Calvary Chapel Staten Island

Guest (Female): Hello and welcome to God in Our City, the Daily Edition. Your host and Bible teacher is Pastor Dave Watson. Pastor Dave has been the pastor of Calvary Chapel on Staten Island for 35 years. In addition, he is the co-founder and president of the New York Institute for Biblical Studies. To receive a special downloadable gift from Pastor Dave, please go to calvarychapelsi.org/gioc. That's calvarychapelsi.org/gioc. Now, here's Pastor Dave and our show.

Pastor Dave Watson: Hello again, everybody. Welcome to the Daily Edition of God in Our City. I trust you've had a good week. It's Friday, the weekend is upon us. We've studied Proverbs Chapter 7 all week long. We'll bring that study to a conclusion today. I hope it's been a blessing to you.

I hope spending time with us is a blessing to you. Some people have said to me, "It's like a casual conversation." I guess. Sometimes we're a little intense here. We want you to know how important it is to hear what the scriptures say and to obey them. You know, it's interesting the way Jesus frames it. He says, "The person who has my commandments and does them, it is he that loves me. And he'll be loved of the Father and we will come and make our abode with him, we'll make our presence known with him."

So it's just so critical that we both know what the scriptures say and we do them. And that's what we're endeavoring to help you to do. Today, we're going to do even more of that from Proverbs Chapter 7. And I'm aware that surely not everybody likes to dig in deep to what the scripture says, but it's healthy to do it, my brothers and sisters, and just good for you.

And if you haven't already, download our study guides for this lesson. This is our sixth week, Week 6. And we have a study guide for every week. That way, you can not just follow along, but you really are participating. You're remembering. You're reviewing what we're going over.

And then also, it's still not too late to order your Proverbs journal. It has the book of Proverbs on one side, journal space on the other, along with our memory verse pack. Or if you're older and you don't think you can memorize, your memory verse meditation pack. You can meditate on the verses that we're going through. Also, we have a 31-day Proverbs study. Again, you can simply download it. Every one of these resources is free for the asking. If you order the Proverbs journal and memory verse pack, we send it to you. We pay for the shipping and handling.

Where do I get all this stuff? Calvarychapelsi.org/gioc. Calvarychapelsi.org/gioc. I only ask that when you're there, you consider making a donation to God in Our City. Every donation is appreciated. Every donation makes a difference. Every donation goes to keeping us on the air, doing what we're doing for the glory and kingdom of God. It's also tax deductible.

So we've been talking about Proverbs. We've been talking them up. There's no doubt about it. And we've been seeking to push these teachings on Proverbs on you. I make no apology for that. It would be a good thing for you and I to grasp, a good thing for you and I to have a really strong handle on, for our own sake, so that we can be all that God would have us to be. And I just encourage you to review these lessons and do your best to put them into practice. It's an important thing that when we hear the word of God, that we do it, that we become doers of it as well.

So I want to move now again to Proverbs Chapter 7. I'm going to read again in your hearing, 21 through 27. Then we're going to pray and get into our study today. So Proverbs Chapter 7, Verses 21 through 27: "With much seductive speech she persuades him; with her smooth talk she compels him. All at once he follows her, as an ox goes to the slaughter, or as a stag is caught fast till an arrow pierces its liver; as a bird rushes into a snare; he does not know it will cost him his life. And now, O sons, listen to me, and be attentive to the words of my mouth. Let not your heart turn aside to her ways; do not stray into her paths, for many a victim has she laid low, and all her slain are a mighty throng. Her house is the way to Sheol, going down to the chambers of death."

Let's pray. Lord, be our teacher, be our guide. Help us to understand your word today. Help us to put it, Lord, into our hearts, into our lives, into our very beings, God. Help us, Lord, to be not just hearers, but doers of this incredible word that you have given us. Help us, Lord, as if we were children sitting at the table with our Father. Help us, Lord, as if, Lord, we recognized how vulnerable, gullible, and stupid we could be. Help us, Lord, to listen. And then help us to put this all into practice, God. We need you, God. Oh, we need you. We need your help. We pray all this now in Jesus's name. Amen.

Remember, we're talking about resembling the simple person, the person who's, in many ways, a clean slate, but who's not thinking through things. We've talked about that person being gullible. We've talked about that person being vulnerable—vulnerable, gullible, and being now stupid, because I resemble the simple person when I don't perceive the destruction awaiting me.

