A Portrait of the Devil - Proverbs 6:16-19

2:33Or I will avoid taking a bath whenever possible and conserve more water. There you go. Good resolution. Do your part. Now, this one must have been written by a computer techie. He said, I will try to figure out why I really need nine email addresses. Wonder that? Well, here's some others. Twitter put out, 14, 2014. This is one New Year's resolution. A guy said he is going to try not to get uglier. Pretty good. Another one said he or she wants to create a puppy with a beard.

3:11That's a pretty noble aspiration, right? And here's another one. I like this one. My New Year's resolution is to stop eating flaming hot Cheetos for breakfast. But if you top the list, if you average them out, really it's lose weight. That's at the top of the list. And the reason is because we can notice by looking in the mirror the distortion or the disfigurement of our body, right? We're people who can see the external, and so we can tell by looking in the mirror something needs to change. We are far more adept at seeing the disfigurement of our body than we are the disfigurement of our souls. And so this morning, I want us to look at what I think are going to be some pretty good New Year's resolutions. And it gives us things that we could look at specifically in 2014 and avoid them. Things that don't just disfigure our body, but things that disfigure our soul, our innermost being.

4:19And why do we avoid them? Why should they be avoided? Well, because God hates them. Very simple reason, right there in the text. There are six things which the Lord hates. Yes, sir. Which are an abomination. Very strong language. He says, He hates something, he abhors it, he despises it, he loathes it. They are described as abominations, something detestable. The literal Hebrew reading is abominations to him, that they are something detestable to his soul. Something God finds detestable at the very core of his being. And there are other things written in Scripture. If you spent much time in Scripture, especially the Old Testament, you see, there are a lot of things that he described as detestable. In Leviticus 18, there are the detestable practices that took place in Egypt and took place in Canaan. And it's for that reason that the land vomited out the inheritance. Literally, that is the graphic picture there. Sin reached a climax to the point where the land vomited them out of the land. And that is why God brought the Israelites into the land of Canaan to fulfill his promise. But the iniquity upon the Canaanites had reached its height. Immoral relations of Leviticus 18. You're probably very familiar with them. Incestuous relationships. Stuff that I can't even read because there are children present. One thing that was detestable was incest. Another thing that was detestable to God was marrying a woman and her sister as a rival wife. Now, that's interesting, especially in light of Israel history, right? Remember Leah and Rachel? Very interesting. It's detestable. That is a detestable practice. Sacrificing a child to an idol, a detestable practice. Lying with a man as one lies with a woman is a detestable practice. Bestiality, you can go on down the line, detestable practices. And it is because of these that the Canaanites were vomited out of the land. And the exhortation to the Jews as they went into the land, do not imitate them. Do not become like them, or you too will defile the land, and the land will vomit you out. And we know from Israel's subsequent history that they ended up imitating the abominable practices of the nations, and they suffered God's punishment. And Ezekiel 16, 43, God declares this judgment, and because you have not remembered the days of your youth, but have enraged me by all these things, behold, I interpret. Will bring your conduct down on your own head, declares the Lord God, so that you will not commit this lewdness on top of all of your other abominations. I have come to hate your practices, I have come to hate your festivals, therefore the Babylonians are going to come and take you away, and they're going to destroy your nation, they're going to dash your little ones to pieces. Very strong language.

7:59And we learn from this that God is impartial. That he, even as he called this nation out of Egypt and he performed great miracles, even when they became practiced abominations, he judged them like he did the nation before them. Because God is an impartial God. And you and I are going to be no different. He is impartial. So why should we avoid the seven practices of Proverbs 6, 16 through 19? Well, because God hates them. Now the question becomes: why does God hate them? Why does God hate these? And the answer is because those who do them look like the devil. Those who do them look like the devil. They bear the image of the devil.

