Sunday School Lesson

1. Proverbs 4:11-27
The Choice
June 28, 2020
His Followers Sunday School Class
First Baptist Church
Jackson, Mississippi
USA
What’s the number one thing?
The glory of God!
1 Corinthians 10:31 NKJV
31 Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of
God.
Psalm 119
Father,
Teach us Thy statutes (v12),
Open our eyes (v18),
Stir our hearts (v2,32,36),
And enlighten our minds (v 27,34,73,125).
Proverbs 4:1-7 NKJV
1 Hear, my children, the instruction of a father,
And give attention to know understanding (grow wise);
2 For I give you good doctrine (the truth):
Do not forsake my law.
3 When I was my father’s son,
Tender and the only one in the sight of my mother (an only child),
4 He also taught me, and said to me:
“Let your heart retain my words (never forget them);
Keep my commands, and live (a long and happy life).
5 Get wisdom! Get understanding!
Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth.
6 Do not forsake her, and she will preserve you;
Love her, and she will keep you.
7 Wisdom is the principal thing;
Therefore get wisdom.
And in all your getting, get understanding.

2. Proverbs 4:8-15 NKJV
8 Exalt her, and she will promote you;
She will bring you honor, when you embrace her.
9 She will place on your head an ornament of grace;
A crown of glory she will deliver to you.”
10 Hear, my son, and receive my sayings (do as I say),
And the years of your life will be many.
11 I have taught you in the way of wisdom;
I have led you in right paths.
12 When you walk, your steps will not be hindered,
And when you run, you will not stumble.
13 Take firm hold of instruction, do not let go;
Keep her, for she is your life.
14 Do not enter the path of the wicked
And do not walk in the way of evil.
15 Avoid it, do not travel on it;
Turn away from it and pass on.
Psalms 1:1 KJV
1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth
in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
There is a downward progression (regression) of sin—from walking, to standing,
to sitting, from passing through to spending time, to being comfortable with it.
That is why Solomon says in Proverbs 4:14, “Do not enter the path of the wicked.”
"Don't even take the first step. Avoid it at all cost."
Psalms 1:2-4 KJV
2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in His law doth he meditate day and
night.
3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his
fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall
prosper.
4 The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.
Believing (walk in the counsel) think.
Behaving (stand in the way) live.
Belonging (sit in the seat) forbidden fellowship.

3. In First Corinthians, Paul first corrected the errors in their wrong thinking
(believing), then he addressed their wrong behavior and finally he came to the
subject of joining the wrong crowd (belonging).
Proverbs 4:16-27 NKJV
16 For they do not sleep unless they have done evil;
And their sleep is taken away unless they make someone fall.
17 For they eat the bread of wickedness
And drink the wine of violence.
18 But the path of the just is like the shining sun,
That shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.
19 The way of the wicked is like darkness;
They do not know what makes them stumble.
20 My son, give attention to my words;
Incline your ear to my sayings.
21 Do not let them depart from your eyes;
Keep them in the midst of your heart;
22 For they are life to those who find them,
And health to all their flesh.
23 Keep your heart with all diligence,
For out of it spring the issues of life.
24 Put away from you a deceitful mouth,
And put perverse lips far from you.
25 Let your eyes look straight ahead,
And your eyelids look right before you.
26 Ponder the path of your feet,
And let all your ways be established.
27 Do not turn to the right or the left;
Remove your foot from evil.
Jon Courson's Application
Commentary of the New Testament
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/MuRmxkCObIY/hqdefault.jpg
Watch Your Step
A Topical Study of
Proverbs 4:26-27

