Old things New Podcast

Ep 153: First Instruction: Receive God’s Words (Prov 2:1a).

Prayer.Reading: Prov 2:1a.Meditation.When someone has been sick, one of the things they need to focus on as they recover is building up their strength again. You can’t build up your strength without food. Our bodies need food to survive. Without nutritious food, our bodies waste away and eventually we die. There’s a spiritual parallel of survival as well when it comes to wisdom, and we see it here in Proverbs 2:1a: “My son, if you receive my words”. It’s as simple as this: God gives wisdom through his word. Like food for the body, we need God’s word for our souls. “Man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD” (Deut 8:3). Without the word of God, there is no wisdom. You can’t get it, you can’t find it, and you won’t have it. What this practically means is that – if you would gain wisdom – you must receive God’s Word. There will be no wisdom without the Word of God.Be ye doers of the word...Here’s the main application flowing out of this insight: don’t neglect the word of God. As we considered in the previous meditation, there’s nothing particularly mysterious about how God gives wisdom. It’s very simple. You need to receive God’s Word. Here’s a very objective and obvious test to tell if you’re wise or not: your maturity in wisdom will bear a direct correlation to the way you treat God’s Word. If you neglect God’s Word, you are neglecting wisdom, and – at best – you will be, to use the language of Proverbs, “simple” and in desperate need of leveling up. At worst, you will be at some level of regression on the path of fools. Either way, as time goes by, unless you get wisdom, you will end up walking down that path of fools.This is where Solomon’s exhortation comes in: “My son, if you receive my words”. You cannot have wisdom unless you receive God’s words. Receiving God’s words means that you welcome them, you bring them into your heart like a beloved guest into your home. We’re going to see a few different angles and insights on receiving God’s words as we continue in these studies, but the bottom line is this: Have you been leaving the Word of God cold on the doorstep of your heart? If the answer is yes, then you are categorically on the pathway of the fool. The good news is that it doesn’t have to stay this way. Take up and read every day. Get stuck in. The fact that you’re reading this book is a good indicator that there’s spiritual life in you.Here’s a second follow up application: give, and prepare to give, God’s word to your sons and daughters, or to encourage other believers. The Book of Proverbs is especially directed to children and young people, and particularly to the boys and girls who will need to grow up, become men and women of God, and whose families will be the backbone of their communities. As fathers and mothers, or even as potential future fathers and mothers, your number one priority is to give God’s Word to your children so that they might receive wisdom.The principle extends to Grandparents, but also to all of us in the church as we nurture our covenant children in community together. Do you invest in the children in your church? We must give God’s word to our children, and they need to receive it like their life depends on it. Pray and work to this end in your own soul, in the lives of your children and the children of the church, and the lives of all God’s children. SDG.Prayer of Confession & Consecration Get full access to Old things New. at rcbhpastor.substack.com/subscribe

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Ep 152: How to get wisdom (Prov 2:1-5).