9:00Some of you are probably aware of this. In the last couple weeks, there's a battle brewing at the Oklahoma State Capitol. For those of you who are not up to speed, what's going on there, the Associated Press put this article out. The title is Devil Worship Group Unveils Satanic Statue Designed for Oklahoma State Capitol. Let me read you part of the article. A satanic group unveiled designs Monday for a seven-foot-tall statue of Satan it wants to put at the Oklahoma State Capitol where a Ten Commandments monument was placed in 2012. The New York-based Satanic Temple, now I don't know why I had to come out of New York, and why couldn't the Oklahomans, but anyway, getting off topic. But the New York-based Satanic Temple formally submitted its application to a panel that oversees the Capitol grounds, including an artist rendering that depicts Satan as bafflement, a goat-headed figure with horns, wings, and a long beard that is often used as a symbol of the occult. In the rendering, Satan is sitting in a pentagram-adorned throne with smiling children next to him. The monument has been designed to reflect the views of Satanists in Oklahoma City and beyond, Temple spokesman said.

10:23The statue will also have a functional purpose as a chair where people of all ages may sit on the lap of Satan. For inspiration and contemplation. So there's a battle brewing, right? A battle brewing over this monument. And as horrifying as this image is, it's really not what Satan looks like. In fact, it's a very deceiving image of what he looks like. That is a creation of man. That picture of Satan that they want to put up there is the creation of man's hands.

11:06No, the image of Satan is a lot more terrifying. The image of the devil is described in our passage this morning. And it's far more terrifying than what is proposed. That is a deceitful lie, that image. Here is a truer picture. Look at Proverbs 6:12, just to give you a little context. Verse 6, 12, it says, a worthless person. Now stop there. Some of your translations may say scoundrel, but the worthless person literally reads man of Belial. Man of Belial.

11:48And it refers to a person of evil behavior, a morally reprehensible person, a person who has no regard for God or society, a very lawless person. Person, a person who harms others, not just for personal gain, but out of sheer delight. A very wicked, brutal, evil scoundrel, evil personified, the man of Belial. But the term is also used in Scripture to refer to the devil himself and those who act like him look like him. Verse 12 through 14 go on to describe the manner of life of this wicked man, this worthless, this person of Belial.

12:47A worthless person, look at verse 12. A wicked man is one who walks with a perverse mouth. That is, his mouth, what comes out, it's crooked, it's twisted, it's warped, who winks with his eyes, who signals with his feet, who points with his fingers, who with perversity in his heart continually devises evil. Notice he's describing his mouth, his eyes, his feet, his hands, and his heart. He is crafty, he is sly. His mouth is perverse. His eyes, his feet, his heart are all active in doing evil and causing strife. He gives orders subtly. He's able to bring those into his.

13:31Evil designs and get others to carry out his plans. They become tools. And he is very unsuspecting, very cunning, very crafty. He winks, he nods, he moves. Very unsuspecting. But his punishment is described in verse 15. Therefore, his calamity will come suddenly. Instantly, he will be broken, and there will be no more healing. So when his punishment comes, it is surprisingly quick and beyond remedy. Such is the end result of Belial and those who look like him, those who are of Belial's household, the worthless man, the worthless one. Nahum speaks of this day. In 1:15, he says, This, Behold on the mountains, the feet of him who brings good news, who announces peace. Celebrate your feasts, O Judah. Pay your vows, for never again will the wicked one pass through you. He is cut off completely. Never again will Belial pass through you. He is cut off completely. Devastating. Complete ruin. Why? Why is this the outcome? Because God hates the devil.

15:01And those who belong to him will suffer the very same fate. And so, what verses 16 through 19 do is they reiterate, reaffirm, and reinforce what has just been said in verses 12 through 15. And so, the question that we all need to ponder this morning is: who do I look like? Christ or Belial? The Christian, the very word Christian means belonging to the household of Christ. Whose household do you belong to? Whose reflection is seen on your face and in your day-to-day activities?

15:482 Corinthians 6:14, Paul says this, for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial? Who are you? Well, this morning I want to look at seven things that God hates so that you will not go the way of the devil. And there are seven mentioned here. They begin with the eyes, go to the tongue, talk about the hands, talk about the heart, and they talk about the feet. And then there are two more that are added as a special emphasis. So let's just walk through them.

