Clean Transcript

Bad Moon Rising

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• Open our Bibles to the book of Proverbs chapter 1. Proverbs chapter 1, and we're going to be reading verses 20 through 33. Proverbs 1 verses 20 through 33. The title of the message is "Bad Moon Rising," and I think you will understand just momentarily. So look in Proverbs chapter 1, beginning there with verse 20. The Bible says, "Wisdom crieth without, she uttereth her voice in the streets. She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates, in the city she uttereth her word, saying, How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity?"

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• "And the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge. Turn you at my reproof. Behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you. I will make known my words unto you, because I have called and ye refused. I stretched out my hand and no man regarded. But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof. I also will laugh at your calamity."

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• "I will mock when your fear cometh. When your fear cometh as desolation and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind, when distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer. They shall seek me early, but they shall not find me. For that they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord. They would none of my counsel. They despised all my reproof."

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• "Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own ways and be filled with their own devices. For the turning away of the simple shall slay them and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them. But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil." I told you the title of the message was "Bad Moon Rising." Years ago, that was the title of a song, "Bad Moon Rising."

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• Alice and I were traveling. It was late at night. We had the radio on, and at that time of night, you listen to just about anything that'll help keep you awake. And as far as I know, it was the only time I ever heard that song in my entire life. I'd never really heard it even since then. And the only time we listen to the radio is when we're traveling. So I have not had an opportunity to ever listen to that song again. But I checked it out and "Bad Moon Rising" was a song written by John Fogerty.

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• It was performed by Creedence Clearwater Revival. It was the lead single from their album, Green River. And it came out in April of 1969. So it had to be 40 years ago when I heard that song. And I'm certainly not necessarily recommending that song. And I'm certainly not recommending the group that sang that song. I did not even remember who sang the song until I looked the song up on the internet. I did remember, however, the first lyrics, and I guess that's what impressed me, because when I was reading through the book of Proverbs chapter 1, for some reason that song popped into my mind, and then I went to the internet and I looked up the words, and I want you to listen to the words of this song.

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• "I see the bad moon rising, I see trouble on the way, I see earthquakes and lightning. I see bad times today. Don't go around tonight. Well, it's bound to take your life. There's a bad moon on the rise. I hear hurricanes blowing. I know the end is coming soon. I fear rivers overflowing. I hear the voice of rage and ruin. Don't go around tonight. Well, it's bound to take your life. There's a bad moon on the rise." All right.

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• "Hope you got your things together. Hope you're quite prepared to die. Looks like we're in for nasty weather. One eye is taken for an eye. Don't go around tonight. Well, it's bound to take your life. There's a bad moon on the rise. Don't go around tonight. Well, it's bound to take your life. There's a bad moon on the rise." And I suppose the reason that song popped into my mind is because when you look at Proverbs 1 verses 20 through 33, it is a musical picture of a bad moon rising. When one rejects the truth and rebels and refuses to submit to the plain and simple commands of God, there is indeed a bad moon rising for such an individual. I want you to look, if you would please, at the first nine verses which is the first paragraph in Proverbs chapter 1, because this first paragraph sets the stage and tells you exactly why the Proverbs were written. So look in verse 1, "The Proverbs of Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel."

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• Now watch, "To know wisdom and instruction, to perceive the words of understanding, to receive the instruction of wisdom, justice and judgment and equity, to give subtlety to the simple and to the young man knowledge and discretion. A wise man will hear and will increase learning, and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels, to understand a proverb and the interpretation, the words of the wise and their dark sayings. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother, for they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck." So if you'll notice verse 2, he says "to know," and verse 2, "to perceive," verse 3, "to receive," verse 4, "to give." In other words, the Proverbs were basically written for instruction. So the Proverbs here, given to us for wisdom. So if you look in Proverbs 2 and verse 6, the Bible says this, "For the Lord giveth wisdom, out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding." So when you talk about knowledge and wisdom and understanding, you have to go back to verse 7 and

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• look at verse chapter 1 verse 7, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and knowledge." Now, I've said this before, and you should know this by now, that when you see the word "fool" in the Bible, the word "fool" does not refer to a mentally deficient person. Rather, it refers to an individual who refuses to listen, to be instructed, to be disciplined.

