You Are What You Think

There is a way, which seems right to mankind without God,
but the end thereof is the way of death!

Fred R. Coulter—June 7, 2025

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You are what you think! What do we mean by that? God made us in such a way that we have all the things for human life:

• the physical
• the mental
• the spiritual

everything on earth is for human life!

God gave that to human beings to have dominion over. So he wants us to use it, but he wants us also to use it in a right way. He wants us to understand Him and His words; that's why He has sent it.

Now let's look at something here very important, because this will tell us the things we need to do to think and to choose, because those are the two main things by which we function as human beings.

Everything we do is by choice, by thought. Many times if you do things without really thinking, it doesn't work out, so, it's very important. Now after giving the Ten Commandments…

We're going to do a little comparison here, because as we will see when we study into the seven Churches, that there are always false prophets. There are always those who say that 'Jesus gives us the easy way.' Well, that is true in a sense.

Let's  what God told the children of Israel in Deut. 6; in the fifth chapter Moses reiterates the Ten Commandments. Let's  if God is really harsh, because they say that the Old Testament is harsh; a mean God. Well what does it look like today? God wants us:

• to love Him
• to serve Him
• to obey Him
• to keep His Commandments

But the lawless ones say, 'All you have to do is believe.' Let's  what we are to believe and where it needs to be.

Deuteronomy 6:1: "Now, these are the Commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD our God commanded to teach you so that you might do them in the land where you go to possess it." Remember, they were to do all of this in the letter of the Law.

Verse 2: "That you might fear the LORD your God, to keep ALLHis statutes and His Commandments which I command you, you, and your son, and your son's son, all the days of your life, and so that your days may be prolonged."

Look at those who were in abject sin today; they die early! Is that not harsh? Well that's by choice! We'll  that's very important.

Verse 3: "Hear therefore, O Israel… [you can put your name there] …and be diligent…"

What does that mean? That means you:

• always need to be looking at these
• always need to do it the right way

"…be diligent to observe it, so that it may be well with you, and that you may greatly multiply, as the LORD God of our fathers has promised you, in the land that flows with milk and honey. Hear, O Israel. Our one God is the LORD, the LORD. And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might" (vs 3-5).

Let's read on because we will  there will be a difference when we get to the New Testament.

Verse 6: "And these words, which I command you this day, shall be in your heart…. [memorized, understood] …And you shall diligently teach them to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up. And you shall bind them for a sign upon your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. And you shall write them upon the posts of your house and on your gates" (vs 6-9).

They were to have the Laws of God always in front of them. What is the fundamental Scripture of the whole New Testament? Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word of God! When He said to remember there was no New Testament written at that time.

Matthew 22:36—Jesus was challenged: "'Master, which Commandment is the great Commandment in the Law?' And Jesus said to him, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest Commandment; and the second one is like it: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself"'" (vs 36-39).

Now this is basic and we all understand this correct. All right, let's take it one step further. We will see where God wants them, and this is the New Covenant. We've had this brought up to us here recently, which is important for us to understand. But what I want you to do is see how with conversion and receiving the Holy Spirit…

By the way, when you receive the Holy Spirit as we will  later, you are sealed by God! The Holy Spirit is to lead you and guide you as you choose! Very important to understand, because God did not make robots. He's given us free moral agency independent free moral agency, or an acronym of it is IFMA. And it's interesting, because every choice is an IF. What will you do?

Hebrews 10:15: "And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us…"—that's by what you are sealed:

• the Spirit of eternal life
• the begettal from God the Father

• What did Jesus call this Spirit? It is the Spirit of the Truth!
• What is Satan's spirit? The spirit of lies!

So you've got Truth, and you have lies!

• How do we overcome all the lies that are in the world? There are a lot out there right now today and it's multiplying like never before!

"…for after He had previously said, '"This is the covenant that I will establish with them after those days," says the Lord…" (vs 15-16).

Now the covenant of baptism—and we've explained that before, a covenant is permanent from the start! It's something that is not changed or modified. We need to keep that in mind.

"…I will give My Laws into their hearts… [not on posts; not just written down] …and I will inscribe them in their minds" (v 16). How does that happen? That happens with:

• study
• prayer
• growing in grace and knowledge

That happens because of keeping the Sabbath and the Holy Days of God! We need the Sabbath every single week, because we are being trained for eternal life!

Eternal life is going to be so marvelous, so absolutely incredible that it's awfully difficult for God to truly tell us right now. We have a glimpse of that in Rev. 21 & 22. But what is that really like?

"…'I will give My Laws into their hearts, and I will inscribe them in their minds; and their sins and lawlessness I will not remember ever again'" (vs 16-17).

Let's see what the Word of God does to us and for us. This is important because there is no other book—unless they contain Scriptures in it—that can do this. The Bible is made for everyone in the world; you need to think of it that way:

• whether you're young or old
• whether you're a man or a woman
• doesn't matter what language you speak
• doesn't matter where you live on the earth

The Bible was made for all people!

We're talking about the Ten Commandments, so how would it be if in your town—here in Hollister for us—everyone observed the Ten Commandments?