16:30Verse 17, haughty eyes. Haughty eyes. And the word haughty is actually a verb, it's a participle, the idea of rising above. Eyes that rise above, that are high above, elevation, pride. It's where we look down upon. And this is the eyes, the very word for eyes also speaks of springs. And they're translated in Numbers 33, 9. As the Israelites journeyed from Mara and came into Elam, they found 12 springs of water and 70 palm trees. And there they camped. The springs, the eyes, eyes that rise above, eyes that gush forth pride. And God makes it very clear in Isaiah 66:1, where does he dwell? Question: God says, Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Where then is a house that you could build for me? And where is a place that I may rest? For my hand made all of these.

17:40Thus all of these things came into being, declares the Lord. But to this one I look. You want to know where my residence is? You want to know where I pay attention? He says this: to him who is humble and contrite of spirit and trembles at my word. A learner. One with haughty eyes is the opposite of a learner, the eyes that gush forth with prideful looks. Now, Jesus Christ was the exact opposite of Belial. Christ embodied humility. Zechariah 9:9 says, Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion. Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem. Behold, your king is coming to you. He is just and endowed with salvation, humble and mounted on a donkey, even the colt, the foal of a donkey. There he comes, King of kings, Lord of lords, on a donkey, humble in appearance. Matthew 5:3 says, He blesses, he says, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

18:51He blesses the humble. Matthew 11:29 says, Take my yoke up on you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Listen, if Christ can find reason to be humble, then how much more should we, right? Philippians 2:8 says, He was found in the appearance of man, and he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross. The Lord of the universe submitted himself to the Father's will, even when it meant going to the cross.

19:26That's humility. So, as we look forward to twenty fourteen, I want to encourage you to avoid every vestige of pride. Pride is tricky. Sometimes it manifests itself as an exalted feeling, like it may be in the view of your success or your position or your good training or your appearance, the way you look, an exalted feeling. But sometimes it manifests itself as a spirit of importance. I am important, and you should involve me. You should pay attention to what I have to say. I am important. It also manifests itself as a spirit of independence. I don't need anybody. I am my own. I am sufficient. I don't need you. Pride also manifests itself as a secret fondness to be noticed or a love of supremacy, drawing attention to yourself, whether by the way you dress or in your conversation.

20:40Sometimes it manifests itself as a disposition to resent or retaliate when someone disapproves or contradicts you. Sometimes it manifests itself as an unteachable spirit, a person who loves to quarrel, who has to be right. In all situations, sometimes it's manifested as a talkative spirit, sometimes by sarcastic expressions, sometimes by fault-finding, always in fault-finding mode. But ultimately, it comes down to unbelief. You do not simply believe who God is and what He has said. And we have every reason to be humble, right?

21:31Jesus was humble, so do we. Need to be humble. James 4:13 says, This come now, you who say, Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit, yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You don't know what tomorrow holds, none of you do. You may think, you know. But he says, You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away, like that morning breath on a cold day.

22:06That is our lives. We have the reason to be humble. And I was painfully reminded of this last week. As I sat next to Tracy and Greg, as Tracy's mother slipped into eternity, how quickly they were going to celebrate their 60th year of anniversary this year, how quickly. The world was a lot different. Place in 1954. And here, it's gone, it's over. Such is our lives. So, make a covenant with your eyes, not just at what you look at, but how you look at things, how you look at yourself, how you look at others.

22:51So, haughty eyes. Second, verse 17, look back, a lying tongue. Belial is a liar. And the tongue is used here, of course, as a metaphor that talks about speech and utterance, that which comes out of the mouth, that which is spoken, the words, the thoughts communicated. And lying is the idea of something communicating something that is utterly false or misleading falseness or something that causes a mistaken belief in others. There are grades of lies, right? There's that utter, out, bold lie, and then there's those little ones that just take people down the road where you don't technically communicate a lie out of your mouth, but you know you're causing them to believe something that's false. All of this, God hates. In fact, some cognates of this roots refer to a spring that is unreliable, unreliable, that what comes out of your mouth is just not reliable.

24:00It's false. Well, Jesus, very different from Belial. He always spoke the truth. And it got him in trouble. John 8:44, he's speaking to the leaders of the day, and he said, You are of your father, the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

24:36You remember when Jesus was before Sanhedrin, before the priest, the high priest, and he questioned him in Mark 4:16:1, or Mark 14:61, the high priest came up to him and said, Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One? Now, mind you, what's going to come out of his mouth is going to get him crucified. So, what does he say? I am. And you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power and coming with the clouds of heaven. Yes, and you're going to crucify me for this statement, but yes, I am he.