4. Isaiah 30:1-2 NKJV
1 “Woe to the rebellious children,” says the Lord,
“Who take counsel, but not of Me,
And who devise plans, but not of My Spirit,
That they may add sin to sin;
2 Who walk to go down to Egypt,
And have not asked My advice,
To strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh,
And to trust in the shadow of Egypt!
Isaiah 30:15-16 NKJV
15 For thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel:
“In returning and rest you shall be saved;
In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.”
But you would not,
16 And you said, “No, for we will flee on horses”—
Therefore you shall flee!
And, “We will ride on swift horses”—
Therefore those who pursue you shall be swift!
Isaiah 30:21 NKJV
21 Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying,
“This is the way, walk in it,”
Whenever you turn to the right hand
Or whenever you turn to the left.
When would the Israelites hear God's word in their ear?
When they stopped, when they put aside their plans, programs, views, and
ideas, and said, "Lord, we're not taking another step apart from Your leading
and guiding."
"Stop, look, and listen."
We teach this to our kids to keep them from running into the street or cross the
railroad track.
Spiritually, we need to be taught the same thing.

5. Stop what you're doing.
Don't take another step.
Don't go in there.
Don't hang around there.
Look up.
Say, "Lord, You're with me and I want to cultivate the practice of Your presence
in this very moment."
Proverbs 19:20 NKJV
20 Listen to counsel and receive instruction,
That you may be wise in your latter days.
Isaiah 52:7 NKJV
7 How beautiful upon the mountains
Are the feet of Him Who brings Good News,
Who proclaims peace,
Who brings glad tidings of good things,
Who proclaims salvation,
Who says to Zion,
“Your God reigns!”
I see the feet of Jesus walking on the waves of a storm without sinking.
This shows He's in control of whatever situation you may find yourself.
I see the feet of Jesus walking in Samaria. The Jews considered the Samaritans
to be half-breeds and, therefore, had nothing to do with them. Not Jesus. In fact,
John tells us He must needs go through Samaria (John 4:4). To give hope to one
woman who had messed up her life (John 4:7-29).
Jesus walks where no one else does to bring good news to people who are
hurting, to people who are despairing, to people like us.
I see the feet of Jesus walking up Mount Hermon, where He would be
transfigured as the glory of His divinity shone through His humanity as proof that
He had lived His life perfectly.

6. At that point, He could have launched up into Heaven, saying to all of mankind,
"You see? It could be done. You could live in obedience. But you chose not to."
Is that what He did? No.
The same feet walked down the mountain to find a boy below, tortured by a
demon, in need of healing (Mark 9:18). Jesus walked from a mountain top
experience down Mount Hermon into the valley of service to touch people in
need, people in bondage, people like us.
Finally, I see the feet of Jesus pinned to the Cross of Calvary. And in the blood
that flowed freely from His veins, arteries, and capillaries, there is healing for me.
For the times when I have walked into sin, messed up my life, not watched my
step, or given heed to God's Word, Jesus Christ made provision. The blood He
shed cleanses from every single sin I've ever done. He brings good tidings of
great joy! He publishes salvation. He reigns.
God reigns. Because of our sin and rebellion, He should rain down anger and
wrath upon us. Instead, because of the blood of Jesus, He reigns peacefully and
powerfully within any and all who will embrace Him.
He'll bring restoration and renewal to you if you'll simply ponder the path of your
feet and say, "Come into my life, Lord. Cleanse me with Your blood. Reign in my
heart. Guide my steps."
Adrian Rogers
9/12/1931--11/15/2005
The Adrian Rogers Legacy Collection – Sermons.
Guarding Your Thought Life
www.pastortraining.com www.adrianrogerslibrary.com

