Welcome to Wisdom Today with Bill Kelley. Today we will be going over Proverb 1. I will then key in on verse 10 - My son, if sinners entice you, Do not consent. Friends, prior to being saved I may have been enticed by this invitation - but, no more! Now that I am living the Christian life things that used to tempt me no longer do. My invitation is to simply live a righteous life. On today's podcast we will continue our study on the Gospel according to Luke. Today we will begin in Chapter 5, verse 11 & continue through verse 26. By the end of today's lesson there are three things that I ask that you consider:
1. They forsook all and followed Him.
2. Jesus heals a leper.
3. Jesus forgives and heals a paralytic.
Call to Action - Imagine what it must have been like to see this paralytic man healed. His friends brought him with anticipation of having him healed, but there was a large crown. They couldn't, it appeared, get anywhere near Jesus. So they went up on the roof, and took off the tiles and lowered him directly in front of Jesus.
[00:00:06] Welcome to Wisdom Today. My name is Bill Kelley and I'll be your host. In this podcast, we will be exploring the book of Proverbs.
[00:00:15] And prayer. Father God, I thank you for anyone listening to this podcast today. Lord, I pray that you give everyone ears to hear and a heart to receive everything you have in store for them today.
[00:00:34] I ask this in Jesus' name, amen. This is Proverbs 1 beginning in verse 1.
[00:00:42] The Proverbs of Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel.
[00:00:48] To know wisdom and instruction. To perceive the words of understanding. To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, judgment and equity.
[00:00:59] To give prudence to the simple. To the young man, knowledge and discretion.
[00:01:05] A wise man will hear and increase learning. And a man of understanding will attain wise counsel.
[00:01:15] To understand a proverb and an enigma. The words of the wise and their riddles.
[00:01:22] The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
[00:01:30] My son, hear the instruction of your father and do not forsake the law of your mother, for they will be a graceful ornament on your head and chains about your neck.
[00:01:44] My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent. If they say, come with us, let us lie in wait to shed blood.
[00:01:54] Let us lurk secretly for the innocent without cause. Let us swallow them alive like she'll and whole like those who go down to the pit.
[00:02:07] We shall find all kinds of precious possessions. We shall fill our houses with spoil.
[00:02:14] Cast in your lot among us. Let us all have one purse.
[00:02:20] My son, do not walk in the way with them. Keep your foot from their path, for their feet run to evil and they make haste to shed blood.
[00:02:33] Surely in vain the net is spread, in the sight of any bird. But they lie in wait for their own blood. They lurk secretly for their own lives.
[00:02:46] So are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain. It takes away the life of its owners.
[00:02:55] Wisdom calls aloud outside. She raises her voice in the open squares. She cries out in the chief concourses.
[00:03:06] At the openings of the gates in the city, she speaks her words.
[00:03:11] How long you simple ones will you love simplicity? For scorners delight in their scorning and fools hate knowledge.
[00:03:23] Turn at my rebuke. Surely I will pour out my spirit on you. I will make my words known to you.
[00:03:33] Because I have called and you refused, I have stretched out my hand and no one regarded.
[00:03:41] Because you disdained all my counsel and would have none of my rebuke. I also will laugh at your calamity.
[00:03:50] I will mock when your terror comes, when your terror comes like a storm, and your destruction comes like a whirlwind.
[00:04:02] When distress and anguish come upon you, then they will call on me but I will not answer.
[00:04:10] They will seek me diligently but they will not find me because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord.
[00:04:20] They would have none of my counsel and despised my every rebuke.
[00:04:27] Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way and be filled to the full with their own fancies.
[00:04:36] For the turning away of the simple will slay them and the complacency of fools will destroy them.
[00:04:44] But whoever listens to me will dwell safely and will be secure without fear of evil.
[00:04:54] Friends, today I'd like to take a closer look at verse 10.
[00:04:59] And Proverb 1 verse 10 says this,
[00:05:03] My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent.
[00:05:09] Friends, we will take a closer look at that verse prior to closing today.
[00:05:15] But what I'd like to do right now is to continue in our study of the Gospel according to Luke.
[00:05:24] And on Monday's podcast we left off in chapter 5 verse 10.
[00:05:31] So we're going to pick up in chapter 5 beginning in verse 11.
[00:05:39] So when they had brought their boats to land, they foresook all and followed him.
[00:05:47] So friends my very first point today is the disciples foresook all and followed Jesus.
[00:05:56] Now friends, their life radically changed from this moment on.
[00:06:02] They used to be fishermen. Peter was a fisherman, that's all he knew.
[00:06:08] That is what he had done his entire life.
[00:06:11] But now Jesus tells them that they are going to be fishers of men.
[00:06:17] And over the rest of this Gospel there is no indication that any of the disciples had a job other than following Jesus.