25:21Not only did he just speak the truth, he embodied the truth. Truth is very important to him. John 14:6, Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. Life, no man comes to the Father but through me. I am the truth. And he gives the Spirit of truth. Not only does He speak the truth and he embodied the truth, He gives the Spirit of truth so that His people can walk in truth. John 14:16, He says, I will ask the Father, and He will give you another helper that He may be with you forever. That is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. He goes on in John 16:13 to say, But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth.

26:21And then, on the eve of that crucifixion day, Jesus prays that His people will be sanctified in the truth. John 17:15, He says, I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth. And He says, Your word is truth. Today is sanctity of life Sunday, right? Well, before you can have sanctity of life, you must have the sanctity of the truth. And Jesus. Believed in the sanctity of the truth. And he wanted his people sanctified in the truth. And that's what separates those who belong to Christ's household and those who belong to Belial's. At the fundamental foundational point is a belief in his word. And that sanctifies.

27:26So as we look forward to 2014, it's important that we know that God loves the truth and that he hates a tongue that spews forth lies. It is an abomination. It is reprehensible to his soul. So put on truth. Listen to the truth. Bring yourself under the truth. Be influenced by the truth. And make sure you make a covenant with your tongue to speak the truth. Let's move on. Third, hands that shed innocent blood. Seven things God hates. The third one, hands that shed innocent blood. Belial is a murderer. His hands are used as a metaphor to describe the activity of a person, the industry of a person. And to shed means to pour out, drain, cause to flow.

28:30Blood is the lifeblood or the vitality of a person, a life. What God hates is hands that shed blood, but not just any blood. Look back at the text. Innocent blood. What is innocent blood? The word for innocent means free from blame, free from accusation, free from wrongdoing, pure. In other words, causing the life to come to the end or to destroy or to bring down someone who has not done anything wrong to you or anyone else to deserve it. Innocent blood.

29:12A horrifying development has taken place in our country, and many of you are aware of it. It's called this thing called the knockout game. It's where punks and thugs have pure joy out of seeing somebody walking down the street and walking up to them and hitting them with one punch in just the right place to knock them out completely. And it has become a game. And some people have died just for the sheer sport of seeing somebody walking up, hitting to take them out. A sport. Those are brutal hands.

29:53And they take people out who haven't even done anything to them. Completely innocent. God hates this. And certainly, this being sanctity of life Sunday, there is no greater example of this than what has happened to the unborn in our society. You talk about a class of people that has been totally thwarted. Talk about one group of people that has been dominated by other groups of people. It's the unborn. And God hates the shedding of innocent blood. We must be careful here because our minds might quickly race to the abortion doctor. That's the guilty one. That's who is being talked about, certainly. Certainly. But it's not just the abortionists, abortionists. It's those who are party to his activity and support his activity, whose industry with their hands support his activity. Listen, okay. Suppose I wanted to take out my next-door neighbor. Tell him I want, just suppose I wanted to kill him, okay? I wanted to bring him down. Well, the thing with where I live, everybody seems to have guns and lots of heavy guns, and they shoot them all the time, so I wouldn't just walk over there to try to take him out. So suppose in my. Effort and this is all make-believe, all right? So don't never do this. But suppose I did, and I knew that something about it, right? So I had to get a team of consultants to help me do this. And let's suppose I got a team of consultants, and they advised me: poison. Let's go the poison route. So I hired a poison consultant to take him out. And then I had to hire an assassin, somebody to actually get the poison in his drink or in his water or someplace where he's going to ingest it, and that's going to take out. So I've got to get that person involved. Then I've got to get an attorney involved. Of course, you knew an attorney would get involved in this somewhere, right? But I had to get an attorney who would be my alibi and who would defend me, okay? Should accusations come. And we could create this. I could have alibis. I could have my legal defense in order. I could have it all together. Now, my question is: who is guilty of this man's blood?

