Transcription downloaded from https://yetanothersermon.host/_/callanish/sermons/8433/receive-instruction-and-save-your-soul/.

Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions.
Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt.


[0:00] Let us worship God, who will sing to his praise the first psalm.

[0:16] Psalm 1 will sing the whole psalm. That man hath perfect blessedness, who walketh not astray. In counsel of ungodly men nor stands in sinner's way, nor sitteth in the scornish chair, but places his delight upon God's law, and meditates on his law day and night.

[0:40] He shall be like a tree that grows near planted by a river, which in his season yields his fruit, and his leaf fadeth never.

[0:50] And all he doth shall prosper well. The wicked are not so, but like they are unto the chaff which wind drives to and fro.

[1:03] In judgment therefore shall not stand, such as ungodly are. Nor in the assembly of the just shall wicked men appear. For why?

[1:14] The way of godly men unto the Lord is known, whereas the way of wicked men shall quite be overthrown. We'll sing this whole of this psalm to God's praise.

[1:28] That man hath perfect blessedness, who walketh not astray. That man hath perfect blessedness, who walketh not astray.

[1:53] In counsel of ungodly men nor stands in sin.

[2:07] Nor standeth in the scornish chair, nor standeth in the scornish chair.

[2:21] For why? The way of God is not astray. For why? The way of God is not astray. The way of God is not astray.

[2:35] On Saat. For why? That man hath perfected, nor standeth in the scornish chair.

[3:02] Thank you.

[3:18] Thank you. And all he did shall prosper gram Thou grating in our doc' ssok Like life may I will fulfill the john Which wind rise to unholy And judgment therefore shall not stand Such justice brought beyond Nor in the city of the world

[4:21] Away in a fear Far wide away of godly men Until the Lord is known Whereas the way of wicked men Shall find the Lord alone Let us join together in prayer Lord we give thanks for the psalm of the two ways That reminds us of the fact that

[5:22] No matter how this world sees things That there is but two paths And we are found in one or the other One path leads to life everlasting And the other leads to eternal destruction One belongs to the righteous Who have placed their faith in Christ Jesus And the other to the unbeliever Who looks nowhere but to themselves Help us to believe That the God of heaven has Said before us The way of life in Christ And that it is wise for us to take that Kosh which He has appointed

[6:23] That brings blessedness To all who are in it And eternal joy We give thanks that Whatever your word says concerning it That not one person who Embraces it by faith Will ever regret Having taken that Path We pray your blessing upon your word this day So that more and more would be found in it And more and more would realise that Outside of it There is Not only misery in this life But with the prospect Of worse In the life to come We give thanks That you are a God of grace And that you encourage all to come And that you are able to save All who would come

[7:25] Without exception The psalmist of old Composed words that Reminded us that That Power is Your power alone That you have an arm that's full of power And your hand is great in might And your right hand exceedingly exalted Is in height We give thanks that In Christ Jesus The one Who is at your right hand Is one who Who would have us believe That by trusting in him That our eternal Destiny is secure We bring before you Our cares and concerns this day We remember In your presence Many And all of our loved ones Wherever their lot is cast Beginning in the home And going beyond

[8:26] Into the wider world Remember family Remember friends and neighbours Remember work colleagues And All contacts that we may have From day to day We pray for them Thankful that you have Given to us this privilege Bearing one another's burdens Yea Even these burdens That others may not share Some may not Know that they are being Prayed for Some may even Not want to be Prayed for But if you have Given to us that Spirit of prayer Enable us to exercise it And lift our eyes To the heavens And seek Grace for all Who may be in need At this time By way of example We are taught To pray for Our royal family To pray for The governments Of the land

[9:26] To pray for those Who Are put in positions Of power Even though They themselves Might have faith That is Different to ours Or no faith at all We are still required To pray for them And to pray that they may come To faith in Christ And to Exercise A living faith A faith that is strengthened A faith that is reaffirmed A faith that is directed So that it May find them Building upon Foundations that are sure Upon the rock That is higher than Any other rock We pray that you would Bless our nation At this time Of uncertainty Bless Those who govern us As we Are left in the grip

[10:28] Of pandemic Remembering all Who have a role To play With ensuring That The Peace and well-being Of the nation Is maintained That health Would be Pre-eminent In the thinking Not just Physical health And mental health But also Spiritual health Do not allow us To neglect Any Aspect of Who it be We may not Hear much about About the spiritual Side of things And that to our shame But we know That you have Created all men In the image Of the most High God And as such You are made As spiritual beings Body and soul You have created us Neglect our soul And we do damage Not just to our Existence in the world

