The People of Proverbs | Zach Hammond
by Zach Hammond
First Apostolic Church of Maryville (Maryville, TN)
Kind: sermon
Scripture: Proverbs 9:10, 1 Kings 4:32, James 1:5, Proverbs 1:2-3, Proverbs 1:22, Proverbs 22:3, Proverbs 21:11, Proverbs 7:6-7, Proverbs 7:21-23, Proverbs 10:23, Proverbs 15:2, Proverbs 13:20, Proverbs 9:8, Proverbs 24:9, Proverbs 22:10, Proverbs 8:11, Proverbs 10:8, Galatians 3:1-3, Ephesians 5:14-16, Matthew 25:1-2

Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/zach-hammond--the-people-of-proverbs
Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page.
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If you stand to your feet, turn to the book of Proverbs in honor to the word of the Lord. The great presence that we already feel in this place tonight. Would you just lift your hands for a moment? The presence of the Lord is here. I know you may have your Bible in your hand, but just lift it. Lift it to the Lord right now. Come on. That's it. I hear some of you lifting up your voice. Could we just make this a house of prayer for a moment? Let's be sensitive to his spirit. That's it. I hear somebody praying in a language that's unknown. Maybe you got something going on. You don't know what to say. Pray in the Holy Ghost right now. Come on. Go ahead and push a little bit further, would you for just a moment? Oh, we bless the name of Jesus. We lift you up, Lord, in this place today. Lord, I thank you for your presence today. Thank you for your presence. Proverbs chapter nine, as you're turning there, Brother Ericson did such a wonderful job this morning. We honor him and thank him for ministering the word of the Lord. And I know you got your Bibles in your hand, but if you don't have your Bible in your hand, clap for brother give brother Ericson a big hand for preaching to us today. I'm so thankful to be able to bring the word of the Lord to you tonight. Pastor uh had intentions of ministering tonight and uh he is uh unable to be back in time to do so. And so, um, the, uh, I drew the straw tonight. Amen. So, I'm going to preach preach to you the best I can. Um, they had one baptized today there in Hartsell, Alabama. Had a great time in the Lord. And we're thankful for our pastor, Sister Carpenter and pastor's wife. They're on the way back. God is going to keep their his hand upon them on their way back. Proverbs chapter 9 and verse number 10 says, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the holy is understanding. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the holy is understanding." I've been stuck um in this book of Proverbs for the past three or four weeks. I've taken my text uh in chapel service. I took my text a few Sunday nights ago from here and I'm just going to I I can't I can't do anything outside of myself. All right. So, um some of you may think you're kind of in the same vein. The container flavors the content. So, the only content I can give you is going to be flavored a little bit like me, right? I don't know about you, but I like drinking out of a a glass bottle. Anybody like drinking Coke out of a glass bottle? Tastes a little different. But if I can't get a glass bottle, I like to drink it out of a can. I know all of you health freaks are thinking, "Man, you're going to die early." Yeah, I know. But like I just the bottle is the last resort for me. For some reason, I like a little metal, you know, mixed in for I don't know. But but the container flavors the content no matter what they do to package and and put all the ingredients together when you put it. So I'm bringing this to you because I I grew up reading the proverbs. My father taught me to read a proverb. Whatever day, it's easy. Whatever day of the week it is, what day of the month it is, you just take that number. If it's the 30, you know, 30th, if it's the third, if it's the fifth, you're just going to read that day. We So I' I've done that my whole life. And I I read this a few weeks ago and it stirred me and I thought tonight with it being entitled America's Revival. I want to take you through a process in Proverbs and and I want you to realize something and this is no matter if it's a family, if it's a church, or if it's our society, our world, a good society is unattainable without wisdom. A good society is unattainable without wisdom. A good government is unattainable without wisdom. A good family is unattainable without wisdom. A good church is unattainable without wisdom. So, I want to preach to you about this book that's all about wise people. He's given some instruction. And so, my my title tonight is very simple. And we'll meander through this. And I believe God's going to move in this place here at our al altar call. God's going to do great things among us because we're here and we're ready and we're willing and able to see God do something. Amen. My title tonight is the people. The people of Proverbs. The people of Proverbs. Turn to your neighbor and tell them, say, "The people of Proverbs." And you may be seated tonight. The people, the people of Proverbs. The Bible is uniquely written in a way that many times we gather a lot of uh information and and we go through and many people have worked for thousands of years to try to debunk and try to um you know make make the Bible something that is just just another book and it's just a a collection of sayings and it's just this or that. But the book of Proverbs is a powerful one that helps uh counteract all those that are against the word of God. Book of Proverbs nestled there in the Old Testament is a collection of uh the most important 513 of the 3,000 wise sayings of King Solomon. He wrote and he we collected this according to first kings 4 and32 lets us know that the subject of proverbs these 513 of 3,000 sayings they took the best 513 and they put them in the book of proverbs that you and I have the privilege to read through and the subject of proverbs is simply wisdom. Everybody say wisdom. wisdom, which in scripture is a matter of the heart. It's a matter of the heart. Wisdom is a matter of the heart. I know when I say wisdom, you automatically think about what you know and your mind, but wisdom is a matter of the heart. It it it's it's more than just mind. It's real. Wisdom is at its most basic level simply obedience to God. All right? simply as simple as I can put simply as I can define it to you it is obedience to God. James 1 and verse number five says if any of you lack of wisdom let him ask of God that give it to all men liberally. I I like that word right give it to he said I'll give it to you abundantly and unbraidth not and it shall be given to him. Now, I want to challenge all of you that are coming here for prayer, to ask God for wisdom. When you get done praying through and you maybe you you've repented and you've praised God and you've prayed for everybody and you you you've asked God to touch your family and the sick, make sure before you leave here that you ask God for wisdom. You say, "Why?" Because a we need it. And B, he said if you'll ask him, he'll give it to you. And not just kind of give it to you. not just give you a little dab, not just give you a thought for today or a proverb for the day, but he'll pour wisdom out upon you. He'll put wisdom upon you. Some of the the neatest things that I I' I've ran into over the past few weeks and it seems like all this is correlated. I was meeting with a group of gentlemen who are working on a couple of things uh with with a with a church and they're teaching entrepreneurship and all these different things. And they had an elderly man in their church that that he had been running a business for a long time. and their church has 24-hour prayer and and they they they have their the house of worship open for prayer. And brother Thompson, this this man who'd been running this business, he said, "My business started being successful when I started coming to the church and started praying before I ever went to clock in." >> And he realized, he said, "I was making more money praying than I was at the job site. I was making more money praying than I was doing this, that, or the other." Why? Because when I came into the house of the Lord, I started praying. God gave me thoughts that would get me through the he gave me wisdom to make a decision I didn't know I was going to have to make. A couple hours later, the man said, "Well, if that works for me, Brother Perry," he said, "I ought to make all the people that work for me come to church and pray." >> I'm not I'm not joking. This is a real thing. Guy ran a big business. They clocked in at the church and they had to pray for 30 minutes before they could go to their job site. And if they didn't clock in at the church, they couldn't clock in at the job site. Said, "Man, that's crazy. Guess what? That man just passed away and his net worth was around 50 million." How do you describe him? They said he was just a little wiser than everybody else. His people seem to just be a step ahead