• have just one God: God the Father, Jesus Christ
• no idols
• no statues
• don't even make them
• don't make them
• don't take God's name in vain

Then the fourth one: remember to keep the Sabbath Holy! You won't believe in evolution because you know God created everything.

Now another thing about the Sabbath which is this. It's unique above any other days—except the Holy Days—in that God puts His presence in the Sabbath, and we come to meet God every Sabbath. He's also ordained that there be teachers, and the teachers are to teach the Word of God.

• there are no priests
• there are no popes
• there are no bishops
• there are no cardinals

there are

• apostles
• evangelists
• pastors
• teachers

That's what we do!

Anyone who is an elder must serve the people, not that the people serve the elders! That's very important.

Heb. 4 let's see what the Word of God does. Now remember. Jesus said that the Father would send the Spirit. It was with them. It was with the people. He would send the Spirit. It was with them.

But after His resurrection it was in them. So, when we're baptized and receive the Holy Spirit it is in our mindconnected to the spirit of man that we have! For the first time in our lives we can become sound-minded. How does it work in our lives? It helps direct your thoughts in Truth,and also in correction!

I want you to note this: Peter wrote in 2-Peter 1, and Paul wrote in Gal. 5 this one hyphenated word: self-control. That's the key with God's Spirit and God's Word. With God's Spirit we are to have Godly-directed self-control by our own choices.

• in order to keep the Sabbath you have to choose it
• in order to understand the Word of God you've got to study it
• in order to do anything in your life you must choose it

Because God wants us to use our mind! He wants us to use His Truth! Let's see what it does for us:

Hebrews 4:12: "For the Word of God is living…"

What does that mean? Jesus said that the words that I speak to you they are Spirit and they are Life!

Now think about that for just a minute. That's why the whole Bible is so important for every person on the earth, and it's available today as never before.

"…is living and powerful…[it's always working] …and sharper than any two-edged sword..." (v 12). It is not going to be misplaced!

"…and sharper than any two-edged sword..." Why is that? Because with prolonged deep rooted sin it cuts to the quick! And the ultimate of that is premature death.

Even people in the world that keep the Commandments of God according to the letter have blessings in the letter! Those of us who have the Spirit of God and we've been sealed with the Spirit of God, God's Spirit is actively working within us IF we are actively studying and praying and growing in grace and knowledge!

So, this is something very important for us to do. And then we'll look at the first part of the chapter here in just a bit.

"…piercing even to the dividing asunder of both soul and spirit…" (v 12).

Now the soul is that which keeps the physical body going. The spirit is that which gives you continuous life.

"…and of both the joints and the marrow, and is able to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart" (v 12). Now think about that!

• What was Job's final repentance?
• Remember what he said?

'Now I know that no thought can be withheld from You.' Now the Bible also tells us that there's a part of our brain that is called the reins!

That's how God can know at any time what anybody's thinking anywhere. Remember what God has written in some places that the heart of this people is waxed fat? He knows what they are thinking!

"…and is able to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart."

Now notice how penetrating that it is, and why our choices, as we're going to see a little bit, are so important. Because when you look at the long picture of it, we've been called to eternal life! And eternal life is not a hop-scotch sort of thing.

• it is spiritual
• it is a blessing
• it is work
• it is truth
• it is understanding

All of the things that we need!

Verse 13: "And there is not a created thing that is not manifest in His sight…"

You've heard me say before, which is true: God is all things to everything! And we need to understand that.

Blessings for those who have the Spirit of God and are growing and overcoming. When you read Rev. 2 & 3, you find out that God deals with those who then sin. and need to repent. That's because the Word of God is sharper than any two-edged sword! That's because Christ is directing it.

"…but all things are naked and laid bare before the eyes of Him to Whom we must give account" (v 13).

What did Jesus say? There is not any secret which shall not be known! To anybody who thinks that 'we'll do this in secret and get away with it'; you're not going to do it!

Now, because there's law-enforcement in the carnal world, IF that is run correctly the way that God wants, they will find those secrets of criminal activity and eliminate it, because it creates problems in the society if not corrected. Let me give you just one new one that's making headlines right now: more seniors are smoking 'pot' than ever before.  That's exactly what Satan wants; he wants to destroy your thinking!

• that's what sin does
• that's what activities like this does
• that's what drugs do
• that's what prescription drugs do

All of those things, we have to combat those in the world!

"…before the eyes of Him with whom we must give an account" (v 14).

What does it say? Everyone is going to come before the Throne of Christ and given an account for what he has done!

This is so powerful that we need a lot of help. This is so powerful that we make mistakes and sin. So, we have, through Christ and His sacrifice—as God manifested into flesh, the only sacrifice—His body and His blood for the forgiveness of sin.

Matt. 6—look at the model prior. Prayer becomes an absolutely essential thing that you must do every day!

Matthew 6:6[transcriber's correction]: "But you, when you pray, enter into a private room; and after shutting the door, pray to your Father Who is in secret…"

He's in heaven! When we pray, we have direct access to God the Father and Jesus Christ (Eph. 2).