[11:29] But also With regard to Our eternal destiny So we remember Before you All who are in need This day Remembering those Who have succumbed To the virus Those who have been Hospitalised Those who are Caring for them Within these places Doctors and nurses And all kinds of Carers In whatever role They fulfil May they be kept By you The God Who is able To exercise care In a way That no other can Encircle them With the everlasting arms Sustain them And build them up In their Own lives And especially By opening their eyes To see The marvels Of Of the goodness And the grace Of God Remember the nations Of the earth And we bring Before you Various places That are at war Where there are Civil wars Where there are wars

[12:29] Between nations Where the aftermath Of that results In In abject poverty And The Temporal needs Of those Who have Suffered neglect Being So apparent Especially amongst The young and the old So we pray for mercy And pray for goodness And grace To be imparted To them By the means That you have ordained Remember the preaching Of the word And we pray That you have Shown that By sending some To take that word To others That you have not Turned your back Upon us as a world But that you are Willing that all Who would turn To Christ Would experience The salvation Of their soul We pray now That your blessing Would be upon Your word That which we read And that which we reflect Upon Grant to us An understanding Heart Cleansing from sin Forgiveness

[13:30] In Jesus The Redeemer's name We ask all things Amen We're going to read From the Old Testament Scriptures From the book of Proverbs And reading from Chapter 15 We can read The whole chapter Proverbs Chapter 15 A soft answer Turneth away wrath But grievous words Stir up anger The tongue of the wise Uses knowledge A right But the mouth of fools Poures out foolishness The eyes of the Lord Are in every place Beholding the evil And the good The wholesome tongue Is a tree of life But perverseness Therein Is a bridge In the spirit A fool Despiseth his father's Instruction But he that regardeth Reproof is prudent In the house Of the righteous Is much treasure

[14:30] But in the revenues Of the wicked Is trouble The lips of the wise Disperse knowledge But the heart Of the foolish Doeth not so The sacrifice Of the wicked Is an abomination To the Lord But the prayer Of the upright Is his delight The way of the wicked Is an abomination To the Lord But he loveth him That followeth After righteousness Correction Is grievous And to him That forsaketh The way And he that Hateth reproof Shall die Hell and destruction Are before the Lord How much more Than the hearts Of the children Of men A scorner Loveth not One that Reproves him Neither Will he Go Unto the wise And many Heart Maketh a cheerful

[15:31] Countenance But by sorrow Of the heart The spirit Is broken The heart Of him That hath Hath Understanding Seeketh knowledge But the mouth Of fools Feedeth On foolishness All the days Of the afflicted Are evil But he that Is of a merry Heart Hath a continual Feast Better is a little With the fear Of the Lord Than great Treasure And trouble Therewith Better is a Dinner of herbs Where love is Than a stall Dox And hatred Therewith A wrathful The man Stilleth up Strife But he That is Slow to Anger Appeases Little Appeases Strife The way Of the Slothful Man Is as a Hedge Of thorns But the way Of the Righteous Is made

[16:31] Plain A wise Son Makeeth A glad Father But a Foolish Man Despises His Mother Folly Is joy To him That is Destitute Of wisdom But a Man of Understanding Walketh Uprightly Without Counsel Purposes Are Disappointed But in The multitude Of Counselors They are Established A man Hath Joy By the Answer Of his Mouth And a Word Spoken In Due Season How Good Is it The way Of life Is above To the Wise That he May depart From hell Beneath The Lord Will destroy The house Of the Proud But he Will establish The border Of the Widow The thoughts Of the Wicked Are an Abomination To the Lord But the Words Of the Pure Are pleasant Words

[17:31] He That is Greedy Of Gain Treblet His Own House But he That Hateth Gifts Shall Live The Heart Of the Righteous Studieth To Answer But the Mouth Of the Wicked Poureth Out Evil Things The Lord Is Far From The Wicked But he Heareth The Prayer Of the Righteous The Light Of The Eyes Rejoices The Heart And a Good Report Maked The Bones Fat The Ear That Heareth The Proof Of Life Abideth Among The Wise He That Refuses Instruction Despises His Own Soul But he That Heareth Reproof Get His Heareth The Fear The Fear Of The Instruction Of Wisdom And Before Honor His Humility Amen And so on May the Lord At his Blessing To This

