God’s Word for Today 19 Sep, 2024 7 And now, O sons, listen to me, and do not depart from the words of my mouth. 8 Keep your way far from her, and do not go near the door of her house, 9 lest you give your honor to others and your years to the merciless, 10 lest strangers take their fill of your strength, and your labors go to the house of a foreigner, 11 and at the end of your life you groan, when your flesh and body are consumed, 12 and you say, “How I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof! 13 I did not listen to the voice of my teachers or incline my ear to my instructors. 14 I am at the brink of utter ruin in the assembled congregation.” Prov 5:7-14 ESV THE CAUSE OF REGRET Solomon calls collectively for all ‘sons’ to pay attention to him and his words. [v.7] It’s important to distinguish listening from hearing. At times, we are hearing instructions but are not listening. 7 And now, O sons, listen to me, and do not depart from the words of my mouth Giving in to sin is always at our losing end. “Sin will take you farther than you want to go, it will keep you longer than you want to stay, and it will cost you more than you want to pay.” Sadly, this quote is from the late Ravi Zacharias who did not take heed of his statement, like Solomon. 8 Keep your way far from her, and do not go near the door of her house, 9 lest you give your honor to others and your years to the merciless, 10 lest strangers take their fill of your strength, and your labors go to the house of a foreigner, 11 and at the end of your life you groan, when your flesh and body are consumed, This scenario should cause us to tremble about the thought that nobody is strong against temptation. Running away from temptation is the best solution. Stay away as far as we can from the ‘door’ of sin. Sin capitalizes on the weakness of our flesh. Like a hungry monster coming from the cage, sin will devour us mercilessly. It destroys our honor and strength, so that at the end of life is the feeling of ‘groaning’ and being ‘consumed’. There is an irreversible slide towards regret. The realization of one’s mistake is too late for him to rectify. A sigh of regret and remorse is inevitable.[v.12-14] 12 and you say, “How I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof! 13 I did not listen to the voice of my teachers or incline my ear to my instructors. 14 I am at the brink of utter ruin in the assembled congregation.” Let’s pause for a moment and ask these questions. Am I in a compromising situation right now? Am I sensitive and listening to the warning from God? Do I have a soft heart before God? Is my conscience clean? Do I need to repent? Let’s search our hearts and allow the Spirit to minister to us today. Watch at YouTube: https://youtu.be/lPuuvKVODmg Listen and FOLLOW us on our podcast Spotify: http://bit.ly/glccfil_spotify Apple Podcast: http://bit.ly/glccfil-applepcast Google Podcast: http://bit.ly/glccfil-googlepcast Audible Podcast: http://bit.ly/glccfil-audible Follow us on various media platforms: https://gospellightfilipino.contactin.bio #gospellightfilipino #godswordfortoday #bookofProverbs