"…and your Father Who sees in secret shall reward you openly" (v 6)—by forgiving your sin!

Verse 7: "And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions, as the heathen do..."

• you don't need rosaries
• you don't need beads
• you don't need crosses
• you don't need crucifixes

"…for they think that by multiplying their words they shall be heard. Now then, do not be like them; for your Father knows what things you have need of before you ask Him. Therefore, you are to pray after this manner… [What are the first words?]: "…'Our Father…'" (vs 7-9).

All you Catholics out there who think the virgin Mary is in heaven, you have been lied to so many times that you can't tell the truth from lies!

This is what you pray—not in repetition—this is the model prayer:

"…'Our Father, Who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name…'"

• Nothing else is, nothing else!
• No one else but God the Father and Jesus Christ!

Verse 10: "Your Kingdom come…"

Well, it's going to come, but also, there's another meaning to it: When we repent and are baptized and receive the Holy Spirit of God, we are under the jurisdiction of God; We are under the things concerning the Kingdom of God! That's why the 4th Commandment is so important; that we keep the Sabbath Holy! But in the other six days of the week, we also stay in contact with God!

"…Your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven…" (v 10). Everything on earth is being done:

• according to God's will
• according to His prophecies

even with the:

• evil going on with Satan the devil and the demons
• false religions
• terrible governments
• terrible people

Because God is all things to everything!

Verse 11: "Give us this day our daily bread." You need that so you can continue on living!

• How long you going to live without water?
• How long you going to live without food?

God made us temporary in the flesh, but it's renewable. The body renews itself according to what God has given in the creation of the body. IF we take care of it.

Verse 12: "And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors."

Repentance on a daily basis—as we have seen and noted in Rom. 7, because of the human nature that we have—is needed every day!

For us living in this society with all the smartphones and with television and all of these things… I was I was watching television here just last night, and here comes an ad: All the satanic movies are available, 10,000 of them! Look at the ads about the movies that they are producing now; they're all bound up in satanism, demonism, war, killing, all of that!

Now, when we  that, that's bad enough. But WHEN we hear it and it enters into our ears, THEN it really is a difficult thing. So, we need forgiveness every day! You also need to forgive those who have trespassed against you!

Verse 13: "And lead us not into temptation…"—or trials!

• there are times when we need to be afflicted
• there are times when we need trials so that we can understand that:
• we have things to repent of
• we need to change
• we need to grow
• we need to overcome

But we go to God for forgiveness and cleansing of it!

"…but rescue us from the evil one…." (v 13)

You can't get away from Satan yourself! You might be able to hold him off for a while in the letter of the Law. But spiritually speaking, he's 'the god of this world.'

Revelation 12:9: "And the great dragon was cast out, the ancient serpent who is called the Devil and Satan, who is deceiving the whole world…"

And all you have to do today is look at it and, yes, that's true.

Matthew 6:13: "…For Yours is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen."

Sidebar:

• the 4th Commandment is the Sabbath
• the Holy of Holies is a cube: 4
• New Jerusalem is a cube: 4

So the 4th Commandment is this: God puts His presence in the day IF you come to Him!

Sidebar: I've been in touch with the. Seventh-Day Adventist minister. Who sees all of the falling away. That's happening in the Seventh-Day Adventist Church. They're going through what a lot of us went through in our church experience, as well. The only thing they have left is the Sabbath.

But this Seventh-Day Adventist minister has been preaching the falling away of the SDAs for a number of years. He's in contact with us. I've talked to him extensively on the phone. We sent him a lot of material. We just sent him 200 Bibles, paperbacks.

We're almost out of leatherette. And we only have a few calfskin left. We've got more coming, but they won't be here till September.

Hebrews 4:4: "For He spoke in a certain place about the seventh day in this manner… [4th Commandment] …'And God rested on the seventh day from all His works.'"

That is the physical work. But the Seventh Day is the day for what kind of work? Spiritual work!

• teaching
• helping
• serving
• praying
• studying

Verse 5: "And again concerning this… [that is the 7th Day] …'If they shall enter into My rest—'"

The choice of entering into the Sabbath is up to us! That's what it means.

Verse 6: "Consequently, since it remains for some to enter into it, and those who had previously heard the Gospel did not enter in because of disobedience"—disbelief.

That's talking about the children of Israel; they didn't keep the Sabbath. How long did it take them after entering the 'promised land' before they went into paganism? Until Joshua and the elders of that generation died! And immediately they went into Baal and Ashtaroth worship. Forgot the Sabbath!

Verse 7: "Again, He marks out a certain day, 'Today,' saying in David after so long a time (exactly as it has been quoted above), 'Today, if you will hear His voice, harden not your hearts.'"

And that's the choice of the Sabbath Day. I'm glad for all of those who keep the Sabbath in the way that they should. That connects us with God, and God puts His presence in it. Not like any other day. That's why it's so special!