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• He is not going to receive truth. Let me very quickly give you just four scriptures that will verify this interpretation. So if you will hold Proverbs 1, but look in your Bibles, first of all, to Proverbs chapter 12, and look in verse 15. Proverbs 12 and verse 15. The Bible says, "The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise." So in this passage, a fool is not going to listen to counsel. Why? Because his way is right in his own eyes. He thinks he knows, and so therefore he's certainly not going to listen. Now look in Proverbs chapter 15 and verse 5. Proverbs 15 and verse 5. Again, we see this truth explained.

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• "A fool despiseth his father's instruction, but he that regardeth reproof is prudent." So a fool is just not going to listen to instruction. He is not going to regard reproof at all. Look in Proverbs chapter 17 and verse 10. Proverbs 17 and verse 10. The Bible says, "A reproof entereth more into a wise man than a hundred stripes into a fool." So you can't beat truth into a fool. You can't beat understanding into him. So notice, if you would please, verse 16. "Wherefore is there a price in the hand of a fool to get wisdom, seeing he hath no heart to it?" In other words, it doesn't matter if he has the wherewithal to get wisdom or not. He has no heart for it. He doesn't want to listen. He doesn't want to be instructed. He doesn't want to receive counsel. And so therefore, he is indeed a fool. So when you put these four passages together, a fool is someone who is wise in his own eyes. A fool is someone who thinks he knows it all.

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• A fool is someone who has no heart for instruction and one that you cannot even physically discipline to get him to understand and to get him to hear. And seemingly, he's never going to change simply because he is a fool.

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• Now, I want you to look back in Proverbs 1 at verses 20 and 21. Because in this passage, we have wisdom crying out. Look in verse 20. "Wisdom crieth without. She uttereth her voice in the streets. She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates, in the city she uttereth her words, saying..." Now, first of all, note, if you would please, that wisdom is crying out publicly in the streets. In the gates, and by the way, you remember in the gates of the city was where the government was exercised.

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• That's where the king sat. That's where the leaders of the city sat. That's where people congregated. So this is a public exhortation and a public crying.

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• Now, before we go any further, I think we need to first identify wisdom. Who and what is here spoken of? Who is wisdom and what is wisdom? Well, let me just tell you very plainly to begin with, that first and foremost, wisdom in the Bible refers to Jesus Christ personified. In other words, wisdom is personified in a person and that person is Jesus Christ. So, if you would look in Proverbs chapter 8 very quickly, without me reading all of that, let's just simply begin reading there with verse 33 and I think you can see if you read all of this we're talking about wisdom. In fact, verse 11 says, "For wisdom is better than rubies," and he goes on down and talks about wisdom through here. But look in verse 33, "Hear instruction and be wise, and refuse it not. Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors."

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• "For whoso findeth me findeth life and shall obtain favor of the Lord." And that is true. Whoever finds Jesus Christ finds life and obtains favor of the Father. Watch verse 36. "But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul. All they that hate me love death." So Jesus Christ is wisdom.

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• Now, I want you to see this in the New Testament. So if you would turn to 1st Corinthians chapter 1 and then we'll go to the book of Colossians. But look in 1st Corinthians chapter 1 and verse 30. 1st Corinthians 1 and verse 30. The Bible says, "But of him," that is of God the Father, "are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption." So Jesus Christ is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption. Then if you look in the book of Colossians chapter 2, and let's read verses 2 and 3. Again, Colossians 2 verse 2, "That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all the riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ, in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." So first and foremost wisdom is personified in the Old Testament and Jesus Christ is that person who is speaking.

