1. Grace Fellowship Church Pastor/Teacher Jim Rickard www.GraceDoctrine.org Tuesday, February 5, 2013

2. Eph 5:18, “Do not get drunk with wine, for that is a waste of life, but be filled with the Spirit.”

3. Doxology Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; Praise Him, all creatures here below; Praise Him above, ye heavenly host; Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.— Amen.

4. The Book of Proverbs Chapter 4 III. Section 2, Vs. 10-19. Stay away from the wicked individual!

5. Prov 4:18-19, The Contrast between the Righteous and the Wicked!

6. In vs. 18 the positive believer (righteous) stands and walks in the Light of Christ. In vs. 19 the unbeliever (wicked) stands and walks in darkness (evil).

7. 1. The believer in Christ stands positionally in perfection before Christ; Positionally Sanctified. You are light. Rom 8:1; 1 Cor 1:2, 30; 6:11

8. 2. As you advance in the spiritual life, you are also Experientially Sanctified before Him, walking in the Light of Christ based on the filling of the Holy Spirit. Eph 5:18ff; Mat 5:14-16; Rom 6:4

9. John 8:12, “Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life”.”

10. 3. Upon the day of your death you will stand in total and absolute perfection before Him, being Ultimately Sanctified. 1Cor 1:8; Phil 3:21; 1Thes 5:23; 1John 3:1 ‑ 2

11. Mat 13:43, “Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.”

12. Knowledge, faith, love, and holiness should irradiate your every step. And your work is not done in your own strength but of Him who you have placed your total and complete confidence, hope and trust.

13. Vs. 19, The wicked walks in darkness.

14. “Is like darkness”, APHELAH, אֲפֵלָה, “Darkness, gloominess, or calamity.” Used figuratively for “spiritual darkness” (SD) the opposite of spiritual light. 1 John 1:5-9

15. S.D. is a lack of understanding of the ways of the Lord, being devoid of God and His Word in the soul. Luke 23:34b, “They know not what they do.”

16. “Do not know over what they stumble.” LO YADA BAMMEH KASHAL.

17. The wicked will eventually stumble, stagger, totter and fall, because they do not have the grace of God to catch them and right them during their incipient fall.

18. Ultimately, the Lord Jesus Christ is what they stumble over because they do not know nor believe in Him and do not know His Word.

19. Rom 9:32, “They stumbled over the stumbling stone, 33 just as it is written, “Behold, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, and he who believes in Him will not be disappointed”.”

20. As a result they fall into sin, but do not know how to avoid it. They fall into trouble, but never seek to know that God contends with them, nor what the end will be for them.

21. Therefore, the unbeliever has three categories of Darkness.

22. 1. Every member of the human race is born spiritually dead; born into darkness and stands Positionally in Darkness. Eph 2:1-3, 5; 5:14; Col 2:13- 15; 1 Peter 4:6; Jude 1:12-13

23. 2. If they never accept Christ as their Savior they walk in darkness throughout their lives being led by their Sin Nature due to their unregenerated state.

24. They are Experientially in Darkness. Job 18:5-21; Prov 2:13-15; Isa 59:9-15; John 8:12; 11:9- 10; 12:35; cf. Acts 26:18; Eph 5:8; 1Thes 5:4-5; 1John 2:11.

25. John 12:35, “So Jesus said to them, “For a little while longer the Light is among you. Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you; he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes.”

26. John 11:9-10, “Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10 But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him”.”

27. 3. The person who never accepts Christ as their Savior will upon death be thrown into Hades, and then at the Great White Throne into the Eternal Lake of Fire. Rev 20:12-15; cf. John 3:19-20

28. In the Lake of Fire they are in Ultimate Darkness for the rest of eternity. Mat 8:12; 22:13; 25:30; John 12:46; 2 Peter 2:4, 17; Jude 1:6; 12-13.

29. The believer is warned to avoid those who walk in darkness, Prov 4:15, because they can easily drag you into their sin.

30. You will not lose your salvation, John 10:28-29, but you will lose Experiential Sanctification and the rewards that come with it.

31. If our soul is influenced by darkness, darkness will proceed from it. If our soul is filled with light, light will proceed from it. Prov 23:7a, “For as he thinks within himself, so he is.”

32. Job 24:13, “Others have been with those who rebel against the light; they do not want to know its ways nor abide in its paths.”

33. Job also observed that wicked men grope in darkness with no light, Job 12:25, because they have no reason or wisdom.

34. These are the types we should have nothing to do with except to deliver the gospel message. Otherwise, they will lead us into their folly and we will stumble or even fall experientially.

35. Prov 1:15, “My son, do not walk in the way with them. Keep your feet from their path.” C.f. Psa 1:1-6; 1 Peter 2:4-9

36. Grace Fellowship Church Tuesday, February 5, 2013 Tape # 13-014 Proverbs Chapter 4 Walking in Light versus the Darkness Prov 4:18-19; John 12:35; 11:9-10; Rom 9:32; Psa 1:1-6 James H. Rickard Bible Ministries 2013