[18:32] Reading Of His Word And To His Name Be The Praise And we Turn For a Short While To These Words That We Have In the Chapter That We've Just Read And we Can Focus Our Attention On The Words Of 32 He That Refuseth Instruction Despiseth His Own Soul But he That Heareth Reproof Getteth Understanding I Don't Want My Words To To Be Misinterested Or Give The Impression That I'm Wise In The Face Of The Foolishness Of Others But I Think It Is Evident From The Confusion That Reigns In The Current Crisis That

[19:32] Opinions Banded About Concerning Schools And Colleges Are Indeed Confusion To Many Early On The Decision Was Taken To Close Schools And Colleges Because Of The Wisdom Of The Prevailing Wisdom Of The Time But There Was A Ferroi About The Effect Loss Of Education Was To Have On The Future Of The Young As Well As The Future Of The Nation Now When The Decision Has Been Taken To Revers That And Reopen Educational Institutes Colleges And Schools There Is An Equal Ferroi About The Very Same Places Being A Breeding Ground For The Virus That Is Current Who Of

[20:32] Us Is Able To Say What Is The Right Decision There May Be Things That Are Positive About Doing Either Of These Expert Opinion Is At Odds But Nobody Would Argue That There Is A Real Need For All Young People To Receive An Education An Education That Involves Them In Interaction With Fellow Pupils Because Whether We Give It A Place Or Not Education Also Involves Socialization And Many Other Elements Like Physical Or Recreational And Emotional Activities One Thing I Would Argue Is Overlooked And It's Evident By The Way It Is Underemphecised Is That There Is A Need Also For Moral And Spiritual Content In Our Children's Education At Whatever Stage

[21:32] They Are At Now The Man Of God Does Not Specify This In The Words Of Our Text But In The Encouragement He Gives Through Out The Passage He Sees A Need For Instruction To Be Given And Received There Are Two Main Points That I Would Like Us To Consider And They Are As The Text Presents Them First Of All The Wisdom That There Is In Receiving Instruction And Secondly The Cost Involved When That Instruction Is Refused We Begin With The Wisdom Of Receiving Instruction I'm Sure You've All Heard The Old Adage That You Are Never Too Old To Learn

[22:33] You Begin Your Journey At Your Mother's Knee When You Are Very Young You Imbibe All Kinds Of Teaching Whether You're Aware Of Doing It Or Not I Would Say That You Are A Truly Remarkable Person If You Do Not Continue To Learn All Your Days Sometimes It Will Be New Things Sometimes It Will Be Things That You Need To Re Learn Things That You May Have For For You Often Hear In The Realm Of Sports Particularly Team Sports Like Football Or Rugby If There Is A Bad Result The Coach Will Say We Need To Get Back To Basics Do Do Do The Things We Should Have Done But Did Not In That Case The Coach Intends To Correct Or Address A Failure Before It Can Happen

[23:33] Those Who Have Not Lived Up To Expectation Need To Listen Up And Pay Attention To The Lessons That They Have Been Taught In Order To Not Just Know Them But Put Them Into Practice We Know That Beyond That There Are Life Skills That We Can Easily Follow Through From The Sporting Analogy In The Workplace In The Community But The Reality That We Want Us To Consider In Light Of This Passage Is That What Is Of Most Import Is The Instruction That We Receive That Is Of Eternal Worth Instruction That Has That Concerns Our Soul The Wise Man Is Dealing With Spiritual Learning

[24:33] And He Wants The Reader To Appreciate The Need That There Is To Get To Know God Not Just About God But Having A Personal Intimate Relationship With Him For That To Happen You Need To Hear What God Has To Say You May Want To Speak To Him And That Is Good But Better By Far For Us Is Taking Time To Hear What He Has To Say When He Speaks To Us Primarily He Speaks Through His Word But Also Through The Testimony Of His People Or With The Outworking Of Providence Wherein He Is Lord In Order For That To Happen We Must Have Teachable Spirits Perhaps We See This In The Experience Of The Apostle Peter We We We Refer To