1w ago00:12:52Tap to summarize

Prayer.Reading: Prov 2:1-5.Meditation.The climax of the first chapter of Proverbs is a clear and open call from Lady Wisdom, an open invitation to everyone to come and get wisdom for themselves: “Wisdom cries aloud in the street, in the markets she raises her voice; at the head of the noisy streets she cries out; at the entrance of the city gates she speaks” (Pr 1:20-21). Everything we saw in our first series of studies in Proverbs 1 brought us up to that point. Here’s a brief overview of the flow of thought in chapter one: verses one through six told us that gaining wisdom was the aim of the book; verse seven showed us that the foundation of wisdom is the fear of the Lord; verses eight and nine told us that we would need to listen with an open heart; verses ten through nineteen warned us of the dangers of being tempted away from the path of wisdom and into the path of sinners; and verses twenty through thirty-three then gave us this call from Lady Wisdom herself.With this in mind, the call of Lady Wisdom to come and get wisdom leaves us with a very immediate and obvious question: How do we get wisdom? In Chapter 2:1-5, that is exactly the question that Solomon answers. As we launch our expedition into this chapter, we’ll see that getting wisdom is not some mysterious, mystical transaction. What we’ll find here is clear instruction on how to actually do this. To get wisdom, and become the man or woman of God that your were made to be, there are certain things that God says that you must do. To use the metaphor of 2:4, I want you to think of gaining wisdom as being like mining. If you want wisdom, you’re going to have dig, work hard, and gather the wealth of wisdom.Now if wisdom is like mining, then we can think of chapter one as getting equipped with the tools. If you’re going to mine, you need a pick-axe, a helmet with a light on it, and all sorts of other pieces of gear. We need a warning about what dangers to avoid, but we also need to learn how to use the tools. We need on-the-ground training, and that’s exactly what we find in chapter two.Be ye doers of the word...I love the simplicity of wood-chopping. You get a block-buster, you get a whole bunch of sawn-off chunks of tree, and you get to work. You split every single one of those things – especially the stubborn ones. Then there’s step two. You stack the wood. It takes work, but you know exactly what you need to do. I sometimes wish I had such a clear grasp of everything else in life! As we take a tour of Proverbs 2:1-5, we’re going to see that getting wisdom is, in a sense, as clear and simple as chopping wood. You don’t have to be a genius to get this.There’s actually a skill to gathering wisdom, and 2hapter 2:1-5 is a lesson designed to equip you with the skill you need to become wise. Mining involves certain skills – as does every profession. Mining for wisdom also involves certain skills. Again – getting wisdom is not a mysterious process, it doesn’t come to you on the top of a mountain by divine revelation. There’s a real cause and effect relationship between seeking wisdom and having wisdom. In other words, if you don’t do these things that we’re going to be talking about in Part 1 of this book, the things laid out for us in Proverbs 2:1-5, then you won’t get wisdom any more than if you tried to get diamonds by having a picnic outside the entrance to a mine. In a sense, it’s as simple as that.Now think about this – it’s actually huge! You will not get wisdom by accident. You weren’t born with it. You’re not going to be a great, wise person by default. But the good news is that you can actually get it, and nothing you can desire can compare to wisdom. This is so, so important. In the next few chapters, we’re going to lay out a series of very practical instructions on what God calls us to do so that we might get wisdom and become mature men and of God. So here’s the application: pay close attention to the next few chapters and be prepared to put them in to action. And for now? Here’s your challenge: Read Proverbs 2:1-5 ten times, and write down in your own words the actual things that you’re being told to do. And come armed to the next chapter ready to get equipped, and get stuck in. SDG.Prayer of Confession & Consecration. Get full access to Old things New. at rcbhpastor.substack.com/subscribe

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Ep 151: Wisdom’s warning, wisdom’s blessing (Prov 1:32-33).

3w ago00:08:04Tap to summarize

PrayerReading: Prov 1:32-33.Meditation.Wisdom is ultimate. The warning of today’s passage takes no hostages. If you ignore her voice, you will be destroyed. If you listen, you will have security and – ultimately – salvation. Why is wisdom so important? The reason why is because, in this call of wisdom, the gospel itself is laid out before us. Those who will not fear God, which is the baseline of wisdom, will be killed and destroyed. Those who listen, trust, and act will be secure. That is nothing less than faith in God’s word.We learn in the New Testament that all God’s treasures of wisdom are hidden in Christ. As we’ve noted earlier in these studies, the Book of Proverbs is therefore nothing less than the voice of the risen Christ speaking to us today. It is the gospel in Old Covenantal wisdom garb, but it is the gospel nonetheless. In concluding our opening study of the Book of Proverbs, in a sense we have but concluded an introduction to wisdom. Attention must then continually be given to this Book of Wisdom.Be ye doers of the word...Notice that word there in our text: “complacency.” In fuller context we read: “the complacency of fools destroys them.” Are you complacent with the word of God? Do you go about your week with little or no time for reading it, for studying it? Do you neglect it? It’s a dangerous game to play. I’m assuming, probably, since you’re reading a book like this, that you are in fact diligent in your attention to God’s word. Probably you can recall to mind times when you haven’t been. Take that as a warning and exhortation never to return to such spiritual habits, but perhaps take this also as an opportunity to share these words with someone who needs them.Even faithful Christians need this as a regular warning and reminder, and perhaps a specific warning. If at any point in our lives we are complacent with the word of God, it will bring about suffering and anguish in our lives. If there is some “small” sin that you tolerate, it will still be like a little viper latching in to your hand and injecting poison into your blood stream.But there is great promise in wisdom as well: “but whoever listens to me dwells secure and will be at ease, without dread of disaster.” Again, this reflects ultimate security in Christ, in whom all the treasures of wisdom are hid. Those who embrace Christ will dwell securely, and will enter in to eternal life. But the same principle holds true in our daily living as well, we must daily walk in God’s grace given through Christ. In other words, stay near to Christ. Walk with Christ. Examine the daily decisions that you are making: Are they pleasing to Christ? Are they helping you to love Christ? The things that you watch, the things that you think about – which voice are you listening to? Is it wisdom? Or is it the voice of the world?This passage is a call to devote ourselves to word of God. Set aside time each day to read it. Set aside time to study it. Study the book of Proverbs carefully. Study the whole counsel of God, listen to the words of wisdom. And, by the grace of God, take action on what you hear. SDG.Prayer of Confession & Consecration.Dear Heavenly Father, I give thanks to you for these words of wisdom that you have laid up for me this morning. I thank you for warning me of the dangers of spiritual neglect, and of the importance of turning my ear to your word, that I might gain a heart of wisdom. Thank you that, in your wisdom, you have made a way for us to get security and salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. I confess that I have often neglected to listen to your words, to my own hurt. Please help me to constantly turn my ear unto you, that I might truly get and grow in a heart of wisdom. You are most wonderful above all things, and wisdom is most precious, please help me and give me a heart of wisdom as I continue to seek that I may grow in your word. I pray also for your people in my local church, that their hunger for your word may increase, that their desire to grow in wisdom may grow within and compel them, and that you may draw them ever nearer to yourself. Let us treasure your word together I pray. In Jesus’ name, Amen. Get full access to Old things New. at rcbhpastor.substack.com/subscribe

