Welcome Back And Shout Out

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Well, thank you for coming back. Now, before we get into chapter six, this is going to be a real good one if you can pull out what I'm saying, especially in the middle part. I really enjoyed what the Lord showed me on this. But before we take off on it, I want to do a quick shout out to Caroline from the Netherlands. How cool this is where you can do something in Florida and people halfway around the world can hear you. So welcome, Caroline. All right, let's get into it. Chapter six of Proverbs Starting off in verse one. My son, if you have become surety for your neighbor, have given a pledge for a stranger, if you have been snared with the words of your mouth, have been caught with the words of your mouth, do this then, my son, and deliver yourself, since you have come to the hand of your neighbor. Go humble yourself and opportune your neighbor. Give no sleep to your eyes, nor slumber to your eyelids. Deliver yourself like a gazelle from the hunter's hand and like a bird from the hand of a fowler. That was Proverbs six, verse one through five. And what he's saying here is not that you're not supposed to ever get a mortgage or a loan. No. He's talking about if you become what we call in today's world a cosigner. It's not a good thing for you personally, because the person you're cosigning for doesn't have the depth or the care that you do to repay the loan. When times get tough, they will stop paying, and then it's on you 100% to pick it up. In fact, the person giving the loan looks more at you, the cosigner, than the actual one they're giving the loan to. Now, I understand if you have children and they need to get their first place on their own and they have no credit history, you're going to need to co-sign for them. Because these large apartment complexes and automobiles, they know it's kind of a risk, so they're going to make sure you co-sign for it. And that's understandable. But let me give you some friendly advice to keep peace in the family. You need to realize that you're taking the responsibility. So go ahead and settle it in your heart that if things hit the fan, you're going to be on the hook for it. I mean, just realize that. Because you and I were once pretty young and life can get tough and things can happen. So just settle it in your heart that if it all goes to pot, that's just part of life, and you'll pick it up from there. It takes a lot longer than just 18 years to get your act together in this world. So you got to be there and nurture them. Just realize nothing works out perfectly smooth in this life. You and I have fallen in the past too, and that's why we're here to help pick them up and show them a Christ-like father and mother figure without condemnation. But outside of that, I really agree with Proverbs. It was serious enough for King David to tell Solomon and for Solomon to remember it strongly and write it down for us strongly emphasizing do not cosign. Do not make a promise for somebody else, because we're all very weak and shallow. And when things get hard and there's an easy escape hatch, we'll take it. So save yourself the heartache, save yourself from laboring for another person. Okay, now before we get into verse six through eleven of Proverbs, I need to give you a backdrop so you can understand what Solomon is going to be saying and or pointing out to us in verse six through eleven. And the word we need to expand on is the word diligence. Now the Webster Dictionary defines the word diligence as the steady, earnest, and energetic effort to accomplish a task through the persistent, painstaking, and careful action. It goes beyond just working hard and studying a mindset of accountability, foresight, and thoroughness. Sounds simple, right? But here's the truth they don't tell you on the YouTube channels. Diligence is a learned strength, in fact is part of your spiritual makeup. You see, these guys on TikTok talk about the grind, waking up at four AM and working until midnight, and then we all get fired up by their twenty dollar book. And then last maybe three days, maybe two weeks if we're tough, then we crash. Why? Because we tried to buy the result without building the muscle. We have not yet built the internal strength to break through the pressure, so the pressure broke us. We must learn how to stand when this weight of pressure gets heavy. Now listen close because the devil has pulled a fast one on you and I. He's convinced us that anytime we feel pressure, that it is a medical emergency, that something is not correct, that we must avoid it at all costs. He's got us calling this feeling of pressure as you're moving forward in life. He's got us calling them names like stress, anxiety, and care. He wants you and I to think that feeling that weight is abnormal. But the Bible says the exact opposite. Jesus called these the gates of hell. He told us that the storms will come. They come for the man who builds on the sand and the storm comes for the man who builds on the rock. Now