of everybody else. Huh? Because why? It's just something if you ask God for it, he'll give it to you. Well, how do you ask him? Got to pray. >> You're not going to ask him just, you know, going you you got to set aside a time to ask God. So, if we want to do something great, we've got to know that that and I I hate that that that scripture and we use it that the children of darkness are wiser than the children of light. When on the other side of the scripture, you got James saying, "If any man will ask for wisdom, what does that mean? If he'll ask for it, >> he'll give it to you." >> If you're willing to pray, he's willing to do something for you. And so I I I I just want to to bring you to a place tonight where if you really can think through this with me, Proverbs, this this this these people of Proverbs is is he he says here the whole purpose of this this let's look at chapter one and verse two. Whole purpose of this book is about wisdom. But he gives us a a pretty amazing uh kind of summary here in the first two verses. To know wisdom and instruction. Verse number two, to perceive the words of understanding. to receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment and equity. So the whole purpose of Proverbs is this wisdom to perceive and to receive God's wisdom. To perceive and to receive God's wisdom. There's people in Proverbs that Solomon keeps telling us about. And there's there's there's four people, and we'll we'll talk about them tonight. And I know the the young people here tonight are thinking I've heard you talk about these four people before and I will continue to talk about these four people. And we we'll talk about them in a little bit different light tonight, but there's there's four people mentioned and we'll talk about them in this order. There's the simple or maybe you call them naive because some people don't like to be called simple. Um simple, there is the foolish, there is the scorner, and there is the wise. Obviously, the goal is to perceive and receive wisdom. And the whole goal is that you become a wise individual. So, if there's four people that's truly identified, he doesn't want you, Solomon doesn't want you to be any of the other three. He wants you to transition to be somebody that's wise. So, let me just kind of walk you through this. And I know this may feel a little bit like a Bible study here for a moment, but that's okay. We're going to get somewhere. I I don't know if you've ever been one of those people, but I I definitely have sat there before and and been in seasons or situations or uh tried to help people navigate things and they they had this concept and I didn't think this they they would say things like this. I I didn't think this would ever happen to me. I didn't think this would ever happen in my life. This is that that'll never happen to me. They live life under the the heading that it's all going to work out. All things work for the good. God's got his hand on me. Nothing bad's going to happen to me. That's never going to happen to my family. That's never going to happen to my situation. That's never going to happen to my job. That's never And they live in this world where any of you that are uh somewhat up in age or you've lived uh maybe a few decades, you could raise your hand and say that's a terrible philosophy for life. Right? He says, "It's not if, but when trouble comes, knocking on your door. Be of good cheer. I have overcome the world." He let us know trouble's coming, but I've already overcome it. Right? So, to live in a way that is simple or naive can be detrimental. Maybe you've heard this. It may happen to me, but I really don't care. I just no matter what you know you say or what the Bible says or what brother Carter says, I'm just here. And some of you young people are here. I'm just here because my parents make me. I'm just here because my spouse says if I don't come to church, they're going to leave me. I'm just, you know, you're just kind of, you're just here because you have to be here. I don't really care what you say. I know what you got to say. I understand it all. I I know enough of the Bible to understand this that I just really don't care. That's thought process of the foolish. And then you have people that say, "It may happen to me, but who in the world are you to be talking to me about anything in my life?" That would be the scorner. And then you have a group of people that is talked about a ton here in this passage, the wise. And they'll say, even you might not even be really describing me tonight, but I want to do something about my life. If there's anything I can do to make it better, I I I want to be a part of it. It's the people that come up and they're like, "Hey, hey, I don't know if you were preaching to me. I don't know if you Yeah. Yeah. Well, I I don't I don't know if you were talking to me tonight, but if there's anything in my life that I need to do, I need you to tell me." It's just people that ask forgiveness and they've never they've not done anything to you. You know, it's just people they're looking for a solution when when they're they're really not the problem, right? And so there there's these these four people, the simple, the fool, the scorner, and the wise. And Proverbs is written to teach us how to transition from those three kinds of people into a wise person who fears the Lord. the simple. Proverbs 1:22 says, "How long ye simple ones will you love simplicity?" That's a question. And the scorner delight in their scorning and fools hate knowledge. So he references those three people that he's trying to transition in that one verse in the first chapter of Proverbs. He says, "If you are simple, you you you have a hard time admitting it or sometimes you don't even know it." And and a lot of times it's just it's, you know, by the time you figure out that you're simple, you won't be anymore. By the time you figure out that you're naive, you're not anymore. By the time that you realize that your parents are smarter than you thought they were, you're not a kid anymore, right? It it transitions and you don't realize it. So, let let me just give you middle schoolers, high schoolers, some of you college students, some of you young adults. I'm just kidding. But all of you middle school and high schoolers especially are simple. I love you. We all were. We all were middle schoolers who thought we knew everything, right? We all were high schoolers who thought, you know, that the adults were not cool and who are they to tell me this and I'm not going to listen to this teacher today. At some point in your life, you had to come to the realization that they knew what they were talking about. That's crazy. Somebody who'd already been where I'm at knows what they're talking about. But the simple will just say, "Hey, I'm naive. you know, I've got it together. You've not experienced enough to be able to say that that that that you're really right or wrong or you know, you've just not been through enough to know. That's what he's saying. He said, so he says, how long are you going to remain simple? Let me tell you something right here. This is huge. The quicker you can transition out of the simple stage, the further you're going to make it in life. He says, Paul says, I I I I'll put away childish things. When I was a child, I was a child. When I was a child, I played video games all night. But when I got married, hallelujah. When I was a child, I got mad over sporting events. But when I became a parent, That's why I've done my best to try to attempt to lead young people most of my life. Not only are they simple, and that's not an insult, because everyone comes through a season of simple, but it's because they need somebody. We all need somebody, but more than anybody, young people need somebody because they lack simply experience. And that's why we have today statistics that are outrageous on late launching. Why is it we have 25 year olds that are still simple? They haven't experienced things. Parents done it for them. There's no longer this helicopter mom. It's like lawnmower dads involved. We're taking kids to their first, you know, you've heard me talk about these things, but it's just it's outrageous the things that we have coddled and protected them from. And so, because they haven't experienced anything, they remain simple. The wisest kid in the room is the kid that's been through some stuff. Sometimes some things they never should have had to go through, but because they've been through some stuff, they got a little more wisdom. The simple person thinks that they can figure out life. They can figure it out all on their own because they've never seen the long-term evidence of sin's destruction. So, they haven't they haven't seen sin's consequences nor the fruit of faithfulness even. They've not seen the good side or the bad side. They're just inexperienced. And so this simple person repeatedly, if we're not careful and we don't be parents in this in this this this generation, if