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Ep 150: Wisdom's scorn (Prov 1:24-31).

3w ago00:09:20Tap to summarize

PrayerReading: Prov 1:24-31.Meditation.We ignore wisdom’s call at our own peril, and to do so invites certain destruction. It will do us good, then, to consider the way of the fool that we might avoid it for ourselves. The first mark of a fool is that they refuse to listen to wisdom. A fool, if they were to even read these words at all, would read and forget them before the day was out. A fool would refuse to listen, and would ignore the advice of wisdom. Now fundamentally, let’s be clear, this rejection is a rejection of Christ. The Book of Proverbs is not a moralistic book, it is gospel-istic. The words of Proverbs are not just the words of some wise old sage, these are the words of Christ. In Colossians 2:3 we read that all of the treasures of wisdom are hidden in Christ. Christ is God’s revelation of wisdom, and so the Book of Proverbs comes to us as Christ speaking to us. The ignorance of fools is first and foremost a rejection of Christ.But the scorn of wisdom intensifies in verses 26 and 27: “I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when terror strikes you, when terror strikes you like a stormand your calamity comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you.” As the fool refuses to listen to wisdom, their calamity follows. If we refuse to listen to wisdom, that will be our fate too. Terror, distress, and anguish is the lot of the fool. This is no laughing matter, wisdom is not some optional thing that you can take or leave. The opposite of wisdom is disaster.Wisdom is patient, persistent, and available to all, but the time then eventually comes when wisdom is silent. To those who refuse to listen, calamity comes, and ultimately their doom also follows. If a person willfully ignores the call of wisdom and the correction that she offers, there is a point of no-return that eventually comes. Our choices always have consequences. Verse 28 presents a terrifying image: “Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently but will not find me.” Here we find the thought that one day it will be too late to listen to Christ speaking.Be doers of the word…The “scorn” of wisdom that we’ve been speaking about works on two levels. On the one hand, this is the stuff of everyday life. Let me give you an example, consider Proverbs 13:4. “The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.” If a man lives his life as a sluggard until he is 55, never saving his money and never using it wisely, he can’t get those years back again. He can’t go back to being 25 and make up for lost time by living diligently. In that sense – he has been foolish. The picture of wisdom laughing at his calamity is that it can’t be undone, he now has to eat the fruit of his ways. In a sense we all face these kinds of consequences from our foolish choices. If we didn’t work in school, we can’t go back and do it again, our choices have consequences. However, one of the beauties of salvation in Christ is that, while we can’t undo these things, God will forgive us for them.The second level of wisdom’s scorn speaks to an eternal outcome. Eternal judgment is the ultimate doom of the fool. If we reject Christ, we will face ultimate destruction. Verse 32 thus says: “For the simple are killed by their turning away, and the complacency of fools destroys them.” That is the doom of fools.Where do you stand with God? Each of us needs to consider for ourselves: Where do we stand with Christ? It really is a matter of the heart. Let me put it this way, when the Word of God comes to us, our hearts will respond in one of two ways: we will accept God’s word, or we just won’t want it. So if you hear the word spoken, and your inner response is: “I just don’t want it”, or: “I am not willing to forsake my sin”, then that is a very dangerous place to be. And, again, this is a special warning for young people. A young person might grow up in a christian family, they behave well, they know all the right answers, but they also know that as soon as their chance comes they’re going to live life their way. If there is a young person reading these pages thinking such things, then you need to hear the truth: the ignorance of fools is in your heart. That goes for all of us who are set on some path of sin as well. We must listen to wisdom. SDG.Prayer of Confession & Consecration.Lord Jesus, please keep me from the deadly pride that hears your voice yet turns away. Please open my heart to receive your word while mercy still calls. Save me from the folly that forgets your counsel and must later eat the bitter fruit of its own ways. Please grant me a tender spirit that trembles at your voice, gladly forsakes sin, and walks in the path of life. Let me not seek you when it is too late, but today make me a hearer and doer of your word, resting in your forgiving grace. Amen. Get full access to Old things New. at rcbhpastor.substack.com/subscribe

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Ep 149: Wisdom's Help (Prov 1:23).