We talked about that being stupidity. We talked about being oblivious. This person's oblivious to enticement and oblivious to entrapment and oblivious to his end. And we said that it's just very critical that we don't put ourselves in positions where we're going to fall, especially morally. Especially morally. We want to be prudent. So we're attuned to the destruction in these situations, and we're attuned to how bad this could be. And we are not content to be ignorant. We don't want that. We want to learn our lessons in the classroom, not on the hot stove.

Well, before I move to our takeaways, let me just make sure that we understand this. This lesson is entitled "iChoices." "iChoices" because we have choices. We have choices. We are not simply victims, victims of circumstance. We have choices. So you and I, when confronted with sin, can choose not to sin. Did you hear what I said? You and I can choose not to sin. We can choose not to fall. It doesn't have to happen.

So today, as you and I talk about this important topic, just be aware that you have a choice. You have a choice of whether to put yourself in vulnerable situations or not. You have a choice of whether you're going to choose to be gullible or not, or be a gullible person or not. You have a choice. I have a choice whether or not we're going to be stupid or not. We don't have to go down the dumb road. We don't have to be eStupid. We can be iSmart.

It's interesting. In the book of Colossians, when the Apostle Paul addresses the Colossae congregation, after talking to them about seeking Jesus, setting their minds on things above, he says to them in Colossians Chapter 3, Verse 5, "Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these, the wrath of God is coming. In these you once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away." Wow.

So we can be different. We do not have to allow the world to win. Now, perhaps as I talk to you today, you've messed up and your question is very, very, very simple. And that is: Can you recover? Can you recover? Well, I want to be honest with you today. I don't think that you can ever rise as far as you could have risen. You'll never get to the height you could have gotten. But God is not done with you. God is not done with you.

I mean, after David's sin with Bathsheba, did he find success? Yes. Would he have had much more success if he'd never sinned with Bathsheba? Absolutely. Absolutely. Was Samson in his death vindicated? And was Samson in his death successful? Yes, right? He kills more Philistines through his death than he did when he was alive. Yet he could have had so much more if he had not fallen for Delilah.

Psalm 51:1-6 gives us a path forward. It says, "Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart."

See what the author of Psalm 51, David, after his sin with Bathsheba, is telling us. He's asking God for mercy. He's asking God for cleansing. He's recognizing that he's a sinner by nature and by choice. And he's being honest with God. Honest with God. The first step in all this, it seems to me, to you and I, might be honest with God. Us, honest with ourselves.

We're familiar with 1 John 1:9. It says, "But if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." So if I will be honest with God and if I will confess—and confess means to say the same thing, homologeo, to say the same thing—confess our sins, saying the same thing about them as God says about them. He's faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. But it begins with saying the same thing that God says about it.

Maybe you've messed up morally. Maybe you messed up big time morally. Although it doesn't seem like there would be a big time and a little time. It's just bad. What do you do? You get before God honestly, asking for his mercy, asking for his grace, thanking him that Jesus died in your place, and confessing, saying the same thing he says about your sin. It wasn't an indiscretion; it was immorality. It wasn't just a little thing, a little fling; no, it's adultery. Say what God says about it. Say what God says about it. And what is the case then? He's faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Maybe your situation is such that you got involved with someone, it resulted in a divorce from your wife, and you're married to that person that you were involved with now. What do you do? Well, make sure that you and that person admit what you did was wrong. Admit that it was wrong. Confess it to God. Confess it to God. Now, you don't divorce that person now and make it even worse. Simply move forward from here, acknowledging that you both made a mistake. Call it what God calls it and move forward. Have you ever done that?

Proverbs 28:13 says, "Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy." So one of the prerequisites to experiencing mercy is for you to listen to the rebuke of wisdom and turn from your sin. Otherwise, what's going to happen is you're going to get the chastisement of God and you're going to be in a position that's worse than the one you're in now. We don't just simply say, "God, sorry, sorry, sorry, hope I don't do it again." There is a necessity of confession and saying, "God, help me not to do this again. Help me by your grace not to do this again."

And then notice what real repentance looks like. In 2 Corinthians 7:10-11, the author explains to us what real repentance looks like. Paul says, "For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death." So he's saying there is a repentance that comes out of godly grief. We're sorry for our sin. That produces a change of mind that leads to deliverance from what we're in.

And watch what it does: "For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment! At every point you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter." When I have repented genuinely because I've been made sorry by God, what happens? I don't ever want to go back. I don't ever want to be in this situation again. And I do everything to make sure my name is clear. I do everything to make sure there's no doubt that I am in a good spot with God and that you can trust me. That God can trust me.

By the way, if you have been unfaithful, do not expect your spouse to trust you. They absolutely probably did. Forgiveness is an event and a process, but trust is always earned. So if you want them to trust you, earn it. Earn it over a period of time. Not two weeks, not three weeks, not five weeks, not ten weeks—months, years. You inflict such damage upon yourself and the ones you love when you get into an unfaithful situation.

Well, let's look at the takeaways from our lesson. Our lesson that tells us to choose to be people who are not vulnerable, gullible, and stupid. What are our takeaways from this? What does iSmart require? Number one, if I'm going to move on from this, I need to embrace Proverbs. If I'm not going to have this happen to me, I need to embrace Proverbs. Proverbs is written to give prudence to whom? The simple. Proverbs is written to help us to not be simple people. Knowledge and discretion to the youth. So if I want to avoid being simple, I need to say with reference to Proverbs, "Bring it on. Bring it on. I need more of it, not less of it."

Number two, I must receive correction. "A fool despises his father's instruction, but whoever heeds reproof is prudent." What do we want to be: prudent or stupid? Prudent or simple? We want to be prudent. How does being prudent happen? By accident? No. It's someone who hears the instruction, hears the reproof, the rebuke, the correction of someone else. That will enable me to become a prudent person.

And then seek wisdom. "I, wisdom"—we'll see this next week with Proverbs 8:12-13—"I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, and I find knowledge and discretion. The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate." But please see what it's saying to us here. Please note what it's emphasizing to us here. That wisdom and prudence dwell together. They're buddies. If I can become wise, I can become prudent. If I can become wise, I can become a prudent individual. And the prudent individual does not get themselves in a situation where their vulnerability, gullibility, and stupidity are emphasized and exploited.

So I begin all this by embracing Proverbs, and then receiving instruction, being a person who can be yelled at, seeking wisdom, and then devouring the word. "The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple." Do you want to be a simple person? No. How do you get wise if you're simple? The word of the Lord, the law of God, hiding it in your heart, allowing it to change you.

Final thought as we close this. We live in this sensuous world that is always, always trying to trip us up, trying to entice us. And we need to see ourselves as having the potential of being vulnerable, gullible, and stupid. And we need to walk in such a way that we are prudent, seeing the danger ahead of time. Being people who receive instruction from other wise people so that we do not fall, we do not mess up. We're all that God would have us to be.

And if we've messed up, we need to make sure we've gotten right with God. God forgives sinners. God restores sinners. God gives hope to sinners. If you've messed up, there's a God who forgives. All you need to do is come to him honestly. Honestly. Be real with him. Say the same thing about your sin as he says about it. And he will—he will restore you. He will restore you.

Let's take a moment now and pray. Lord, your word is powerful. It's quicker, sharper than any two-edged sword. Please help myself, our listeners, to put it into our lives, Lord. Help us, Lord, to allow you to have your free course in us. Help us to repent of our sins. Having repented of our sins, Lord, please help us to walk differently because we've genuinely repented. And then, Lord, help us to know what your grace and mercy feel like. Help us, God, we pray. Help us, God, we pray. In Jesus's name. Amen.

So it's Friday. Sunday's coming. Where are you going to church? Remember, if you're alone, you're going to mess up. So you need to get yourself into a good Bible-believing church and attend. I don't mean attend virtually. If that's the only thing you can do, I understand. But most of us can do far better. So please find yourself a good local church in your area. Get involved there. Get involved in that church. What if you live in this area and you don't have a local church? Come by Calvary Chapel. Sundays, 8:30, 11:15, 10:00 discipleship hour. We would love to have you. Spanish Bible study at 1:15. It will be a blessing to you. Calvarychapelsi.org. Thanks for joining us this week. Please be sure to join again next week for another edition of the Daily Edition of God in Our City. God bless you. See you next week.

Guest (Female): Thanks for listening to God in Our City with your host Pastor Dave Watson. We hope the show was a blessing to you. Again, to receive a downloadable gift from Pastor Dave, go to calvarychapelsi.org/gioc. That's calvarychapelsi.org/gioc. Please check out Pastor Dave's blog at nycshepherd.com. That's nycshepherd.com. Please invite a friend and join us every weekday for another edition of God in Our City.