[25:33] In The Lord Jesus Tells The Disciples This Is What Must Happen And Peter Says Not So Lord The Lord Says To Peter This Is What You Are Going To Do Peter And Peter Says Not Me Lord Peter What Kind Of Spirit Is Dominating Your Heart At These Moments Is It A Teachable Spirit You Have To Say No Because Peter You Know Better You Know Better Than The Lord And We Are No Different To Peter By Nature Even When We Are Adopted Into The Family Of God And When We Experience The Tutelage And Teaching Of The Spirit Of God We Often Overlook What He Says Or Choose

[26:33] To Disregard What He Says And Often To Our Cost When We Think About What The Bible Says And What The Bible Does Not See There We We Have Lessons That We Must Take On Board For Example The Most Basic Truth We Are Taught In The Scripture That We Are To Believe In The Lord Jesus Christ In Order To Be Saved The Bible Does Say That To That In Order To Supply Us Excuse Me In Order To Supply Us With Options And Either Are So That Salvation Can Be Gained In Some

[27:33] Other Way No It Is By The Way Of Christ Or Not At All The Scripture Says Believe In Order To Be Saved Because There Is A Need For Salvation There Are Many Things You Can Choose To Do Or Not To Do In Life And This May Be Of Greater Or Lesser Import You May Choose To Buy Or Rent Your Home You May Choose To Marry Or Remain Single You May Choose To Drive A Car Or Choose To Be Driven Whatever Import You Give To These Is Arbitrary But The Wisdom Of God Says Believe In The Lord In Order To Be Saved Choose Not To Believe And You Will Be Damned There Are Many In The World Who Will Voice An Opinion That Dismisses That As Being True Or Of

[28:33] Relevance To Our Generation Or They May Argue That Their Christless Life Is Of Equal Value Or Just As Satisfying What The Bible Says To Us And What I Would Say To You And Any Preacher Of The Gospel Worth The Salt Is That The Bible Is The Word Of God Namely He Speaks Through It And What He Says Contradicts What True Wisdom Would Trust In God More Than They Trust In Those Who Have No Thought Of God If You Read Verse 33 In This Chapter The Final Verse We Are Told The Fear Of The Lord Is The Instruction Of Wisdom And Before Honor Is Humility Instruction Of Wisdom Which Just Describes To Us The Nature Of The Relationship Where

[29:33] We Learn To Respect Him Listen To Him And Do As He Says With The Understanding That When We Do Not Then That Has Consequences Whoever Ignores Or Refuses Instruction We Are Told Despises His Own Soul It's Interesting How People Respond To The Preaching Of The Gospel Many Have A Take It Or Leave It Attitude To It As If It Has Little Effect On Them What They Do But This Passage Is Not Only Encouraging A Teachable Spirit But Also Emphasizing The Need To Put That Teaching Into Practice I Have Too Many Sermon Tasters In My Life To Believe That Every Person Who Sits Through A Sermon Benefits From It In The Way A

[30:34] Sermon Should Benefit Them When Paul And Silas Were On Their Preaching Tour They Went To Various Places And When They Were In Berea We Were Told That The People There Were More Noble Than The People Of Thessalonica What Did Their Nobility Consist Of Well We Are Told That They Received The Word With All Readiness And Searched The Scripture Daily Why Because They Wanted To Assure Themselves That What Paul And Silas Had To Say To Them Was True Then We Are Told That Many Of Them Believed If We Go About Believing That We Know We Know That There Is A Benefit There Is A Blessing There Is An Advantage To Hearing To What God Has To Say Through

[31:34] His Word And Through His People And That There Is A Great Blessing In Doing What That Word Tells Us But We Must Also Believe That If We Think That We Know Better Or That What We Know Better Then That Attitude Carries With It A Cost At The Very Least We Are In The Risk Of Doing Yourself Are Tim Keller Writing I Suppose It's A We Book On The Whole Of The Book Of Proverbs Speaks About The Words Of Verse 32 And He Writes It Is Only Through Deep Reverence To God And His Word And An Openness To Being Instructed

[32:34] That We Get A Proper Sense Of Self And Of Realistic Humility He Says Further Something Very Striking And Perhaps Not Not Every Person Will Agree With It This He Says Reminds Us Also That At The Most Fundamental Level It Is Only Through Repentance The Ultimate Teachability That We Can Be Saved At All At The End Of Every Chapter At Every Portion Of This Book He Has A Prayer And In His Prayer Keller Says Something About The Fear Of Hearing Something I Do Not Want To Hear And Is That Not The Point The Whole Burden Of What This Man Of God Has To Say Throughout This Chapter We Are Confronted With Contrasts