4w ago00:09:14Tap to summarize

Wisdom’s Help PrayerReading: Prov 1:23.Meditation.Have you ever needed help? Have you ever felt yourself to be helpless? I sometimes feel that the Christian life is nothing but a growing sense of my own helplessness. But, as we sometimes sing, our God is mighty to save. In Proverbs 1:23, God offers us four particular kinds of help through these words of Lady Wisdom.First, wisdom offers correction: “If you turn at my reproof.” As we begin our quest to gain wisdom here at the beginning of the Book of Proverbs, one thing is sure: at times, it’s not going to be pleasant. The reason for that is because we need reproof so that we may repent and turn from our sinful conduct. Every Christian needs correction, and even discipline. As we continue through the Book of Proverbs, we should expect a spiritual workout. We don’t enter this world born with wisdom, but rather foolishness is our natural estate. We need correction, and wisdom offers it to us.Second, wisdom calls for repentance: “If you turn at my reproof...” It’s one thing to listen to what wisdom is saying, and hear her words of correction, and that is certainly essential. The next step, however, will be that we must also respond to what wisdom is saying. We must turn at her reproof. We must stop going in the direction we’re heading, and head in a new direction. Consider Proverbs 19:9 as an example: “A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who breathes out lies will perish.” As we consider that proverb, the reproof is clear: stop bearing false witness, stop lying, otherwise we will perish. We could open that up more, but the simple point is there: wisdom calls for an actual change in the way we’re living.But a mere call to change is not enough, because our own hearts are often inclined to follow in foolish ways. We actually need a heart transformation, and wisdom does not fail to deliver, because the third thing she offers is divine empowerment. “If you turn at my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit to you; I will make my words known to you.” Now at this point, it’s helpful to remember the basic unity between the Old and New Covenants. The Old Covenant looked forward to Christ through shadows and symbols, the New Covenant comes with the full revelation of Christ. It still remains, however, that across both covenants God remained the same. Whether under the old or the new covenants, spiritual transformation has always been a work of his Spirit. Wisdom thus offers nothing less than a divine promise of help from the Holy Spirit.As we hear the voice of wisdom calling and turn, God gives us his Holy Spirit, and then comes the fourth offer of help: wisdom opens our heart to the word. “If you turn at my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit to you; I will make my words known to you.” At all times, scripture reveals that it is his word that transforms us as we listen to him speaking through it, and see his glorious excellence revealed to us. In 2 Tim 3:16-17 we read: “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” We receive wisdom, not by anything we possess, but by God’s enabling power. He pours out his Spirit upon us, and he opens up his word to us.Be ye doers of the word...In a practical sense, what this boils down to is that: (1) we need to listen to wisdom; (2) we need to turn from our sin as wisdom warns us of our sin; (3) we need to prayerfully look to God for the provision of his Holy Spirit; and (4) we need to prayerfully study the word of God – and particularly the Book of Proverbs. Listen, repent, pray, study. Repeat. Listen, repent, pray, study. Repeat. As we begin to live out these things in our lives, God has promised that he will go to work to put wisdom in our hearts. So then, wisdom is calling. Wisdom offers help to us. Listen to her voice, turn at her reproof – change your life as you become aware of changes that are needed. Pray for God’s enabling help, and give yourself to the diligent study of his word, and especially to the Book of Proverbs. We might feel helpless at times, but help is close at hand. SDG.Prayer of Confession & Consecration.Heavenly Father, I thank you for the help that you provide in time of need. I thank you for your word, for your Spirit’s powerful work in the hearts of your people, for rebukes and correction, and for clear directions for our repentance. I pray that you would help me to heed your corrections in my life, and to turn away from sin. Please help me, Lord, pour out your Spirit upon me. Without your Spirit’s help, my will and affections would be utterly set against you and all your wise corrections. I am a simpleton and a fool, but you are able to work wisdom into me. Please give me wisdom, and please pour out your Spirit on me. I pray too, may you pour out your Spirit upon all the saints, and upon your people in my local church – that they too may hear the voice of wisdom, and turn at your reproof. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen. Get full access to Old things New. at rcbhpastor.substack.com/subscribe

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Ep 148: Wisdom is not automatic (Prov 1:22).