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• Now, secondly, since you're in the New Testament, look in your Bibles to the book of Luke chapter 11. Luke chapter 11. Because our Lord is teaching, and in this particular passage, He refers to the Bible, to the Scriptures. So, let's look at it. Luke 11, verse 49. And our Lord says this, "Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute." Note what the Bible is referred to as, the wisdom of God. So Jesus Christ is the living wisdom and the Bible is the written wisdom. Just like Jesus Christ is the living Word, then the Scriptures are indeed the written Word. So when you look back in Proverbs chapter 1, when wisdom is crying, we have first and foremost the Lord Jesus Christ speaking, and secondly, it refers, I believe, to the Word of God very clearly and very easily.

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• So, let me tie this together for you. Since wisdom is crying in the streets, in the public places, this is what you and I would refer to as the common call. It is nothing more than the public preaching and teaching and proclamation of the Lord Jesus Christ and of His Word. And especially here, not just only by Jesus Christ, and not only by the Word of God, but by His preachers who are exegeting, explaining, and applying that Word.

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• So you have it here absolutely publicly. Now watch if you would. So in verse 20, "Wisdom crieth without, she uttereth her voice in the streets." She crieth in the chief places of the concourse, in the opening of the gates in the city, she uttereth her words, saying, What is she saying? What does wisdom say? Watch verse 22. "How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? And the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge."

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• Now, if you notice, there are three groups or three classes of people here. There are the simple ones, there are the scorners, and there are the fools. Now, when you look at the word, the simple ones, the simple are those individuals who are ignorant, who are easily led astray, who are easily seduced, who are easily duped. They have no real conception or understanding of reality. You have to remember that in verse 4 of Proverbs chapter 1, one of the reasons we have the Proverbs is to give subtlety to the simple. The simple are not, once again, they're not mentally deficient individuals. They're just simple individuals who are easily deceived and easily led astray.

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• I thought about this earlier today. Years ago, I had a van full of teenagers, and in that group was this sweet little blonde and she was a sweet little thing. And her family, of course, was members of our church. And we were driving, and I was driving in Coffee County. And since she was sitting right behind me, I called her name. I said, "Sasha." I said, "I know a lady over here that takes a bath in coffee every day." She said, "Really?" I said, "Yes. She takes a bath in coffee every day."

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• And she looked at me and she said, "Regular or decaffeinated?" I finally had to say, "Sweetheart, this is Coffee County. She takes a bath in water, but she still takes a bath in Coffee County every day," you know. And so, "Oh, pastor," she said, "I thought you were serious." I said, "Yeah, I know. I understand." Well, you know, that's why we can tell children oftentimes that, oh, the moon is made of green cheese or something like that. You tell some little child something, and they believe because they're simple. They do not know. And so the simple here are not necessarily someone who's mentally deficient. It's just someone who's simple and has never really been taught and never really grasped reality.

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• But notice if you would, secondly, you have the scorners. Now, the scorners are those who mock and ridicule and scoff and despise the truth. And in their pride and in their arrogance and in their haughtiness, they think that they are right and it is absolutely their right to mock God, His word, His law, and anything that is holy and righteous. That's why the Bible says in the book of Proverbs chapter 19 and verse 29 that judgments are prepared for scorners and stripes for the backs of fools. So God always prepares judgments for the scorners. And then thirdly, you have in this group that which is known as fools. In this sense of the word, the word fool is someone who is hardened, someone who is obstinate, someone who is perverse, someone who hates knowledge and they despise instruction and despise counsel and they just simply will not listen. So we have wisdom, we have the Lord Jesus Christ, we have the Word of God, we have His preachers crying out and they are crying to these three groups, the simple, the scorner, and the fool.

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• But what is being cried? Well, look if you would please at verse 23. Here it is. "Turn you at my reproof. Behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, and I will make my words known unto you." So first of all, the exhortation to each one is to turn. So it doesn't matter if it's a simple individual or a scorner or a fool. The first instruction and exhortation is to turn. And the Hebrew word means to turn, it means to return, it means to come back.

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• What you and I would say today is what the New Testament says quite frequently, that is, repent. But I want you to note something. He says, "Turn you at my reproof." Repentance is based upon reproof.