32:32I didn't actually do it. Somebody else did it, right? But they knew I was. Who's guilty? The bottom line: all are guilty. All are guilty. And as I said earlier, if there isn't justice for all, it's justice not at all. And don't think that you can walk into a voting booth and put your finger and vote. Vote for somebody who supports abortion and think that your hands are not guilty. Don't think you can be a legislator, an attorney who defends the practice of abortion, and think that your hands are clean because they're not. You support the industry, you support the activity of your hand is bringing an end to innocent life, even if you're not the one who actually does the killing.

33:40Belial. That's the nature of his hands. Belial is a person who brings others to ruin through the industry of his hands. Brothers and sisters, be warned. Let this not be your hands. Jesus, on the contrary, totally different. His hands healed. He reached out. He touched leopards. He touched the sick. His hands were busy about bringing healing. His hands, when Peter went down in Matthew 14, he took hold of him and he picked him up. His hands were instruments to save, rescue. You mark 5, he takes the little girl and he raises her from the dead. His hands were life-giving. The industry of Christ's hands were giving life, building life, taking care of life, serving life.

34:53Paul is exhorting the Ephesians. He's exhorting those of the household of Christ, Christians, believers. He says this: This is no matter what your former life may have been, your hands may have been instruments of wickedness, but by his grace and by his mercy, God has redeemed them so that they can be used as instruments of righteousness from here on out, so that you can actually, with your hands, be involved in industry that pleases him. And he says, This: he who steals must steal no longer, but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share. B, take these hands of yours, they're gifts, use them for good.

35:47Make a covenant with your hands. Well, let's move on. Well, there's seven things God hates: eyes gushing with pride, a tongue spewing lies, and hands that are shedding blood. Bringing lives to ruins. There's fourth, there is a heart that devises wicked plans. Look at verse 18. Belial has a heart, a character, a disposition, an inclination. His concern is evil. And the heart is that wellspring of life. It's that driving force. What's interesting, the word devises comes from a word that means to plow or plowing, the plowing, the furrows in the land. It's also used in Jeremiah 17 to talk about engraving. Listen what he says in 17:1, the sin of Judah is written down with an iron stylus, with a diamond point. It is engraved upon the tablet of their heart. In other words, the ways of their heart is ingrained evil. We would probably use the term hardwired. Whatever comes out, when you turn it on, evil. It's going to go down the channels and ways and circuitry and it's going to produce evil. That's what God hates. That is Belial. The plans, the ideas, the intentions, inventions, and designs, all of that are evil.

37:13And they bring about sin, wicked plans that bring about sin, evil, harm, injustice, calamity, deception, trouble. God hates hearts that are hardwired in this way. But Jesus is very different, right? He was hardwired to do good works. In fact, he hardwires hearts. He takes those hearts that are hardwired to evil and he transforms them by his grace and by his mercy and by his power so they become hardwired to do good works. 2 Thessalonians 2.16, Paul says this: Now may the Lord Jesus Christ Himself and the God of our Father who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and a good hope by grace. You see the plans and designs of Christ? He loved us, given us an eternal comfort, good hope. Then he says this, verse 17, May He, by His grace, comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word. You see the work of our Savior? He takes those hardwired hearts for evil and he puts new furrows.

38:30So make a covenant with your heart. Romans 2, 12, 2 makes it very clear that the pattern of this world is going to conform you if you allow it. And you will be conformed into the image of Belial. Or you can be transformed by the renewing of your mind. So make a covenant with your heart that it will be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Let's move on. Number five. Fifth thing, feet that run rapidly to evil. You see where we've gone? Eyes, tongue, heart, hands, feet. And feet describe the direction in life. Notice these feet run rapidly. They are swiftly moving. They get excited to go into evil.

39:22Wickedness. And so this person here, Belial, is somebody who gets excited about inflicting injury. Of course, the opposite is someone whose feet runs away from evil, that keeps distance between him and the places of evil. If you'll make a covenant with your feet and just make sure your feet take you only where righteousness abounds or where there is a purpose for righteousness, you'll be like Christ. In fact, when they were going up to Jerusalem, you remember in Mark 10, 32, they were on the road going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking on ahead of them, and they were amazed.