7. Proverbs 4:23 NKJV
23 Keep (guard) your heart with all diligence,
For out of it spring the issues of life.
This word heart is used more than 800 times in the Old Testament, but more than
200 times it deals with the thought life, not merely the intelligence, but the
emotion, the thought life, the well springs of life, the thing that motivates us and
moves us and molds us and makes us.
The Bible calls that the heart, the thought life. In the New Testament it would be
roughly equivalent to the mind. "Keep your mind, your thought life, your heart
with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life." We need to pay very much
attention, therefore, to our hearts. We need to guard our heart.
Your Thought Life
• The majesty of your thought life.
• The mastery of your thought life.
• The ministry of your thought life.
Proverbs 4:23 MSG
23 Keep vigilant watch over your heart (your thought life);
that’s where life starts.
Proverbs 23:7a MSG
7a For as he (a man) thinks in his heart, so is he.
Your attitudes lead to your actions. The thought is the father of the deed. Before
you can do a thing you have to think it. So the heart leads to the attitude, and
the attitude leads to the action, and the action leads to the achievement.
(Attitude—action—achievement) Now, what are you going to achieve in life?
Your achievements are going to be the sum total of your thoughts because your
thoughts are going to lead to those attitudes, and those attitudes are going to
lead to those actions, and those actions are going to lead to those
achievements.
It was Thackery who said: "If you sow a thought, you'll do what? You'll reap a
deed. Okay. And if you sow a deed, what? You'll reap a habit. And if you sow a
habit, what? You reap a character.
And if you sow a character, you reap a destiny, you see. And it all begins how?
With the thought life. "Keep your heart with all diligence; for out of it are the
issues of life." "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he."

8. Thoughts>Actions>Habits>Character. It all begins with our thought life.
This concept is so fundamental that one day God destroyed an entire civilization
for what reason? They had heart trouble. God destroyed them for that.
Genesis 6:5 "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth,
and that every imagination—listen to it—of the thoughts of his heart was evil
continually before God."
God said, "The thoughts of their heart are so evil, I'm going to have to eradicate
them, I'm going to have to destroy them," and God sent the flood in the time of
Noah. Why? Because of the thoughts of men's hearts. Are you listening today?
The heart of the human problem is the problem of the human heart. "As it was in
the days of Noah, so shall it be in the day of the coming of the Son of man."
We're still having the same problem they had back there, the thoughts of men's
hearts. And God saw that because of the thought of their hearts they had certain
attitudes.
Genesis 6:5-6 NKJV
5 Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the Earth,
and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
6 And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the Earth, and He was
grieved in His heart.
Because they had certain attitudes, they had certain action. Because they had
certain actions, they had certain achievements. And their achievements were
so vile and so disgusting that God had to destroy them.
Conversely, when God gets ready to change a man, when God gets ready to
use a man, mold a man, make a man, motivate a man how does God do it? He
does it by changing how that man thinks.
What does Romans 12:2, say? "Be not conformed to this world; but be
transformed"—how?—"by the renewing of your mind."
How does God transform us?
God changes the thought process. We are talking about the majesty of the
heart. We are not leaving God out. When God is in the heart, then the man thinks
right, lives right, does right.

9. When God is absent, the man thinks wrong, does wrong, lives wrong. There's this
control center. And a very fierce battle is being raged for the control of your
mind.
Dr. Tim LaHaye has written an excellent book called, "The Battle for Your Mind."
And no wonder the devil battles for the mind. No wonder the Lord Jesus Christ
wants us to present our bodies to Him, including our minds, that He might
transform us. There's the majesty of the thought life.
Your Thought Life
• The majesty of your thought life.
• The mastery of your thought life.
• The ministry of your thought life.
Think a little bit about the mastery of the thought life, because look in Proverbs
4:23 again. What Solomon said to his son was this: "Son, guard your thought life.
Keep your thought life pure. Protect your thought life. Be careful of your thought
life. Keep your heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life."
How important it is that we learn to keep our hearts because of the battle that is
being waged for your mind for the thought life.
Now, how am I going to guard my thought life? Well, again, we want to be very
practical right here from the Book of Proverbs. And, first of all: You have to be
careful what comes into your mind because you have to think pure thoughts.
Now, a text without a context is a pretext. A pretext is an excuse given in
justification of a course of action that is not the real reason.
In this particular passage Solomon is talking about the sexual affairs of a young
man, and what Solomon is doing is warning his son about having impure,
immoral thoughts in his heart and in his life.
Now, this is the end of chapter 4 and in chapter 5 he speaks of the heartbreak of
immorality and all of these things that happen that are, elucidated and
enunciated there in chapter 5.
Well, this verse right before that chapter 5 is a part of that whole train of thought,
where Solomon is saying, "Young man, Son, keep your heart, guard your heart.
Don't let these impurities get into your heart and in your mind."