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• Now, the Hebrew word for reproof here refers to a rebuke, an argument, a chiding, or a correction. Usually most people are not going to repent unless they are rebuked, unless they are confronted. And if they're not confronted, if they're not rebuked, then they just simply continue with their sin. But now watch this. Not only is repentance based upon reproof, reproof is based upon the Word of God. For instance, "Turn you at my reproof."

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• "Behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you. I will make known my words unto you." In other words, once an individual repents, it is because he has been reproved and rebuked, being corrected. And once he turns, then the Word of God is made known unto him. That is, he understands it. I hope you remember the fact that one of the reasons God inspired the Scripture is for reproof. You remember that passage in 2 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 16? "All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness." So one of the reasons God wrote this is for reproof.

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• Moreover, it is also a duty and responsibility of a pastor to reprove and rebuke. Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy chapter 4 and verse 2, he said, "Preach the word, be instant in season and out of season, exhort, rebuke, reprove with all longsuffering and doctrine." But notice if you would, even the exhorting, the rebuking, the reproving is with doctrine. So it's the same thing that you find here: "Turn you at my reproof. Behold, I'll pour my spirit upon you and I will make known my words unto you." So when you think of admonitions, exhortations, preaching, teaching, proclamations of the truth, these are God's demands to repent and to turn from evil and wickedness and submit to Him and surrender to Him and obey Him. If you will hold Proverbs 1, but look in your Bibles to the book of Ezekiel chapter 33 and verse 11, I think you'll see these things kind of put together in one sense of the word. So Ezekiel chapter 33 and verse 11, look at it. Ezekiel 33 verse 11, God says, "Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live."

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• "Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways, for why will ye die, O house of Israel?" So God is pleading for them to turn and to turn from their wicked ways. The interesting thing is when we look in Proverbs chapter 1, all of our pleadings and all of our prayers are not going to avail those who are simple, those who are scorners, and those who are fools because they refuse to listen. They refuse to hear.

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• They just simply go merrily on their own way, ignoring everything that is thrown in front of them. Now, they do so to the point that they anger God greatly. So, look at it if you would. Verse 23, and then we're going to read through verse 25. He says, "Turn you at my reproof. Behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you. I'll make known my words unto you." Now look what God says, "Because I have called and ye refused, I stretched out my hand and no man regarded, but ye have set at nought all my counsel and would none of my reproof." God said, "I spoke to you. I proclaimed the truth. You refused to listen."

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• Now, what I want you to see is this. In this passage, we're going to begin to see what is known as the Lex Talionis of Scripture. Lex Talionis is just simply Latin for the law of retribution. It is where God makes the punishment fit the crime. The lex talionis is where you actually reap that which you sow. Now what I want you to see, now he is addressing the simple, the scorners, and the fools. Here are individuals who mocked God. Now God is about to mock them. Here are individuals who would not listen to God. Now God is not going to listen to them. Here are individuals who had no delight in God, and now God is not going to have any delight in them. Here are individuals who could not stand to hear the Word of God, and now God is not going to hear their words.

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• If you want to sing about a bad moon rising, for someone in this position, it is indeed a bad moon rising. Let me show you. Hold Proverbs 1, but look in your Bibles to the book of Jeremiah chapter 6. Jeremiah chapter 6. And look at verse 10. God has sent Jeremiah to preach. And look what is said. Jeremiah wants to preach. He wants to declare the truth.

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• But he asks, "To whom shall I speak and give warning that they may hear? Who am I going to preach to? Who am I going to speak to?" Now watch. "To whom shall I speak and give warning that they may hear? Behold, their ear is uncircumcised and they cannot hear." Now watch. "Behold, the word of the Lord is to them a reproach. They have no delight in it." Jeremiah said, "I want to preach, but nobody's going to listen to me. Their ears uncircumcised, they cannot hear. And besides that, they despise the Word of God. It's a reproach to them. They have no delight in it. They do not want it whatsoever." Wow. Well, when you look in Proverbs chapter 1, what you're going to see is this. God will even the score.