Verse 8: "For if Joshua had given them rest, He would not have spoken long afterwards of another day…. [or another time for keeping the Sabbath] …There remains, therefore, Sabbath-keeping for the people of God. For the one who has entered into His rest… (vs 8-10)—God's rest, because he rested on that day!

Sidebar: I mentioned this before but I'll mention it again. On day four of the re-creation of the earth and preparation for human beings and everything that is on the earth. God set in motion the sun and the moon and the stars to start the calendar working! So, the Holy Days came before the Sabbath.

Now, think about that! The Sabbath without the Holy Days doesn't bring you the complete purpose of God. It can put you in connection with God. But if you're not willing to keep the Passover and the Holy Days and the Feasts of God, then you're missing how much?

Verse 10: "For the one who has entered into His rest, he also has ceased from his works, just as God did from His own works."

• What day did God rest on? Sabbath Day!
• Do you understand how blasphemous that it is that the Catholics and the Protestants call Sunday 'the Lord's Day'?

It's only the lord's day as Satan is lord of the world!

That's why they only have a minuscule understanding of God. They have 'a religion.' They don't have the Truth. We will  that's the important thing for us.

Verse 11: "We should be diligent, therefore, to enter into that rest… [the 7th day] …lest anyone fall after the same example of disobedience."

If you don't keep the Sabbath Day, you're living in disobedience! A lot of people never thought of that.

We're going to look at something else. Remember what I said about choices, and all the choices that we have to make all the time. God is well aware of it. And he knows all about it.

Psalm 119:30: "I have chosen the way of Truth…" That's what we have to do in everything that we do!

Deuteronomy 30:10—brings this out; it's talking about the Word of God: "IF…"

IFMA: independent free moral agency that God gives to every human being, because He doesn't want robots!

Verse 10: "IF you shall obey the voice of the LORD your God…" He leaves it up to us:

• What are we going to choose?
• What are we going to do?
• How are we going to think about it?
• How is it going to be in our lives?

Now we can put this spiritually that we tied in with Heb. 10, written in our heart and written in our mind! That we learn to think with the Word of God!

Why is that important? Because that's the greatest way to think!

• Is God perfect? Yes!
• Is God love? Yes!
• Is God faithful? Yes!
• Is God true? Yes!
• Is God merciful? Yes!

What you learn and the education that you get out of the Word of God—preparing you for eternal life—is the most important thing that you can do.

Verse 10: "IF you shall obey the voice of the LORD your God to keep His Commandments and His statutes, which are written in this Book of the Law, and IF you turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul."

• that's New Testament doctrine right there
• that is repentance

Look at the world and what's happening where they don't even keep common sense and law and order. All you have to do is look at the Democrat Party; may they totally collapse so we can have a short time of peace before all hell at the end breaks loose—because it's going to come!

(break@42:17)

It's very interesting indeed when you read this. There's prophecy as we're going to read right here in Deut. 30. Remember what Jesus said, the words that I speak to you, they are Spirit and they are Life and He was the Lord God of the Old Testament.

Deuteronomy 30:11: "For this Commandment, which I command…"—to obey the voice of the Lord your God; that's another key: obey His voice! Remember these three things:

• believe
• obey
• love

Verse 11: "For this Commandment, which I command you today is not hidden from you, neither is it far off."

That statement is so true today in the number of Bibles in the world and all of those in digital form. I mean it's an amazing thing!

Verse 12: "It is not in heaven that you should say, 'Who shall go up to heaven for us, and bring it to us, so that we may hear it and do it?'"

No, it's not on Mars, it's not on Venus, it's not out on some other planet! It is wherever the Throne of God is!

Verse 13: "Neither is it beyond the sea that you should say, 'Who shall go over the sea for us to bring it to us, so that we may hear it and do it?'"

No, we don't need that today. We've got it here. Even homes of those who really don't believe in God, they've got Bibles! Everyone who has a smart-phone can have access to the Bible. I mean think of that in their hands. That's an amazing thing!

Verse 14: "But the Word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, so that you may do it."

That's a prophecy that would be translated into many languages so all people could hear and do. That's why on Pentecost in Acts 2 that the language came out in the tongues of other languages, as a prophecy, that God is going to go to the whole world! So, we need to think in ways that we can understand from the Word of God.

Verse 15: "Behold, I have set before you this day life and good, and death and evil."

That's constant throughout all time whether you know the Word of God or not, you have good and evil set before you! For those in the world who are not converted, it is common sense and law and order.

Verse 16: "In that I command you this day to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His Commandments and His statutes and His judgments so that you may live and multiply…"

Why do people have so much trouble today? Because they don't have God. And if they would take it, and I'll just say to anyone who has never heard anything of the Word of God, if you want to start understanding God's ways, you go to the book of Proverbs, that's the first couple minutes, and all the Proverbs and how they fit spiritually in what God wants us to do.

"…And the LORD your God shall bless you in the land where you go to possess it" (v 16).

Everyone wants the blessing of God without obedience. You can't have it. It's like trying to drive your car—we have two kinds today, gas and electric—without gas and without a battery. It won't work. If you get the wrong kind of gas, it's not going to work good. If you get a cheap battery, you're going to run out of juice.