we don't lead our students as parents, if we don't lead our students as teachers, if we don't lead our students a as a as a as a church, as a body of believer, some of our students, they need you. You say, "Well, they're not my kid." They need you. They don't have they may not have a parent in church. They need somebody to help lead them and guide them because if they if they don't, guess what? They're going to keep making the same mistake over and over and over and over again. Why? Because they're simple. And it's my responsibility to help them understand the consequences of their actions. There's so much science and study behind all that I don't have time to go into tonight. But one things that we all have in common, we all have in common is that we've all made dumb mistakes. If you're not honest enough to say that, then we might as well go ahead and head on to the restaurant tonight. We've all made mistakes. And the funny thing about when you start preaching about different personalities and different seasons and different people and you start really talking about some things that the unique thing, you know, about being in church and and and you know, you we know each other. Some of us grew up with each other. Some of you have been here a long time. Some of you, you know, your kids are you they they call you uncle and you ain't even uncle. You just just family, right? You know, you just love each other. But but if you're not careful, you sit and you know everybody so well. I'm up here talking and you're thinking, "Yeah, he's talking to them, right?" Huh? Oh, I know that. I hope they're listening. I hope they're here. I hope since they're not here tonight, maybe they'll tune in later. Let me just be honest with you tonight. We all have made mistakes and there's days where we run into something that we're just as inexperienced in as a 36, 37, 57, 67 year old as we are a 15y old. I've never faced this. I've never faced death. I've never faced the loss of a love. I've never faced divorce. I've never You didn't plan for any of this. And all of a sudden, you find yourself sitting there again like your little 13-year-old and I I've never I didn't know what to do. I don't know how to deal with this. Guess what you're supposed to do? Two things. Pray for what? For wisdom. Cuz the quicker I can transition from this simple season into a season of wisdom to be able to say, "God was with me. God did some things in my life." But the other great thing is more than likely in a church of this size, more than likely through the internet and the way that we're all connected, you can find somebody who's made it through that storm, who's made it through that situation, who's endured that trouble, who's endured that addiction, who's been an overcomer by the blood of the lamb, and they've got a word of testimony. And we ought to connect up with them and figure out, hey, how is it that I get out of being in this season of inexperience? So, it it's just it's crazy that that you start going through things and even tonight, it's like you you'll struggle, especially as we kind of transition here into the fool and the scorner. You you'll struggle if you if you really got to be honest with yourself because you'll struggle. You we all have this thing called pride. That's a built-in blind spot. It's it's a built-in thing. It's like you you you don't ever see yourself as the villain, right? You don't ever see yourself as the person in the story who's wrong. And you're reading Proverbs, you just kind of scroll through the foolish and scroll through the scorner. And so as I kind of dive into these tonight, I really want you just to if you would kind of lean in and just would you not think of anybody else? Would you not nudge your husband? Would you not look over at your kids? But would you just really just try to take inventory? >> Because if we're all honest, we at times allow our pride to be this blind spot that people never transition because they never see it. They just get older in age. And a prudent man, Proverbs 22:3 says, "A prudent man or a wise man foreseeth the evil and hideth himself, but the simple pass on and are punished." The simple almost always have to learn the hard way. I know some students that have graduated, some students that that have become parents and they this it's like, man, can't you learn secondhand sometime? Can't you just look across the aisle and look over into this situation? look over in that season, looking to the generations before you or whatever the case may be and say, "Hey, I don't want to do it that way." My father hired a few people while I was a young person that came on and helped the church. There was some people that he hired like let's say brother Tom Friend was my youth pastor for a number of years. Brother Friend taught me how to pray. He taught me how to pray. He taught me I learned firsthand from him things that I needed to learn. But there was a couple people that he hired that they didn't work out and they taught me some things not to do. Just be honest. There's people that come in your life and I don't have to look I don't have to be a fool young person to look over and say, "Hey, if so and so just got in trouble for cheating, maybe I shouldn't cheat. So and so just got in trouble for this. My sister just got a whooping for this. Maybe I shouldn't do that." You can learn the things in life without having to go through the mess. >> That's what the Bible I believe is for. That's what the church I believe is for. You can look and say, "Hey, I'm not going to fall to what Samson fell to. I'm not going to fall to what David fell to. I'm not going to fall to what." >> That's why we're called a cloud of witnesses. It's not just as It's not just the victories. is the things that we can bypass. Why do we have to keep falling in the same hole generationally? It blows my mind to see a a a father fall in the hole of a temptation and sin and that sin is in that son and that son falls in the why why can't we learn? Why can't we acknowledge that? That is a simple lifestyle. Proverbs 21:11, I'm going to move on from the simple, but he says, "When the scorner is punished, the simple is made wise." When you see things happen in other people's life, it ought to transition you. Each time the simple is made wise. How is the simple made wise? The simple's made wise by seeing what the scorner went through. I'll tell you this right now. I've seen too many people deconstruct their life, turn their back on God, and leave the church to ever think that I would ever want to do anything like that. the people I see and their life and how it's tore apart. There is nothing in me whatsoever that would ever say I want to leave God. Want to leave the blood of want to leave the mercy seat. Want to leave the place of God. Want to leave the things of God. Want to stop attending church. Why? Because I've seen the detriment. I've seen the destruction. I've seen the things that happen. Why would I remain simple and have this leaving mentality in my mind, brother Sullivan, when I've already seen the scorner do it? I don't want to have a strong delusion on my mind. I've seen others fall to that. I don't want to have my life and my marriage and my kids brought through all this turmoil and mess. I've seen others do that. >> A life without God is a life without wisdom. He says, "When the scorner is punished, the simple is made wise. And when the wise is instructed, he receiveth knowledge." You just got to make sure you get out of that simple seasons. Proverbs 6 or 7 and verse number six. For at thy window of my house, I looked through my casement. And behold, among the simple ones, I discerned among the youth a young man void of understanding. Proverbs 7:21 with her with her much fair speech she caused him to yield with the flattering of her lips she forced him he goeth al uh after her straight way as an ox goeth before the slaughter as a fool to uh to the correction of the stocks till a dart strike through his liver and a bird hastened to the snare and knoweth not that it is for his life. Hear us, young people. Hear us. When you hear people say, "Hey, you got some of these older men and women of God that say, "Hey, don't go down that path." There's some people here with some testimonies. They've already been through that. You don't have to go through it. Hear it. Hear it. Hear it loud and clear. Don't Don't Don't start dating outside the faith. Don't start doing these things. Don't start running with that crowd. Don't start listening to that music. Don't start running with that group. That's right. >> He says it's like a ox being led to the slaughter. You can get out of that simple season if you'll just listen. Pay attention. Pray and ask God for wisdom. He that hath an ear, let him hear. The fool, the fool knows what is right. Way different than the simple. But the fool just don't care. Tell me right and wrong. I really don't care. May act like I care when you know you're telling