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.

Hello, friends. This is Pastor Joe here, summarizing today's episode of the Helping You Become podcast, part of our "Prevailing Proverbs" series. We dove into Proverbs 14:12 and 16:25, which warn: "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death." These verses, repeated for emphasis, highlight how our own paths—rooted in sin or self-deception—lead to spiritual ruin, as echoed in Romans 6:20-21. When we were slaves to sin, righteousness wasn't on our radar, and the fruit was shame and death.

But praise God, there's an alternative! Jesus, in Luke 6:46-49, challenges us: Why call Him Lord if we don't obey His words? Those who hear and do build on a rock—unshakable against life's floods. The disobedient build on sand, facing great ruin. Galatians 6:7 reminds us: Don't mock God; we reap what we sow.

The solution? Embrace a proven, unchanging life code from the Book of Proverbs. It's divine wisdom for any time, place, or people—reducing mistakes, mitigating problems, and guiding us toward righteousness, stewardship, and service. "Prevail" means this wisdom must persuade, control, influence, and triumph over our own flawed ideas. Set aside cultural norms or "cultural Christianity"; align with Scripture's truths, like marriage before children.

Let's let Proverbs prevail in our lives, building on Christ's foundation. Join me next time as we explore more benefits. God bless!

Greetings, friends! On this episode of the Helping You Become podcast, we dove into Proverbs 14:12 and 16:25, where God’s Word warns, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” These verses, repeated in Scripture, are a divine alarm from our merciful God, urging us to seek His wisdom rather than trust our own understanding. Too often, we take paths that look straight but lead to destruction—failed businesses, broken relationships, or spiritual death. Pastor Joe connects this to Romans 6, where Paul describes humanity’s slavery to sin before salvation, leading to shameful outcomes and death. The way of the fool, as Proverbs 12:15 says, is right in his own eyes, ignoring wise counsel. But God desires us to learn first, then live righteously. Through Christ, we’re freed from sin’s grip and made righteous (2 Corinthians 5:21). The Holy Spirit convicts us of sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16:7-11), guiding us to God’s path. Pastor Joe encourages us to mitigate mistakes, reduce sin, and pursue righteousness, stewardship, and strong relationships. Christ is our wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:30), and God’s will should be our quest. Join us next week for more, and visit livingsuccess.org for free resources, including the So What’s Next? Bible study. Help us share a million copies! God bless you as you serve the Lord.

Hello, friends. This is Pastor Joe from the Helping You Become podcast. In this episode, I open with prayer and dive into Proverbs, emphasising our desire to live pleasing to God, honouring Jesus, and guided by the Holy Spirit. We all fall short sometimes due to battles of the flesh and mind, but our lives are judged holistically, as in 2 Corinthians 5:10—focusing on what we've achieved, our purposes, and motives.

I highlight Proverbs 14:12 and 16:25 (ESV and Amplified): "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death." These verses create unease, warning against paths that appear straight but lead to ruin, wasting time, efforts, and relationships. We can't live in constant doubt, so we need a proven, stable life code: moral, ethical, strategic, forward-thinking, and applicable anywhere.

In our humanness, we might think it's too hard—why bother? But dismissing effort halts progress. People want to do right, but subjectivity, lack of standards, and conforming to changing ideologies build on shifting sands. Decisions abound: marriage, jobs, business, politics—often leading to hope rather than certainty. Good intentions don't guarantee outcomes; we need divine truth from Scripture, like John 8:32: knowledge of truth sets us free.

The solution? The Book of Proverbs offers that unchanging life code for personal, family, and community growth. We'll explore deeper next time in "Prevailing Proverbs."

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James 2:14-26

Faith Without Works Is Dead

14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! 20 Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. 24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.

Now that we have covered some foundational things in Chapter 1, I want to look at the main thrust of this idea that a Genuine Faith in Christ Jesus is accompanied by Good Works.

James cites three powerful examples of the correlation between a Genuine Faith and Good Works:

1. 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
2. 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. 24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.
3. 25 And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.

Some people think that Paul is contradicting what James writes when we look at Ephesians 2:8-9:

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

That is definitely NOT the case – Paul and James are in agreement when it comes to salvation by grace through faith.

However, Paul goes on to then write is verse 10:

10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

James speaks the same idea this way:

18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.

It’s really important to understand that a natural progression of our salvation in Christ is then the ongoing lifestyle of doing good to others. There is NO separation of salvation and value-adding to the lives of others because of your strong faith in Jesus.

There is no separation of a Genuine Faith and Good Works flowing out from that genuine faith. James is saying his genuine faith is shown, proven, demonstrated and revealed by his works.

Not only that – these good works are not of your own volition – these good works flowing out from your genuine faith are God ordained – He prepared them beforehand.

If we put together Ephesians 2:8-10...

James 1:19-27

19 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;

20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. 21 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

26 If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless. 27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

These verses really do contain some powerful “Good Works” – remember – this series is Genuine Faith, Good Works and some of the most powerful good works that we as born-again believers can perform are contained in these verses. Verse 18 – we were brought forth by the will of God and by the Word of Truth.

The Word of Truth, this implanted Word, is the Word that we need to be hearing and doing. The more we hear, the stronger our faith comes (Romans 10:17) – we need to feed our faith every day. Read our Bibles, particularly our New Testaments, we need to play quality sermons from reputable ministers, play their podcasts, watch their video clips - expose ourselves to the ministry of the Word of God. This is so important,

Very important to read your Bible every day!

So, doing good works, based on the Word of Truth - We covered verse 19 last week…

Verses 20, 21 - 20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. 21 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

The more and more we lock into the Word of God, the Word of Truth, the less and less will we be prone to hasty, careless speech, outright wickedness and angry behaviour – none of which pleases God. The more we eradicate this behaviour from our life the more we please God and the further we grow in spiritual things. We learn what to say, how to say it, what to do, how to do it – all of this instruction is contained within our Bibles. The saving of our souls is a progressive cleansing process, a progressive renewing of our mind process, a progressive sanctification process, ultimately all coming together in the completion of our Salvation as Gods saving work for us believers that try to honour the Lord with our lives.

22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

If we fail to put into practice that which we have heard and read, the whole exercise becomes self-deceptive. We think we know what we are doing yet the doing is not a part of us. That’s self-deceptive. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.

When you look into a mirror – you see your own self that is reflected back to you. I have a wife and four daughters that had to get ready for church every Sunday morning – five ladies to get out the door and into the car and only two bathrooms….