Verse 17: "But IF…" [tie that back up there with v 10—IFMA, choice is ours] …your heart turn away so that you will not hear… [to hear and obey] …but shall be drawn away and worship other gods and serve them, I denounce to you this day that you shall surely perish…." (vs 17-18).

• Isn't that what is happening? Yes, indeed!
• What do they do every day in every one of these modern cities that we have where there are a lot of homeless? Every day they pick up dead bodies! They perished because they didn't follow God.

Now then, others gave them the drugs and things, but they should have said 'no' when it was first offered. Satan is going to draw you in and take you down, and that's exactly what we  in the world today.

Verse 18: "I denounce to you this day that you shall surely perish; you shall not prolong your days on the land where you pass over Jordan to go to possess it."

Now notice, notice how powerful this is. Some people say, 'It was written by a man!' Is God able to make men do what he wants them to do? Yes!

Verse 19: "I call heaven and earth to record this day against you…"

You want to know how active these words are? Tie that in with what Jesus said in:

Matthew 5:17: "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until the heaven and the earth shall pass away, one jot or one tittle shall in no way pass from the Law until everything has been fulfilled" (vs 17-18).

All right? You don't have to be someone of a high IQ to understand there is an Earth and you look up in the skies and there's the heaven and it's around the whole earth all the time; everyone sees it.

Deuteronomy 30:19: "I call heaven and earth to record this day against you that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Therefore, choose life, so that both you and your seed may live, that you may love the LORD your God…" (vs 19-20).

That's what God wants! That's why the great Commandment is as we started out: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, your mind, your soul, and your being!

• you grow in that
• you understand that
• this is something that is a spiritual thing that you grow with

"…love the LORD your God, and may obey His voice…" (v 20).

What did Jesus say? Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. God spoke it!

"…and may cleave to Him; for He is your life and the length of your days…" (v 20).

Doesn't matter who you think you are and what you are or how important or unimportant you are, your life, your breath, your very existence depends upon God—period! That's it!

"…so that you may dwell in the land, which the LORD swore to your fathers—to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob—to give it to them" (v 20). Same way with the land here in America!

Now let's look at some Proverbs. We'll look at a good number of Proverbs. These are really some very important things for us to understand.

Proverbs—we will  what we need to do. This is written to all people, because it contains in it

• instructions for youth
• instruction for children
• instruction for men
• instructions for women
• instructions for those who are political leaders
• instruction for those who are teaching the Word of God

I'll just briefly summarize the Prov. 1. It says IF you don't keep the Commandments of God and love Him, and you love the way of the world and your own stupidity, you're going to have troubles! Your troubles will mount up so much that unless you really repent, you're going to suffer the consequences! You'll cry out to God, but it will be too late.

Prov. 2—Here again we find the word IF right in the first verse:

Proverbs 2:1: "My son, IF you will receive my words and treasure up my commandments within you… [this is David writing to Solomon] …so that you incline your ear to wisdom and apply your heart to understanding" (vs 1-2).

You have to put the effort into it. God is not going to put anything into your mind by osmosis.

• you must read
• you must study
• you must think
• you must analyze
• you must observe

Let's look at the IFs as we go along.

Verse 3: "Yea, IF you cry after knowledge and lift up your voice for understanding… [a life-long project with the Word of God] …IF you seek her as silver and search for her as for hidden treasures" (vs 3-4)—whatever that would be!

If you knew that under the floor of your house was an untold amount of gold, how long do you think it would take you to tear up the floor of your house to try and find it? That's what you need to approach the Word of God. Now notice three IFs  and then the word THEN! Doesn't come all at once. You must put forth:

• the effort
• the thought
• the obedience

have your actions the way that God wants them to be!

• you have to do the seeking
• you have to do the reading
• you have to do the studying
• you have to do the praying
• you have to keep the Commandments of God

Verse 5:—take all those IFs, stack them up together: "THEN you shall understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God."

Verse 6: "For the LORD gives wisdom; out of His mouth comes knowledge and understanding." Again, obey the voice of God!

Verse 7: "He lays up sound wisdom for the righteous; He is a shield to those who walk uprightly."

• He's going to give you protection
• He's going to watch over you

Verse 8: "He keeps the paths of right judgment and preserves the way of His saints."

Does God love you? Want you? Yes! I mean that's what everything in the New Testament is all about on top of what's here in the Old Testament.

Verse 8: "He keeps the paths of right judgment and preserves the way of His saints."

Now look at all of those promises there in verses five through eight. Now notice what it says in v 9, because time goes on you get older:

• you study more
• you pray more.
• you understand more

That's why we are all to grow in grace and knowledge every single day.

Verse 9: "THEN you shall understand righteousness and judgment and equity, every good path."

Why? Because the Word of God will be in you with the Spirit of God!

• IF you're studying
• IFyou're praying
• IFyou're growing
• IFyou're overcoming

THEN what is it going to do?