me, but uh in actions I really don't care. I can be engaged in the conversation and I can nod my head. I can do the thing, give you the thumbs up, whatever, but I really don't care. Sadly enough, today it's pretty obvious and you can see it uh in in a lot of people's life. They just they just they just don't care. And it's it's a foolish lifestyle. They know that the the the end of sin is death. They know that all the consequences are there, but I'll just figure out that spiritual part of my life later on. A fool lives life like it's no big deal. In fact, Proverbs 10:23 said, "It is a sport to a fool to do mischief, but a man of understanding hath wisdom." It's just a sport to a fool to do mischief. It's just a game. Proverbs 15:2, "The tongue of the wise usth knowledge." All right. But the mouth of fools pourth out foolishness. >> Be careful that your mouth and what you say doesn't put you into the category of a fool. >> Some of us claim to be full of the Holy Ghost, but when we talk, it says nothing but foolishness. >> Just just being honest with you tonight. A fool is a person who will convict themselves if you just let them keep talking. A fool will flaunt themselves with their words. They laugh their way through life. Everything is a game. They're just having a good old time. He says it's like a dog returning to his vomit. So a fool to his folly. The only way for a fool to change is to face full consequences of his or her decision. I've heard it time and time again. how I finally got right with God when I hit rock bottom. I finally got right with God when everything just went a mess. I finally got right with God, but I had to learn all these things and I lived as a fool. But it's it's interesting here that that the fool is not just he's not just a a lone ranger. The companion of a fool also suffers great harm. So, it's not just you facing the consequences of your foolishness. You can face the consequences of the fool you're running with. Anybody ever been there before? Got a few stories come to mind, but I don't have time to tell them all. But Proverbs 13:20 says, "He that walketh with wise men shall be wise, but a companion of fools shall be destroyed." You are who you hang out with, right? You are who you run with. Be careful that you're not entertaining a fool. Be careful that you're not sitting there letting somebody just pour out foolishness about somebody else. Just talk about terrible things about somebody else. Just just that they're just talk talk talk. This is just be careful what you entertain when it comes to conversation. You don't have to be a fool in any areas of life. You just maybe have to run with one. So you have the simple, you have the foolish, and you have the scorner. Scorners pretty much just like the fool if you read the scripture, except they've chosen to be critical of those who are trying to be wise. It's really the only thing that's different. The simple is clueless, the fool is careless, and the scorner is critical. If you don't get anything else, you want to stay out of those categories. You want to transition to being wise. That's your definitions tonight. The simple is clueless, the fool is careless, and the scorner becomes critical. You can try to discipline a fool and they'll ignore you. You try to discipline a scorner and they'll hate you. They'll talk against somebody trying to help them. They'll talk against somebody trying to lead them to life. >> They'll speak against somebody that's trying to do good to them. That the person that provides for them, the person that does everything for them. I I see they they'll speak they'll speak ill against those pro. Proverbs 9:8 says, "Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee. Rebuke a wise man and he'll love you. Scorners drag everybody down with them." Proverbs 24:9, the thought of the foolishness is sin and the scorner is an abomination. God hates it. It's an abomination to men. Scorners feel like that they are the judge of everyone in their life and they control everybody with criticism. Lord, help us tonight. Lord, help us tonight. I'm not talking again. I don't want you to be thinking about nobody else. I know you maybe had some conversations you're thinking, man, they were super critical. I just want you just think about yourself. Be careful when we become critical of somebody who's just trying to walk in wisdom. Critical of even somebody that's in that simple stage. Critical of somebody who made a foolish decision. Because guess what? We've all made those decisions. critical of those who all of a sudden we start looking through the eyes of the scorner instead of the eyes of the savior. We start looking at life and we're we're looking and saying that that that that oh I can't believe they do that and I can't believe they'd say that and we're criticizing their worship and we're criticizing their prayer and we're criticizing what they're trying to do and you just become this this all- knowing critic. Be careful because Proverbs 22:10 says to cast out the scorner and contention shall go out. Strife and reproach shall cease. The Bible says the only thing you can do with a scorner is drive them out of your midst. You cannot approach them with correction. Only a miracle can change a scorner. >> Scorner has to come to themselves. Sadly, the people in Proverbs all struggle until they end up in a place where they are humbled because again, it's all about obedience. That's what wisdom is. And so, we get to the we've got these three people of Proverbs that were trying to transition and become this wise individual. This is where I wanted to get to tonight. In Proverbs 9 and 10, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the holy is understanding. Wisdom blesses your life like nothing else can. I I want you to understand this tonight. Wisdom blesses your life like nothing else can. For wisdom is better than rubies. Proverbs 8:11. And all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it. Too many times we're asking for a lot of things that wisdom could be the key to unlocking. He says, "You can't go through that door until you got some wisdom." I can't trust you with that until you have some wisdom. I can't do those things in your life until you have some wisdom. You would be mind blown at what God would do in your life if you would stop asking for things and start asking for wisdom. >> Crazy thing about wisdom is when you get wisdom and you get that obedience unto God and that's really it's come through the fear of God. There'll be some things you stop desiring. Why? Because it's not wise to desire it. It'll change your heart. The wise are willingly receiving God's commandments. They're willing to receive instruction. They're willing to give a ear to those that want to counsel them. They're willing to be open to those that want to help them and guide them. God, this is the saying I would hear somebody that would be considered wise according to the wise man Solomon. He says, "God, I don't understand all the principles. I don't st understand everything in this Bible, but God, I trust you. >> That's a wise person. I may not understand every bit of it, but I know the wisest thing I can do is obey it. >> Now, this is becoming a little bit controversial within our world today because everything is hinged upon knowledge. Everything's in is hinged upon information. You got to tell me why before I do it. That ain't really how the Bible works. If I've got a why, you got to answer to the why. That's fine. But there's times where there's no answer to the why. And you still have to obey it. That's what faith is, right? That that that's that's trusting God. If I know why, that ought to be easy. If I understand why, that ought to be simple. In other words, there's a lot of thou shalt nots. That's easy. But then there's some things in the Bible and you have to be careful that that that that you're not you're not stepping into the seat of the fool when you say, "Do I really have to, brother Hammond? I don't really see that in the Bible. Do I have to do that? Do I really have to do those things? Do I really have to?" Proverbs 10:8 says, "The wise heart will receive commandments, but a praying fool shall fall." Let me explain this to you. In Deuteronomy 1, God tells Moses, he says, "I want you to start all this thing. I want you to pick some leaders for the tribes." Brother Cra, I said, "I want you," he said, "I want you to go out and pick some leaders for the tribes." And he says, "I want you to go pick some wise men." He specifically goes on throughout the next few verses to let us know he didn't say go pick good men. He said, 'If you're going to start this thing, I need you to go pick wise men, men that have wisdom. And God did not, he he says, you got to have some wise people. All the traits of the leaders God tells Moses to appoint require wisdom. those two things in that fir that verse there in the in the second chapter of Deuteronomy, he said they've got to be able to discern