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• You've heard that old adage. He who laughs last, laughs best. I can assure you that God will have the last laugh. Look, if you would, at verses 26 through 28, then we're going to look at some other passages, but watch this. God says, "Ye have set at nought all my counsel," verse 25, "and would none of my reproof. I also will laugh at your calamity. I will mock when your fear cometh, when your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind, when distress and anguish cometh upon you, then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer."

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• "They shall seek me early, but they shall not find me." I can assure you of one thing. If God laughs at you, you have a good reason to cry. You scoffed at him, and now he's going to scoff at you. And in other words, God is going to give measure for measure. You laughed off his words. You laughed off his warnings. You laughed off his exhortations. You laughed off his teaching, his counsel. And now God is going to laugh at you. You laughed at him through your stupidity, your sinfulness, and your senselessness. And now he's going to laugh at you. And when God laughs, it indicates that he's not going to have mercy at all.

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• For instance, if you'll look back in your Bibles, hold Proverbs 1, but look in your Bibles to Psalm 37, Psalm 37. And notice if you would please verses 12 and 13. Psalm 37, verse 12. Look at this. "The wicked plotteth against the just and gnasheth upon him with his teeth." You talk about plotting against the just, look at all the plots that are going around today and on today from our own government, from other governments, from men in high places in positions of authority. Yeah. "The wicked plotteth against the just and gnasheth upon him with his teeth." But look at verse 13, "The Lord shall laugh at him."

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• "For he seeth that his day is coming." The Lord's going to laugh at him. Why? Because he's going to judge him. He's going to destroy him. The man's going to fall into the very pit which he dug. If you'll turn back in your Bible, since you're in Psalms, turn to Psalm 2. You're familiar with this passage, but let me point it out again. Look in Psalm 2, verse 1. So here's the question.

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• "Why do the heathen rage and the people imagine a vain thing?" So the heathen are raging, the people imagine a vain, useless, worthless thing. But that's not all. Look in verse 2, "The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder and cast away their cords from us." In other words, they do not like the limitations that God has placed upon them. They do not like the restrictions that the word of God demands. No, no, no. They don't like God's commandments. They don't like God's rule. So they say, "Let us break their bands asunder, cast away their cords from us." What's the result? Look in verse 4, "He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh. The Lord shall have them in derision."

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• "Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure." So when God laughs at you, you have a very good reason to cry. When you look at Proverbs chapter 1, and I want you to go back and look at verse 26 again, God said, "I will also laugh at your calamity. I will mock when your fear cometh. When your fear cometh as desolation and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind, when distress and anguish cometh upon you, then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer."

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• "Then shall they seek me early, but they shall not find me." What an absolute horror it must be when a person realizes that he's nothing but a fool, but it's too late. Can you imagine the anguish of heart and the fear that must arise in one's heart when he cries and cries to God in anguish and in distress, and God will not hear what a man pleads and begs. And all God does is shut him off, shut him out and silence him and says, "I'm not going to talk to you. I'm not going to listen to you." Someone's going to say, "Wow. How could God be so mean?" It's not meanness, dear friends. It's justice. You wouldn't listen to God, and so God will not listen to you. You would not hear Him, you would not heed Him, so God is not going to hear you. God is not going to heed you at all. It is not meanness on God's part, it is absolutely just.

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• You earned, you merited, you deserved that response and God measured it right back to you. Don't come around blaming God. I can assure you, if God laughs at you, you do indeed have a good cause to cry. And if you look in verses 29 and 30, here's why God is being, quote-unquote, so mean. It's not meanness, it's just. Here's why. "For that they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord."

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• "They would none of my counsel. They despised all my reproof." God says you were warned, but you wouldn't listen. You were admonished, you were exhorted, but you refused to hear. You mocked, you ridiculed, you procrastinated, and now it's too late. The door's been shut in your face. The fault is yours. The sin is yours. The rebellion is yours. The consequences of your attitude and your actions are yours.

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• You're reaping that which you have sown. Do not blame God. You rejected the truth and you believed a lie. You wanted your way and you got it. There's an interesting question that is asked in Lamentations 3 in verse 39. Here it is. "Wherefore doth a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins?" We have an old adage, if you do the crime, you'll do the time. Why are you going to complain for reaping that which you have sown? You ignore God, you scoff at Him, well, you will be ignored and you will be scoffed at as well.