40:09He couldn't wait to get to Jerusalem to carry out his Father's mission, even though it meant being rejected, scorned, and crucified. So let us make a covenant with our feet. Let our feet be those feet that run rapidly away from evil, and feet that run rapidly. Rapidly to righteousness. Six, verse 19, sixth thing God hates is a false witness who utters lies. And no, no, this is interesting because this is the second time lying speech has come up in this list of seven, underscoring its importance. That which is testifying to falsehood. And the idea here is a witness. This is more of a legal setting, somebody who swears a solemn oath, someone who goes on record with their lies. They are very convincing. They have the skill of telling you a lie and making you believe that they really believe the lie and they are really going to go on record.

41:19One who is skilled, liar, convincing liar. What do your eyes say about you? What does your tongue say about you? What do your hands say about you? What does your heart say about you? What do your feet say about you? What comes out of your mouth? Well, the seventh thing. Let's look at the seventh. Verse 19, one who spreads strife among brothers. And this isn't one that's thrown on at the end. This is where the Proverbs, the right of Solomon, is going. Six things he hates. Yes, six. 7. The seventh is in the place of emphasis. The one who spreads strife among brothers.

42:10Belial is one who does this. And the verb, really, one who spreads is one who dispatches. You know how a dispatcher calls out, takes the 911 calls and dispatches the right response, whether it's police, whether it's ambulance, whether it's fire, he, she dispatches. Well, this is the idea of someone who spreads strife. He is a dispatcher of controversy, a dispatcher, one who brings about bitter conflict or contention, heated dissension, a skilled dispatcher, setting at odds brothers, people who should get along.

42:59The word for brothers could be a reference to a full brother, Genesis 4:8, a half-brother, Genesis 37:4, or a blood relative, like a cousin, throughout Scripture it's used. Or a brother could also refer to fellow tribesmen or fellow countrymen. In Exodus 2:11, when Moses had grown up, he went out to see his brethren and saw that they were being mistreated. David uses the word to refer to Jonathan, somebody who's not even a blood relationship, somebody close. He says, I am distressed for you, my brother. So the word refers to those who God should get along, who should be in unison. God hates those who bring about a state of dissension between those who should be united. Certainly, within the family, families ought to be united.

44:06Relatives should be united, countrymen, but especially the church. If there is any entity on the face of the earth where there should be unity, it should be the church. Especially Bible-believing churches. And that puts us in there, especially Emmanuel Baptist Church, who is now sitting under this teaching. See, one of the favorite descriptions of the New Testament church was brethren. Oh, well, over 300 times, the church is referred to as brothers and sisters in Christ. They should get along. We should. And we do. I'm not saying that we don't, but we need to be aware.

45:00Jesus says this in John 17:20 as he's praying for us, not just his disciples, he's praying for us here today. He says, I do not ask on behalf of these alone, speaking of the disciples, but for those who will believe in me through their word, that's us, that they may all be one, even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you. He wants us all to be one. This is what he was praying for before he went to the cross, that us, we, here today, would be one, even as the Father and the Son are one. And then he says this, so that the world may believe you sent me. Isn't it interesting? The unity of the church is what he is praying for, so the world will know that God is the true God and that he sent Jesus Christ. Psalm 133 pictures it very well. Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity. It is like the precious oil, the anointing oil, upon the head, coming down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard, coming down upon the edge of his robes. It is like the dew of Hermon coming down upon the mountains of Zion, for there the Lord commanded the blessing, life forevermore.

46:22So the question: Are you a dispatcher of controversy? Are you the one being described? In verses 12 through 15, who? Subtly, carefully, with your eyes, with your hands, the things you say, the things you don't say, the things how you say, are you bringing about controversy? Are you setting at odds those who should be at peace? Then you're a spitting image of the devil. And that's what makes the real picture of the devil far more frightening than the one they've got going in Oklahoma.

46:58Because we can hold up a mirror and find out that the image of the devil looks a lot more like us than we ever would care to realize. So, are you of the household of Christ? Or are you of the household of Belial? Wise Living for 2014. Proverbs 14, 34 says, The king's favor is toward a servant who acts wisely, but his anger is toward him who acts shamefully. You've heard the teaching. Come under it. Proverbs 19:12 says, The king's wrath is like the roaring of a lion, but his favor is like the dew on the grass.

47:44Proverbs 16:15, in the light of a king's face is light, life, and his favor is like the cloud with the spring rain. So, brothers and sisters, seek to belong.