10. In chapter 6 verse 25 -- you get that same idea, where he says concerning the
harlot, the fallen woman, "Lust not after her beauty in thine heart." And then he
says in verse 27: "Can a man take fire in his bosom and his clothes be not
burned? Can one go upon hot coals and his feet be not burned?"
You know what Solomon is talking about? He's talking about what we would call
today pornography, and he's saying to his son, "Now, son, if you would have a
pure heart, guard your heart from these things."
The humanistic worldview is that idea, that system of thought that immorality can
be divorced from love, that it can be divorced from commitment, that it can be
divorced from morality, or that it can be divorced from responsibility, that you
can take it alone and somehow use it, enjoy it, participate in it, apart from love,
apart from morality, apart from responsibility, and apart from the other things
that God has joined with it, and you can be successful.
What was horrible yesterday is acceptable today and is becoming a stepping-
stone for something worse tomorrow.
Now, there are people who tell you what you see doesn't affect you. If that's
true, you tell me why someone will spend almost one half a million dollars for
less than a minute advertisement on the Super Bowl if they don't believe what a
man sees will affect him and what a man sees will change him? Of course it will.
You let that come in your mind, you let that come in your heart, it's got to come
out some way. You've got to deal with everything that comes into you, and
we're the sum total of those thoughts that come into us and those words and
actions that go out of us, and that's the reason that we're warned against this,
the poison of immorality. It is psychological poison.
Four steps that poison the psychology of a person.
1) Addiction.
2) Escalation factor.
3) Desensitization factor.
4) Act it out.
Immorality (sin):
is psychological poison,
is social sickness,
is domestic disaster, and
is spiritual suicide.

11. The sun has almost set for America. It's not a new day. It's the end of an age and
the end of an era and the beginning of the judgment of God.
James 1:15 says: "Lust, when it hath conceived, bringeth forth sin; and sin, when
it is finished, bringeth forth—what?—Death."
Lust, sin, death!
LSD—lust, sin, death!
How are you going to not think bad thoughts?
By thinking God's thoughts.
Meditation is thinking God's thoughts over and over again.
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 NKJV
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 4 For the
weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down
strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself
against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the
obedience of Christ,
Paul says in the New Testament, "Whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things
are just, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if
there be any virtue, if there be any praise"—do what?—"think on these things."
Something wonderful, something exciting, something profound. God made you
where you can't think two things at one time. And if you're thinking what's right,
you cannot be thinking what's wrong.
Isn't that wonderful? So how do you keep from thinking what's wrong? Just think
what's right. Now, when he says, "Guard your heart," he says, "Load up on My
Word. Get my Word in here. Keep it in the midst of your heart."
"Thy word have I hid in my heart"—what?—"that I might not sin against Thee."
"Wherewithal shall a young men cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto
according to thy word." So, store up on the Word of God. You see, you've got to
think pure thoughts.
How are you going to think pure thoughts? And those pure, positive thoughts
also are very powerful thoughts, because the Bible says, "The word of God is
quick and powerful, and sharper than a two-edged sword."