4w ago00:07:59Tap to summarize

PrayerReading: Prov 1:22.Meditation.One of the very important insights that we gain from the Book of Proverbs is that, by nature, we are not wise. When we are young, our default setting is what the proverbs call: “simple” (see Prov 1:4). What this means, very simply, is that: unless you have gained wisdom, then you don’t have it. Wisdom does not come automatically. Let me put it even more plainly. If you have never invested yourself seriously into the Book of Proverbs, then there is a gaping hole in your life and there will be a serious lack of wisdom. I say that because the Book of Proverbs is one of God’s chief means of grace for gaining wisdom. I wish I’d studied this book as a younger person, and if you are a young person (or know of one) then there is an amazing opportunity before you right now to seek wisdom.Be ye doers of the word…One of the major reasons Solomon wrote the Book of Proverbs was to exhort the young to use their youth in the pursuit of and growth in wisdom. I say this primarily to the young, but if you are older you may still take up this pursuit without delay. Like Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in Babylon, we may prove ourselves wise and exceptional by the pursuit and exercise of godly wisdom. You could spend your youth on youthful pleasures, which is the accepted pattern in modern day Australia and countries like ours. But let me urge you: don’t neglect the serious study of the Book of Proverbs.I’m not saying don’t enjoy your youth, it’s a gift from God and ought to be received and enjoyed with thanksgiving. As 1 Tim 4:4-5 says: “For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.” But I am saying remember your Creator in the days of your youth. If a young person invests themselves into the proverbs as a teenager, or even from the age of 9 or 10 (or younger), they will be wise and godly beyond their years as they grow older. They will be equipped to make a real difference in this world for the cause of Christ.That ought to be something we all pursue, regardless of age. But perhaps if you know of a young person who might benefit from these studies – share it with them. But even if you are older, again, it’s never too late to start. You can’t wind back the clock, but you can use what time you have right now to invest yourself into this book. Paul Washer has a great series of studies in the early chapters of Proverbs – that may be another excellent way to pursue this goal. Don’t stay simple, wisdom is crying out. Don’t neglect the Book of Proverbs and thus become a scoffer. That’s what the scoffer and the fool is ultimately doing – ignoring wisdom. Don’t let that become you. Don’t walk away from wisdom’s cry and forget what you’ve heard. One final challenge for today – go back through and re-read all the studies we have covered so far in the Book of Proverbs! Repetition is a crucial part of learning. And may Christ speak so that we can get wisdom. SDG.Prayer of Confession & Consecration.Heavenly Father, I thank you that wisdom speaks to us through your word. I thank you that you have opened the treasuries of your wisdom to us through the Lord Jesus Christ. I pray that you would please forgive me for the many, many times when I have neglected this provision in the past. Even many years I have wasted, and while I cannot now recover that opportunity, I pray that you would forgive me and greatly help me now to repent with what time I have left appointed for me. Help me, please, to give diligent attention to the getting of wisdom. I pray for my local church, that you would give all of us a zeal and hunger for wisdom, that we may pursue it and grow in it. All glory be to you this day, in Jesus’ name I pray, Amen. Get full access to Old things New. at rcbhpastor.substack.com/subscribe

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Ep 147: Wisdom - your best life (for) now (Prov 1:20-22).