and they've got to be experienced. They've got to be some experienced people and they've got to be able to discern. He says, "You got to pick some wise leaders." We've got to have people in our life. God said, "If you're going to do anything, it's going to have to fall in the leadership of wise people. If we're going to have revival in America, we're going to have to have wisdom. We're going to have to have people of wisdom. We're going to have to have a church full of people with wisdom. >> It's very important to understand God's people in the scripture and just good people are not always wise. Give you a couple examples. Had conversations with family members who somebody in their family has become addicted to something. Said, "Can you talk to them?" Yeah. Yeah. H happily. I'll remember talking to my one of my cousins who's addicted been in and out of jail. Said, "Man, what's what's going on? Why why you keep falling into this? Why you keep dealing with this?" Like, what? I just don't understand it. you got all the resources you need. Yeah. Yeah, I I I do, but And I I just been staying at so and so's house and and when I I get I get weak in those moments, I just I just try to go to them and they'll try to help me. And he says, "If I get if I get real broke down, they'll they'll go get me a fix." thinking run that by me again. So the person that called me wanted me to talk to you is enabling you. Here's the thing, and this is where we get there. There's a fine line here. Good intentions, yes. Wise, no. I love you. I don't want you to go through this. It's the goodness of my heart. I'm going to go wise. No. At some point, you got to choose sometimes what your your heart feels like, oh, I got to I I hate to know, but what's wise at the moment? It's the same example, and I know I've used it already, but parents who coddle and spoil their children, it's not a lack of good intentions, it's a lack of wisdom. A good society is unattainable without wisdom. It comes back to what we need versus what we want. Right? It's wise in terms of making our world in the terms of making our world worse. There is a fine line between well-meaning fools and evil human beings. We just live in a world I watch man good intentions but not so wise. So we we must look at the scripture and I know a little different from a w for a for a Sunday night but I I just want you to we'll get where we're going here in just a moment but I want to make sure that you understand this. Don't get knowledge confused with wisdom. I know a lot of people with a lot of knowledge who don't know what to do with it. Wisdom says I know. And I don't just know, but I know how to act. I know how to do. I know how to be obedient. Put it into action. I know what to do with what I've been given. This is a wise thing to do. I believe it's the greatest question ever. The greatest question we could ever ask ourselves throughout life and this path, this journey that we're on is these three words. Is it wise? Are you with me tonight? Is it wise? I know we're not running around the church. I know nobody's shouting. Nobody's standing on pews. Nobody's going crazy. But I'm telling you, if we can get this, we can live it out there. Is it wise? Not do I have to. >> Is it wise? So you're telling me you're telling me you don't really have a scripture against those social media apps? Is it wise? Not is it wrong? Not do I have to. Not. No, no, no. Is it wise? so many examples that fall under that heading. Well, I I I I don't necessarily have to do this or I don't necessarily have to do that. It doesn't say that you have to go to the prayer room to make it to heaven, but I'd say it's not very wise to not. Does that make Are you with me? I'd say you have to go to to to prayer at the church, but I'd say, well, do I have to? Wrong question. Is it wise? Absolutely. There's nothing that says that that I I couldn't take and have have my my kids. There's nothing says that I couldn't take and have my kids, you know, just engulfed in all sorts of things within this world. And but whether no matter what it is, it doesn't if it if it's if it's if it's sports, if it's if it's other activities, if there's things that I I could really push them into and I could really just put all their time and effort into certain things and I could kind of get out of bal out of balance. And there's nothing in scripture that's really says you you shouldn't do this or you shouldn't do that or you shouldn't play sports, you should. But I have to ask myself sometimes when the opportunity arises as a father, I have to say, is this wise? Is my sons being around this group of people all the time wise? Is my family being exposed to this all the time wise? Because guess what? I don't have to be a fool. I just have to hang out with one. >> I don't have to be a liar. I just have to believe one. >> That's how the strong delusion comes. You've got to decipher your entire life through the lens of the wisdom of God. I have to consistently ask myself questions. There's even things that that come and it looks like a great, if I'm just being honest with you and transparent, it looks like a great ministry opportunity. You can go do this event or you can go do that event or they want you to come overseas and do this and they want you to preach this. But I have to step back and look at those three boys right down there and my wife and say, "Hey, that sounds like a great opportunity." But in this season of my life right now, is it wise? >> It's taking that job right now that's going to take me out of oh two or three services in this season of life. Is it wise? You have to learn to filter life through that question. Direction, not intention, determines your destination. There's a lot of people with good intentions. Every hand would go up in this place tonight if I ask who wanted to go to heaven. Every hand in this place tonight would go up if I asked who wanted to to to have the the the life of of you know you get married and you have kids and this happens that you just paint. You have the intentions of a path but good intentions are not going to get you there. To get from where you don't want to be to get from where you don't want to where you do want to be takes two things. two things. Time and a change of direction. Time and a change. And you say, "Well, I thought I was headed in the right direction." Listen, we don't drift toward heaven. We don't wake up with our feet on the path of righteousness. That's why he said, "I die daily. Every day I got to turn myself and ask myself the question, is this wise? Repent. Get yourself going the right direction. Read you some word and get sin going the other direction. That represents that water up there that you were baptized with. Washing of the word that he's presenting a bride without spot, without blemish. I got to repent. I got to get myself going the right. You say, "Well, do I have to every day?" I mean, Paul said you did, but I'd say it's definitely a wise thing to do. Stop asking, young people, hear me tonight. Stop asking the question of, "Do I have to?" And I'm not just preaching to the young people tonight. Stop trying to see what you can get by with to just barely skip through the gate. No, that that that that's a terrible way to live. That's a terrible way to process your life. and we we we we as human beings, we don't drift into a good direction. Lord, help us. I I've been praying, God, give this church wisdom. Help us to be leaders in our movement. Help us to be leaders in our community. Help us to be one step ahead. Help us to see trouble long before it gets here. Help us, give us wisdom in this house of prayer that we've turned this place into from sun up to sun down to be a place where wisdom is being poured out. I want us to have the wisest group of college students there are. I didn't say the ones with the most degrees. If they have them, that's great. But I want them to be wise. Want to be full of the Holy H Holy Ghost. No one ever gets to the place where they need without some counsel. Wise people always ask questions, the right questions. So, I want you to ask the question, not only is it wise to yourself, but you need to find somebody, find a pastor, find a a parent, find a friend. Say, "Hey, I know you're full of the Holy Ghost. I know you're serving God. I know you're in the prayer room. I know you're doing everything that's being, but you think this is wise. Could you pray with me about this?" We've got to make sure that we're not putting ourselves in a place where we have we have anybody that's sitting in the pews in the last days that's in the that that's in the season of a scorner. We've got to do our best to get our young people out of the simple season sooner. We I know the world may have late launching and all these things. We've got to make sure we're we're sending them out. We're employing that. We're allowing things to happen in their life. So in light of all the experiences that we've had in our world, my my our