here is a quick side note for you. You want a guarantee from the Bible? Well here's the guarantee. Jesus said that the storm is going to come. That pressure you feel when you're moving forward, that's the gates of hell you are feeling. Jesus talked about how they are a defense. The literal satanic forces are trying to stop you. When you feel that pressure, it's not a sign to go take a pill and hide in your shell. It's a sign that you're finally hitting the enemy's front door. Everybody feels the same pressure, but not everybody finishes the same way. You're going to end up with one of three ways in this life. Number one, let's call this person the commoner. This person feels the pressure, calls it stress, and does everything they can to get away from it. And behaving in this way ends them going back to let's say the eight to five job and complaining about how the system is rigged. Well the system is not rigged. The problem, honestly, is you. You didn't strengthen the inner man, so you stayed small. I know this sounds harsh, but I'm trying to teach you like I did my children. So please take this in love as someone caring for you and trying to help. Now the second person, let's call this the honory grinder. This person was raised tough, so they fight. They use their own grit to smash these gates. But because they did it in their own flesh, they ended up successful, but a successful old, mean, honory person, and they hate everybody because they think they're the only ones who work for everything. And they plan on keeping it no matter what the cost. Now let's talk about the final person. I'll call this one the warrior in Christ. Now they have the same pressure as the other two, but they have a secret weapon. They have the dunamous power of God, that dynamic, explosive strength in the word that comes from God Himself. When his mind wants to quit and the flesh wants to lay down in the fetal position, the Spirit of God and his word inside him says, Come on, get back up, you can do it. And here's something I want you to realize is that even though the Christian warrior falls, gets tired, takes a break from all this pressure, the secret weapon is the word of God inside him encourages him to get back up. You hear his voice whispering to you, Come on, you can do it. That's why the scripture says how the righteous man may fall seven times. And now righteousness is something that's put on you from God. When you believe him, like Abraham believed God, God accounts this to you as righteousness. When you hear his word and believe him, you're one of the righteous men. So his word encourages to get back up and get going. So don't get down on yourself when the pressure gets heavy, because let me tell you, it gets really heavy, and you quit and you stumble and you say to yourself, I'm done, I can't take this anymore. But then a few days later, your mind's rested, your flesh has calmed down, and the Spirit of God inside you says, You know, my word won't fail. Come on, let's go at it again. And then you do, and one thing is guaranteed is that God Himself said his word will not return to him void, but it will accomplish what he sent it to. That word I'm talking about here, the words he put inside you, when you hear his voice and you believe, God counts it as righteousness, and he will accomplish what he sent his word to do inside of you. And the gates of hell will not stop his word or stop you from performing it. Now here's a problem I see in so many believers who are against, I don't know, let's say prosperity. They don't actually know God. They are with the understanding that if they can't find a spot in life with no pressure, then they're not in God's will. Again, that's another lie from the devil. God didn't create you to be a lawn ornament in a field of lilies, he created you to be a soldier. He'll give you an idea that makes you successful, but then you have to deal with the workers and the problems that come with it. The Bible says where no oxen are, the crib is clean, but much increase comes by the strength of the ox. You want the increase, you better be ready for the mess, and the pressure that comes with the oxen. If you want an easy life with no pressure, you'll stay poor and stagnant. Diligence is a spiritual gift. It is the hand of the diligent that makes rich, and when that word is inside you, it won't return void. So if you're fainting now, remember, if thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small. Don't ask for less pressure, ask for more word. Strengthen that inner man, because when you've done all you can do, you don't quit, you just stand. Talking about be a little heavy on what I'm saying, look what David said to Solomon when David was on his deathbed. David goes on to say, I go the way of the earth, be thou strong, therefore, and show thyself a man. That's David basically saying, Son, I'm about to die. Now it's your turn. Stand up, be strong, act like a man of God. And then after that David continued and said, And keep the charge of the Lord thy God to walk in his ways, that