When you do something that's not right, God's Spirit in you is going to let you know that's not right, and it'll persist until you do it. That happened to me just the other day. There was something that I had in the Bible that needed to be corrected for this edition of the Bible. I studied it over and looked at it and thought well it's probably good enough the way it is. But I couldn't get it out of my mind. Why? Because God wanted it changed to the right way! So, when I did that, guess what? It wasn't a weight on my mind. That's the way it works.

Verse 10: "Wisdom shall enter into your heart…"—you'll be able to:

• see things
• understand things
• analyze things
• look at things

How? With the Word of God, because that's how God looks at it!

"…and knowledge will be pleasing to your soul; discretion shall preserve you… [you're not going to go out and do rash things] …and, understanding shall keep you… [What is it going to do?] …to deliver you from the way of the evil man, from the man who speaks wicked things" (vs 10-12). You're not going to be deceived!

Verse 13: "Those who leave the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness"—it's going to keep you from that!  

Verse 14: "Who rejoice to do evil and delight in the perversities of the wicked."

A perfect description of the lawless ones whom Jesus said in the end-times, lawlessness is going to be multiplied, multiplied, multiplied!

• Doesn't that fill the news today? Yes it does! Are the words of Jesus true? Yes!
• Are they happening as we live and  and watch it? Yes!.

Verse 15: "Whose ways are crooked, and are devious in their paths; to deliver you from the wanton woman…" (vs 15-16)—or the wanton man, because sodomites rule so much of the country!

"…even from the stranger who flatters with her words" (v 16).

Verse 20: "In in order that you may walk in the way of good and keep the paths of the righteous…. [that's the whole book of Proverbs] …For the upright shall dwell in the land… [New Testament enter into the Kingdom of God] …and the perfect shall remain in it" (vs 20-21). That's amazing isn't it? You think about that.

• look at what happens in wars
• look at who dies
• look at who is spared
• look at who turns to God

You talk to any of these soldiers in WWII and there are not many left now. They just had a few go to Omaha Beach this year and they're all in wheelchairs. But they gave their lives! They understand right from wrong, good from evil!

Verse 22: "But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it."

Proverbs 3:1: "My son, do not forget my law, but let your heart keep my commandments."

• Doesn't that tie in with Heb. 10:15-16? Yes indeed!
• Whose son are we to be? The Fathers!
• Whose daughters are we to be? The Fathers!

That's how you apply it here!

Verse 2: "For they shall add length of days… [for us it will be eternal life] …and peace, to you. Do not let mercy and Truth forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them upon the tablet of your heart" (vs 2-3).

That's what God's Spirit can do for us just like it says there in Heb. 10. Look at how the whole Word of God comes together. It's amazing!

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

Here is how that works. The next three verses, key verses, New Testament verses. Remember when the Apostles started in preaching the Word of God, there wasn't one word written of the New Testament.

Verse 5: "Trust in the LORD with all your heart… [that's faith] … and lean not to your own understanding."

• I've got a good education
• I've gone to this college and such and such
• we studied this and studied that
• I've studied psychology I have studied business and I've studied all of these other things

That may be well and good. But don't lean to your own understanding on how to run your own life because you're guaranteed to fail! You do it God's way!

Verse 6: "In all your ways acknowledge Him [God] and He shall direct your paths."

How? With the Holy Spirit! That's an amazing thing! That's why the Bible is made for everyone.

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

You read the last part of chapter 3. There are a lot of do nots: Do not do this. Do not do that. Do not do the other thing. We won't get into all of those.

Proverbs 4:7: "Wisdom is the principal thing…" That's what God wants us to be:

• wise
• understanding
• looking for the Truth
• following what is right
• loving God

"…get wisdom; and with all your getting get understanding" (v 7). That's a lifelong project! That's what you need to do!

Verse 13: "Keep hold of instruction; do not let go; keep her, for she is your life." Now that's interesting because that's all about the Word of God!

Verse 14: "Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not into the way of evil men…. [that keeps you from trouble; keeps you from difficulties] …Avoid it; do not go in it; turn from it, and pass on!" (vs 14-15).

What is he leading to? Because we're going to  one of the principal things that the whole book of Proverbs is all about and what we need to do in our lives every single day!

Verse 16: "For they… [the evil ones] …do not sleep except when they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away unless they cause some to fall, for they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence" (vs 16-17).

• Doesn't that sound like what's going on today? Yes indeed!
• Why? Because people reject the Word of God!

People put it in the form of what they call religion. Well I've got a message online: God Hates Religion. You might listen to that.

Verse 18: "But the path of the just… [who don't go into those things] …is as the shining light, that shines more and more to the perfect day."

What is that perfect day? The return of Christ!

Verse 19: "The way of the wicked is as darkness; they know not at what they stumble." They don't know how to make it right!

Verse 20: "My son, attend to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Let them not depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart" (vs 20-21).

All of these things are the IFs that we need to do continually.