Apr 1600:08:36Tap to summarize

PrayerReading: Prov 1:20-22.Meditation.For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven. So spoke Solomon the Preacher in Ecclesiastes 3. In one sense, you could describe our lives as a series of opportunities. When we are young, we have the opportunity to learn. When we have grown we have the opportunity to choose a vocation, a marriage partner perhaps. We have the chance to use the strength and energy of our youth; we have the chance to invest in our children when they are young. We have the chance to take care of our health in our middle years – or to neglect it. This principle also works on a smaller scale. We have the chance to use our time well each day, the chance to exercise and set our priorities. A key thing we need to see, however, is that those opportunities are not permanent. Once they have passed us by, we can’t get them back again.Now the choice before each one of us is simply this: As all these opportunities pass by in life, will we use them well? Or will we waste them? In a sense, this is the real question that’s before us in the final segment of Proverbs 1. It’s a call to listen and to listen carefully. Living wisely, in a sense, is simply the art of choosing carefully and well, to the glory of God and the good of ourselves and others. It is this discernment in choice that the book of Proverbs is designed to give to us. Verses 20-21 are an invitation to get that wisdom. Wisdom is calling, and she is calling us now.“Wisdom cries aloud in the street, in the markets she raises her voice; at the head of the noisy streets she cries out; at the entrance of the city gates she speaks.” In the Book of Hebrews we read that the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two edged sword. As we read God’s word, we are not religious observers merely studying a text. As we read, wisdom is calling to us – even now. There are two things we ought to notice about this call of wisdom.First, we notice that wisdom is available. Wisdom “cries aloud” and she “raises her voice.” She’s not hidden from anyone. She’s in the street, the marketplace, at the head of noisy streets, at the entrance of the city gates. The emphasis is clear: wisdom is available. No one will be able to come before God at the end of their lives and say that it wasn’t their fault, because wisdom has been freely offered to all. It’s offered to you even now, and each time you engage one of these devotional studies. If we refuse to listen, then on the judgment day it will be recalled. God will say to us: You heard my call. On Sunday 25th July 2021, wisdom called to you. She calls to you right now, will you listen? It is crucial that we do.The second thing we ought to notice about wisdom’s call in these verses is that wisdom has competition. In verse 21 we read:“at the head of the noisy streets she cries out.” Wisdom is available, but wisdom is not the only voice in the marketplace calling out for your attention. We saw sinners calling in verse ten, and the world is full of voices.Be ye doers of the word…There are probably voices and distractions in your mind right now. When you finish reading this meditation, and go on to the next thing in your day, there will be more voices. On your screens, maybe it will be certain people in your life, maybe episodes that you watch regularly, maybe social networks, maybe games, maybe something else. Each day there will be a constant stream of voices grabbing for your attention in the market place of life. The question is: Which voices are you going to give your attention to? Which ones are you going to give your time to? The answer we give to this question will have eternal consequences. Wisdom is calling now, listen carefully. Give your attention to her voice, and consider which voices are getting an ear in your life that would cool your love for Christ. Tune them out! Listen, listen for the cries of lady wisdom. SDG.Prayer of Confession & Consecration.Lord, my life is sustained by your mercy alone, and I thank you that you speak and give wisdom. Your help is available to all who will heed. Lord, the voices of the world are loud, and the answer of my heart is all too ready to listen. Please help me Lord, help me to give the ear of my heart consistently to the hearing of your voice. And may your people in my local church too have listening ears, quick to hear what you would say, quick to act and do in accord with wisdom. This I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen. Get full access to Old things New. at rcbhpastor.substack.com/subscribe

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Ep 146: Flee from sin's destruction (Prov 1:16-19).

Apr 500:09:39Tap to summarize

PrayerReading: Prov 1:10-19.Meditation.The world is on the road to destruction, they are plunging after sin headlong: “their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed blood.” The attraction of sin spurs them on and, as we’ve seen in our proverbs episodes, it is attractive. There is even a temporary sinful pleasure that comes with it, but the bottom is simply this: sin brings death. For those who follow after the enticements of sin there is simply no other outcome, as verses 17-19 clearly say. Let me then lay before you three considerations of the destruction of sin revealed in our passage.Firstly, we see that sin desires evil: “their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed blood.” For those who have no space for Christ, they are on that broad way to destruction (Mt 7:13). There is an eagerness in the heart of sinners to pursue evil. As Christians, we would do well to pause and meditate on this: any desire that we have that is not drawing us closer to Christ is evil and destructive. Consider that, and we ought to hold back our feet from such paths. Sin desires evil, and evil leads to destruction.Secondly, sin also brings misery. Sin is like a giant leech that would suck the very life out of you. “Such are the ways of everyone who is greedy for unjust gain; it takes away the life of its possessors” (Pr 1:19). Consider this the next time you’re engaged actively in sin. Whether you’re giving in to lust, giving in to anger, pursuing selfishness, idolising material possessions, or indulging in laziness – these practices are like vampires that would suck the life right out of us. When we engage in sin, that’s what’s happening – our life is being taken away from us. There is no gain to be found in it, it brings misery and death. Thus: “The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it” (Pr 27:12).Sin desires evil and brings misery, and – finally – sin brings death. That’s the bottom line. That’s how it was even from the beginning, as God told Adam concerning the forbidden fruit that on the day he would eat of it, he would die. Sin is blind to this truth. “For in vain is a net spread in the sight of any bird, but these men lie in wait for their own blood; they set an ambush for their own lives.” Godless people don’t even see their danger. They don’t understand that as they pursue their sin, they are committing suicide. Psalm 9:15 says: “The nations have sunk in the pit that they made; in the net that they hid, their own foot has been caught. The LORD has made himself known; he has executed judgment; the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands.” So also in Proverbs 5:22 we read: “The iniquities of the wicked ensnare him, and he is held fast in the cords of his sin. He dies for lack of discipline, and because of his great folly he is led astray.” Evil never pays off, it always brings death, and neither you nor I will be the exception to the rule. If we follow after it, it will bring misery and death to us. Proverbs 11:19 says: “Whoever is steadfast in righteousness will live, but he who pursues evil will die.”Be ye doers of the word…Sin promises much: power, prestige, security, but it delivers suffering and death. This is why we must constantly draw near to the cross of Christ. As we come bloodied and bleeding from our sin, our life is literally ebbing away. We must come to the fountain of Christ’s side. We must eat of his flesh and drink of his blood, as it were, that our souls may be revived. This is how our spirit is renewed, and how our peace with God is established. This is the only way that the life-draining effects of our sin can be reversed. In Christ our strength is found, and so we must cling to him. We must keep short accounts with him, laying our sin there at the cross. When you do that, instead of having your life drained away, you will find your life renewed in Christ.Follow hard after Jesus Christ. Follow like your life depends on it, because it does. Keep your eyes on him like a man who will drown if he looks at the waves – because you will drown. You will sink if you take your eyes off Christ. Proverbs 24:1 says “Be not envious of evil men, nor desire to be with them, for their hearts devise violence, and their lips talk of trouble. Set your eyes on Christ, keep your eyes on Christ. There is no other way to be saved, and there is no other hope on earth.What’s been distracting you lately? What is it in your life that’s been drawing you away from Christ? That thing, whatever it is, will kill you. Hold back your feet from the paths of sin. If sinners entice you, do not consent. Instead, open the door of your heart wide to Christ. Invite him in, let his word abide in you, and your soul will be furnished with rich food. You will be satisfied, and you will be delivered from this present evil age. SDG.Prayer of Confession & Consecration.Righteous Father, we confess that we have listened to the promises of sin, envied evil, and allowed our feet to wander down the destructive paths of sin. We have believed the lie that sin brings gain, while it has only brought misery, weakness, and distance from you. Please have mercy on us, draw us again to the fountain opened at the side of the Lord Jesus, and wash us clean from our sin. Consecrate us to follow hard after you, to keep our eyes fixed on our Saviour, and to walk steadfast in righteousness. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen. Get full access to Old things New. at rcbhpastor.substack.com/subscribe