thou may prosper in all that thou doest. So I'm encouraging you, as we get back into Proverbs chapter six, verse six through eleven, I want you to understand this so you can have a better insight to what Psalm is trying to tell us. And lastly, let me end with Ecclesiastes eleven. When good things increase, those who consume them increase. So what is the advantage of their owners except to look on them? Now it's not saying it's wrong to enjoy what you have worked for, but that diligence of that person has grown so large that they are now providing for others. Look, you go around any rich neighborhood, and you look at the beautiful homes, the manicure lawns, everything is perfect because that man or woman who lives in this neighborhood has a strong spirit of diligence. They are overseeing everything. They are dealing with all kinds of people to make sure everything is perfect. His household is like that, his business is like that. Everything under his control he keeps a diligent eye on. Now go into a bore neighborhood. Look how the grass is overgrown. There's junk everywhere, shutters are falling down. It's not because they have no money to throw at it. That's a lie of the devil. It's because you can tell if a person has diligence or doesn't. Solomon said he walked by the house of a person that had his fence down and a trash yard and everything overgrown. And looking at this he got some wisdom. He said to himself, or he put it in scripture, a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands, and poverty comes upon you. So let's get rid of the fantasy that the devil has put on us, that in this life we will find a spot where we can just sit back and relax and have no pressure. It's not true. So you either get the word of God and break through, or you let the pressure break you, and you just turn into someone who's bitter at the world. But here's the thing. You and I live in America, the land of the free. The only thing keeping us in slavery now is ourselves. We don't have a dictator, but we have the freedom to choose. So realize that when you feel this pressure, you're going in the right direction. I know it's hard and it hurts, trust me. You and I have to deal with it every day. We all do. And what I'm saying to you is that it's a spiritual force. I don't like it one bit either. I have my escapes. I do everything I can to break through these pressures, and then when I can't take any more, I might do something like hop on my boat and go fishing. To escape the one kind of pressure that it's getting too much. But then I get the pressure of having to fill the boat up with gas, and then I get the pressure to keep the maintenance up on it, and then I get the pressure of thinking the price of me going out that day for fishing. Heck, I could eat for a month at a fancy restaurant. Do you see what I'm saying? It's always there, bombarding you, no matter what you are or what you're doing in life. Okay, with that, let us get into Proverbs chapter six, verse six through eleven. Go to the ant, O sluggard, observe her ways, and be wise, which having no chief, officer, or ruler, prepares her food in the summer, and gathers her provisions in the harvest. How long will you lie down, O sluggard? When will you rise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and your poverty will come in like a vagabond, and your need like an arm man. Do you see that Solomon is saying, Look at an ant? He doesn't even have a master, doesn't have a boss, and yet he gets up and with his own will and desire goes forth to gather what it needs to accomplish what's before him. It doesn't matter what the circumstances are, rain, wind, dryness, he just gets up and goes. And what Solomon is saying is if an ant, which is nothing compared to a human, is able to do this, how much more should we? Actually we should do a lot more. The difference is because there's a devil out there with a gate of hell called pressure that he puts in front of you as you go forward, and if you're not strong in Christ, you'll crumble. So in conclusion of today's podcast, I just want you to remember that the pressures you are feeling does not equal stress or anxiety. It equals or means that we are spiritual beings and we are always in a fight against the rulers of darkness in this world. So thank you again for listening. As I close out today, I just want to say you all have a blessed, wonderful day, and stay tuned to hear the final remarks about the book I wrote that'll teach you how to hear his voice, and why I recommend it because it'll save you a ton of time. Before we close, I just want to mention that if today's teaching resonated with you and you'd like to go deeper in learning how to recognize God's voice in everyday life. I've written a book called God, Why Won't You Talk to Me, written by Edward L. Carpenter. It's available on Amazon and it's very practical, no hype and no theory, just real everyday tools to help you understand how God speaks and how to respond with clarity and peace. Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible.