[0:00] All right, take your Bibles now, if you would, and turn with me to Proverbs chapter 20. And guys, we'll get the offering at the very last, I think. I'm sorry. Time flies when you're having a good time, and I'm having a good time.
[0:12] By the way, Brother David, I know when I got saved, I know the date. I found it in my mother's Bible years later, and she'd written it down, and that's how I remember the day.
[0:23] So if my mother's Bible's wrong, my date's wrong, but anyway, May the 6th, 1962. I happened to be about 16 years old, and I was looking at her Bible, and I saw it, and I said, whoa, and I wrote that down, so now I know.
[0:36] I think a lot of our problem is we want to make an excuse for sin. If you're honest, I think you know that's true.
[0:47] And so I'm going to do the most simple, ignorant thing you've ever heard. I'm just going to explain words to you. So I want you to look at Proverbs chapter 20 and verse 1. We may get through two passages of Scripture.
[1:00] I don't know. And I'm just going to take every word and talk to you. Now look at 20 verse 1. Now this is a wise man talking to his son and telling his son what he needs to know.
[1:12] He's trying to prepare his son, and he says, son, wine is a mocker. Let me tell you what a mocker is right quick. Oh, if you'd like to know how to find out if I'm right or not, just get a dictionary.
[1:22] Okay? You just read that, and you go, wine's a mocker, and you keep on going. I go, wine's a mocker, what's that? So here's what a mocker is. Wine wants to expose you to contempt, make you be despised or treated as vile and worthless.
[1:38] Wine wants to disgrace you, shame you. Wine wants to expose you to ridicule and insult. Wine wants you to become the joke of others. Wine wants to make you a disappointment.
[1:50] Wine wants to frustrate and disappoint you. Every one of them are synonyms or right out of the dictionary meaning of the word mock. You realize how terrible that is?
[2:01] You probably read wine's a mocker and move on real quick. But wine is a mocker. And by the way, you could substitute the word of any addiction. Porn is a mocker. Porn is a mocker.
[2:11] It wants to frustrate you and disappoint you. Drugs, a mocker. He's talking about wine because they didn't really deal with porn like you deal with porn today. He's doing what his son might deal with.
[2:22] It's a mocker. Look at the verse, chapter 20, verse 1. Wine's a mocker. Strong drink is raging. What does raging mean? It means to make noise, to be loud and out of control.
[2:34] And you see that in your family? When somebody gets into the strong drink, the family fights and the destruction, even death associated with drunkenness. Raging speaks of groaning loudly as in a signal of a distressed feeling, like you're scared and you're upset.
[2:50] It speaks of disorderly loud social situation with different degrees of riot. That's straight out of the dictionary. Raging speaks of a state of anxiety and distress, like an angry dog snarling or an angry bear growling.
[3:05] Both words so far would say it brings dishonor to your life and makes you live in poverty and embarrassment. Wine is a mocker.
[3:17] Strong drink is raging. Are you looking at verse 1? This is just the Bible here. And whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise. Now, what does the word deceived mean?
[3:28] It means to be misled, caused to believe something that's false or not believe truth. It means to be cheated, frustrated, and disappointed.
[3:39] It means to lead you into error. You were told that it would make you cool if you drank alcohol. You were told that people would respect you and see your status. You were told it would bring fun into your life.
[3:51] You were lied to about porn too. Young men think porn is going to answer a question for them, but it mocks them. They are not wise. They are deceived. And it ends up destroying their marriage.
[4:01] Hurts their little wife. Hurts them. Embarrasses them. Frustrates them. That's what Solomon's telling his son. Go with me to Proverbs chapter 23 and verse 29.
[4:14] Proverbs chapter 23 and verse 29. I'm going to have you some more passages. You come back next month to the men's meeting. Man church is going to be for men. I promise you. You're going to have to really be a man to take it.
[4:24] Proverbs chapter 23 and verse 29. Who hath woe? Who hath sorrow? Who hath contentions?
[4:36] Who hath babbling? Who hath wounds without cause? Who hath redness of eyes? Okay, so I wonder what woe is. What in the world does that mean?
[4:47] Woe. Woe is a state of intense hardship. Distress. A state of sorrow. Woe is an exclamation of judgment on God's enemies.
[4:59] Nobody will say woe on them. That means I'm fixing to beat the living slop out of them. Woe is a misfortune on oneself. An affliction or a grief. The synonyms for woe in the dictionary are agony, anguish, distress, excruciation, hurt, misery, pain, torment, torture, and tribulation.