current circumstances or season you may be in and all the future hopes and dreams that you have, you have to ask yourself, what is the wise thing to do? I want to take my family to heaven. I want to take every one of you with me. So we ask ourselves tonight, what is the wise thing to do? As we kind of bring this home tonight, Galatians chapter 3 and verse number one. I want you to see how this begins to translate into the New Testament. Paul opens up Galatians, the chapter here. He says, "Oh foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you that you should not obey the truth before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set before crucified among you." He he literally opens up the third chapter to the church of Galatians says, "Oh foolish Galatians, who has deceived you? Who has deter who has got you to look at this and why are you all of a sudden foolish? He died for you. You've experienced this." And so he he he says here in and look at look on at verse number two. This only would I learn of you. received ye the spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith. Are ye so foolish, having begun in the spirit that you're now made perfect in your flesh? I'm I'm going to shift gears here a little bit. I'm going to stir you up a little bit. You are a fool in this place tonight. No matter what season of life you're in, if you've just come to the Lord, if you're a lost sinner who's never repented, never been baptized in Jesus name, never never even heard about the Holy Ghost. No matter where, if you sit here and you think that you can make it without God, we're fools. >> If I think I can do anything in my life, brother Ben, without God, I am a fool. He says, "How dare you?" Uh, he says, "You foolish Galatians, you've deceived yourself. You've been bewitched having claiming the Holy Ghost, but you're walking after your flesh. At some point on this journey, Galat that the church there, they've all of a sudden stopped asking the question of is it wise? They started having maybe some events and some things and some days in their life where it's not driven and directed by the Holy Ghost. Let me remind you in this place tonight that we cannot, you cannot, I cannot make it without the spirit of God. Yes, I know it's simple. Yes, I know it's not some deep revelation, but we cannot forget that we were born again of the water and of the spirit. And I have to have the Holy Ghost. I've got to have the Holy Ghost. I've got to have the Holy Ghost. I've got to have the Holy Ghost. I've got to have the spirit of God. You're not going to have wisdom without God. What's your evidence of God? The Holy Ghost. Are you with me? I got to have the Holy Ghost. Be not deceived. Don't be bewitched. You can't do it without him. You can't make it without him. I need more of the Holy Ghost. Ephesians 5 verse number 14 says, "Wherefore he saith, awake thou the sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. Seeing then you should walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil." Paul has read a little bit of Proverbs. Paul keeps reaching back into the Old Testament wise sayings and says, "Don't be foolish. You can't make it without God. You got to have the light. You've got to walk in the light. You've got to walk in the wisdom. You've got to have the You got to have the Holy Ghost guiding you. You need the presence of the almighty God." He tells the church at Galatia, he tells the church at Ephesians, he says, "You've got to redeem the time for the days are evil. I want to make it. I got to have my feet set in the right direction. I've got to ask myself each and every day, is it wise? I couldn't help today, but as we begin to kind of funnel through the stories of the New Testament, working all the way into the book of Revelation, which I don't have time to take you through all of it, to see that even the New Testament writers have used the people of Proverbs to try to help us navigate living for God. You can take just about anybody in the the New Testament. You can pretty much take anybody in the Old Testament and put them in one of these three categories if they're not wise. He just they just reference back and forth and back and forth. And so in closing tonight, closing tonight as the musicians come Matthew 25 and verse number one. this amazing parable that's told. I want you to see how he references the people in this this story depicting the coming of the Lord. Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto 10 virgins who took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were and five of them were he reaches back into Solomon's people the people of pro he says there's there's this the kingdom of heaven is likened unto these 10 people they went forth to meet the bridegroom he's painting the picture here of this the church without spot without blemish. Five were wise, five were foolish. You said, "Well, let's let's go back and let's rewind here for a moment." The foolish know they just don't care. The foolish know, but life is just a sport to them. Here's the thing I want you to get here is I'm preaching to not only the church, but each and every person in this room tonight. Maybe you're a guest. Maybe you've been going to this church since it's its early years. We have to be careful that we're not showing up to meet the bridegroom. On Sunday morning, we're gathering together that completeness, that wholeness. We're all coming together. I don't want to be described if we've got 600 here tonight. I don't want it to be that there's 300 wise and 300 foolish. Half of them came and they heard the word. They were ready. They were prepared. They were wise. They asked themselves the simple question when they left the house to come together. Is it wise? Should we put oil in our lamps? Should I take advantage of that Sunday night service? Should I take advantage of the word of God that was preached on that Sunday morning? Should I show up to Wednesday night Bible study and really take in all this word? Should I prepare myself? Should I I make the wise decision or could I just get by another Sunday night? It's scary to think that they were in the right place with a lamp. They had everything but the oil, everything but his presence, everything but the evidence, everything but his spirit. Symbolically, he's telling us way more than he's telling us. And just what we read through, strangely enough, in Jesus's parable of these 10 virgins represents the last day coming of the Lord. the people who were presented as the the the the wise and the simple. No, these people were not naive. It wasn't the wise and the scorner. They criticized the event was even going on. But it was the foolish. It was the people who knew better. It was the people who knew enough to come but didn't care enough to fill their lamp. I want you to hear me tonight because I think we got a lot of good people. I think we got a lot of good people. But it's my responsibility in the last days in America's revival to make sure that it's not just an attendance number on a Sunday, but it's an attendance number in heaven. What good would it be if this house is full of good people when God knows you could be wise people and God forbid our pews be full of foolish people who've become so accustomed to this thing called church they become foolish it's become a sport it's become just another service another day put on the church clothes go to church, sit on the pew, come up around the front, do what everybody else does. But how long's it been since you've seen the demonstration of the Holy Ghost in your lamp? Not your wives, not your husbands, not your kids, but young person, not your mom and dad. How long's it been since you've seen the evidence of the oil in your life? Have you checked your lamp today? Have you checked your lamp today? You say, "Well, do I have to?" No, but it'd be wise to. There's nothing in the Bible says every time we gather together, you got to pray until you pray in tongues. There's nothing in the Bible says every time we come together, you got to do this certain thing. But I'd tell you one thing, in the day and age we're living in, it'd be wise to as you stand to your feet, I wish I could shift your heart. I wish I could shift your mind the the way you're thinking through things tonight. to those of you that it's been a little while, those of you that you've not been truly engaged to stop asking, do I have to come to the altar? Do I have to uh pray a prayer? Do I have to really close my eyes? Do I have to really engage in this part of the service? Do you have stop asking the question of do I have to and just say sounds like a wise thing to do. While the bridegroom terried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, "Behold, the bridegroom cometh, go ye out and meet him." And all those virgins arose and trimmed to their lamps. They all arose like they were ready. They all stood like they were ready. They realized, "I can't go out. I don't have any oil. There's nothing