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• I want you to see something. This is the thing that most people have never ever really grasped. I want you to see the sentence, the judgment that is placed upon these individuals. It is no light judgment. It is a very severe judgment and I might add this, it is also an exceedingly heavy and grievous judgment. What is it? Well, look at verses 29 and 30, and then we're going to go to verse 31. Verse 29, "For they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord."

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• "They would none of my counsel, they despised all my reproof. Therefore, shall they eat of the fruit of their own way and be filled with their own devices." This is no arbitrary sentence. It is a just and accurate sentence. You will eat of the fruit of your own ways. You'll be filled with your own devices. Your sin and your rebellion may have been sweet in your mouth, but it's now bitterness in your belly, and it's going to end in destruction and death.

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• If you will hold Proverbs 1, but look in your Bibles to the book of Isaiah chapter 3, and I want you to see how God places this same truth in another setting. Look in Isaiah chapter 3, and let's begin reading there with verse 10. Isaiah 3 and verse 10. God says, "Say ye to the righteous that it shall be well with him, for they shall eat the fruit of their doings." What's wrong with that? There's nothing wrong with that. That's absolutely just. If a righteous man lives righteously, he's going to eat the fruit of his doings. It will be good fruit. But look in verse 11, he says, "Woe unto the wicked."

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• "It shall be ill with him for the reward of his hands shall be given him." In other words, God says in verse 10, I'm going to give the righteous that which is their due. And in verse 11, I'm going to give the wicked that which is their due. That's just simply justice. That's all there is to it. Years ago, I was preaching in Illinois, and in the service was a young Mormon man. And he was so irritated and so upset with my preaching. After the service was over, he came up in anger and just confronted me. And every time he would say something, I would just quote scripture. And he got so upset. He said, "Let me just ask you one question." I said, "Ask it." He said, "Is not God just?" I said, "Absolutely." He said, "All I want from God is justice." I looked at him, I said, "Son, that's exactly what God's going to give you."

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• But I can assure you, once you get it, you wished a million times over it had been mercy and not justice. Yeah, God is just. And he's going to give men exactly that which they deserve, exactly that which they've earned.

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• Now, let me point something out. When God says, "Therefore, shall they eat of the fruit of their own way and be filled with their own devices." Do you realize that one of the greatest judgments that God can place upon an individual is just to let him alone. Let him have his own way. Let him do his own thing. I don't know about you, but I sure am thankful God stopped me from my own way. I'm thankful He stopped me from doing my own thing. I'm just simply saying, it is a very grievous judgment. Here's another thing that you must remember.

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• This is truth crying in the street. If you do not believe the truth, you will believe a lie. If you do not believe the truth, you will believe a lie. In fact, the truth of the matter is, if you do not believe the truth now, you already are believing a lie. Let me show you something. Hold Proverbs 1, but turn in your Bibles to 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. 2 Thessalonians chapter 2.

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• Note, if you would please, beginning there with verse 10. 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 and verse 10. Look what the Bible says. "And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish." So we're talking about people who are perishing. They're unsaved. They're perishing. Why are they perishing? "Because they received not the love of the truth that they might be saved." They refused truth. They did not want it. Now watch what happens in verse 11.

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• "And for this cause," what cause? Because they refuse to receive truth. "And for this cause, God shall send them strong delusion that they should believe a lie. That they all might be damned." Why are they going to be damned? "Because they believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." If you do not believe the truth, then you are going to believe a lie. So when you look back in Proverbs 1, and when God says in verse 31, "Therefore, shall they eat of the fruit of their own way and be filled with their own devices." That means the lie that they believed in, the lie that they've lived for all of their lives is going to come piling down upon them. Now look, if you would please at verse 32, God explains this truth quite well in verse 32.

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• He says, "For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them." In turning away, in the turning away of the simple, that is they're turning away from truth, they're turning away from our Lord, they're turning away from righteousness. In other words, they're turning away from the Word of God. They're refusing to believe in the perfect atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ, His finished work. They scoff at it. They mock at it. They ridicule it. They do not believe it. And it destroys them. He says, "For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them."

