Do You Want To Start Personal Life Change: Devotional

Now look at chapter 4. In my Bible, this is Proverbs chapter 4, again I highlighted here – words that stood out. Hear, give attention, retain, keep, get, exalt, love. You see, those are imperatives, they’re commands. Take firm, hold, keep her. Part of the study is for you to learn to just say, God open my eyes.

 Let me see what your message is, what you’re trying to communicate and show me. What’s being repeated over and over in the scripture.

Then here, is what I told you a moment ago, Proverbs 4:18 and 19.

18 But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.

19 The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.

I wrote in my Bible, the two roads of life.

“The path of the just is like the shining sun, it shines brighter unto the perfect day.

But the way of the wicked is like darkness; they don’t know what makes them stumble. “

Then he goes back to, see this, my son. My son. Do you see that he, basically Proverbs

is Solomon inspired by God to talk to his son. Wow. Solomon’s talking to Rehoboam and

he’s saying, I asked God for wisdom, He gave me more wisdom than any normal human has

ever had, other than Jesus Christ, he was the smartest, wisest, most

powerful minded person in the world? He said, I want to share with you Rehoboam, my son, what God says.

Now the sad thing is, Rehoboam didn’t listen, but that’s a different story to hear.

Here is an example of our Proverbs life-changing devotional project. You can pick topics. There’s lots on money, on sex. Chapter 7 is an amazing section on God’s designs for sex and marriage. Much, much in there about alcohol, foolishness and wisdom, pride, how to talk, how to raise children, how not to use your tongue. Also, you can do topics or is I already said, key verses for your project. Some of you might

 want to do key chapters. Chapter 8 is all about wisdom personified. Of course, chapter 31 is about God’s view of marriage, especially the virtuous woman. Chapter 7 is about temptations, modesty, the wicked woman, and what to not look at, at night.

Going on, this is an overview of what we’re doing. This Proverbs lessons project is picking 10 chapters or 10 verses or 10 topics from the book of Proverbs to spiritually digest. That means you pray over them,

ask God to open your mind to use what I’m describing here. I call it the devotional method. Which you have a title for each one. So, a title for one and title for the second, all the way through to the 10th.

 You have on all 10 of them a title, then your summary. I’ll show you a summary in just a second. Then you write out prayers to the Lord.

Now, what is the prayer? Almost everybody when they read the Bible say, Oh, that is a great verse for my roommate, or parents say that’s a great verse for my child, or my husband, or my wife. This is not the purpose of our Bible study. The purpose of our Bible study is the hardest thing to do in Bible study, to say this verse is pointing at me; what God wants me to change. Do you understand that?

Asking Him to change you. Write out this prayer in our group, you have to read them aloud.

 It petrified the men. I had 30, I think 36 men that were in these 10 groups, scared them to death.

 Number one, they didn’t want to admit they were struggling with anything. Number two, they didn’t want to make themselves vulnerable to say in front of a group this is what I want God to change my life.

But that’s the essence of Christianity, Hebrews 10. Now let me get back here so you can get this. Hebrews 10:24-25 say,

24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:

25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some

 is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

 “let us consider one another how to provoke to love and good works, not forsaking

the assembling of ourselves together,” but listen to this, “but exhorting one another and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”

What day? The day that Jesus is coming back and taking me into His presence, glorified forever in Heaven.

Part of that is going to be Him looking at my life, what I did with my life. So now, do you see why in this project, everything I want to be changed, I want Him to work on in me, impact me, everything I want to apply from the Bible. That’s what I’m writing out on this prayer. Now, here’s an example. Let me encourage you. We’re going to go through three examples, and I hope in these few moments, because this time it’s not to be such a long course, I want to just go through these quickly. Like we were sitting around a table and you were learning this from me.

My first study in a devotional on fools: Fools are described 42 times by God in Proverbs. One passage,

Proverbs 14:9, fool’s mock at sin.

“Fools make a mock at sin: but among the righteous there is favour.”

Here are the lessons:

Fools walk in darkness

They cling to sin

They’re corrupt

Abominable

Self-sufficient

Self deceived

Empty talkers

Liars

Angry

Lazy

Contentious

This is just every way that Proverbs describes fools.

Here’s my prayer: Lord. I know salvation’s first work was receiving wisdom from you. I want to know you. I seek your wisdom. I want to understand your way. I want to follow your pathway for life.

[You know that Proverbs 4:1, I told you about]

“Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding.”

I repent of the foolishness I was born with. I want

to turn from all darkness by your grace. I want to reject sin patterns. I want to abandon corrupt communications. Turn away my eyes from what you say is abominable. I want to avoid as friends,

 those who patterned themselves in the foolishness of those who are lost and perishing. For Christ sake I ask you to help me in these ways today. Amen.

Wow. Reading that is just a delight for me because it’s such a blessing to think about. That’s really my devotional on fools.