[5:20] Look at the verse. Who has woe? If you keep reading, we'll get there in a minute. You know who has it? The guy's been doing that drinking stuff. The guy's been letting that wine deceive him. The guy who's been messing with that porn.
[5:32] The guy's using that over-the-counter drugs or another drug. The guy who's letting an addiction take control. Look at Proverbs 23, 29. Who hath woe?
[5:43] Who hath sorrow? What sorrow? It is to feel pain in the mind in consequence of actual loss. It's frustrated hopes of good.
[5:54] It's a loss of happiness. It's sadness over a situation. It is remorse. A gnawing distress arising from a sense of guilt for past wrongs.
[6:05] That's my favorite one of all. That is like the horrendous definition. Do you see what it means? It's remorse. A gnawing distress arising from a sense of guilt for past wrongs.
[6:17] The guy steps into the room, watches some pornography. His wife's even in the living room. He's going to the bathroom. He does that that he should not do. He goes back in. He's feeling a gnawing distress arising from a sense of guilt.
[6:31] Look at your Bible. Proverbs 23, 29. Who has sorrow? Or woe. Who has sorrow? Who hath contentions? So you do know he's a poet.
[6:44] And this is called poetry. And so he's using words to paint word pictures. To make it vivid about what's happening. In other words, he's saying, let me use words to paint a picture, son.
[6:56] So that when you get through seeing what I say, you'll run for the hills. Now he said, you got woe and you got sorrow. Now he says, contentions. That refers to a struggle.
[7:07] A violent effort to obtain something or resist a person. It's a quarrel. It's fighting over words. Debate. Angry. Contest.
[7:17] Controversy. Think of all the fighting and fussing in the family and the workplace and in marriage based on this alcohol or porn or addiction of any kind.
[7:28] And the wise man looks at his son and says, son, do you understand who has woe? Do you understand who has sorrow? Do you understand who has contentions? And that's not what he wants his son to have.
[7:41] Then he says, who hath babbling? That's a good one, isn't it? Who hath babbling? Babbling is idle talk. Telling secrets. Foolish. Empty.
[7:52] Talk. Speech that makes no sense. It's an expression of one's discontent or displeasure. This is right out of a Hebrew dictionary right here. Some even think it was a euphemism for having a bowel movement.
[8:07] Babylon. You know who does that kind of junk? Just puke coming out of their mouth, basically. Sorry. Hang on to the scriptures. You're not going to lie.
[8:18] I didn't write this. I just looked up the words. Proverbs 23, 29. Who hath woe? Who hath sorrow? Who hath contentions? Who hath babbling? Who hath wounds without cause?
[8:32] Now that is like, you know, I lived in Peru where drunkenness was every day. You don't know how many times I get a call from a lady in a church and she say, is there any way you can go get my husband out of the bar?
[8:43] He's been gone three days. We were, and I'd drive up there with some of the young men, walk in the bar, and I'd walk in and I went there so often and said, hey, pastor, just getting one of my members.
[8:56] I'll be out in a minute. I remember the first, one of the first horrible stories that took place in Idaquipa. We hadn't been living there two months yet. And I heard this horrible noise outside the front of our house.
[9:07] And I went outside and this man was screaming and cussing and kicking and crying. And his daughter had him by the hands, pulling him down the road.
[9:18] And his son was behind him with a stick, beating him. And they were saying, mama wants you to come home. And he was drunk. He was drunk. Solomon said, who hath woe?
[9:31] Who hath sorrow? Who hath contentions? Who hath babbling? Who hath wounds without cause? They get beat up and hurt and there's no reason for it. There's no reason for it.
[9:42] But the alcohol, even the pornography or any other addiction, takes over and destroys your life. Why you won't let that happen? I just want you to picture Solomon sitting with his son and saying, now son, I don't want you to have woe and I don't want you to have sorrow and I don't want you to have babbling and I don't want you to come home beat up for no reason.
[10:02] So set the stage. Then he says, who hath redness of eyes? Bleary, bloodshot eyes. The Greek said, or the Hebrew said about that word that it means dimness of the eyes.
[10:15] You just go dead. Dull. Glassy. Bleary. Bloodshot. That's what alcohol is doing to you. We haven't even found out why he's saying this yet.
[10:28] We're just reading. It's a discussion he's having with his son. Who hath woe? Who hath sorrow? Who hath contentions? Who hath babbling? Who hath wounds without cause? Who hath redness of eyes? And he tells us who? Verse 30.