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Ep 145: Sin's empty promises (Prov 1:13).

Apr 200:09:19Tap to summarize

PrayerReading: Prov 1:10-14.Meditation.One thing we need to recognise from this passage is that the enticements of the world are dangerous because, on some level, we find them to be truly attractive. They have a magnetic power to the sin that remains in our hearts. There is something in us, even as Christians, that answers to and desires to respond to these temptations. One of the reasons that we need to beware of worldly attractions, is because we may well find ourselves attracted. We must especially beware when we notice in our hearts that we are being drawn toward certain sins. When Eve was in the garden, the temptation gained power over her. When the fruit and what she thought it offered got a hold on her heart, she was truly attracted to it.Here then is the danger of sin. No one is attracted to a spoonful of rat poison, but when that rat poison is hidden in a big piece of warm, moist, chocolate cake covered in icing, well, that’s another story. But why is sin so attractive to us? It seems insane! I think that we see in our passage the answer is this, sin promises fulfillment: “we shall find all precious goods, we shall fill our houses with plunder”. A basic aspect of human nature is that we go after things that we think are good, and we avoid things that we think are bad. Those general rules apply to almost everything we do in our lives. Even the things that we don’t want to do, that we don’t think are good, are often done in pursuit of something else we do want. For example, you might not like your work, but you do want to get the pay packet.The desire that we have for good things is designed to find it’s fulfillment in God, for God alone is good and the source of all that is good (Mt 10:18). The problem with sin is that it tries to make God replacements. It looks at the creation that he has made, and it idolises the creation over the Creator. The problem is that sin always lies. It says something will be good, but in the end it leads only to death. The fruit in the garden was the original example. Satan deceived Eve, and she thought it would be good to eat the fruit, but it was a lie because eating brought only death and judgment. Every sin follows the same pattern, it promises something good but delivers a spoonful of poison. Lust will promise fulfillment, but leave you empty and hollow. Money will promise you power if you devote yourself to it, but you’ll always want more. Anger will promise justice, but it will itself destroy you. Fame will promise you attention, but your soul will still be parched and empty. Sin promises fulfillment, but it does not deliver. As verses 18 and 19 in our passage say: “these men lie in wait for their own blood; they set an ambush for their own lives. Such are the ways of everyone who is greedy for unjust gain; it takes away the life of its possessors.”Be ye doers of the word…The application for our lives in this is quite simple: don’t be deceived by sin. When you’re tempted to commit some sin, and something in your heart feels the pull of it, look your heart in the face and preach the truth to it. Don’t be sucked in to the lies, don’t believe for a second that sin can offer what you’re looking for. It will give you a flash of pleasure and then leave you worse off than before. Measure your desires by the Word of God, and seek your fulfillment in Christ alone.You can’t beat something with nothing, and what is needed to beat the temptation of sin is total fulfillment in Christ. That is the way of wisdom. Psalm 16:11 says: “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” The invitation of Isaiah 55:1 comes to all of us: “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live.” Do you know what it is from experience to be satisfied in Christ? This is is central to our faith, Christ must be our first love. It is only as we continue in the love of Christ that we gain the needed strength to shut the door on sinful temptations. So then, seek fulfillment in Christ alone.If there are any young people reading these words – again – these verses are especially directed to you. As you look at the world, you might see that there are all sorts of pleasures and possibilities on offer. You may be tempted to go out and sample some of them. The attraction that the world lays before you is a lie, because there is no satisfaction to be found there. All you will find is a temporary fix of pleasure, and then misery to follow. Be wise and learn from Solomon, remember your Creator in the days of your youth. Find satisfaction in your soul through Christ, and if that sounds strange to you, talk about it with your parents. Talk about it with one of the elders in your faithful, local church. All of us must come to Christ – whether we are young or old. If you are not young, consider sharing this post with a young believer. SDG.Prayer of Confession & Consecration.Dear Lord, I thank you for the warning of these words. I pray that when I am tempted to sin today, and in days to come, that you may bring them to my mind. Help me always to consider the emptiness of sin and the promises of fulfillment that it offers. I pray that your people in my local church may likewise become more and more aware of these lies of sin, and that all of us may come to see and know that only Christ can satisfy. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen. Get full access to Old things New. at rcbhpastor.substack.com/subscribe