12. I'm not just talking about thinking positive thoughts like thinking about flowers
and bees and birds and trees and those kind of things. I am talking about the
mighty Word of God. Get it in your heart. It's power to cleanse. It's power to keep
you. Now, you're going to have to do it.
Your Thought Life
• The majesty of your thought life.
• The mastery of your thought life.
• The ministry of your thought life.
So, what is the ministry of the heart? What is the ministry of the thought life? The
ministry of the thought life is this, pure and simple; it will govern your speech.
And if we could change the speech in America, we could pretty well change
our land.
A proper thought life will:
1) govern your speech;
2) guard your sight;
3) guide your steps.
Why do some people go to look at this and other people don't? Why do some
people look at pornography and other people don't? Why do some people look
on lewd scenes and other people don't? Because, you see, there's the ministry
of the thought life.
Not only will it govern your speech, it will guard your sight, and you can make
up your mind that you're not going to look at certain things. You're not just a
helpless victim. Do you know what Job said? Job said, "I made a covenant with
my eyes not to look upon a maid." That is, he made a decision.
Now, men, listen, and, ladies, listen. You need to get alone with God in a quiet
place and read your Bible and study your Bible, and at that time make a solemn
decision before God, by God's grace and by God's help, you'll not look at this
stuff. Don't wait until you're in the middle of it. Don't wait till the temptation
comes.
Beforehand, make a covenant with your eyes, because what you see
determines what you think, but also what you think determines what you see. A
pure thought life will guard your sight.
One last thing, dear friend, it will guide your steps. Look again. He says, "Ponder
the path of thy feet"—that is, Ponder the path of your thought life; think about it—
"and all thy ways, and all your ways will be established. Turn not to the right
hand nor to the left; remove thy foot from evil." What does that mean?

13. It means, friend, when your mind is clear and right with God, when you think the
thoughts of Christ after Him, when you have the mind of Christ, when you're
being transformed by the Word of God and the power of God and the Spirit of
God in your thought life, in your heart, then you're going to be doing the will of
God.
God has a plan for you, a wonderful plan. God wants you to have health,
wealth, and wisdom; God's health, God's wealth, God's wisdom. God wants you
to have a fruitful life.
God wants you to have fulfillment. God wants you to have sexual fulfillment. God
wants you to have a happy family. God wants you to get your prayers
answered. God wants you to have the progressive realization of His will for your
life. God wants you to know success in the fullest, highest meaning of the word.
But how are you going to do it? Your thought life. "As a man thinketh in his heart,
so is he." Out of the heart are the issues of life. And God will guide your steps.
Conclusion:
So many people say, "I want to know the will of God." Friend, the will of God is
not a roadmap; it is a relationship. Knowing Him, knowing Him, knowing Him,
and thinking His thoughts after Him. God’s will is not something you find, it is
something you do.
Thank you, Lord, for Your Word. O God, today, how it's blessed and refreshed our
souls, our hearts as You have opened our eyes, stirred our hearts, and enlighten
our minds!
Lord, we pray now that You will burn Your Word indelible into the tablets of our
hearts. O God, we pray that You will change lives. In Jesus' name. Amen.
The Plan of Hope & Salvation:
John 3:16-17 NKJV
16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever
believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not
send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him
might be saved.”
John 14:6 NKJV
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the
Father except through Me.”
Romans 3:23 NKJV
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

14. Romans 6:23a NKJV
23a For the wages of sin is death,
• Death in this life (the first death) is 100%.
• Even Jesus, the only one who doesn’t deserve death, died in this life to
pay the penalty for our sin.
• The death referred to in Romans 6:23a is the “second death” explained in
Revelation 21:8.
Revelation 21:8 NKJV
8 “But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral,
sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with
fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
• Anyone who’s lifestyle is one or more of the sins listed in Revelation 21:8,
will experience the “second death,” if they do not repent.
• To Repent means to turn around, to go in the opposite direction, to turn
away from sin and believe in Jesus.
Romans 5:8 NKJV
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners,
Christ died for us.
Romans 6:23b NKJV
23b but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Revelation 21:7 NKJV
7 “He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be
My son.”
• In Romans 10:9-10 it’s explained to us how to be overcomers.
Romans 10:9-10 NKJV
9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that
God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one
believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto
salvation.
Romans 10:13 NKJV
13 For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Do you have questions?
Would you like to know more?
Please, contact First Baptist Church Jackson at 601-949-1900 or
http://firstbaptistjackson.org/contact/