• What you will find? You will find that it is amazing how much there is in the Bible! Absolutely amazing!
• Why? Because it's inspired by the mind of God!
• Is not His mind perfect?
• Is not His mind right?
• Are not His ways and commandments the best thing that can be?
• How is it possible that the Protestants can say you don't have to keep the Laws?
• How is it possible for them to say that the God of the Old Testament is a harsh God?
• What's Christ going to do with the wicked? Rev. 20; The harshest of all! Throw them in the Lake of Fire! Yes indeed!

Verse 21: "Let them not depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart, for they are life to those who find them…" (vs 21-22).

Because like we started out the first part of Proverbs. SEEK! What does it say in Isa. 55? Seek the Lord while He may be found! That's what we are to do.

"…and health to all their flesh" (v 22).

Verse 23—Here's the most important thing we need to do. This is an active thing. We must be responsible for what goes in to our mind! That's why there's repentance every day, because if things get in there that we don't want you can have those eliminated and taken care of. 

Verse 23: "Above all… [the primary thing to do] …guard the door of your mind…"—it can also mean heart; don't get emotionally involved in things that are evil; because you'll have a hard time getting out of it.

Verse 23: "Above all guard the door of your mind with diligence…"

Verse 23: "Above all guard the door of your mind with diligence, for out of it are the issues of life."

• Truth
• health
• righteousness
• goodness
• understanding what evil is and not participating in it
• understanding how to get rid of it and put it away

See what the next couple of verses tell you what happens if you guard the door of your mind. Here's what you have to do:

Verse 24: "Put away from you a deceitful mouth, and devious lips put far from you."

That's guarding the door of your mind! You're not letting those things rule in your mind and in your heart.

Verse 25: "Let your eyes look right on, and let your eyelids look straight before you. Ponder the path of your feet…" (vs 25-26).

• think about what you are doing
• look at it from God's point of view

Verse 26: Ponder the path of your feet, and all your ways will be established."

Prov. 16—this is really something! Look at this, this is just a few verses in all the Proverbs. What you need to do for study—especially if you're new—take a chapter of the book of Proverbs and study it every day. Now there are 31 chapters of Proverbs.

• go over them
• think about them
• analyze them

Every day! That's how you start.

Proverbs 16:1: "The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, are from the LORD"—telling us:

• how to think
• how to speak
• you can understand

God has given it to you!

Here's the catch. If you don't have God's way, this is what happens:

Verse 2: "All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the spirits."

In other words, doesn't matter what you think if it's against God or against His Laws! So, here's the answer.:

Verse 3: "Commit your works unto the LORD…"

Notice all of you who out there have emotional problems or you know people that have emotional and mental problems, maybe you can help them with this:

Verse 3: "Commit your works… [whatever you do] …unto the LORD… [and notice what happens]: …and your thoughts shall be established."  

In other words, all these emotional ups and downs and things like this that come around, that tear you apart! You don't know what to do, where to go or how to do it.

• come to God
• repent of your sins
• guard the door of your mind

and God will intervene and help you come to sound-mindedness! Isn't that what God wants? Yes!

Verse 4: "The LORD has made all for His own purpose… [God is all things to everything] …yea, even the wicked for the day of evil."

Why does God have that happen? So that those who are righteous are either:

• going to help take care of it and get rid of it

or

• they're going to repent and come to God

or

• the wicked are going to take them down

Verse 5: "Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD; though joined hand in hand, he shall not be unpunished."

Now, he's going to be punished for his own sins. Here's repentance right here; New Testament right here:

Verse 6: "By mercy and Truth iniquity is purged…"

You get the sin out of your mind, out of your heart, and put in there:

• God's love
• God's Truth
• God's Commandments
• God's judgment
• God's way

"…and by the fear of the LORD men turn away from evil…. [here's how to fight your enemies]: …When a man's ways please the LORD, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him" (vs 6-7).

That's quite a thing! God can fight the battles of the world for you!

We will see how absolutely compatible that all the things in the Bible are, Old Testament and New Testament. It's quite a thing.

Paul shows that in this world, living in this world where there's evil on every hand, that there's warfare going on. We see it in society all around us. We've seen it in the Church, too!

2-Cor. 10:3—Paul says, and let's see how this absolutely agrees with everything that we read in the Old Testament, so far.

2-Corinthians 10:3[transcriber's correction]: "For although we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh."

Now war is overcoming! We have to overcome the thoughts, we have to expel them from us. We have to get rid of them out of there and put in the words of God.

Verse 4: "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal..."

Psychology is not going to work. The ways of man, if they're not in harmony with God, will not work!

Verse 4: "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the overthrowing of strongholds." This ties in with guard the door of your mind!

Verse 5: "Casting down vain imaginations… [all of the that's in the brain, you cast that down, get rid of it] …and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God..." What is the knowledge of God?

• what He's written down
• what's in the Bible

The carnal mind is hostile against God, not subject to the Law of God, neither indeed can be.' And like Paul wrote in Rom. 7, we have to fight against human nature! Here's how you do it. he Proverbs help, but here's what it amounts to:

Verse 5: "Casting down vain imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God , and bringing… [self-control led by the Holy Spirit of God] …into captivity…"

In other words, controlling your mind. Every thought!