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Ep 144: Sin is evangelising you (Prov 1:13-14)

Mar 2400:07:46Tap to summarize

Pray.Reading: Prov 1:10-14.Meditation.In our last few meditations, we have learned a few insights into how our sinful nature generally works. It is self-centred, it is greedy, and in verses 13 and 14 we now also see that sin is evangelistic. God has made us to be social creatures. We are designed to live in community, and we naturally reach out to other people to connect, to love, and to live. That connection is designed to be a powerful force for good, but sadly our sinful nature can also use those connections to be a force for evil as well. In our passage we see an example of this as Solomon warns his son against being enticed to fall in line with sinners. There is a call to action in these verses: “Come with us… throw in your lot among us”, and the call comes with a tempting motivation to reward: “we shall find all precious goods, we shall fill our houses with plunder.”In this passage, we see thieves trying to draw a young simpleton into their way of life, but the same principle holds true for you in your life as well. The world will not leave you to yourself, it will constantly be seeking to draw you in to its ways. Vanity-Fair will offer all manner of temptations, it will bait the hook of sin with every possible enticement seeking to draw you in. When the world tempts you to love the things of this world, be wary. If there is anything in your life that is tempting you and luring you away from Christ as your first love, flee from that thing. Do not walk in the way of with sinners, hold back your feet from the paths of the world. Do not abandon the world, and do not cease to bring the gospel to lost sinners, but keep an ear open for worldly evangelists as well, and when you hear them coming – close the door of your heart to temptation.Be ye doers of the word…As I’ve already said, and as scripture teaches, we cannot take ourselves out of the world. We ought not to try. We are called to engage the world, and to do good to all people (Gal 6:10). As we live in the world, however, we must be careful to guard our hearts – because the world will lay things before us designed to entice us into sin. The application in all of this is simply to avoid sin and temptation. As Jesus said to his disciples in Gethsemane “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation.”When you notice a worldly enticement has some pulling power on your heart, be especially careful to avoid it. Run, like Joseph ran from Potiphar’s wife. Avoid such enticements like a deadly plague. Run from them as though they were a pack of wild dogs trying to tear you apart! Because that is what they are. As verse 15 says: “my son, do not walk in the way with them; hold back your foot from their paths.” Remove enticing godless influences from your life. SDG.Prayer of Confession & Consecration.Dear Lord, as I look back on the life that I have lived, I can readily think of many times when I have allowed the enticing power of the world to lead me into sin. Even now, as I consider my way of life, I can see still that there are various entertainments and enticements that would draw my eyes away from Christ, down from that which is above, and would set my mind and affections on that which is below. Lord, please forgive me for my sins, and help me now to set my mind on Christ above, seated at the right hand of God. Please fill my heart with love for him who died for me. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen. Get full access to Old things New. at rcbhpastor.substack.com/subscribe

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All episodes

Ep 153: First Instruction: Receive God’s Words (Prov 2:1a).

Ep 152: How to get wisdom (Prov 2:1-5).

Ep 151: Wisdom’s warning, wisdom’s blessing (Prov 1:32-33).

Ep 150: Wisdom's scorn (Prov 1:24-31).

Ep 149: Wisdom's Help (Prov 1:23).

Ep 148: Wisdom is not automatic (Prov 1:22).

Ep 147: Wisdom - your best life (for) now (Prov 1:20-22).

Ep 146: Flee from sin's destruction (Prov 1:16-19).

Ep 145: Sin's empty promises (Prov 1:13).

Ep 144: Sin is evangelising you (Prov 1:13-14)