[10:39] They that tarry long at the wine. They that go to seek mixed drink. We need to see how serious this is. We need to realize us that, realize that God is telling us through Solomon to his son that if you hang around that drinking crowd, you're going to get in trouble.
[10:57] If you go chasing that stuff, you're going to get in trouble. And then he says in verse 30, he said, I know it looks appealing. I know it's pleasing to look at.
[11:09] Look at verse 30. Look not upon the wine when it is red. That's 31 actually. Look not upon the wine when it's red, when it gives its color in the cup, when it moves itself aright.
[11:22] You know what that saying is? Hey, it's attractive. I mean, when you look at it, they even do that, you know? Oh, look at it. The full-bodied color. The smell. The taste. It's good stuff.
[11:35] They make a big deal about it. But Solomon said, son, don't even be looking at that junk. Don't let the attractiveness appeal to you. It'll catch your eye. It'll fascinate you. They'll tell you it tastes nice and goes down smoothly.
[11:48] It'll tell you how pleasing it is. But it's very seductive. Look at what he says in Proverbs 23, 32. At the last, that bites like a serpent and stings like an adder.
[12:02] It's like getting bit by a poisonous snake and how that will affect your entire body. It stings. It punctures. It makes a wound. It might look pretty in the glass.
[12:13] It might even taste fun going down. But in the end, it will destroy you. It will rule over you. It may give pleasure for a season, but in the end, you will suffer for it.
[12:26] The drink will affect what you see. Proverbs 23, 33. Now, I want you to notice what he just said. He said, son, who's having all this bad stuff happen to him?
[12:36] It's guys that go hang out in the wine place. And it's guys that go looking for the strong drink and hanging out there. And I know what some of you are saying right now, but I don't drink a whole bunch of it.
[12:47] I just take my one drink. I happen to know a family very well and very intimately where the granddad never got drunk.
[13:00] I have 40 years of proof of that. Never got drunk. The son developed a drug problem after dad had his alcohol he played with. And the grandson was buried just the other day.
[13:14] 30 years old. That stuff bit like a snake. That stuff destroyed that family. And I know it's appealing. And I know you think it's okay.
[13:25] And I know you think you can play with it. Proverbs 23, 33. He said, it's even going to affect what you see. Your eyes shall behold strange women.
[13:37] Look at that. You're going to look at women that are not your wife. You know, I need eyes for one woman. I've been married to her for 45 years. I need eyes for one woman. But my eyes will all of a sudden, oh, you know, I'm looking at that woman and I'm checking out that woman and it'll destroy your marriage.
[13:54] I didn't say that. Solomon told his son that. It'll get you in trouble in society, by the way. If you don't think so, ask a justice that just got appointed. When he was getting all the drinking on, even if he had victory over it later, he sure caught it the other day.
[14:09] Drink takes away your judgment and your caution. What you would have enough sense not to do when you're sober, you will do it when you're drunk. You look at somebody else's wife and that's what a strange woman is.
[14:21] Strange woman doesn't mean she's got two heads. It just means ain't yours. She's not yours. And then it says, your heart will utter perverse things in Proverbs 23, 33.
[14:32] The word perverse means distorted from the right. It makes you obstinate in wrong, stubborn, disposed to be contrary. It means you'll become easily irritated, cross, angry.
[14:46] That's how it affects your speech. It makes you start talking. That's what perverse means. You will say the opposite of what's right. You will say things that are wicked and opposite of the truth.
[14:58] For me, because of dealing with Peruvians, these verses are like the ones that most jump off the page. The drink manipulates you. Yeah? Verse 34. Yea, thou shalt be as he that lies down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lies upon the top of the mast.
[15:17] You do understand that, first off, laying in the middle of the sea, you might think, well, that sounds pretty nice. A waterbed, just real cozy, just slowly, gently bouncing back and forth.
[15:27] That sounds like a nice little bed to sleep in. But he actually said, now what I'm trying to tell you is it's like being on the top of that mast stuck way up in the air, and you're up way above it, and the boat's moving, and it's like a dangerous place to be.
[15:40] The idea of him laying down in the midst of the sea is that he's drowning. He's cut off. He's unconscious of his surroundings. He's asleep in a very dangerous place. There's nothing stable or solid.
[15:52] He has even lost control in sleep. He's lying upon the top of the mast. It would be impossible to lie down up there without risking your life. You're exposing yourself to danger, and you're unaware of it.