[33:35] We See The Difference Between The Wise And The Foolish The Person Who Speaks Wisdom And Who Disseminates The Wisdom Of God And Those Who Deny The Word Of God And Refuse To Do So And This Is The Essence Of What We Have Here When It Comes To Christ We Are Happy To Hear Nice Things About Him We Are Happy To Believe That He's A Wonderful Passion

[34:43] When Paul the teacher is speaking to Timothy, his son in the faith, he wrote the following, But continue thou in the things which you have learned, and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith, which is in Christ Jesus.

[35:10] All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

[35:27] What Paul is saying is positive. God's word applied properly is to your advantage. We all want to be mollycoddled and pampered, but Paul is saying to Timothy, If you are reproved by it, if you are corrected, so that it will result in a better passion, a wiser passion, then that is what needs to happen.

[35:56] How often do we hear people accuse preachers or teachers or Christians of being holier than thou? Hypocrites, telling people how to live their lives in a particular way.

[36:09] How dare they? Well, I confess that sometimes they may have a point. Some professing Christians can give the impression that they are judgmental and narrow when it comes to others, but they themselves ignore their own failings.

[36:26] That indeed is not how it should be. But if a word of rebuke is offered to you, is your instinct to defend yourself by finding fault with them?

[36:39] You may well succeed in finding any number of these faults, but they in no way cancel out your own. In fact, if the end result is that you ignore what has been identified as a failing in gospel light, you do injury to your soul.

[37:00] Neglect the soul by ignoring instruction, and it will cost you. If you spurn the word of God by self-justification, you do despise to what Christ has done for the salvation of sinners.

[37:14] When John Bunyan was being solely tempted by the devil, when in the throes of conversion, he was constantly humming all kinds of internal battles within his head, one minute he was ready to yield to the gospel, the next minute he was defiantly resisting the truth as having anything to do with him.

[37:39] On one occasion he seemed to hear these words spoken loudly to him. Will you leave your sins and go to heaven? Or will you keep your sins and go to hell?

[37:50] Words that were blunt, but often it boils down to this, whether we are willing to yield to the wisdom of God, or act in defiance of the word of God.

[38:05] The wisdom of God is set before us in his word. Here in this chapter that we read, which is worth reading again, you'll find there, just as we saw in the Psalms, two kinds of people, two kinds of attitude, two kinds of life, lives lived, correction is grievous, and to him that forsaketh the way, and he that hateth reproof shall die.

[38:41] And what we see there is so often the case. Many people were sent out with the gospel many years ago.

[38:55] Indeed, they're still sent out with the gospel, with the great fear that many would enter a lost eternity because they had never heard the gospel. They had never heard of Christ.

[39:07] They had never heard of the invitation to put their trust in such a Christ. That may be the driver for sending many to the four corners of the earth.

[39:20] But the saddest case of all is not so much those who have not heard the gospel, but those who have had the gospel preached to them.

[39:32] Those who have eyewitnessed the effect of the gospel on the lives of some they know in the world, and yet who have gone on and lived their life as if what they saw was of no import to them.

[39:50] The passage here reminds us that we are all in a classroom as long as we live in this world.

[40:02] And in that classroom we're being instructed. And the instruction comes from none other than God himself. And the counsel he gives us in order to be wise is to think of our soul.

[40:16] And the only way we can do so is by looking into Christ for the salvation of that soul. If we fail to do so, then what we are told is that he that refuses instruction despises his soul.

[40:35] May God give to us the wisdom to know how to do that, to go and bend at me to Christ to make us wise and to salvation for the salvation of our soul.

[40:52] Let us pray. Eternal and ever-blessed God, we give thanks for the eternal security that is afforded every believer in Christ. May each moment that we spend in the classroom of life be a moment that is blessed because through these moments we have come to a deeper and a better and a greater understanding of who Christ is and what he has done for us.

[41:25] Preserve us from going on in ignorance or for defiantly believing that we have no need of such a one because our defiance will result in the destruction of our soul.

[41:40] Bless your word to whosoever will hear it today. Bless it to those who proclaim it. Grant mercy for our sins. In Jesus' Redeemer's name we would ask it.

[41:51]  And now may grace, mercy and peace from God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit be with you all now and always. Amen.