[00:06:28] So this happened for over three years. It was a journey that was about to begin.
[00:06:36] Let's go to verse 12.
[00:06:58] Then he put out his hand and touched him saying,
[00:07:02] I am willing, be cleansed.
[00:07:05] Immediately the leprosy left him and he charged him to tell no one.
[00:07:13] But go and show yourself to the priest and make an offering for your cleansing as a testimony to them.
[00:07:24] Just as Moses commanded.
[00:07:27] Friends the second point I'd like to bring up today is that Jesus heals a leper.
[00:07:33] Now friends lepers at that time were considered outcasts.
[00:07:38] And they basically had to live separate lives from the majority of the people.
[00:07:46] A lot of times they had colonies just for these lepers.
[00:07:52] But they had to identify themselves as being unclean.
[00:07:59] They were not allowed to be close to regular people.
[00:08:04] So when this leper took the chance and asked Jesus if he would heal him,
[00:08:12] he was really taking a risk.
[00:08:15] But immediately when Jesus touched him, he became clean.
[00:08:22] So Jesus' instruction was to go and show yourself to the priest.
[00:08:30] Now friends I am reading out of the Nelson study Bible and I'd like to read the commentary for verse 14.
[00:08:37] It says Jesus commanded that the regulation found in Leviticus 14 be followed.
[00:08:45] In silencing the healed leper, Jesus sought to avoid drawing excessive attention to his healing ministry.
[00:08:57] He wanted people to seek him for spiritual healing, not merely physical healing.
[00:09:06] The leper's testimony was to God's faithfulness and his exercise of power through Jesus.
[00:09:14] Let's go to verse 15.
[00:09:16] However, the report went around concerning him all the more.
[00:09:22] And great multitudes came together to hear and to be healed by him of their infirmities.
[00:09:31] So he himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.
[00:09:37] Now friends I want to bring up a couple points here.
[00:09:40] Now we are only in the fifth chapter of Luke,
[00:09:45] and yet Jesus has already spoken to a fever and shown that we can speak to our bodies and be healed.
[00:09:55] He has already shown his healing power.
[00:09:59] Friends the Bible tells us that we are or we can do even greater things than Jesus did when he was on earth.
[00:10:09] And many people really, really struggle with that concept.
[00:10:13] But what I invite you to remember is that Jesus came to earth basically fully as man.
[00:10:22] And the majority of time he acted just as though he were a regular man on earth.
[00:10:30] So when he did these things it was because the Holy Spirit had come in and dwelt inside of Jesus.
[00:10:41] But friends we have that same Holy Spirit living on the inside of us today.
[00:10:49] So even though Jesus told this leper go and tell no one.
[00:10:55] Friends if you were healed would you not tell anyone?
[00:11:03] I venture to say that you probably would be eager to share the fact that you were healed.
[00:11:10] And I encourage you to do that if that were to happen to you today.
[00:11:15] We are to talk about the goodness and faithfulness of God.
[00:11:20] Whenever something good happens in our life we should be willing and happy to share that testimony with people.
[00:11:31] Let's go on to verse 17.
[00:11:35] Now what happened on a certain day as he was teaching that there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by
[00:11:44] who had come out of every town of Galilee, Judea and Jerusalem.
[00:11:51] And the power of the Lord was present to heal them.
[00:11:56] Then behold men brought on a bed a man who was paralyzed whom they sought to bring in and lay before him.
[00:12:07] And when they could not find how they might bring him in because of the crowd
[00:12:14] they went up on the housetop and let him down with his bed through the tiling into the midst before Jesus.
[00:12:26] When he saw their faith he said to them,
[00:12:30] Man your sins are forgiven you.
[00:12:34] And the scribes and Pharisees began to reason saying
[00:12:39] Who is this who speaks blasphemies?
[00:12:43] Who can forgive sins the God alone?
[00:12:47] But when Jesus perceived their thoughts he answered and said to them
[00:12:53] Why are you reasoning in your hearts?
[00:12:57] Which is easier to say?
[00:12:59] Your sins are forgiven you or to say rise up and walk.
[00:13:06] But that you may know that the Son of man has power on earth to forgive sins.
[00:13:12] He said to the man who was paralyzed I say to you arise take up your bed and go to your house.
[00:13:24] Immediately he rose up before them took up what he had been lying on
[00:13:31] and departed to his own house glorifying God.
[00:13:37] Friends my third and final point today is that Jesus forgives and heals a paralytic.
[00:13:45] Now what I'd like to do is go over just a couple of commentaries.
[00:13:50] Let's look at verse 22.
[00:13:52] Perceived their thoughts.
[00:13:55] The reference here is to prophetic insight.
[00:13:59] Since the leaders thoughts had not been spoken Jesus knew what was in man.