[16:04] You're drinking, and you don't even know what's happening. Your life is totally out of control. That's what happened with that porn. You started playing with that porn and thought it'd be okay, but it's taken over. Now you seem to get control of it.
[16:16] You started playing with that drink, and you thought it'd be okay, but it's kind of taken over. So here's my verses from Peru. I've watched them, man. I've been in their homes.
[16:26] I've seen them beat their wives up. I've seen them sell their refrigerator to go get more alcohol. I've seen them come in the house and slap their wife down, take the TV, go sell it one week, take the refrigerator another week.
[16:38] I've seen them destroy their house. I've seen young men stand outside the house and break the windows in their house because their mama won't let them in because they're drunk, totally out of control. Proverbs 23, 35.
[16:51] They have stricken me. In other words, they've hit me. They've beaten me, you say, and I wasn't sick. They've beaten me, and I didn't feel it. When I wake up, I'll go out and see if I can get them to do it to me again.
[17:06] That's what the Bible says. The drunk gets hurt, but it doesn't cause him pain. He's become insensitive to pain. He has the idea that his friends hurt him, but it leaves no lasting impression.
[17:20] He seems to look forward to suffering. You see, the drink has taken over. Have you seen the dangers of the drink? Terribly fascinating, beautiful to the eye, tastes good, exhilarating, recommended by all social influence, yet it hurts the victims terribly.
[17:39] It takes their money. It takes their health. It takes their minds. It takes their morals. It destroys their reputation, and it separates them from God and family. Driving down the road in a section of Adiquipa one time, it was after preaching up at one of our churches.
[17:55] It was in Mariela and McGarr. I'm driving down the road, and I got one of the preachers with me. I'm not sure if it's Cesar Culpa because he was in that area. I'm not sure who it was. And they started yelling at me to stop the truck. I'm flying.
[18:07] They're dark roads. I don't know if you could even understand what it's like in a city like that. Dark, bumpy, rough roads, real backwards, real third world. That's what it was. And I slammed on the brakes.
[18:18] I said, what in the wrong? They said, you're going to run over him. I never even saw him. He was laying in the middle of the street. And I slammed on the brakes, and we got out. We thought he was dead.
[18:30] We got him up, picked him up, and found out. We asked him his name, and he told us his name. He couldn't hardly talk. We got him in the car, and he told us. It took us about an hour and a half to find his house.
[18:41] It was only three or four blocks away because we didn't know where he lived, and he couldn't tell us where he lived. We basically walked him up to people's doors saying, y'all know him? And when we got him home, his family said, what did you bring him home for?
[18:53] Solomon says, whoa. Do y'all know who has whoa? Do y'all know who has sorrow?
[19:05] Do y'all know who has contentions? Do you know whose life's falling apart? I know it looks sweet to you. I know you think you'll enjoy it. And I know it looks good, but it'll bite you before it's over.
[19:16] However, wise men would be extremely careful of such a deceitful enemy. The drink makes a slave of its victims, and it doesn't matter how much it hurts or how much they lose, they keep looking for it again.
[19:33] Now, a wise son would listen to his wise dad who warned him. I want to say something to the men. I know it's 603. Let me tell you, men, we've got to talk to our kids about porn, about alcohol, and about drugs.
[19:49] You live in a triangle of horrific drug problems. It's in every one of our schools, everywhere your kids go. And I think you can put your head in the sand, and you don't know.
[20:02] You say, well, my kid doesn't have a porn problem. You don't know. I can't tell you what I know. But if I did, you'd be amening me right now.
[20:14] You need to talk to your children. You need to take it seriously. You need to understand these addictions are taking over and destroying them. And I love our kids, and you love your kid.
[20:25] They're your kid. I've only used, what, two passages on alcohol? I've got enough for five more messages already lined up.
[20:38] I say to people all the time, why don't you find out what the book says about it? And all we did was go over two little passages. Explain by yang.
[20:49] How the kids did that, God. How things did thatap sempre? Because he created it anymore. How the kids did that frameworks? How a child did that запис stops? How did you find out what happened toям? What things did that do you want to do?
[20:59] How did you find out about them, how did that happen? How did that happen? How did that happen? How did that happen? What is this happen when the book began MAYARvale? That's a country that somebody or who, who about this thing, and sometimes whether they were the girl, who aren't used, or what living their dad? How did that happen? Three little times things on Mengisket Ilsart, you've seen to do it, where are they wait up for два and how your children.
[21:11] How did I write you left out for help them start,