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• You know, there's an old Puritan saying, you've heard me quote it so many times, that God often curses His enemies with great riches and wealth. Why? Because they trust in their riches, they trust in their wealth. One thing for sure, George Soros is not trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ, is he? Bill Gates is not trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm just simply pointing out the fact many of these individuals just trust in their wealth and it certainly destroys them. That's why our Lord himself said in Proverbs 8 in verse 36, "But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul. All they that hate me love death."

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• So when you look in verses 20 through 32, it is a bad moon rising. Because it is the lex talionis of Scripture. It is where God makes the punishment fit the crime. Thankfully, however, there is an alternative. If you look in verse 33, He says this, "But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely and shall be quiet from fear of evil." So God said, "Whoso hearkeneth unto me." What is the alternative? It's listening, it's hearing, it's hearkening in such a way that you obey. So the alternative then is to hear the Word of God and submit to God's Word and obey God's Word and recognize His divine authority. May I remind you, since God is sovereign, He has the absolute right to command.

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• Did you know that in Acts 17, verse 30, He commandeth all men everywhere to repent? That's what the Bible says. Why? Why does God command men to repent? The Bible says, "Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained, whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead." So just as surely as God raised Jesus Christ from the dead, there's going to be a judgment. And so he commands all men everywhere to repent. Did you know in 1 John 3 and verse 23, the Bible said, "And this is his commandment, that we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ." So God has commanded men to repent. God has commanded men to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. God has commanded men to hear His Word, to study His Word, and to bring their lives into conformity to His Word.

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• So the alternative really is very simple. Hear and obey. It's just that simple. Hear and obey. Over and over, God says, "Hear and your soul shall live." But it's not just simply an audible hearing. It is a hearing that produces obedience of our lives and bringing our lives in conformity to the Word of God. If you refuse to hear Him, you're not only sinning against God, you're sinning against your own soul.

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• Now, let me make a couple of applications. The first one is this. When you think of the phrase, "bad moon rising," and if you are familiar with the lyrics of that song, you might think of hurricanes and tornadoes and floods. And I'm not downplaying those. But I'm going to tell you. If you really want to contemplate a bad moon rising, you contemplate a holy, righteous, just and sovereign God who's been spurned, mocked, ridiculed, hated, and despised who is now arising in anger to execute his justice. I can assure you that would be a bad moon rising for certain individuals. So don't be simple. Don't be a scorner. Don't be a fool.

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• Listen to wisdom as wisdom cries. Here's another thing. You must remember then that anything that is not of the truth is a lie. I wish I had time to go through the book of James, and especially James chapter 3, because in verse 14 there, he says and commands, "Lie not against the truth." Lie not against the truth. When you search the scripture, you will find that God is true. God cannot lie. Hebrews chapter 6. You'll find that Jesus Christ is truth. "I am the way, the truth, and the life." You'll find the Holy Spirit is referred to as the Spirit of truth. You'll find that the scriptures are referred to as the scriptures of truth. So anytime that you refuse or reject the wisdom and the counsel and the reproof and the exhortations and admonitions of the Word of God, you're not only believing a lie, but you're lying against the Father, the Son, the Spirit, and the Scriptures. So he says, "Lie not against the truth. Lie not against the truth."

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• You know, I thought about this this morning. It is true. Very true. For the wicked, for those who will not listen, it's a bad moon rising. But for the righteous, for the believers, Malachi 4 in verse 2, "But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings." Hmm. I believe I'd rather be under the Sun of righteousness than the bad moon rising here. And you shall live. Father, thank you for your word. Thank you for your truth. Thank you for warnings. Thank you for exhortations. Lord, thank you, blessed Lord, for being truth, our truth incarnate, and thy word is truth written. Help us, Lord, to love thee, to live for thee, to obey thee, to bring our lives in conformity unto thee. In the name of Jesus Christ we ask and pray. Amen.

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• so so

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-04T19:31:13Z