G'day friends, it's Pastor Joe here from the Helping You Become podcast. Today, we delved into Proverbs chapter 1, verses 1-7 from the Amplified Bible, continuing our study on prevailing Proverbs—God's wisdom shaping our hearts and minds.

We began with a prayer, asking the Holy Spirit to guide us into deeper truths, building our foundation on the rock of God's Word to withstand life's storms.

The Proverbs aim to impart skillful, godly wisdom, instruction, understanding, and insight. They teach wise dealing, righteousness, justice, and integrity. Specifically, prudence is given to the simple, and knowledge, discretion, and discernment to the youth.

I'm deeply concerned for the next generation. God's wisdom is open to all society, especially those who don't naturally grasp it. No one should be left behind in learning it. Starting early is advantageous—the earlier, the better.

Drawing from my wife Linda's four decades as a renowned school teacher and leader in explicit direct instruction, we discussed early learning benefits. She highlighted:

• Brain development: The first years are crucial; stimulating experiences boost cognitive skills like language, memory, and problem-solving, setting up lifelong positive outcomes.
• Social and emotional growth: Kids learn integration, independence, and confidence.
• Academic readiness: They're smarter younger.
• Positive societal impact: Clever children lead to long-term successes and stronger foundations for lifelong learning.

This ties into verse 6: People understanding proverbs, figures of speech, enigmas, and wise words. It infers a probing, divinely inspired inquisitiveness into how life works from God's view—fabulous if instilled young!

Verse 5: The wise hear and increase learning; the understanding acquire skill and sound counsel to steer rightly. What we hear shapes feelings, beliefs, and futures. Faith comes by hearing God's Word (Romans 10:17); fear from not. Who/what we've believed got us here; who/what we investigate, trust, and act on takes us forward. What we receive, we become (John 1:12).

Gravitate to extraordinary people; pursue greatness—influence affects affluence; increase via association.

A key lesson from Proverbs: Stay teachable! It's echoed throughout. While teachable, we remain reachable (thanks, Dr Mike Murdock). Readiness to learn is critical for success.

Verse 6 emphasises digging deeper—nothing is as it appears; evil hides truths. God hides things for us. Investigation precedes increase; research precedes revelation.

From Genesis 1: Creativity births things; routine manages them. Discovery locates options; concentration eliminates; focus develops; action uses; stewardship protects—all in creation's order.

Verse 7: The reverent, worshipful fear of the Lord is knowledge's beginning, principle, choice part, starting point, and essence. Without it, we go nowhere. It fosters correct attitude: He is God, omnipotent, holy; we are not, but graced by Him. Reverence before revelation; worship before wisdom.

Knowledge focuses on correct understandings (life, world, relationships); wisdom on skillful application. There's a learning curve—start early for better families, workplaces, communities, nations.

But fools despise wisdom, instruction, discipline. Fools are dangerous; their damage catastrophic. I've seen it firsthand, burying nephews due to foolish choices like drunk driving.

This sets the scene: Pathways of wisdom, righteousness, knowledge, fear of the Lord vs. evil, folly, scoffing, disobedience.

In this episode, I open with prayer, asking for revelation and blessing for all listeners. Turning to Proverbs chapter 1 in the Amplified Bible, we explore verse 1: "The proverbs (truths obscurely expressed, maxims, and parables) of Solomon son of David, king of Israel." I emphasise that greater position and authority demand greater wisdom from God. The more responsibility we carry, the more divine wisdom is essential to succeed.

Everyone bears responsibility—for ourselves, family, friends, work, or even school tasks. We must own this with awe and respect, recognising it as a divine appointment. Drawing from Psalm 75:6-7, I note that promotion comes from God, not human sources. He watches our responses from a young age, as His eyes roam the earth seeking faithful hearts (referencing 2 Chronicles 16:9).

Moving to verses 1-2, the proverbs are for all people—unbiased by race, status, or gender—to know skillful and godly wisdom intimately. The Hebrew word for "know" (yadah) implies deep acquaintance, discernment, and skill. God desires us to understand His wisdom better than ourselves.

Why? Verse 3 explains: to receive instruction in wise dealing, the discipline of wise thoughtfulness, righteousness, justice, and integrity. How we receive shapes our path of becoming, as in John 1:11-12—those who receive Jesus gain power to become God's children. Our ministry is built on this: helping you become.

Wise dealing involves God-approved life and relational skills. Discipline can shock those who resist it, but clear reasons make it welcoming for progress. Wise thoughtfulness is intellectual and relational intelligence—discerning motives with grace, as in Colossians 4:5-6: walk wisely toward outsiders, speech gracious and seasoned.

This leads to lifelong moral and ethical behaviour, where beliefs manifest in good works (from my series on James 1: Genuine Faith Good Works, available free at livingsuccess.org). Prioritise these disciplines.

Verse 4: "That prudence may be given to the simple, and knowledge, discretion, and discernment to the youth." I share my heart for youth—teaching God's Word early equips them better, like putting an old head on young shoulders. Our church's successes show the value of early biblical training.

I close by rereading verses 1-4, inviting donations (gratefully received but not required) and free subscriptions at livingsuccess.org. God bless you as we help you become all you can in Christ

Hello friends, it's Pastor Joe here with a summary of our latest Helping You Become podcast on Prevailing Proverbs from Proverbs chapter 1.

We dove into verses 1-7 from the Amplified Bible, where Solomon shares truths obscurely expressed—maxims and parables to impart skillful, godly wisdom. This wisdom helps us discern understanding, receive instruction in wise dealing, thoughtfulness, righteousness, justice, and integrity. It's for the simple to gain prudence, the youth discretion, and even the wise to increase learning and sound counsel.

I emphasized that wisdom must prevail in our hearts, influencing decisions for successful living before God, preferring incremental progress over constant miracles or repairs. From one seed comes a harvest—powerful growth! In 40 years of ministry, life's dilemmas boil down to seven questions: who, which, what, where, when, why, and how. Proverbs provides starting points to answer them scripturally, managing life purposefully instead of fixing self-created messes.

Truth is unchanging, not swayed by feelings or culture—God's truth is foundational reality leading to blessing, favor, wealth, and well-being. What we focus on masters us; turning right eliminates left. I shared my daughter's wise choice rejecting "golden handcuffs" for her degree.

We explored Solomon as a second-generation covenant man, son of David—a man after God's heart—who slew Goliath. Their lives at the "coal face" give these proverbs credibility, like trusted medical texts.

Friends, let wisdom fill your innermost regions for managed, thriving lives. The book illuminates paths to blessing while protecting from destruction.