[00:14:07] And that is one thing that Jesus had the ability to do.
[00:14:13] He could look inside of people and figure out what it was that they were thinking.
[00:14:19] That is what a prophet does.
[00:14:23] He just senses those things and that's either a word of knowledge or a word of wisdom.
[00:14:30] Let's look at verse 23.
[00:14:33] Jesus posed a riddle to his audience.
[00:14:37] From an external point of view it would seem easier to declare sins forgiven
[00:14:44] than to actually heal a person.
[00:14:47] In reality however one has to possess more authority to forgive sin.
[00:14:54] Jesus linked the healing to what it represented, the forgiveness of sin.
[00:15:02] Jesus forgave the man's sins and healed him at the same time.
[00:15:09] To Jesus the both were connected.
[00:15:14] The sin and the healing were like molded together.
[00:15:20] If he could forgive their sins then the healing would come basically as a course of that idea.
[00:15:33] And friends, a lot of times leprosy, a lot of people looked upon these lepers
[00:15:40] simply because they felt those people had basically been bad
[00:15:47] and had done something in their life to cause them to have leprosy.
[00:15:53] That is what many people thought at that time.
[00:15:57] Let's look at verse 24 and the term son of man.
[00:16:04] Is an Aramaic idiom that refers to a human being, meaning someone or I.
[00:16:15] Jesus used this idiom as a title.
[00:16:20] In the book of Daniel the phrase son of man describes a figure
[00:16:25] who shares the authority with the ancient of days or God.
[00:16:30] Let's go to verse 26.
[00:16:32] And they were all amazed and they glorified God and were filled with fear saying,
[00:16:41] We have seen strange things today.
[00:16:46] Friends we will pick up here tomorrow but before we close today
[00:16:50] I'd like to go back to our Proverb of the day
[00:16:53] and we are in a new month so we are in Proverb 1 and verse 10 says,
[00:17:00] My son if sinners entice you do not consent.
[00:17:06] Now friends I'm not sure if everyone listening today has been saved
[00:17:12] and has received Jesus as their Lord and Savior
[00:17:16] but there was a time when I may have been enticed by sinners.
[00:17:22] There is a verse in Proverb that says,
[00:17:25] The fear of man brings a snare.
[00:17:30] And friends I like many people used to give in to the crowd
[00:17:37] what all the other people were doing and some time I fell into that temptation
[00:17:43] but now that I have been grounded as a Christian for many years
[00:17:50] I no longer am enticed by sin.
[00:17:53] It simply doesn't entice me anymore.
[00:17:56] I like to do the right thing.
[00:17:59] I no longer like to do things that either I shouldn't do or are against the law.
[00:18:07] Friends my call to action today is what I'd like to do
[00:18:10] is to ask you to simply imagine what it must have been like in chapter 5 of Luke.
[00:18:19] When first of all he heals the leper
[00:18:24] and then he heals this paralytic man who was paralyzed.
[00:18:32] He wasn't able to walk.
[00:18:34] He couldn't move his legs and yet his friends wanted to see him healed.
[00:18:41] They wanted to bring him to Jesus
[00:18:44] but when they got there this huge crowd was in the way
[00:18:49] and they didn't see any way they could get anywhere near Jesus.
[00:18:53] So they accepted that as a challenge
[00:18:57] and literally went up on the top of the roof
[00:19:02] and took off the tiles of the roof
[00:19:07] and lowered this man in front of Jesus.
[00:19:13] Imagine what that must have been like.
[00:19:18] Friends I will never end a podcast
[00:19:21] without giving anyone an opportunity to receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
[00:19:27] If there is anyone listening today and you've never taken that step
[00:19:31] I invite you to repeat a simple prayer after me today.
[00:19:35] Jesus I confess that I am a sinner and in need of a Savior.
[00:19:41] I ask that you forgive me of all of my sins.
[00:19:45] I ask that you come into my heart.
[00:19:48] I ask that you lead me and guide me from this point forward in my life.
[00:19:53] I make you my Lord and Savior.
[00:19:57] Friends if any of you repeated that prayer
[00:20:00] if you would go on my webpage wisdomtodaybk.com
[00:20:07] there is a contact tab.
[00:20:10] If you would simply click on that contact tab
[00:20:14] enter in your name and your information
[00:20:18] let me know that you said that prayer.
[00:20:21] I'd like to get back with you
[00:20:23] and welcome to the family of God.
[00:20:26] Now may the Lord bless you and keep you.
[00:20:30] The Lord make his day shine upon you
[00:20:33] and be gracious to you.
[00:20:35] The Lord lift up his countenance upon you
[00:20:38] and give you peace.
[00:20:40] Friends please join me again tomorrow
[00:20:43] as we further explore wisdomtoday.