is dire, and you need to turn to Christ today. And a scorner is trained up over time, just like we see, train up a child in the way he should go. If you don't train them, you're actually training them. If you're not training them in righteousness, you're training them in wickedness.

38:15We need to be parenting our children and teaching them not to do this. Proverbs 14 says, A scorner seeks wisdom and does not find it. But knowledge is easy to him that understands. So a scorner at some point is actually seeking wisdom, and they're not finding godly wisdom. They find worldly wisdom. This is what happened to Esau. Remember the story of Esau? Hebrews chapter 12, verse 16 says, Lest there be any fornicator or profane person as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. He did what was right in his own eyes. He wanted what he wanted. You know that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place of repentance. He couldn't repent. And it says, though he sought it carefully with tears. He knew, because his dad had trained him, and yet he had walked away, and he was a scorner. If you want your child to become public enemy, number one, particularly to God, then neglect their wisdom teaching. My brother-in-law has a sheet that he has of all the things that we as parents need to be teaching our children. Physically, emotionally, spiritually, it's a wonderful thing to go through and just say, am I doing this with my children? Proverbs 29, 4 says, the thought of foolishness is sin, and the scorner is an abomination to men. Dealing with the scorner won't be pretty, but at times it has to be done, especially when they're younger and they're not yet set in their ways. We're hoping that they will turn. Proverbs 9 says, he that reproves a scorner will get to himself shame. Don't reprove a scorner, it says, lest he hate you. Rebuke a wise man, and he'll love you. So we see the difference between a man of understanding who loves rebuke and a person who's a scorner who hates it. But then it goes on to say, you need to smite a scorner, Proverbs 19, so that the simple will beware. We need to be making sure that we are in our Society today, being willing to stand up. My dad was talking to us yesterday as we're driving around: be willing to stand up for what is right and to say, No, there are things that are happening in our world that are wrong and show that to our children, but in our churches as well. That's why we need bold preaching to say, This is wrong and this is right, and we need to be willing to stand for what is right. And when we come together as a community like this, this in church, it's easier for us to hold each other up and stand for what is right and to stand against those who are scoffers. The only real hope for a scorner or a scoffer is to turn them over to God. Proverbs 22 says, Cast out a scorner, and contention will go out. They bring with them contention. Maybe you're that person.

41:21Surely, he, it says about God, God scorns scorners in Proverbs chapter 3, but he gives grace to the lonely. But there is hope for a scorner. There is hope for one that hates God. We saw that in the life of Paul, certainly. God turned him. And the only hope for them, though, is repentance. Maybe today you're a scorner and you're here and you don't like the things of God. Maybe you're pretending. Maybe you're just an outright scorner. You need to repent and turn to God. That's the only thing that can save you from eternal damnation. In hell, and from lots of pain while you're here, even on earth. Read Psalm chapter 51 from David to see what true repentance looked like. Admitting and regretting your past sin, confessing your specific sin to God, and resolving not to continue in that sin, but bearing fruits of repentance, as it says in Psalm 51. So, which character in Proverbs are you? If you just kind of, I'm not asking for you to raise your hand, but if you think through these things and think through these characters and are honest with yourself, are you still simple and should have moved on from that? Are you a wise one who listens and takes in knowledge from others and especially from Scripture? Are you a fool, the one, the fathead with the stopped-up ears? Are you a man of understanding who is actually actively going out and doing the things that the Bible tells us? Or are you stuck as a scorner and a mocker who is mocking the things of God? Have you turned to God and repented of your sin? I encourage you to do that today. We would love to talk to you. This is a message that probably three decades ago, my father-in-law had preached, and it has stuck with me all my life, and I love to share it with others. And he always ended his messages with these words. Maybe you've heard him. He was on KH. CB for about 35 years. Ronald McDonald was his name. That's for real, not a joke. Ronald McDonald, not the one from McDonald's, but he would always end his messages by saying this: Trust him. You can trust him. Let's bow for prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank you so much for this day that we can open the scripture. Lord, I pray that you would help us to not remain simple, that you would help us not to be a fool or a scoffer or a scorner, but you would help us to gain your wisdom that we might become men and women of understanding. Thank you for the guidance that you give us through your word. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.