Now that's a tall order, and this is something that we all need to pray about. I do every day, because as long as we're in the world, and the world is the way that it is, and Satan is the way that it is, guess what? We're in a battle!

"…bringing into captivity every thought into the obedience of Christ" (v 5).

Isn't that what we just read back in Pro. 16? Commit your ways unto the Lord, and your thoughts shall be established! This tells us how. Living in this world, that's just the way it is today!

Verse 6: "And having a readiness to avenge all disobedience, whenever your obedience has been fulfilled."

Prov. 12—this is quite a Proverb. This tells you the things of:

• right and wrong
• good and evil
• how to bring every thought into captivity to Christ

Proverbs 12:1: "Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid."

We have to be corrected, and the best correction is self-control. You correct yourself, you correct your thought, you get the right facts. If you don't have the facts, then find them. If you can't find them, well then you put the silliness away from you.

Verse 2: "The good man receives grace from the LORD, but He will condemn a man of wicked devices."

• right/wrong
• good/evil
• law-abiding/lawlessness

Verse 3: "A man shall not be established by wickedness…"

That's why you have to know the Laws and Commandments of God. That's why you have to know the Word of God in the New Testament. It isn't going to be done by wickedness. When we get into Rev. 2 & 3, I hope to get there next week.

• What affects the Church? Wicked men come in and take over!
• What do they do? They cast out the Laws of God and they substitute their own!

That, in a phrase, is all the religions of the world!

Verse 4: "A woman of virtue is a crown to her husband, but she who causes shame is like rottenness in his bones"—upset marriages!

Verse 5: "The thoughts of the righteous are right…"

What did we read back in 2-Cor. 10? Bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ!

Verse 5: "The thoughts of the righteous are right; the counsels of the wicked are deceit."

And that's what's wrong with the Democrat party today. They're running around:

• What did we do wrong? What you did wrong was all the lies that you perpetrated!
• Why can't you solve it? Because you want to solve it with more lies!
• Will it work? Well, for those that are deceived, they'll go out and riot for you! Amazing thing!

Verse 6: "The words of the wicked are to lie in wait for blood, but the mouth of the upright shall deliver them"—that is out of their hands!

Verse 17: "He who speaks truth shows forth righteousness, but a false witness deceit."

• Where does it start? In the pulpit!
• Where does it go? Into the society!
• Where does it go? Into the wrong laws that people enact!

Look at the states like California that have so many terrible laws that you can't do anything. They probably, with all the burnout down in Southern California, have issued no more than a dozen building permits because everybody's got to be approved by this agency and that agency and the other agency in the stupidity of men! 

Verse 18: "There are those who speak like the piercings of a sword, but the tongue of the wise heals. The lips of truth shall be established forever, but a lying tongue is but for a moment" (vs 18-19).

Proverbs 23:4: "Do not weary yourself to be rich; cease from your own wisdom."  

Proverbs 14:12: "There is a way, which seems right to a man… [man, woman, child] …but the end thereof is the way of death."

Proverbs 23:5: "When your eyes look upon it, it is gone! For surely riches make wings for themselves, and they fly into heaven like an eagle."

That talking about inflation. Have we seen that? Can you imagine that the Bible talks about the thing of inflation, which is one of the biggest things that we've had to face? How did you feel when you walked into the store and now a dozen eggs is over five bucks? Some of the specialty, you know, more natural eggs got up to seven dollars a dozen.

Riches fly away! There it goes. Where did your money go?

All right, so this is, I've gone on long enough more today, so I better not go on any further, but that's the way that the Word of God is. It is:

• so rich
• so powerful
• so good

This is why we need to study and pray and grow and overcome. We're here for eternal life! We're here to let God:

• lead us
• guide us
• direct us
• mold us
• help us

We can help others. God is not done. God has a lot to do. We don't know what part we'll have in it, but whatever part we have in it, we need to be prepared and ready to do what God wants!

Scriptural References:

• Deuteronomy 6:1-9
• Matthew 22:36-39
• Hebrews 10:15-17
• Hebrews 4:12-13
• Matthew 6:6-13
• Revelation 12:9
• Matthew 6:13
• Hebrews 4:4-11
• Psalm 119:30
• Deuteronomy 30:10-19
• Matthew 5:17-18
• Deuteronomy 30:19-20
• Proverbs 2:1-16, 20-22
• Proverbs 3:1-8
• Proverbs 4:7, 13-23
• Proverbs 16:1-7
• 2-Corinthians 10:3-6
• Proverbs 12:1-6, 17-19
• Proverbs 23:4
• Proverbs 14:12
• Proverbs 23:5

Scriptures referenced, not quoted:

• Deuteronomy 5
• Revelation 21; 22
• 2-Peter 1
• Galatians 5
• Revelation 2; 3
• Ephesians 2
• Romans 7
• Acts 2
• Proverbs 1
• Revelation 20
• Isaiah 55

Also referenced: Message: God Hates Religion

FRC:bo/po
Transcribed: 6/11/25

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