burning in here. There's nothing there. He says, "The foolish thought they were ready, and they said unto the wise, give us some of your oil, for our lamps are gone out." But the wise answered and saying, "No, not so, lest there not be enough for us and you, but go buy and sell." While they went, the bridegroom came. The door was shut. Afterward came, they wanted the Lord to open up. We've got our oil now. Verily, I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour where the Son of Man cometh. I don't mean one to be one who's constantly bringing us back to the coming of the Lord, but my intentions tonight is just to ask you, is there oil in your lamp? Take inventory for just the next few moments without a song. They're going to sing in a minute, but without a song. I wonder if we could find a place to pray praying and and not be praying with anybody else. Every young person, every child, every mother, every father. There's not going to be any sharing of the oil. I can't take some from you and know I I've got to get it from heaven tonight. I've got to get it from heaven tonight. I wonder if there's somebody who would begin to repent. Someone would begin to open up their mouth and pray. Come on, singers and musicians, production team. Could everybody pray with me for a moment? Could we all take inventory? I don't want to be in the category of the foolish. Lord, I don't want to be in the category of the foolish. Lord, help me, oh God. Lord, to make the right decision. Come on. Would you press toward the front of this altar so everybody that's coming can get in the altar? Come on. If you would press as far to the front as you come on, check your lamps. Check your lamp. Check your heart tonight. Come on. Check the vessel, this earthn vessel that he's given us. this treasure of the Holy Ghost. Don't be a sleeping fool tonight. Don't be a careless Christian tonight. Don't be spiritually asleep in this place tonight. Come on. That's it. I'm starting to hear some of you pray. Come on. I know some of you got to some decisions to make. God, give us wisdom. God, give us wisdom. God, give us wisdom. God give us wisdom. Come on. That's it. Father, come on. That's it. Husband, ask the Lord right now. God, I want to be wise. I want to be right. Lord, let me not be the fool of my family. God, let me not be the one who knows but doesn't do. God, let me be the leader of my home. Oh God, come on, Daddy. Pray. Pray. Pray. Pray. It's the wisest thing you'll do tonight. Come on, mom. Pour your heart out for your kids right now. Come on, trends setter. God's not done with you. Lift your voice up and cry out, "Lord, let me be wise. Lord, I've got more experience than anybody else." Come on, trendsetters. Help us. Lead us in the ways of wisdom, oh God. That's it, young people. That's it, young people. I hear you. I hear you. I want to walk wisely, God. I want to get out of the season of the simple, Lord. I know that prayer is the right thing to do. So, I'm not going to be simple in the in prayer. I'm not going to be simple in worship. I'm not going to be simple. I'm going to experience God things. Oh, yes, God. Yes, God. Yes, God. Heat. Heat. Come on. That's it for another few moments. Would you pray? Come on. Would you would you ask God, Lord, give me wisdom on my job, Lord? Those of you that own businesses, Lord, give me wisdom, Lord. Give me wisdom to lead, Lord. Give me wisdom to make the right decisions, Lord. Jesus, I love you, Jesus. I love you, Jesus. Come on. That's it. Make a wise decision tonight. Come on. I think we can do a little bit better than what we're doing in prayer. I think we could push a little bit further. You say, "Do I have to?" No, we don't have to. But I think it'd be wise to let the Lord demonstrate in this place tonight what he wants to do. It only be the mindset of a fool to think that we'll just kind of go through the motions tonight. Come on. I want to push you and stir you a little bit tonight. Come on, Dad. Come on. Could I stir you up a little bit tonight? I promise you, I'm trying to help you. I promise you, I'm trying to help you tonight. Come on. Don't hate somebody that's trying to help you. That puts you in a place that you don't ever want to be. that puts you as a person you don't ever want to be. Lord, I don't want to be the scorner. Lord, I don't want to be the fool. Oh, God, help me tonight. Oh, I bless the name of Jesus. I bless you. I bless you. Oh, I bless you, Lord. I bless you Lord. I bless you. God bless you. God bless you. Bless you. God bless you, Jesus. I bless you. We bless you Lord. We bless you Lord. We bless you Lord. We bless you Lord. We bless you Lord. We bless you Lord. Bless you Lord. Oh we bless you Lord. We bless you Lord. We bless you Lord. Oh mighty God. Mighty God. Mighty God. And would you stand to your feet right now? Would you lift your hands toward heaven? You say, "Do I have to?" No, you don't have to, but it'd be wise to. Would you lift your hands? Would you lift your voice toward heaven? You say, "Do I have to?" "No, but it'd be wise to." Would you lift your voice up like a trumpet? Why? Because I believe it'd be wise. Because a wise man David said, "Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Lift up your voice. Lift up your voice. Lift up your voice. Lift up your voice." Oh, there's a shift in the atmosphere right now. Why? Because we're worshiping him. Cuz it's the best thing we could do here on a Sunday night. Oh, hallelujah. Oh, hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. So, in your own time this week, I want you to read something. I want you to look at the thing. Say, "Now you're out here giving homework. Do you have to?" No. but it'd be wise. The thing that keeps people from being wise is pride. Pride is this built-in blind spot. I know I've already said it, but if you can keep your eyes on everybody else's problems in everybody else's business, you can sit as a fool and a scorner the rest of your life. But the minute I can turn it and look at me and say, "Hey, what can I do today that's wise?" So there there's really one thing that I've noticed in scripture. Psalms and Proverbs have more wise and foolish sayings and they they seesaw. They got this like spiritual seesaw they use. You sit over here, you a fool. You sit over here, you're wise. You worship, you're wise. You sit over here, you're a fool. And they just it's like you just you got to decide which side you going to sit on. And it's amazing to see the other person on the other side of the seessaw is the devil. Cuz when you're the fool, he looks wise. But when you're wise, he looks like a fool. I love it. It's anytime I do anything for God, it's a two for one. It's really a three for one. God gets blessed, I get blessed, and the devil gets what he needs to get. Amen. So I I ask you to do this with me tonight. The number one thing I know that gets rid of your pride, exalts the name of Jesus, and gets the devil on the right side of that seessaw is praise. And and so you you know, you say, "Well, again, I I know when they're going to start playing here in a moment, and I and some of you going to say, "I don't have to do that." You don't. You don't have to leap, but if you want joy, it'd be wise. You don't have to dance. No, you don't have to dance. But but but you see, if if you if you wanted some freedom, if you wanted to feel a little different, you might try something a little different. Say, "Well, I've never ran the aisles." You don't have to, but it might be wise. Huh? You you you don't have to do any of it. In fact, you're dismissed if you don't want to do anything else. You don't have to be here, but you might miss something. Huh? So, one more time, I want you to do something with me. If you want to be wise, if you want to be full of the Holy Ghost, you want to do something in the kingdom of God, cuz I'm hoping that there's a transition in this place tonight. I don't want there to just be an attendance number. I want there to be a group of people that's empowered by the spirit of God to go out and walk wisely in our community. walk wisely. If if you want to be a part of that, would you lift your hands right now? And as they begin to play and sing, I wish you'd be obedient to whatever the Lord asked you to do. Why? Because it's the wisest thing you could do. If the Lord tells you to leave, I wish you'd leave. If you feel prompted to dance, if you feel a little something in your feet, I believe it'd be wise to yield to it tonight. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so. Let the redeemed wake you up this morning. He helped you on your way. Put food on your table and he made you watch today. Can I get a little help? to say so with your mouth and stand up in the church and raise up a shout. I can't help myself. I got to give him a little praise. I praise him in the morning. Praise him all the day. Just say so. Say so. Say so. Say so. Say you want to say so. Say so. Say the redeemed the Lord. Let the redeemed of the Lord. Let the redeem of the Lord. Let everybody clap your hands. Everybody stop your feet. Everybody lift your voice and praise the Lord with me. Everybody say say so. Everybody say say so. Everybody say say so. Lift your hands and say I've been redeemed. >> I've been redeemed >> by the blood of the lamb. >> By the blood of the lamb. >> I've been set free. >> I've been set free by the way I am. And >> Jesus paid it all just for you and me. This is my testimony. >> I've been redeemed. >> And I've been redeemed. I've been redeemed >> by the blood of the lamb. >> I've been set free. >> I've been set free by the grave I am. >> Jesus paid it all just for you and me. This is my testimony. >> I've been redeemed. >> Come on. Could we have a wave offered in this place tonight? Come on. Could you just wave it to him right now? Did he wake you up this morning? Did he start you on your way? Put food on your table and he made you watch today. I get a little help. Just say so with your mouth and stand up in the church and raise up a shout. I can't help myself. I got to give him a little praise. I'll praise him in the morning. Praise him all the day. Just say so. Say so so say. Say so so say. Say so. Say so so say. Say in the name of Jesus, Anthony Win, upon the profession of your faith and in obedience to the word of God, I now indeed baptize you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. And thank God he's already filled you with the baptism of the Holy Ghost in Jesus name. In Jesus name. Come on, somebody praise him. Somebody praise him. Somebody praise him. Somebody praise him in the name of Jesus. >> In the name of Jesus. >> Everybody say say so. Everybody say everybody clap your hands. Everybody stop your feet now. Everybody lift your voice and praise the Lord with me. Everybody say say so. Everybody say say. Everybody say say so. Come on, find you somebody and praise the Lord with them. Come on, find you somebody and praise the Lord with them. Come on, yoke up with somebody. Everybody. Everybody. Everybody. Let go. I've been redeemed. I've been with by the blood of the lamb. By the blood of the lamb. I'm set free. I'm set free by the Jesus paid it all just for you and me. This is my testimony. I've been redeemed. >> Come on. If you've been redeemed, would you lift your hands and lift your voice? Oh, blessed be the name of the Lord. I've been redeemed by the blood of the lamb. Come on, one more time tonight with the redeemed of the Lord. Would you say so? Come on. Would you say so? Would you say so? Oh, I feel the Holy Ghost. I feel the Holy Ghost. Somebody ought to obey the Lord and you get what you need tonight. Somebody's been waiting on a prayer to be answered and God wants to answer it. But he's waiting on you to get out of your pride in the name of Jesus. In the name of Jesus. Oh, in the name of Jesus. I got we got one last prayer I want to pray. One last prayer I want to pray. Now, I don't want you to raise your hand when I ask this question if you don't really have what I'm asking for. All right? But there's there's a there's a few people in this room tonight. I have no clue who you are that you've been waiting on something or you've been trying to make a decision. and you don't know which way to go. You don't know what the answer is. You've just been in this waiting season and God wants to give you wisdom tonight. And if that's you, if you have enough faith and enough courage to lift your hand that everybody next to you is fixing to pray for you and the Lord's going to pour wisdom out upon you in this moment and this week, God's going to answer some of your prayers. If there's somebody next to you with their hand up, I wish you'd reach over and grab their hand. Put a hand on their shoulder. Come on, ladies. Find a lady. man, find a man in the name of Jesus. I pray right now as a body of Christ, as the people of God, that you would answer, that you would speak. You said, and we ask of wisdom that you would give it, Lord. And right now in the name of Jesus, those that are having decisions that need to be made, I pray that you would give answers. I pray that you would pour out answers. Lord, speak direction. Lord, speak insight, speak wisdom into their life right now in the name of Jesus. In the name of Jesus, Come on, that s get what you need. Come on, that's it. Get what you need right now. He's got it for you. Jesus. Jesus. Come on for just a moment. For just a moment, would you praise him like you've already got the answer? Would you praise him like you've already got the answer? Would you praise him like you've already got the answer? Would you praise him like he's already come through? Would you praise him like he already Everybody clap your hands. Everybody stop your feet and everybody lift your voice and praise the Lord with me. Everybody say say so. Everybody say say so. Everybody say say so. Everybody say say so. Everybody say say so. Everybody say say so. Everybody say say so. >> Everybody say say so. Everybody say say so. Everybody say say so. >> Everybody say say so. >> Lift your voice and say I've been redeemed. >> I've been redeemed >> by the blood of the lamb. >> By the blood of the lamb. >> I've been set free. >> I've been set free by the way I am. Jesus paid it all just for you and me. This is my testimony. I've been redeemed. Oh hallelujah. Oh hallelujah. Oh hallelujah. Oh hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Oh you've been so good. Oh you've been so good. Oh, I thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. Somebody shout, "Amen." >> Amen. If there's one thing we're going to make sure of around here, I don't mind the wise and the simple, but I don't care for them other two. Right? And what we're trying to do said, "Brother Hammond, why why can't you just be okay with us just coming down here and pray for a few minutes and sending us on our way? There's people, not just young people, but there's people that need to move from the simple in an experience with God. What we just did right there, some of you say, "Well, you know, other than having a little sweat dripping down my back, I may not feel a little any different." But guess what? that person who's never experienced that that's a few people over moved from a season of simple moved from a season of any experience right and so when I get my pride out of the way what's that mean it's not about me it's about him and when I make it about him it becomes about them and somebody in this room had a moment with God tonight had a transition with God tonight it's our responsibility ability as a church to make sure that week in and week out that these young people experience something. It's not just us. You know, I some of you you could speak from the Brush Arbor days and tent revivals and the glory of God. I remember being in services with my grandfather where I literally he would brought me up on the stage and there was a cloud a physical cloud in the back of the room. People would walk through it and come out the other side speaking in tongues, shouting and running around. You say, "Well, that's crazy." Yeah. But that changed me. >> And I want to make sure that this group of boys right here and every person, it's not just age. You could be simple and be 40 experiences a demonstration of the Holy Ghost. Amen. A demonstration of the power, the miraculous power of God. That's why we do what we do. Each and every time we come together, we want to see God move. It may not always be shouting and leaping and running and dancing. It might be a a deep move of God where everybody's praying or it might be a sending word. Go out, be wise. But we want to move people as the church from inexperienced to maturing in this walk with God. We want to be a church full of wise people. The people of Proverbs, there's only one of them I want to be. Amen. I want to be wise. I challenge you this week. Wake up. Don't ask if you have to. Ask. What's the wise thing to do? I promise you, it'll change your life. Wisdom will change your life. One more time, would you lift your hands and let's pray a dismissal prayer. God, I thank you for these wonderful people. I thank you for their response to the word of God. I thank you for their hearts that are hungry for you, God. And you've heard the prayer of every one of them. The effectual fervent prayer of the righteous avaleth much. And I believe we we have we've availed you tonight. And I believe that you're going to respond in a powerful, gloriful way, God, Lord. And I know, God, by what we feel in this room, God, that you are confirming everything, God. Lord, that you're with us. You're for us, God. But we ask and we pray tonight that you would go with us and you would keep us, Lord. Help us to walk upright. Help us to walk wisely before you and before men in Jesus mighty name we pray. Amen. And amen. God bless you. You're dismissed. Shake somebody's hand. Tell them how much you love them. Be here Wednesday night. Pastor is going to have Bible study.